Our Trip to Las Vegas 2002

In 2002 I had won the trip to Las Vegas by selling more long distance than anyone else. Jennifer and I went to East Hills Mall to the travel agency to pick up our tickets. We were flying Southwest Airlines and picked out a motel with the least expense. I had won 500.00 and Jennifer helped with the expense for the rest. The 500.00 paid for the air fare and the motel. I notified Aegis Communications Group that the time best for the both of us would be Friday the 11th of September. I arranged to have that day, the weekend, and the following Monday off, the day after we got back from the trip.
We arrived late Friday night with the time change and checked into our motel room. It had two twin beds, a small bathroom and a phone. There was a huge window but nothing to see but other motel rooms and the parking lot which we took a shuttle bus to and from the main hotel and the motel room. We called the guys back home to let them know we had arrived and were unpacking. I turned the TV on and watched the news and weather. It was going to be hot, hot, and hot in the 100’s. I noticed there was a pool but hadn’t brought a bathing suit since the travel agency had said she didn’t think there would be a pool.
We did a lot of walking to and from the main hotel and played a few slot machines.
We went to bed early on Friday thinking we would get a good night’s sleep then start walking the strip on Saturday.
We walked and walked from one hotel to the other. We hit all the big hotels; MGM was way down the southern end of the strip. It cost 2.00 every time we took a bus but sometimes if it was the same bus we took down the strip the bus driver would take us back without charging us. It was starting to get expensive so we decided to walk most of the time. Jennifer started getting blisters on her feet so we exchanged shoes. My feet didn’t hurt but my legs and my back was aching I could hardly stand. One hotel we went into I won 15.00 and put that money back into the machine but Jennifer who was sitting right beside me won 90.00! We used that money to ride the bus and eat on.
We decided to eat at the Rain Forest Café. It was so beautiful with wild animated animals, trees and a waterfall. The ceiling was decorated with stars and the moon. The food was expensive so we ordered a specialty platter for one and decided to share. It was 50.00 for that one platter, plus desert and the specialty glasses for our drinks we got to keep, they were 5.00 apiece. We bought souvenirs from the MGM gift shop for everyone.
The highlight of the weekend was the Legends. An Elvis Presley imitator plus other celebrity imitators performed. We sat at a table and had our drinks on the balcony. After the show we met “Elvis” and had our pictures taken with him. He was from Lee’s Summit Missouri and said he couldn’t believe we were from St Joseph so close to his hometown.
We wanted to see the aquarium with huge sharks at Mandalay which was inexpensive. It was enormous. It was like being under the ocean with glass all around, large sea turtles as well as the sharks, tropical saltwater fish, it was magnificent! It made all the aches and pains and blisters all seem worthwhile.
We visited New York and took pictures of the Statue of Liberty, rode the train ride at Excalibur and Caesar’s Palace. We saw a man on a bicycle who was taking passengers down the strip in a cart he pulled behind him. We got in and had him take us a few blocks so we wouldn’t have to walk so far. It always felt so good to sit down! It would be freezing inside the hotels but when you stepped outside the heat would knock you back so that you had to find another hotel to cool off and play the slots again.
On Sunday we were packing for home. We took the shuttle back to the main building and waited for the shuttle to take us back to the airport. I had 20.00 left and was a little sad that I didn’t win big. We had such a good time just the two of us. When we arrived back home I took the 20.00 and went to the River Boat in St Joseph on Monday and doubled it! I ran straight to the bank to keep myself from putting it back into the machines!