Vegas - Day 1

Richard and Jean took us to the airport at 9:30 in the morning. Our flight wasn't until 12:10 in the afternoon, but we didn't want to take any chances. We arrived at the airport, and went through the usual procedures. First, we checked our bag. We only packed one suitcase for the two of us, because they charge for each checked bag ($25 for the first, $35 for the second, etc). Second, we had our carry-on luggage scanned. Third, we went through the metal detector. Finally, we were each questioned by U.S. customs agents. That whole process took us about an hour, leaving us with ample time to spare before our flight. We passed the time by checking our flight itinerary, buying overpriced snacks from the shops ($2 for a chocolate bar!), and listening to music.

The boarding call for our flight to Chicago finally came at 11:45 and we found our seats on the plane. When we booked the tickets, we were unable to get seats that were next to each other, so we had to settle instead for being one behind the other. The flight went well and lasted 4 hours. I passed the time by reading a book that Jeff and Namgyal had bought for me while they were in India, which was Roger Moore's own account of the filming of the James Bond movie Live and Let Die. Upon our arrival in Chicago, we checked the electronic board for our connecting flight to Las Vegas and made our way to that gate.

We boarded our flight almost immediately. Once again, we were not seated together, but across the aisle from each other. The flight went by rather quickly, only being 2 hours long. To add to the usual excitement of airline travel, we experienced quite a bit of turbulence upon our descent into Las Vegas, and we were in the presence of celebrities! Aboard our plane for the entire flight from Chicago to Las Vegas were Stefi Graf and Andre Agassi! They were on their way home with their two children.

We arrived in Las Vegas at McCarran International Airport at 4:30 in the afternoon, local time. If we had any doubts about where we were, it certainly wasn't due to all the slot machines that we passed on the way to the baggage claim area! There was confusion in the air when we arrived because an announcement was made that some of the luggage had arrived quite some time before, so people were being asked to check for their bags not only on the carousel, but in a special holding area as well. Needless to say, everyone was in a state of absolute panic! I stayed by the carousel while Karen took courage in her hands and went to look for our luggage in the holding area. Eventually, our luggage arrived via the carousel which we promptly claimed. We noticed that our hotel, the MGM Grand Signature, had a check-in desk nearby so we went there and got our room keys made, as well as purchased tickets for a shuttle to the hotel.

We boarded the shuttle and made our way to our home for the next 6 days. As we approached our destination, we could see The Strip from the windows of the car. It was quite impressive to see these gigantic structures with literally nothing but desert around them. We arrived at our hotel and made our way up to our room on the 28th floor. We wasted no time and we immediately began to check out our new digs. Among the features of our suite were a kitchen, a king size bed, a couch, a balcony, and an immense bathroom with a glass enclosed shower, a deep soaker jacuzzi tub, and double sinks.

After we settled in, we went down to the pool area, where we swum around, layed about, and each drank a Corona. Dinner time came and we decided to eat at The Rainforest Café, one of Las Vegas' famous theme restaurants. Located in the adjacent MGM Grand hotel, this restaurant was complete with animatronic creatures, giant fish tanks, and waiters and waitresses dressed up in safari gear. Once in a while, the entire restaurant would get dark, and thunder and lightning could be heard coming from the speakers. Despite our best efforts, we were unable the finish our meals because the portions were immense. Luckily, we had a fridge in our room! We capped off day one of our trip with a bottle of champagne and a relaxing dip in our jacuzzi tub.