Headed off for a quick solo weekend in Las Vegas, June 16-18 for my cousin, Louise’s wedding (well, sort of). Great weekend. But hotter than the surface of the sun (well, sort of).
I flew Allegiant Air out of Bellingham, leaving at 8 in the morning. Easy trip across the border, and no issues getting on the flight. It’s actually a great airport.
I’d forgotten that I’d pre-booked my seat in Row 3, which is actually Row 1, directly beside the front door. Which is great for getting off the plane quickly (plus they may well be the only seats with legroom), but the seats are so packed together that I’m basically bumping knees with the flight attendant in the jump seat in front of me during takeoff and landing.
This was to be a bit of a family reunion. My cousin Louise had been married earlier in the week to Paul (great addition to the family!), in Belfast. My cousins (her brothers) Richard (see my Dallas post) and Paul were there, the former having flown in the day before from Miami, and the latter having flown in from Auckland, via Hong Kong and London. Paul and his wife Annike flew to Vegas via Manchester (I can’t imagine a more inebriated flight than a flight from Manchester to Vegas), and Louise and Paul came through London. Needless to say, that’s a lot of miles to get everyone together, but I was so happy to see everyone and to meet Paul.
My cousins and I were spread all over the place. Bride and Groom at the Wynn. Paul and Annike were somewhere else. I was at my old favourite, the Venetian.
From my perspective, the Venetian and Palazzo ar the best hotels in Las Vegas. Great big two-level suites, and never any issue checking in early. Always spotless, and never a ridiculous wait for the elevators (a pet peeve of mine). The pools (which I didn’t go to this time – see below) are great – I think there are eleven of them. I’m not a massive gambler, and one casino is pretty much the same as the next for me, so that’s not the huge draw.
We all met up on Friday afternoon at the best kept secret on the Strip – Casino Royale (right beside the Venetian), with its ice cold $1 Michelobs.
Friday night we headed to Fremont Street, which was predictably bizarre, and then dinner at the Golden Nugget where I had the hottest hot wings I have ever had in my life – nearly fatal.
Saturday. One trillion degrees. Nobody on the Strip.
It was too hot to do anything other than sit in the pool and drink excessively (staying hydrated was a medical necessity). We decided to meet at the Wynn pool (well most of us did – Annike apparently had a bit too much fun at Casino Royale the previous night). In my previous travels, I have collected a nice set of Vegas room cards, including a handful from the Wynn. My plan was to use them to get into the Wynn pool. I showed up at the pool desk only to be told that I had to scan my room key. Shit!! But … oddly enough, it worked (as did my Wynn WIFI, which gave me some cause to worry that I might still be being charged from my last stay at the Wynn in April!).
Saturday afternoon was the vow renewal at the Graceland Wedding Chapel. You’ll see from the photos that I, insanely, decided it would be a good idea to wear a (very thick) suit. Given the temperature, by the time I got to the Wynn to get our ride, I had sweated away 30% of my body weight and my clothes were falling off.
Then things started to get ugly, in true Rainey fashion. We met up at Casino Royale again on Saturday evening for a few bevvies, and then headed off to a great dinner at Lavo at the Venetian.
I had promised my cousin Richard that I would get Paul R. on a mechanical bull. Promise kept. There is a video of it, but it’s ugly and its not coming on this blog. We also learned that Annike has a future in bull riding. Not.
Unsuccessfully tried to bribe the bouncer at Senor Frogs to let us jump the huge lineup to get it. Didn’t go too well. But then again, why the hell is there a lineup at Senor Frogs?!?
So …. back to Casino Royale.
Apparently, at Casino Royale, $23 buys you 23 beer. Ouch.
And thanks, Annike, for suggesting vodka shots to round off the evening!
Not sure what time things wound up. Or how I got back to the hotel. But I conveniently woke up the next morning with all my clothes on.
Sunday morning. Late start. No real desire for breakfast. Sixty four billion million degrees out. Too hot to take picture on my phones, which kept overheating. My flight was delayed five hours because of the heat (apparently it was so hot, the planes couldn’t achieve lift). Bottom line = very tired return to home.
But it was an epic weekend.