Fights, lights and LOVE

Sunday, April 17, 2011

LAS VEGAS, NV – The game plan for today didn’t start out so well, but there were redeeming moments! Being Palm Sunday, I had researched and found an Episcopal church close to our location. We woke up quite early, so I had plenty of time to take care of the week’s laundry before it would be time to leave.

At the laundromat, an argument arose between two parties, because there weren’t enough machines to go around. It got quite heated, to the point of shouting and throwing of clothes, and I was trapped in the corner trying to mind my own business!

When the drying cycle was over, one of my loads was just as wet as when I’d put it in. So I went to report this to the office, and the lady gave me a refund. That was when I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it said 11 o’clock. My watch said 10 o’clock. The service started at 10:45.

We had changed the time on our watches because Nevada is in the Pacific Time zone, and we must have moved the hour the wrong way. I was not able to attend the Palm Sunday service I had been looking forward to. I was not a happy camper.

Even the second dry cycle failed to complete the job, which did not improve things. I ended up stringing the damp clothes on a line between our dining room chairs (no outside drying allowed) before we could head out to see the sights!

By this time it was getting up near the high 92-degree temperature of the day. We hopped on the bus with our 24-hour passes and headed up The Strip to the Mirage hotel, where the box office was holding our tickets for tonight’s show, LOVE The Beatles, presented by Cirque du Soleil. I had booked them early this morning and was delighted that we actually got in, even though the agent told me we’d have an aisle between our two seats. We could handle that.

Our eyes popped at the grand sights along The Strip. Huge hotels, majestic fountains, sculptures, flower beds, loud music, casino come-ons, massive billboards – it was sensory overload. We got to the Mirage and walked through a football-field sized casino full of people at slot machines and games tables to get to the box office for our tickets. The inside of the hotel had full-sized palm trees and lush flowerbeds, chandeliers and flashing lights.

We continued our walk and went in to the Palazzo to see about another show for tomorrow night. Where else could we catch so much entertainment in one place? These tickets are for Jersey Boys, a show I’d hoped to see when it was in Toronto but never got to before it left.

The Palazzo is part of the Venetian hotel, where they have replicated the Piazza san Marco tower from Venice, the Rialto Bridge, the Doges Palace and even a canal with gondolas paddled by striped-shirted gondoliers! Across the street was Treasure Island, with two full-sized pirate ships. And up the way we could see Celine Dion’s picture, 20 feet high, on the marquee for Caesars Palace (again, no apostrophe!).

We needed to rest before the show, which started at 9:30 pm. For the first time in years, we actually activated the trailer’s air conditioning and enjoyed the cool and quiet as we recharged.

Then we headed back to the Mirage for a taste of Las Vegas night life. The streets were full of crowds and blazing neon and marquee lights everywhere. We made it to the hotel in time to see the once-hourly volcano eruption out front – complete with lava spewing, loud rumblings, orange and red steam and hot flashes of fire!

The Cirque du Soleil show was fantastic. The aisle that separated us was merely an angle between seats to accommodate the round design of the theatre, so we were not far apart at all. We were blown away by the imagination, athleticisim, costumes, staging and special effects, not to mention the wonderful sound track of Beatles music. It was terrific!

Back home at around midnight, we tried to fire up the laptop and load our pictures. I really did intend to write the blog of the day, but the computer was dead. It has been increasingly hard to boot up, and we really thought this was the end. So, I am writing this on Monday morning, having resurrected the laptop once more. If the blog dries up in the coming days, you’ll know why.