Looking forward to a bus ride and a buffet on day 14

 A bus ride and a buffet today?

They woke up on Easter Monday morning after a comfortable and quiet night.  Well, quiet except for the occasional hum of the nearby elevators…which Kodi loved, and was the reason she asked for the room’s particular location.  It was like she remembered it when she had stayed at The new Aladdin a few times, and had always stayed in an ‘elevator’ room. #Blond4ever had not been impressed by this back then….🤣  Until you get accustomed to the sound, you may wonder why you can hear ‘planes flying over’ every few minutes.

Looking outside, they figured it was going to be another warm and fabulous day, in Paradise.

Once again last night…they’d been unable to get any nighttime photos through the windows…because of the darn bright lights shining straight up . Kodi had even tried to sit on Tom’s shoulders, so she could get way up high and  try a radically different angle to shoot, but for some reason, he was unable to stand up, when she’d struggled onto his back..  🤭

They enjoyed the great shower and headed downstairs for breakfast…and yep, they once again were on the hunt for bagels!  Cafe Hollywood had a huge line up, so they kept walking and stood in a shorter queue at Starbucks…and got bagels ( once again, there was a jam shortage, apparently ) and hot drinks, although the vast array of beverages bewildered them.

 Kodi didn’t go to coffee shops much at home, and didn’t even have a Starbucks near her. A few years ago, while on holiday, she had purchased a couple of gift cards, but had no idea how much if any credit was still on them. She’d last used one of them at the Starbucks outside of Bally’s in 2017.  

Preparing herself for embarrassment, she handed them to the cashier hoping they weren’t empty, LOL and that she was able to get a bit off their bill of $24 approx.  Serendipity!  Between the two cards, there was nearly $25.00!  Now that they were emptied, she didn’t have to haul them around in her purse any longer.😂 

They had planned on using the seniors bus passes for the first time, ( a pretty big event, when you are as easily excited as Kodi, LOL) that day,  and going down to Luxor for a late brunch there. She wanted to confirm the hours again..she thought it ended at 3:00 p.m.  

When she checked the restaurant site on the internet…she discovered that the buffet was closed on Monday and Tuesday!  She’d actually had some trepidation about trying to use a MyVegas 2/1 coupon on Easter Monday, wondering if they might consider this a holiday, but that concern wasn’t an issue now. 😂

This wasn’t too much of a problem because Kodi was feeling extra tired that day, and her hip was bothering her, but was determined to do SOMETHING.  She thought about ROSS, but knew she didn’t have the energy to do her usual two hour rack-digging routine.  They finally decided they would make their way over to Bellagio, and take a look at the conservatory, and since she also had a 2/1 Gelato reward from MyVegas, and a $25 free play reward from Konami, she could use them while there. 

They made their way to the corner and crossed the bridge over to Bellagio, through the mall, which wasn’t busy, and walked into one of her favourite casinos. Saying that, doesn’t mean she has ever had any luck there, but it just made her feel so comfortable.  It wasn’t crowded, and she loved the openness of the aisles.  Her favourite drink in Vegas was a Strawberry Bellini..she had once asked a cocktail waitress to source that for her, rather than the usual peach flavour and a bartender had cooperated!  Thereafter, she had one or more every time she visited the city.  Oh, the brain freeze! 🤣  

When they sat for a minute, before going to the MLife desk , she saw a gal, and asked for one.  “Sorry, we don’t have those.”  So Kodi then asked for a regular Bellini.  “ I’m sorry. We aren’t serving those now. We don’t have any blenders.”  Same story they’d heard elsewhere…🤔 They didn’t bother getting anything else.

They then headed to the Conservatory, to immerse themselves in the usual beauty of the seasonal display,  that the hotel thankfully hadn’t cut back on.  It’s always a heart lifting experience.

Maintenance workers wear hip waders..

Kodi then sat and played her free play on Dollar Video Poker, one dollar at a time ( she never learns, it seems.)

It was gone after 30 pushes.🙄 Of course she had hoped for a ‘dealt’ premium hand. 

Time to get out of the casino and eat some 2/1 Gelato. Follow Kodi here for other money-saving tips! 🤗  They planned on sitting and relaxing while they enjoyed it, so a pit stop was in order.  They decided to walk back down past the buffet to the restroom  there. Fancy ones!

The handicapped stall Kodi used was big enough to host a party, but it wasn’t very bright, with it’s black shiny walls.  Luckily, she knew the routine by heart. 🤣😂 She hung her black shoulder bag on the side wall and her black scarf over that.  Finishing up, she joined Tom in the corridor.  They headed back down to the T where the shopping and pool walkway was. Cafe Gelato 🍧 was down there.  From what they recalled, the single scoop would be plenty, as the staff was pretty generous when serving.  Kodi decided she’d pay cash for the one that wasn’t free, and asked Tom if he had any coins she could put with the bunch she had accumulated.  He dug through his waist belt ( yes he may look like a dork, but he has two hands free, to grab Kodi if she needs him 😉), and came up with a few.

Kodi lifted her scarf to open her purse, and IT WASN’T THERE!  She gasped. “OH MY GOD Tom! I don’t have my bag!   My whole life is in that thing! My money, my drivers licence, my health card, a credit card, my phone..if that’s gone we can’t  get back to Canada!  Her knees weak, she started to limp back to the restroom, praying as she went.  

She told Tom to hurry ahead of her, and stand near the door to the ladies room, in case someone carried it out..and not  to worry about confronting them!  She arrived there a minute or two behind him, and he shook his head.   ALL of HER was shaking at this point and she could barely get her breath.  She rushed into the room, and headed towards the stall, on the end of the row ( where they always seem to situate them).The door wasn’t locked, and Kodi was chanting “Please, please, please” under her breath.

Her prayers were answered, and either no one had used the stall, or no one had seen the bag.  She unzipped it, and quickly checked things ( once it occurred to her that someone still could have found it and transferred her stuff to their own bag) before sighing with relief. 

She was still breathing hard, and her heart was pounding when she exited the restroom and gave a thumbs up to Tom.  She felt totally drained, and took his arm as they slowly made their way back does towards the pool corridor.  He got a table next to the window across from the shop and she went in to get the Gelato.  

The total cost to them was $7.04 and the cool treat went down so well. Kodi’s red face gradually dissipated.  

The Cafe also serves coffee and salads, and baked goods.  Everything looked good.  There was a gentleman, perhaps in his 90s, who was assisted to a table outside the cafe, and he enjoyed his croissant and coffee while reading his newspaper, and the young man from the shop checked on him and then brought him a second coffee, rather then make him struggle back in with his cane to get it.

So, Kodi had never lost anything like that in the past. She was overly careful usually.  She’d never misplaced her purse,  phone ,or her kids when they were little.😉  The panic she had felt was completely consuming. The embarrassment she still feels brings some of that panic back…so you nearly didn’t hear about this….😳

She had brain fog from her new condition from time to time, and just adjusted her day when it was bad, but this experience was terrifying and worrisome.  

Of course, the rest of the trip, she couldn’t go into a restroom without Tom asking her if she had her bag when she came out , if he was nearby. 🙄

They went in the other direction leaving Bellagio and crossed the bridge to Bally’s because Tom wanted to get another large pulpy orange juice for the other mornings they were at PH.

Walking through Bally’s, they discovered that none of the Keno machines were in the same place they always played, and though they did each put $20 in a Dragon Link machine, nothing came of it.  They walked over to Paris and Kodi just didn’t feel up to playing, wanting to gat ‘home’.  They ended up at the CVS next to Paris, got the OJ and headed back to their room.  Kodi stayed up there for a couple of hours, checking e-mails and Facebook, where she came across something interesting.

Later that day after they both had more ‘no luck, in the casino, they decided to have the delicious prime rib at Cafe Hollywood once again. They didn’t have the same waitress, so there was more eating than banter, and the table next to them was empty, so no floor show took place, but it was a satisfying meal for $19.99 each.

They played the rest of the evening , with Kodi spending her last cocktail tip dollar in a penny machine, and Tom having nothing but bad luck, and then retired for the night.  

Kodi did one last thing before she turned her light off…making a reservation for a table for two the following evening, after discussing her thoughts with Tom.