Hi all,
Just got back from a mid-summer trip. One I would never take unless there was good reason.

Details of the “usual” stuff:
Dates of the trip: 7/13-20, 2005
Flight: Dulles - Las Vegas on TED $220/round-trip, non-stop.
Car: Premium, Thrifty, $165/week (using WMRT code) Dodge Charger
Hotel: Tuscany Suites $45/night mid week, $65/weekend, casino rate
Hotel: Wynn $169/night - special rate
Temps: 112- 117 every day that I was out there… but it was bearable!

Against my better judgement, I booked this trip to spend time w/ my best childhood friend on her 50th birthday. All she wanted was to “experience
Vegas w/ Eva”… So here I am…. I usually travel alone, so meeting up with 8 gals and their 10 page itinerary was a challenge to me… not to mention the “new knee” that I got 4 months ago. This would be my first trip w/ a knee replacement (and one to go… next month)… I headed out a few days ahead of the gals so I could get some “Big E” time in…

A few highlights of the trip:
“Le Reve” - After all the bad reviews I read about this show, I was pleasantly surprised by the “spectacle” of it all. It was a fabulous production and the lighting was super. I liked it better than “O”.

Steve Connolly as Elvis @ Fitzgerald’s… Free show w/ a drink ($6.95).
Steve Connolly is one of the most handsome Elvi on the circuit and he really put on a great show. He interacted w/ the audience and really put on a good show. I’d give this one a “thumbs up”

Back to the Wax Museum…. one of my favorite places in Vegas…. There was lots of changes to the exhibits this time… and not for the better. The gals and I did take a fun photo w/ Hugh Hefner in a “Playboy Bed”. That was a “plus”. They put in a “Monster Room” where dressed up teens try to scare patrons in a dark room. It was really hokey. It reminded me of a kiddie haunted house (ie MD Carnival in the 50’s). It can go. Sig & Roy have been removed and the whole Las Vegas Celeb room has been re-done… nowhere near as nice as it was before. I was really disappointed.

Ron Lucas Show @ Rio (Free w/ $10 drink purchase). Ron Lucas is very talented. This was an all-ages show and the crowd loved him. I enjoyed the show, but I like Jeff Dunham and Peanut much better.

Masquerade in the Sky @ Rio… For five bucks and your ticket stub from Ron Lucas, you could ride on one of the floats in the Masquerade in the Sky parade. I did this about ten yearsa go and got to dress up like a pineapple. I felt like I was a part of the “theme of the float”. This time they gave us all a velvet (hot) cape and tossed us on the float. We were strapped in seat with a tethered tambourine in our hand… not real fun….

Thunder From Down Under…. Oooodles of screeching women and 6 hunky Aussies in G-strings… I was amazed at how much screaming and hollering was going on… this was my first “male review” show… and probably my last…. hehe…. not really “my thing”

The Cake… I ordered an “erotic cake” for the 50th B’day Party from “The Gourmet Cake Shop” on Spring Mountain… Dominic made a… well… beautifully crafted male organ for our party. When you order the cake, he asks if you would like the frosting to be Caucasian, Black or Hispanic… kinda funny… Price $45, reaction from gals… Priceless

The room at Wynn… ohhhh boy, talk about a beautiful room….. I thought about using the old $20 trick, but I just asked if I could have a room facing the strip on an upper floor. She gladly gave me a room (3839) with a strip view and a view of the Wynn water screen. It was perfect. The bed was reallllly comfy and the plasma screen tv next to the “john” was pretty nice. It was one of the nicest rooms I’ve ever had… and ranks right up there w/ the fabulous rooms at the JW Marriott in Summerlin….

A few thoughts:
Even tho it was hot as blazes every day, I did pretty well. I drank plenty of water and went to the pool between 9 & 10. Tuscany does have some misters at their Tiki Bar, but they don’t turn them on until 12 - 1. The only time I really felt the severity of the heat was waiting in line for the valets and checking in w/ the sky cap at the airport.

The Dodge Charger is an awesome car. It looks great and handles real well. Everyone stopped me and asked what kind of car it was. I’d highly recommend it…

Tuscany has a promotion going on for blackjack players… if you bet $10 and get a blackjack w/ a suited pair, you get a bottle of wine… the table I was playing at had so many bottles of wine on it that you almost couldn’t get to your cards.

Tony Roma’s has great ribs.

The chocolate crepes at the Bellagio Patisserie are awesome.

LV Norm, thanks for stopping by w/ the little present. Sorry I missed ya!

Can’t wait until I can return… after my next knee replacement….

Any questions…. I’m always willing to spew some information!
Big E (Eva)

Posted by BigE on LVTalk