Las Vegas - Days Four & Five
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Remember my talk yesterday about my fear of water? Today I (kinda) saved two kids from drowning. Okay, that's way overly dramatic but check this out.
We were in our now usual spots in our chairs by the Lazy River and a mom with two little kids settled into the chairs next to us, also in front of the stairs into the water. The little girl looked to be about 5 and the little boy about 3, I'm guessing. The mom told them to wait for her on the stairs while she got something.
The little boy got a little too close to the current and went under. I'm ashamed to say I waited a beat because I was afraid I was over-reacting because of how I am but he bobbed under again and the current was starting to carry him away from the stairs area. I jumped out of my chair, heading for the stairs, calling, "Steve, get that little boy! Get that little boy!" Steve was deep in his book, no glasses and obviously disoriented to what I was saying. By then the little boy managed to grab hold to the side and his mom pulled him out. I know I would have gone in and gotten him but I also somehow don't trust myself, which is why I called to Steve for support. I'm not sure if the mom reacted on her own or because she heard me.
(Yes, there's a lifeguard stand a few feet from where we were. With no lifeguard at that time. They seemed to disappear for periods of time. At first I thought it was because they rotate stations fairly frequently but there were plenty of times there was no lifeguard for up to 20 minutes at a time, I'd guess, but I never checked my watch. I don't understand that at all. The water is only 3-1/2 feet deep but I'm sure a constant lifeguard presence is required by the law or the hotel's insurance company or something.)
The fact that this family was Asian is probably why I hadn't been able to take my eyes off that little boy. I just hope I don't translate him into Simon and have nightmares. I'm happy to report the family played in the water later and the boy seemed unafraid and perfectly happy.
Later that morning, Steve and I were floating around the river when a little girl in a tube got stuck under the waterfall and I pulled her out. There are two fairly powerful waterfalls pouring into the river from overhead in succession. But there is plenty of room on each side so one can avoid it if one wants to. The little girl in the tube seemed to be in such a spot under the waterfall that the water was not propelling her forward and she was clearly scared and sputtering. As I told Steve, even if she wasn't really "stuck", she felt like she was and was scared. Her dad was just a step ahead of her but I happened to be in the right place and the right time.
It's weird these two instances happened in the same morning. I felt for the parents who literally just turned their back for a second, but that's all it takes. I know I'm a Nervous Nellie around water so I always think I'm over protective. Better that than not.
Not as heroic as I tried to make it sound but still, I was glad to be able to help.
We had ice cream sundaes for lunch and hung out in the room for a few hours. Steve gambled for about an hour, moving from video poker to video blackjack. With the really low stakes machines, that man can make $20 last forever! I stitched and watched Law & Order. It was heaven. (Except the Law & Order part, which I can take or leave.) Nice & relaxing though.
Around 5:00 we headed downstairs to catch a cab to The Orleans, where Dennis Miller was playing. We ate our traditional vacation dinner at TGI Fridays, also celebrating completing 7 years of living together. Yay us.
Dennis Miller. I think he's hilarious and it's always fun to laugh out loud at comedians live, when you're with other laughing people. But it was a tad disappointing for me because he only played 1 hour, which could be standard for all I know. It was a nice, old, smallish theater and I very much enjoyed myself. He did a few classic bits and lots of current stuff. We've been quoting him to each other ever since. I just wish he'd played longer - I was expecting 90 minutes I guess.
We took a cab back to our hotel and watched Numbers, while I stitched some more.
Saturday, we got up around 6:00 AM in time to shower, finish packing and get a cab to the airport. Our plane left at 9:50 which we decided is early enough for leaving vacation. Heading out to vacation is quite a different story - our plane left Rochester at 6:15 AM, but we didn't mind getting a ridiculously early start. I got up at 2:45 that morning! But with the 3 hour time change we arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 AM so we still had most of the day, which was cool.
We flew into Cleveland to change planes. We left there about 1 hour later than scheduled, waiting for a substitute pilot to arrive from a Miami flight. I told Steve I wouldn't mind waiting longer if the pilot wanted to take a 30 minute power nap. I hoped he wouldn't be cranky but he was. Can't say I blame him, flying from sunny Miami to snow covered Cleveland and immediately turn around to fly into Rochester. But his mumbly first announcement was, "They volunteered me for this." Nice.
I got to experience my first plane de-icing - kinda cool. Otherwise the flight was uneventful and Simon picked us up, only having to wait a short while. He'd been checking the website for flight information. And he brought Reggi! I didn't ask him to and never thought he'd think of it on his own. She whined and cried when she saw us and spent equal time popping back and forth between me and Steve.
The thing is, I immediately felt a lump on her neck that has me worried out of my mind. I'll call the vet first thing in the morning. It's the size of a marble but it wasn't there before. Believe me, we pet this dog a lot - we would have noticed. I thought it was matted hair at first but it's not. It doesn't seem to hurt her. Please keep good thoughts for my girl.
Steve and I are both very glad we came back on Saturday, leaving Sunday as a Re-entry to Reality day. And of course there's paperwork and laundry to catch up on. Simon leaves for Myrtle Beach tonight so he's excited about that, needless to say. As am I. ;-)
Good thing I really like my life - because Vacation 2007 is over.
.
We were in our now usual spots in our chairs by the Lazy River and a mom with two little kids settled into the chairs next to us, also in front of the stairs into the water. The little girl looked to be about 5 and the little boy about 3, I'm guessing. The mom told them to wait for her on the stairs while she got something.
The little boy got a little too close to the current and went under. I'm ashamed to say I waited a beat because I was afraid I was over-reacting because of how I am but he bobbed under again and the current was starting to carry him away from the stairs area. I jumped out of my chair, heading for the stairs, calling, "Steve, get that little boy! Get that little boy!" Steve was deep in his book, no glasses and obviously disoriented to what I was saying. By then the little boy managed to grab hold to the side and his mom pulled him out. I know I would have gone in and gotten him but I also somehow don't trust myself, which is why I called to Steve for support. I'm not sure if the mom reacted on her own or because she heard me.
(Yes, there's a lifeguard stand a few feet from where we were. With no lifeguard at that time. They seemed to disappear for periods of time. At first I thought it was because they rotate stations fairly frequently but there were plenty of times there was no lifeguard for up to 20 minutes at a time, I'd guess, but I never checked my watch. I don't understand that at all. The water is only 3-1/2 feet deep but I'm sure a constant lifeguard presence is required by the law or the hotel's insurance company or something.)
The fact that this family was Asian is probably why I hadn't been able to take my eyes off that little boy. I just hope I don't translate him into Simon and have nightmares. I'm happy to report the family played in the water later and the boy seemed unafraid and perfectly happy.
Later that morning, Steve and I were floating around the river when a little girl in a tube got stuck under the waterfall and I pulled her out. There are two fairly powerful waterfalls pouring into the river from overhead in succession. But there is plenty of room on each side so one can avoid it if one wants to. The little girl in the tube seemed to be in such a spot under the waterfall that the water was not propelling her forward and she was clearly scared and sputtering. As I told Steve, even if she wasn't really "stuck", she felt like she was and was scared. Her dad was just a step ahead of her but I happened to be in the right place and the right time.
It's weird these two instances happened in the same morning. I felt for the parents who literally just turned their back for a second, but that's all it takes. I know I'm a Nervous Nellie around water so I always think I'm over protective. Better that than not.
Not as heroic as I tried to make it sound but still, I was glad to be able to help.
We had ice cream sundaes for lunch and hung out in the room for a few hours. Steve gambled for about an hour, moving from video poker to video blackjack. With the really low stakes machines, that man can make $20 last forever! I stitched and watched Law & Order. It was heaven. (Except the Law & Order part, which I can take or leave.) Nice & relaxing though.
Around 5:00 we headed downstairs to catch a cab to The Orleans, where Dennis Miller was playing. We ate our traditional vacation dinner at TGI Fridays, also celebrating completing 7 years of living together. Yay us.
Dennis Miller. I think he's hilarious and it's always fun to laugh out loud at comedians live, when you're with other laughing people. But it was a tad disappointing for me because he only played 1 hour, which could be standard for all I know. It was a nice, old, smallish theater and I very much enjoyed myself. He did a few classic bits and lots of current stuff. We've been quoting him to each other ever since. I just wish he'd played longer - I was expecting 90 minutes I guess.
We took a cab back to our hotel and watched Numbers, while I stitched some more.
Saturday, we got up around 6:00 AM in time to shower, finish packing and get a cab to the airport. Our plane left at 9:50 which we decided is early enough for leaving vacation. Heading out to vacation is quite a different story - our plane left Rochester at 6:15 AM, but we didn't mind getting a ridiculously early start. I got up at 2:45 that morning! But with the 3 hour time change we arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 AM so we still had most of the day, which was cool.
We flew into Cleveland to change planes. We left there about 1 hour later than scheduled, waiting for a substitute pilot to arrive from a Miami flight. I told Steve I wouldn't mind waiting longer if the pilot wanted to take a 30 minute power nap. I hoped he wouldn't be cranky but he was. Can't say I blame him, flying from sunny Miami to snow covered Cleveland and immediately turn around to fly into Rochester. But his mumbly first announcement was, "They volunteered me for this." Nice.
I got to experience my first plane de-icing - kinda cool. Otherwise the flight was uneventful and Simon picked us up, only having to wait a short while. He'd been checking the website for flight information. And he brought Reggi! I didn't ask him to and never thought he'd think of it on his own. She whined and cried when she saw us and spent equal time popping back and forth between me and Steve.
The thing is, I immediately felt a lump on her neck that has me worried out of my mind. I'll call the vet first thing in the morning. It's the size of a marble but it wasn't there before. Believe me, we pet this dog a lot - we would have noticed. I thought it was matted hair at first but it's not. It doesn't seem to hurt her. Please keep good thoughts for my girl.
Steve and I are both very glad we came back on Saturday, leaving Sunday as a Re-entry to Reality day. And of course there's paperwork and laundry to catch up on. Simon leaves for Myrtle Beach tonight so he's excited about that, needless to say. As am I. ;-)
Good thing I really like my life - because Vacation 2007 is over.
.
Labels: Vacation
posted by Stefani at 11:09 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, Stefani--
I finally got around to reading your entries about Las Vegas. Glad to see that you both had a good time. Reading your blog was almost like being there again! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the pools at Mandalay. Did you ever get to the spa there? Now I want to stay there next time I go.
Just found out that Bette Midler is taking over from Celine Dion when Celine's show ends this year, so I will be among the first to see Bette's show at Caesar's next year.
Great pictures too-- made me feel very nostalgic!
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