5:30 AM - Oh no you don't, I am not getting up at 5:30 AM on vacation.
7:00 AM - Harrumph. I suppose that will do.
I spend a few hours relaxing on our patio, enjoying the scenery and the beautiful weather, before adjourning to the kitchen to prepare bacon and eggs.
10 AM - As I begin to prepare breakfast, I am pretty sure I hear movement behind the bedroom door. I believe hibernation is over. My suspicions are confirmed when I peek into the room and notice a light on. I anxiously await which member of the Bear family will be joining me today. Stupid of me, though, until she's had her morning beverage, it's always the same one: Discombobulated Bear.
After breakfast we are off to walk up to the Strip and explore some of what is new since we last visited. We start with the incredible changes made at The Linq (formerly the toxic waste dump known as Imperial Palace), including a fabulous little outdoor shopping and dining area. I am still without a Frozen Pina Colada. In fact, Tracey beats me into the frozen waters, spying a place selling a Frozen Bailey's concoction. She knocks three children down on her stampede to that bar.
Next up, I take Tracey over to The Cromwell, which used to be the varmint-infested saloon called "Bill's Gambling Hall". It's gorgeous now. What an incredible feat of renovation: turning something hideous into a classy venue, without so much as one wall coming down (as far as I know). They must have one helluva interior designer.
Next we head across the street to Bally's, where another amazing metamorphosis has taken place! All of the dead area in front of Bally's has been replaced with The Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally's. A multitude of shopping and dining venues, most of them of what would be called the micro-variety: many of the shops are just tiny, about 200 square feet! It reminds me of little shipping containers. Still, it's an incredible upgrade from what was there before, which was not much.
We still have a bit of time so we head past the Paris and into the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood. And it is there that my love affair with tasty frozen treats is rekindled.
12:38 PM - The first sip of Frozen Pina Colada touches my lips. Oh that sweet, sweet nectar. The Vegas trip is officially on.
After perusing the wares at the mall, it's time to head back to the resort and get ready to head out for the day. Man did we overestimate our stamina, or underestimate the heat; it turns into one of those walks where you are praying for a cab to show up to take you the last half-block. Our prayers go unanswered.
2:10 PM - We hop into the car and begin the 30ish minute drive up to Rick and Sue's Vegas Vacation Hideaway (TM), a beautiful 2-bedroom townhouse in a gated community that they bought when the Canadian Dollar wasn't so far down the crapper. It was, in fact, slightly ABOVE par at that point. Oh, little Billy, those were the days. Those were the days.
Our GPS has other ideas however. At some point, for some unknown reason, it just stopped talking to us. I had to try to navigate based solely on the graphics on the screen (and reading such a screen while driving is about as convenient as doing your taxes while riding a roller coaster). I'm not even sure how many wrong turns I took, but once we finally got the voice working again we KNOW we took one more wrong turn, as some major construction has totally changed the exit and entrance ramps at the part of the highway where we needed to get off; so much so that she told us to "prepare to turn right" as we were already about 30 yards past the exit.
Oh well, we finally got there and enjoyed some lovely pool time. The pool was the perfect temperature. PER. FECT. I look over at Tracey and I know instantly that we have added another member to the family: Contented Bear.
Beautiful pool, beautiful complex, beautiful everything. It's going to be quite a fantastic retirement home for them in 58 months. I did not make that up, their retirement date is set and is in 58 months.
I am hoping to retire in 58 years.
6:45 PM - Dinnertime! We have reservations at Portofino, a very well-reviewed Italian restaurant in The Mirage. We have a couple hours until the show which is good, because the service isn't exactly top-notch. It's not terrible, don't get me wrong....but if we were in a hurry, we may have had some issues.
The food, however, IS top-notch. Everyone is thrilled with their meals, and they are paired with a very nice and reasonably priced 2010 Brunello di Montalcino. 2010 has been called the "vintage of the Century" in Montalcino. This one did not disappoint.
As we prepare for the show, Tracey and Sue drop a couple bucks into some random slot machines. My wife and slot machines would remind fans of every season for the Toronto Maple Leafs: you might hope for the best, you might get teased a bit at the start, but in reality, you already know what the result is going to be.
9:30 PM - LOVE begins. I know this show like the back of my hand, and although it starts out with "Because", just like it always has, something seems.....different. Amiss. Unfamiliar.
But when that crazy guitar chord hits and Get Back begins, all is forgotten.
Hmm. Eleanor Rigby comes in the usual place, but again....something isn't right. It just seems a bit different. I can't put my finger on it.
Next up is Twist and Shout, which seems more than a bit odd because TWIST AND SHOUT ISN'T IN THE SHOW!
OH MY GOD THEY CHANGED THE SHOW!!!
I had heard they made some adjustments to While My Guitar Gently Weeps, in preparation for the show's 10th Anniversary (in just a couple weeks). Well they did a lot more than that.
I believe it was Aristotle who coined the phrase "Don't Fuck With Perfection".
Well, they took perfection, tossed it into a blender, and came up with something brilliant. And completely, totally, different than before.
I'm not going to go into song-by-song details, some of you have probably seen this show and want to see it again so I won't ruin it for you. Only one song changed completely (Twist and Shout replacing I Am The Walrus), but the performances accompanying almost every other song were dramatically different. Not to mention they COMPLETELY changed the underlying storyline of the show.
(If you want to find out more about the new show, just Google "Beatles Love new". There is an article by Robin Leach where he interviews the Director and Musical Director of the show. The big changeover happened in February. I had no clue.)
By the time the show ended, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. It's not often that you get to see a completely new show for the 8th time. Can't wait to make it nine.
Oh, one very unwelcome change.....they stopped selling the frozen Pina Coladas in the lobby! That was my FAVORITE Pina Colada!! Bastards. I will have to make up for it with several trips to Rhumbar later in the week.
Back to the resort to hit the sack. Tomorrow heading back to Rick and Sue's as we are going to go on a little drive through some canyons which I've been told are quite spectacular to see.
Oh, and after about 48 hours in Vegas, I have wagered exactly zero dollars, and consumed exactly one Frozen Pina Colada.
Take THAT, those of you who think I'm predictable!! :)
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