I would like to start this entry with a little ode I wrote (to the tune of "Where Have all the Flowers Gone"):
Where have all the Elvi gone?
Long time passing . . .
Where have all the Elvi gone . . .
Long time ago . . .
Where have all the Elvi gone . . .
Cher replaced them every one!
I miss their lacquered hair--
And bell-bottoms everywhere . . .
"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night."
(I did see three more Elvi on Sunday, but still, a total of 5? A mere 5 Elvi? Sad, sad, sad! I expected to see Elvi on every corner in every carnation--young Elvis, fat Elvis, gospel Elvis . . . )
On Sunday, the party was breaking up. Amber and Chris headed back home (driving) shortly after breakfast, and they were dropping Missy off at the airport on the way. They very kindly brought Amy and me to the strip, where we met Becky. A short tour of MGM took us through the lions (not exciting--they were obsessed with eating and simply gnawed on chunks of some unrecognizable meat), but we quickly tired of MGM. We took a brief detour to New York, New York, but it seemed rather unremarkable to me, from the fake storefronts in the small "street" area (most of which were simply fronts there for decoration), to the "ok" lunch we had at the Irish pub in New York, New York. (The food was decent, but the service was so slow I swear I could have milked the goat and processed and pasteurized the cheese for my goat cheese salad faster than it took them to bring our food out. Or take our order. Or bring us drinks. It wasn't even that busy!)
However, things picked up after lunch. We took a trip to the M&M's store, which is the perfect place to go with a friend like Amy who also thrills to the brightly colored, fluffy, and whimsical like I do. Four floors of candy-coated fun? Yes, please! We skipped across to the Coca Cola store after that, where we checked out all kinds of Coca Cola kitsch from the years.
Sadly, Amy had to fly home in the mid afternoon, but Becky and I had one more night in Vegas. We went back to our room at the Hard Rock Hotel (which, if you're a fan of rock, is a really cool place to stay, and totally affordable, thanks to Twitter Tuesday's $20 deal!) and crashed for a bit, but made our way back to the Strip for dinner. Thanks to a fabulous concierge at the Bellagio (whose name may be Jay, Jon, Joe, Jose, or Kevin--we sadly didn't catch his name, which is a shame because he was refreshingly honest and 100% on target with his dinner recommendation), we made our way to Dragon Noodle Co. in the Monte Carlo. We got to take the tram, which to me resembled the monorail at Walt Disney World.
After dinner, we weren't ready to retire for the evening. We watched two fountain shows at the Bellagio, and then decided to pop into a place called Cabo Wabo. Maria, our bartender, made some mighty strong drinks for us. They were tasty, but wow. Maria likes to share the rum. Becky and I made a few friends while sitting at the bar--"fatherly sports guy" (who liked talking football and baseball with Becky and was generally a nice, and slightly tipsy, gentleman) and "velvet jacket" (who, as described, wore a deep red velvet jacket; he was nice too, but his nasal voice bugged me a bit. I also was careful to keep some guards up--I got the sense that he would start hitting on us if given the go-ahead, and we weren't remotely interested in more than passing conversation with him). It turns out that Cabo Wabo also has live band karaoke! Several folks went up to take the stage. The first guy apparently was from Minnesota (we didn't know him, though), and he and his buddy performed a nice rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama." Unfortunately, a string of tuneless (and quite drunk) men followed. I felt bad for the house band--they seemed really cool. Highlight of the evening? One Ms. Becky performing "Piano Man." She was aided by our friend Tequila (and Tequila and Tequila and Tequila), but she did a nice job. It was really fun, and I thought it was really cool that she got up on stage and actually did it. (I must learn more pop/rock standards so I can do the same. I wanted to perform, but I don't know actual lyrics to pop songs well enough to get on stage and perform them like that!)
All in all, it was a really fun weekend! We all agreed that we liked the group travel aspect, and we're already in talks to take on other regions in 2012. Vancouver? Seattle? Who knows! I look forward to and welcome any travels with these fabulous friends anytime!
Best Bathrooms Bar None: THE BELLAGIO
Second Best Bathrooms: Caesar's Palace
Total Elvi Sightings: 5
Total Preachers lecturing on our sinning/lecherous ways: 1 (on the strip on Sunday night)
