Birthday with red cirque Slots and Chihuly Chandelier
April 1st is a big day here in Santa Barbara. For Nazy, it’s been a big day for years: it is her birthday. (It’s also April Fool’s Day, but that’s another story.) A good, well, a ‘great’ husband always has well-honed plans for his wife’s birthday:
“So,” I asked. “What would you like to do on your birthday?”
For some reason, indecipherable to me, married for 40 years, my spouse was not impressed with my question.
“In fact, Dan,” Nazy interrupts, “I’ve been unimpressed with your questions for 40 years.”
Amazingly, I had actually thought of an idea all by myself: a trip to Las Vegas. Melika, an expert on Las Vegas, endorsed the idea (“use Jetsetter.com to find a good hotel deal, Dad&rdquo
. She also got us tickets to “O”, a Cirque Du Soleil production.
“This is great!” I thought. “Nazy’s birthday, but I get a present too.”
I found a good deal at Caesar’s Palace, filled the car with gasoline and we were off! (Nazy did some clothing selecting, some planning, some preparations and something else. I carried things to the car.)
The drive was quick and smooth. Las Vegas displayed the quiet, understated sophistication for which it is famous. Check-in included a negotiation skill set.
“You’ve pre-paid for a King Suite, non-smoking, in the Palace Tower, but I can give you a room with two Queen beds next to a smoking suite.”
“Why would we do that?” I asked.
“It has a view of The Strip.”
“I’ve viewed the strip,” I replied, deliberately not capitalizing. “We’ll just take the room we booked.”
The clerk submitted to my persuasive powers, but didn’t tell us that the walk to the Palace Tower would cover several miles and countless trips through the casino(s).
“I feel like I’m walking to gate Z-98 in Terminal 18 at the Ouagadougou International Airport,” I thought.
We celebrated Nazy’s birthday dinner at Rao’s in Caesar’s. Over dinner we discussed plans for the following day.
“... and I’d like to see nature.”
“Nature?” I gulped - bashing my head on a nearby plastic strawberry.
“Something natural. Something not artificial.”
“We should have celebrated your birthday at Yosemite.” I replied, as the waiter refilled my glass with cascades of water.
Undaunted by the challenge, I booked a trip to Red Rock Canyon for the following day. My plans were received with wild enthusiasm.
“.. the bus leaves when?” Nazy bellowed as I described the journey.
The bus left early on a cold and mostly cloudy day. The had a loquacious guide who reminded us (several times) that he made his income via tips. We saw the local fauna and flora. It was pretty, but cold. The cloudy skies gave way to rain, then hail, then snow (which didn’t stick). We also saw a ranch, previously owned by Vera Krupp, that Howard Hughes acquired for his movie starlet wife. (It was located in the middle of nowhere and didn’t look at all like a millionaire’s residence.)
Back at the hotel, I found a way to stock up on Coke zero (The hotel had an exclusive contract with Pepsi - which they offered to sell for $4.00/can.) This was, of course, normal and expected. The charge for an ATM withdrawal, on the other hand, was an outrageous $6.99. (And, as I discovered back home, there was an additional $2.50 fee for using the machine. The hotels are learning from the airlines.) We needed to recover the loss and Nazy wanted..
“... to play the slot machines, Dan! Let’s allocate $10.00!”
“Wow! You’re a high roller.”
After wagering a staggering $8.25, we hit a win.. for $3.75. But the machine just beeped. There was no siren, no clatter of coins, no bells, no whistles.
“I thought you said we won.” Nazy whispered. Disappointed.
“Yep,”
“How do we get the money?”
“We push this button. The machine prints a ticket that has a barcode. Then you take it to the cashier. But we don’t have to stop now, we still have $1.75.”
“It’s no fun without the sirens.”
“It’s not going to be fun cashing in for $3.75,” I thought.
That evening we walked over to the Bellagio where we had dinner and saw the Cirque. The Bellagio has a $20,000,000 chandelier designed by Dale Chihuly. It has 2000 pieces of glass (which weigh 40,000 pounds). Pictures can’t convey the vast size, 70 feet by 30 feet. Nazy, shopping at the Chihuly Shop conveniently located nearby, was told that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has a Chihuly. We decided to see that rather then buy one of our own.
The drive home was smooth and trouble free. We skirted Los Angeles after the rush hour. Now we’re preparing for Melika’s Baby Shower- a small and cozy affair with about 150 guests. More on that next week.
See all the photos of the trip by clicking here:
“So,” I asked. “What would you like to do on your birthday?”
For some reason, indecipherable to me, married for 40 years, my spouse was not impressed with my question.
“In fact, Dan,” Nazy interrupts, “I’ve been unimpressed with your questions for 40 years.”
Amazingly, I had actually thought of an idea all by myself: a trip to Las Vegas. Melika, an expert on Las Vegas, endorsed the idea (“use Jetsetter.com to find a good hotel deal, Dad&rdquo
. She also got us tickets to “O”, a Cirque Du Soleil production.“This is great!” I thought. “Nazy’s birthday, but I get a present too.”
I found a good deal at Caesar’s Palace, filled the car with gasoline and we were off! (Nazy did some clothing selecting, some planning, some preparations and something else. I carried things to the car.)
The drive was quick and smooth. Las Vegas displayed the quiet, understated sophistication for which it is famous. Check-in included a negotiation skill set.
“You’ve pre-paid for a King Suite, non-smoking, in the Palace Tower, but I can give you a room with two Queen beds next to a smoking suite.”
“Why would we do that?” I asked.
“It has a view of The Strip.”
“I’ve viewed the strip,” I replied, deliberately not capitalizing. “We’ll just take the room we booked.”
The clerk submitted to my persuasive powers, but didn’t tell us that the walk to the Palace Tower would cover several miles and countless trips through the casino(s).
“I feel like I’m walking to gate Z-98 in Terminal 18 at the Ouagadougou International Airport,” I thought.
We celebrated Nazy’s birthday dinner at Rao’s in Caesar’s. Over dinner we discussed plans for the following day.
“... and I’d like to see nature.”
“Nature?” I gulped - bashing my head on a nearby plastic strawberry.
“Something natural. Something not artificial.”
“We should have celebrated your birthday at Yosemite.” I replied, as the waiter refilled my glass with cascades of water.
Undaunted by the challenge, I booked a trip to Red Rock Canyon for the following day. My plans were received with wild enthusiasm.
“.. the bus leaves when?” Nazy bellowed as I described the journey.
The bus left early on a cold and mostly cloudy day. The had a loquacious guide who reminded us (several times) that he made his income via tips. We saw the local fauna and flora. It was pretty, but cold. The cloudy skies gave way to rain, then hail, then snow (which didn’t stick). We also saw a ranch, previously owned by Vera Krupp, that Howard Hughes acquired for his movie starlet wife. (It was located in the middle of nowhere and didn’t look at all like a millionaire’s residence.)
Back at the hotel, I found a way to stock up on Coke zero (The hotel had an exclusive contract with Pepsi - which they offered to sell for $4.00/can.) This was, of course, normal and expected. The charge for an ATM withdrawal, on the other hand, was an outrageous $6.99. (And, as I discovered back home, there was an additional $2.50 fee for using the machine. The hotels are learning from the airlines.) We needed to recover the loss and Nazy wanted..
“... to play the slot machines, Dan! Let’s allocate $10.00!”
“Wow! You’re a high roller.”
After wagering a staggering $8.25, we hit a win.. for $3.75. But the machine just beeped. There was no siren, no clatter of coins, no bells, no whistles.
“I thought you said we won.” Nazy whispered. Disappointed.
“Yep,”
“How do we get the money?”
“We push this button. The machine prints a ticket that has a barcode. Then you take it to the cashier. But we don’t have to stop now, we still have $1.75.”
“It’s no fun without the sirens.”
“It’s not going to be fun cashing in for $3.75,” I thought.
That evening we walked over to the Bellagio where we had dinner and saw the Cirque. The Bellagio has a $20,000,000 chandelier designed by Dale Chihuly. It has 2000 pieces of glass (which weigh 40,000 pounds). Pictures can’t convey the vast size, 70 feet by 30 feet. Nazy, shopping at the Chihuly Shop conveniently located nearby, was told that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has a Chihuly. We decided to see that rather then buy one of our own.
The Chandelier
We had dinner at Jasmine in the Bellagio. The Jasmine, a Chinese Restaurant, features great views of the fountains for which the hotel is famous.
The Cirque show, also at the Bellagio was spectacular. For this one, the stage is a 25 foot deep pool which has various components that move up and down soundlessly. The show is absolutely wonderful and we had great seats.
Because I’m an engineer, I did research afterwards about how they constructed and operated the stage and how they managed the show. (Hint: there are about 15 scuba divers.) For what it is worth, I also ‘had to know’ how they got the helicopter on stage in Miss Saigon and how the Chandler in Phantom of the Opera worked.
The next morning, Nazy wanted to visit the “High Roller”, the newest Vegas attraction. It is the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world: 520 feet (160 meters). Nazy really, really likes Ferris Wheels.
The drive home was smooth and trouble free. We skirted Los Angeles after the rush hour. Now we’re preparing for Melika’s Baby Shower- a small and cozy affair with about 150 guests. More on that next week.
See all the photos of the trip by clicking here:
A sample
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