leaving las vegas

Sunday - my last full day in the Vegas. Quick(ish) breakfast in the hotel restaurant (a rather soggy strawberry waffle - I keep expecting one to rival the Nice Matin waffle, but so far, none have come close) and then off to the Orleans shuttle that would bring me in air conditioned comfort to the Strip - free! Since I had taken the shuttle before, that made me something of an expert, and everyone who walked up asked me questions (namely "Is this where the shuttle stops?" No, I'm just standing under this green canopy for fun. "Where does it let you off?" Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, for those of you keeping score at home.). I'd set off in the hopes of finding the "World's Largest Gift Shop" because I had heard the call of tacky souvenirs. At some point the previous night or earlier that morning, I'd consulted my little guidebook and compared the address of the gift shop with the addresses of the big hotels at that end of the Strip, and for some reason, I had imagined it to be closer than it really was. I walked from Bill's (which is next to the Flamingo) all the way down to the Encore when I saw a street sign - I was at 3100 LV Blvd and the shop was all the way out at 2600. My feet were killing me already, and I decided eventually that no tacky souvenirs could possibly be worth such a trek. So I turned around, promptly found another gift shop simply teeming with tack, and so I was happy. I suppose I will have to wait until next time to find the big shop.

Well, it was a beautiful day so I wandered with no particular destination in mind. I stopped at the Fashion Show Mall to get out of the heat for a while and grab some water (and a pair of more comfy shoes!) but then I was back out in the sunshine. I walked past TI (I missed the Sirens of TI pirate show, another dream deferred until my next trip to Vegas) and back to the Mirage. I had so loved watching the lions and tigers I decided to give Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden another visit. It was just wonderful. Past the glorious Mirage pool, the wildlife area included a dolphin pool and habitats for two white lions, a herd of alpaca, white and gold tigers, and a 7 month old leopard cub. On Friday when I had gone there, most of the animals had been asleep. I have way too many pictures of slumbering big cats - eventually, the trainers woke up the tigers and so I got to see them close up.

This time, it was sleepy time again for the big cats, but happily, Java, the little leopard cub was awake and playing.

I spent a bunch of time there, and then a bunch more time inside the Mirage at the Love gift shop, where I could not help but obtain some Beatles themed parphenalia. From there was a rather accidental lunch at the Venetian. I had wandered into the shopping area there, and found a cute little "sidewalk" cafe. I went to what I thought was the entrance and ended up in a different (more expensive) restaurant. By the time I realized my mistake, I was too embarassed to tell the waiter I'd been a moron, so I stayed and had a plate of pasta, when I'd really been looking for something much lighter and less tomato-y. After that, I took another stroll back to Bill's to be collected back to the Orleans. I had packing to do, and a Diva to see, after all...

Monday morning - up at the crack of 6:00 for a shuttle pick up of 7:15 for a 10:00 flight. I always get edgy about traveling - I worry about getting up on time, I tend to think it will take me longer to pack than it actually does, I worry about missing the shuttle etc etc. This time I had nothing to fear - although the shuttle showed up at 7:00 rather than 7:15 (so good thing I was sitting outside waiting for it - I am early for everything, so I was prepared) and it took about 2 minutes to get to the airport. No joke. Even after checking my bag and passing through the sluggish security line, I was in the terminal by 7:30. Of course, being Vegas, there was a bank of slot machines in the terminal, in case waiting passengers felt like trying their luck one last time (I did not).