We all know the phrase “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” well I am about to break that rule.
It all began the week before Mother’s Day. My daughter Joy and I went to visit her son, Greg, and his wife, Sara at their lovely home in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas. They had been planning this weekend for quite some time and there were several surprises in store for me.
Enjoyable food was one of the pleasant surprises. On the first evening, we had Korean BBQ, an unusual meal that was new to me. After dinner, we went to play Bingo. I always enjoy that, and it had been a few years since I had an opportunity to do it. I rarely win and this time was no exception, but Sara won $300, and we all cheered for her.
The next surprise that was not so enjoyable for me was that the guest room and bathroom were upstairs. Stairs and I are not great friends anymore, but I was determined to attack those stairs with no help and absolutely no complaints. I managed to navigate the stairs only once each day throughout the weekend.
Joy, Greg, and Sara did a lot of whispering on Friday evening, but I didn’t pay much attention; it was all revealed on Saturday. I knew we were going to dinner and a show but was aware of no other concrete plans for the day.
Greg told me that he and Sara wanted to go to a golf driving range and Joy, and I could sit, have a drink and watch. It was ok by me; I hadn’t known he liked to golf. We stopped at a place called Top Golf. This is a high-tech driving range, with electronically tracked balls and automatically scored drives. We went up to the second floor in the elevator. There were people sitting all around at tables eating and drinking. Greg acted as if he were looking for a place for us when he grabbed my arm and said, “I think I know those people, do you?” That seemed strange to me as I thought how in the world would I know any of his friends? I had only a split second for that thought as suddenly, three guys who had their backs to us jumped from their seats and surrounded me. “Happy Mother’s Day Mom and Grandma.” My two sons and another grandson had come from California to surprise me. This was a totally unforeseen event, and I could have fallen over from the shock. Fortunately, they were all hugging me, so I managed to remain upright. We joined them at the table, a glass of wine appeared before me, and I learned they had reserved a spot for us all to hit golf balls. Until our cubicle was ready, we sat and caught up on family news and they had a few drinks. Since it was close to noon and my stomach is used to having lunch at about that time, I said I really needed to eat before having a second drink. Some French fries then appeared, and I readily gobbled them down. When our reservation was ready, we were taken to a bay with a table, where we ordered food and more drinks, of course.
My sons play golf from time to time but the rest of us in the group were not golfers. In the beginning, they all thought this old granny would just sit and watch but I surprised them by joining in the fun. We ate, drank, hit golf balls, and became a noisy crowd. Everyone was cheering me on and tried to convince me I was almost the best player there. Players nearby were watching and cheering us on too.
When our time was up, we returned to Greg’s house while the boys returned to their hotel with plans to meet later at Lawry’s restaurant for dinner. We had a 5 o’clock reservation and tickets for Cirque du Soleil at 7 0’clock. I was still full from all the food we had earlier, I am certain the others were also, still, we enjoyed a delicious meal. Joy and I shared a plate, but I also ate appetizers, bread, and dessert on top of it all.
Time to head for the show, which was close by. I had often heard about Cirque du Soleil but wasn’t excited about seeing it. I thought it was sort of like a circus with acrobatics and trapeze antics. Soon enough I learned how mistaken I was. First being told that there were six different Cirque shows currently being presented all over Vegas. Each was on a different subject, ours was “Beatle Mania.” To say the very least it was spectacular! Words can barely do it justice. Yes, there was a lot of trapeze activity, also dancing, singing, and several antics all around. The dancers, acrobats, and trapeze performers were extremely skilled at their art. The music was enjoyable, and I remembered all the Beatles’ songs. The lighting was vivid and the set designs outstanding. I even noted that the behind-the-scenes work was extremely skilled as the timing was handled to perfection. I was grateful I hadn’t turned down the opportunity to attend this marvelous show.
When it was over the guys wanted to spend some time gambling but agreed first to take Joy and me back to Greg’s as I was exhausted. I learned the next morning that no one had returned to gamble after all.
I had expected to sit and relax on Sunday as we were flying home on Monday. Once again, I was mistaken. Greg had made brunch reservations at Sadelle’s restaurant located in the Bellagio Hotel. This was without a doubt the tastiest meal of the entire trip. I had the best omelet I have ever had and with it came a dish of fruit, a bagel with cream cheese, and a delicious Danish, also an enjoyable mimosa. The service was exceptional. The waitress took each of our orders without writing anything down, and there were seven of us. She then walked around the table and repeated to each of us our order to ensure she had it correct. She did not make a single mistake and if one or another added or subtracted anything during the meal she handled it with ease.
All the magnificent meals I had over the weekend spoiled me when I returned to everyday food here at Plymouth Village.
The brunch was quite enjoyable as we were in no hurry, so we sat and chatted and caught up on all kinds of information. When we finished we took a walk through the Bellagio’s glorious Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. A lot of picture taking took place and we even were able to have a friendly passer-by take one of the seven of us together.
Next, we began walking through the Casino and Greg rented a power scooter for me to drive as my leg was bothering me by this time. This turned out to be another adventure for me as driving through crowds of people was a challenge. I kept stopping being certain I would run into and injure someone. My eldest son said, “If they don’t move out of your way go ahead and hit them.” That, of course, is not me, so the going was very slow. Subsequently, we stopped to do some gambling. Everyone had a different choice. I prefer the poker slot machines as I am not a big-time gambler. Everyone spread out to different games and from time to time someone would check on me. I am not sure if we had any big winners or losers but for myself, I stopped when I was $10 ahead. Other than the short gambling stint I had not spent a dime all weekend. I am certain, however, that this entire weekend cost my children a bundle. I hope they realize how much I enjoyed it, and how much I appreciate them doing this for me.