Thursday, October 29, 2009

Most Awesome Vacation Ever - Part Two

So, we drove across the desert on Thursday (10/22) and it was wonderful. It's a five + hour drive, but we are always well-prepared. Lots of drinks, snacks, things to listen to and read, stops when we need to. It was Steinvic's aunt, uncle, cousin and us making the trek and it was a beautiful day.
We arrived, got cleaned up and spent some time window shopping, playing a little on the slot machines, drinking, drinking and drinking, and then took Steinvic's cousin to a late Mexican dinner. (I am looking like crazy online for the name of it because I really liked it, but I can't figure out where we were?!?!?)

On Friday, Steinvic and I had a short business meeting with a property manager because we're hosting a conference out there in the spring for our professional association. It went well and then we had some time to eat at Margaritaville (thanks to a gift certificate from Em and Ay) and meet his cousin for a few drinks before we got ready for the second U2 concert.

We shared a cab to the concert with a bunch of guys from Costa Rico. The cab ride was LONG...so much traffic, even before we got to the Sam Boyd Stadium. We were on the floor for this show, but that was fine with us...the view was great, there was room to dance and aside from the abundance of skunk weed (really, really strong, thick odor and I totally didn't see anyone toking so I have NO idea where it was coming from and neither did the police who made regular rounds trying to find the culprit) it was the perfect place from which to watch the show. We were up closer to the stage when we first got there, but the vibe was bad...people were pushy, very possessive of space and we just felt like it was too hostile. Believe me, moving back was a good idea!

The show was awesome. I mean, really incredible. I have some photos on my camera I'll try to post here shortly, but we had a great time and got some nice U2 swag. Bill Clinton and Chelsea were even at the show! Eventually we made our way out of the stadium to catch a cab back to the hotel.

Stop. The people at Sam Boyd apparently have never had a big event like this before because they did a sucky job of crowd control. We waited in line for a half our to get out to the cab area, and only got into that area by insisting, as a bunch of other people poured out , blurring the line and rushing the gate - essentially butting in front of about 300 of us who had been patiently waiting. Eventually, we saw that there were literally thousands of people waiting for a cab. I was like, we gotta go. We have to walk. We might not make it all the way back to the hotel, but we might catch a cab on it's way back to pick up more people. Because people were drunk and impatient and getting lippy. I felt like things could get crazy pretty quickly.

Keep in mind, it's late. It's dark. We are not familiar with Las Vegas, outside of The Strip. So we just start walking. As we walk, the crowd thins. Finally, it's just us. We're at least three miles away from the Stadium. And, knowing that Vegas cabs can't pick you up if you're not in a turn around (well, they can but they will get a hefty fine) we see what looks like a cab coming and linger around a parking lot entrance for a few minutes.

Bless the cabbie who stopped for us! Steinvic gave him a HUGE tip.

Steinvic was beat but I was famished and needed soup. We found some and by then, it was 1:00 a.m. A very long and exciting and tiring day.

There is more! But I'm trying not to make these posts too long or you might not come back! So, more soon...

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