What happens on the way to Vegas....

I really don't think the popular cliche applies to the road to Vegas or anything I did there, for that matter. I got on my Southwest flight Sunday evening during the Super Bowl. That's right. I wasn't interested, nor was I excited about going to Vegas. Let's just get this over with were my thoughts. Luckily, or so I thought, the flight wasn't full & most rows only had 2 people in the 3 seats. How nice! This should be uneventful. And it probably seemed like it was to everyone else on the plane. However, keep in mind that: 1--I have a freakish sense of smell and 2--I don't eat red meat or anything else I consider gross. So this girl in her early 20s is sitting next to me in the aisle seat and I'm at the window with an empty seat between us. So we both put our bags there and buckle in for the short flight. I pull out my glasses and my huge hardback copy of the latest Harry Potter book and delve into the Pensieve with Harry and Dumbledore as they look at the past. Then it begins. First she pulls out an apparent snack bag. I wasn't watching, but I could tell by the crinkling sound of the wrapping. And about 2 seconds after I hear her rip something from the bag, the smell of jerky floods my area. I turn on the fan above me, but it doesn't do much to help. Trying to ignore the STANK, I read on as we are introduced to Marvolo, Voldemort's grandfather. Finally, the bag of jerky is completely gone. I must have at least another 20 minutes left, so this flight can still be salvaged....

Then she starts making another noise. This time it's a familiar crackling of aluminum foil. She's unwrapping a homemade something or other. I have no idea what it was, but it was just as stinky, and to make things worse, sticky? I think it was, because she kept smacking her lips. And I read on trying to ignore the nastiness.

We finally arrive, and I jet. Get my rental car and find the Luxor by the following the light you can see from outer space. Try to find the registration desk, which is on the other side of the entrance--the other end of the casino. Then try to find the elevator that would take me to my room. I finally did, but walked around 20 minutes in the morning as I tried to find the exit! Work went fairly well, even though I got lost on my way there and I had to stay an extra day (only because the client loved me!) I actually had more fun than I thought I would. Found an awesome Argentinian cafe across the street from my work site. Did a little shopping at Mandalay Bay (treats for my Belle) and Excalibur (tie for my man), and walked to New York, New York and over the bridge to MGM (which happened to have Jello shots for 2 bucks--which may be the reason everything was so enjoyable!) Gambled away $6. Didn't win like in the dream I had.

Finally back at the rental place on my way back home, I had to pay an extra $42.37 for the extra day, and for some reason my work credit card was not going through. So I had to gather all the money I had left, including my emergency $10 to pay for the rental myself. That left me with 2 dollars--just $11 plus tip shy of a chair massage. And then as I got in the security line, they sent me down the glass-enclosed TSA extra security check. They made me stand inside a contraption with nozzles all over it. It blew air all over me as it checked me for a poisons or explosives, or something. I asked for a picture of me in it for my blog, but they said it was illegal, so 'no'. Then they made me take my new shoes off and stand around barefoot while they examined them for bombs. I was finally cleared and released into my gate, and there it was -- the video poker I had been looking for. The game that was going to make me rich with the $2 I had left. I wonder if the airport has $2 Jello shots somewhere, at least I could have done something productive with my money. Oh, by the way, the "nickel" slots, don't actually take nickels.

Home, sweet home. Ahhh...