You bet we're gonna have fun in Vegas!

On a plane heading to Las Vegas! We're going to meet our friends Carl and Nicole who are driving down from Phoenix. Up at 5 am to make our flight, Elizabeth is currently napping next to me. I'm using the Blogsy app on my new iPad. So far so good. It was easy to set up and typing on the iPad has actually been pretty easy. It's a mini that Elizabeth got me for my birthday this week and I'm embarrassingly in love with it.


We're staying at the Planet Hollywood Resort. It's the old Aladdin hotel remodeled. I going to try the "slip the check in person a $20 to get an upgrade" trick but I'm notoriously bad at this sort of thing so we'll see. We've reserved a cabana by the pool for the day on Saturday. My thought was it would not only be cool but it would also keep us out of the casino for the day! More on that on Saturday. Since we're on such an early flight we're probably not going to be able to check in right away. Hopefully our luggage will make it and we'll be able to grab our bathing suits and head to the pool. It's supposed to be 111 there today. Yikes!

We did do a better job packing this trip. Just 1 large and 1 carry on suitcase. For our Italy trip this summer we're limiting everyone to a carry on a piece. Not sure how Elizabeth will be able to do that but we'll see.

More later!

The fanciest G&T I've ever had

Well it's 7am and I can't sleep. The suns up and shining through the window despite the curtains. Probably another way to get you in the casino. The pilot of our flight said "remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, including your money". And it's true in a way. But isn't that half the fun? And a reason to come back? To try again?

Fritters in a shoe, why?

We got in early yesterday and paid an extra $28 to check in early. Turns out that wasn't the best idea. We did get rooms next to each other but it was limited availability so it was in an older part of the hotel. We did get a nap in though.

Good friends, good times! At Jaleo

We spent the afternoon catching up with our friends and doing a little gambling and then headed out to dinner. Carl and I had a bet on who would lose the most weight before the trip and I won so dinner was on him. Thanks Carl! We went to the Cosmopolitan to their tapas restaurant and bar Jaleo. Really cool hotel and a cool bar and restaurant. They had specialty gin and tonics so I had to get one! Right? The bartender was a great guy. From Brazil. Gave us good advice on what to order and took our picture for us. Dinner was good. We got fritters that came in a shoe for some reason, some carne asada, some shrimp, some chicken. Had a blast. And just so you know, I didn't have to pay! Thanks Carl!

Back to food and drink. If you sit down at a bar and put in $20 in the video machine they'll comp your drinks. You don't have to actually play and lose that $20. You can cash out when you finish your drink. But honestly it's a lot of fun. Carl and I sat and played for a while at New York, New York one afternoon. The bartender was cool and told us to play Deuces Wild and taught us the best way to play. I won $17 bucks or so and we had a couple drinks. If you're playing slots or a low limit table game you'll get drinks comped too but verrrry slowly. It's not the best way to drink. It's better some times to just pay for your drinks at the bar and not gamble away more than you're drinking. Both ways are fun.

The food was better than I expected. In addition to Jaleo we also went to Spago at Caesar's Palace, which was great, and breakfast at Paris casino, which was incredible. Ate there twice. Get the corned beef hash if you go! We tried to get in Gordan Ramsey's BURGR restaurant but the line was always too long. Nicole had a rewards card for the Harrah's chain, which includes Planet Hollywood, so we got some discounts on some meals. Thanks Nicole!

The secret VIP entrance to Absinthe!

Had to take a picture of this!

It was great being there with folks who know what they are doing. There's a discount day of ticket service that we used for both shows we saw. If you aren't wanting a particular show it's a great way to go. And we actually got into the main one we wanted to see, Zumanity. It's a very adult Cirque show and was really amazing. I don't know how they get such athletic, talented and good looking people but wow! We got seats on the second row so I had topless women flying over my head and Elizabeth had spandexed male crotches in her face. The drinks all have sexy names. We did Jell-O shots. Can't tell you how long it's been since I had one of those! And then I had a Long Dong Silver. Come on, wouldn't you? There was a pre-show and Nicole got called up on stage for it and was promptly dry humped by the comedy act. She's a good sport though and we all enjoyed it. As she made her way back to her seat she flipped her hair and loudly said, "Nothing I haven't done already this weekend!" The audience went nuts. There's a lot of adult content so if you don't like that sort of thing don't go. If you do, you're in for a fun night!

The other show we saw was Absinthe! at Caesar's Palace. This is a smaller venue, a circus tent outside Caesar's. we once again used the discount ticket service and sprung for the VIP seats since it was just a few bucks more. We were third row this time. Once you purchase your tickets you have to go to the box office to get the actual seats and tickets. Nicole and I went to pick them up but got lost in Caesar's on the way. That place is huge! I usually have a good sense of direction but all the twists and turns and no daylight got me. We got good seats though. It's a circular stage in the tent. The show was similar to Zumanity in that the acts were sexy and acrobatic but this was earthier and less well choreographed, more circus like. Both shows were great. The MC or Ringmaster, I think they called him the Billionaire, was hilarious. And this was the show where I was called up on stage. They were setting up a high wire act so to entertain the crowd the MC had a lap dance contest. He picked me, "big white guy", to go up against "the only black guy in the audience" to dance for "dirty Republican wife". His names, not mine. I had to go first because as the MC said, "it'll be all over when black guy dances for her". I may or may not have had a few drinks. Since my moves are limited I went for the slowly peel off the shirt move and butt shake. Hilarity ensued. "Black guy" wasn't much better thankfully but she chose him as the winner. I like to think the audience liked me better. Can't trust those Republican wives. We all won a drink of Lucid Absinthe so I finally got that drink of absinthe I wanted a year ago in New Orleans! It was really licorice tasting. Reminded me of ouzo. Not bad but probably not everyone's taste.

My second place drink of Absinthe

Lap dancing like a fool

As I stated earlier, we had originally thought to rent a cabana by the adult pool. If you want to rent one,  do it in advance as we had some trouble getting the reservation. It's a great idea. You can do it with a bottle or without. You get mixers and a bartender and some other stuff. In the end we didn't do it. The pool just didn't look that great and we were having too much fun doing other stuff. Other hotels have the same type service so check if you go.

We wrapped up our weekend the next day and said our goodbyes. Elizabeth wasn't feeling too well at this point. I recommend Dramamine for hungover travelers. I mean dehydrated travelers! When we got to the airport our flight had been cancelled and they had booked us on a flight 3 hours later. Sigh. Then that flight had delays and then an engine problem so it was 2:45 am by the time we got home. But we did get a $50 travel voucher. Hmmm, what should I bet it on?

Can't wait to go back! What a great weekend!

Posted with Blogsy

Sarasota Stingray Shuffle

We're taking a lot of trips this summer. This was a great start to them. Followers know we just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. Elizabeth usually plans and books our trips so to surprise her for the anniversary I wanted to select a place and plan a trip for us. I first started looking along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts but everything was booked or too expensive. I then checked out the Panhandle and Alabama coasts. Everything seemed a little too family oriented. Then I thought about moving further south. Our good friends the Lawson's live near Tampa so I contacted them and asked for advice. Susan suggested several places near Tampa. I had in mind two requirements, a beach bar and room service. I got far more than that. The place I picked was Lido Beach Resort in Sarasota. It was perfect. So once again a huge thank you to Susan!

Our view!

We flew down on Delta, having sprung for Economy Comfort seats, and landed in Tampa. Being me, I had neglected to determine how we were going to get from the airport to the hotel until a few days before the trip. I called up the hotel and they told me it would be about a $100 cab ride from the airport. Each way! Ah El, you're such a good planner! We figured out we could rent a cheap car from Dollar for less than that so we left the airport in a crappy little Dodge minivan.

The drive from Tampa to Sarasota takes you over the Sunshine Skyway bridge, rated number 3 in the world by the Travel Channel! It really is a cool bridge with a great view from the top. Sarasota itself is really beautiful to drive through. The water is amazing. It reminded me of the Caribbean. We went through Armand Circle on the way, more on that later.

Originally I had booked an Ocean View room with 2 queens because that was available. When we got to the resort they had upgraded us to an Ocean Front King suite! Oh yeah! Sometimes I forget to book a car, sometimes I get awesome upgrades. It's all the joy of travel! The resort has two buildings, a shorter building and a tower. We were on the 6th floor of the tower with an awesome view. We checked in, checked out the room and hit the bar! The Tiki Bar was just what you'd expect a Tiki Bar to be. Right between the pools and the beach entrance it is a typical wrap around bar with additional table seating. Susan had told us about the Rum Runners so that's what I got. Elizabeth went with the Pina Colada. Both were good but I stuck with the Rum Runner all weekend. A couple of those and a shrimp cocktail and we were ready for the beach!

As I said before, the water was amazingly clear. We're used to the Atlantic and lots of waves and murky water. The Gulf was crystal clear and there weren't any real waves. The beach area is nice with lounge chairs for use and umbrellas for rent for $15. They do have warning signs posted telling you to beware the stingrays and shuffle your feet. Apparently if you shuffle your feet the stingrays will hear you coming and leave you alone. If not, you could get stung. While not deadly, unless you get hit in the heart like the Crocodile Hunter, it is very painful. I read that when they sting you they keep pumping the neurotoxin until the stinger is removed! Yikes!

Before the wedding crashers

The water was amazing

Keep on shufflen

That night we wanted some fried shrimp, because hey, we were at the beach! The concierge and TripAdvisor both recommended Dockside on Longboat Key. So we hopped in the trusty minivan and off we went. There is something vaguely satisfying about circling Armand Circle with it's fancy shops while in a beater minivan.

We nearly missed the place, it's tucked behind a service station and is in a small marina. The kind with dry storage for boats but only a couple slips for short term use. We wanted to sit outside and it was going to be a 45 minute wait so we ordered a couple drinks. Since it was going to be awhile I opened a tab. The bartender then told us about a place to wait down by the dock where there were a few tables. Travel/bar tip: bartenders would rather have you open a tab and only have to close out one ticket for you rather than a ticket for every drink. So help them out and open a tab, sometimes you'll get told about a nice place to enjoy your drink! It was a really nice view across Sarasota Bay looking towards the Ringling Museum. The meal was terrific. We started with a seafood chowder and then both got the fried shrimp. They were done right and we were sitting right by the dock.

Fried shrimp by the bay.

Sunsets were beautiful.

The next morning we ordered in room service, because hey, this was our anniversary trip! Then we headed down to the beach and got a couple chairs and an umbrella. Unfortunately there were several weddings going on and one of the wedding parties decided to camp out right in front of us. But we were still at the beach so who's complaining? We split a shrimp po boy for lunch and had a few more Rum Runners and suddenly it didn't matter that much.

That evening we decided to take advantage of Happy Hour. I had found a bar on the 8th floor of the tower while trying to get ice earlier in the day. We headed up there for the view and the 2 for 1 Happy Hour. It was great! Mostly locals by the looks of it there was a fun crowd. The bartenders were great. They had a half price appetizer menu as well so we ordered the lobster sliders. Wow! That was good. Just lobster, mayo, some lettuce, on a great little bun. We were supposed to have gone to a nice restaurant for dinner but after Happy Hour I really didn't need to be driving so we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. It was really good! I got snapper and Elizabeth had the filet. The seafood chowder we started with was also really good, I think. I'm not really sure since I was still under the effect of Happy Hour Rum Runners.

Lobster sliders and Rum Runners for Happy Hour!

Snapper

The next day I went down first thing and reserved an umbrella and four chairs up as close as I could get so our view wouldn't be blocked. We liked the po boy so much we had it again after hitting the beach. Susan and Frank showed up in the early afternoon and we had a quick drink before hitting the beach again. It's always great to see old friends and we enjoyed the afternoon. Saw a few stingrays, had a few drinks and then headed in to change for dinner.

Susan had suggested and made reservations at Shore restaurant in Armand Circle. The resort has a shuttle that drops you off and picks you up at the Tommy Bahama restaurant. Convenient and great if you plan to imbibe. Armand Circle is a pretty big place. There's a large park in the center of a roundabout with shops and restaurants along the outside circle and down streets at the four compass points. It took us a few minutes to find the restaurant but we did. It's located upstairs above a retail store by the same name and is open to the front. It has that modern, surfer, deck vibe with faux teak decking and stainless steel. We ordered some drinks and an appetizer. I don't remember what we all ordered because we were having too good a time talking and laughing. So no food porn pics from Shore. There was one memorable thing. After the sun went down the roof over our section was slowly retracted providing a great view of the sky. Very cool.

After the meal we headed back towards the pick up point and very nearly missed our ride! We had to hustle but we made the last shuttle of the evening. The rest of the night we spent enjoying each others company and a few more drinks. It was one of the funnest evenings we've ever had thanks to the Lawsons.

So Sarasota was great. No Stingray stings. Awesome Rum Runners. Good food. And great friends! Can't wait to go back! And don't forget to shuffle.

Good friends, good food, good wine!

P.S. If you're looking for some good fiction set in the area I suggest Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford series and Tim Dorsey's Serge books. Two radically different authors who both love the area.