MGM properties have no more beds for us…

 

When Tom got up that morning, Kodi saw him looking under the bed. Then he stood up and opened the closet doors..and followed that by pulling the curtains back and checking the floor below them.  He turned to her as she sat up in bed, with a tear running down his cheek.  Kodi’s first emotion  wasn’t alarm, but rather envy. It had been over 4 years since her body could produce tears.

“What’s wrong? ” she asked him.  He hiccuped and said “ Hh..h..He forgot me this year. The Easter Bunny forgot me!”  

Kodi smacked her forehead with her palm. Of Course!  Each Easter morning, since Tom was a little boy, he found delicious chocolate eggs and often a new shirt 👕 or slippers that the Bunny left for him, often in unique places.   

Was the gig up now? Would she have to  tell him the truth and break his 75 year old heart? Or perhaps she could contact their house sitter, and have her put a chocolate rabbit under his pillow at home for when they returned.  Yes, that should work! 

“Don’t be sad, Tom.  The Canadian Bunny still isn’t allowed to cross the border. He has such a ticklish nose that no-one has been successful in performing a Covid test on him.  I thought you’d seen that on the INTERNET.”

 

Tom stopped sobbing, and shook his head…”I’ve been so busy I haven’t been on the internet.  I wonder what else I missed?”

That crisis averted, Kodi reminded Tom that he had to finish his juice this morning , and toss the container,  and since check out was at 11:00 they needed to shower,  eat, and get the luggage downstairs by then. 

During a ramble around the hotel the previous day, he had seen a sign for ride share out a different door, at the other end of the Lobby. They had asked the Lyft girl to drop them off at the main doors. Oops…. Well , it had worked out anyway. 

They had checked the Snacks breakfast menu, and like most places, nearly everything featured eggs, so because of his rather violent reaction if he ate one, that was off the table.  Well they would visit the good old Roasted Bean once more it seemed.  Wanting to switch it up, Kodi ordered a Cappuccino and blueberry muffin, and though it’s not his favourite, she got Tom a chocolate chip muffin with his usual drink .  ( Who doesn’t carry bran muffins with raisins???). Chocolate chips sort of look like little Easter eggs don’t they? 🤔

After eating, they freshened up and finished packing the cases, then waited until exactly 11:00 a.m. to exit the room for the last time. The stay had been a pleasure, and Kodi felt a little sad that this room and all the ones around it might be demolished in the not too distant future. The staff had all been friendly and helpful, and she hoped that they would land on their feet, once their jobs here were gone. If the renovation was going to be total, as rumoured, employees wouldn’t be needed for a while, even if they might have a chance of working for the new owners. Sad situation for them…

She wished she’d been able to take home a souvenir..other than the one ticket she kept that would remind her of the number of nights of her last stay ( and how much she’d won there each day, LOL)

As is usual, Tom waited near the stone wall in the lobby while Kodi stood in line…and once again, it was a long one, because it was officially check out time on a Sunday.

Suddenly, Kodi felt a tap on her shoulder.  My God, if it wasn’t the handsome Angel again.  ( She’s sure now, that she must be a doppelgänger of someone he knows and loves.). 

He said, “Are you checking out?  If so, I can take care of you over here.” He proceeded to lead her to the opposite side of the Lobby, where there was a small counter with a computer that was somehow related to online check in, it appears.  He signed on, and asked her room number. There was only a $28 charge left as she had gone over her resort credit with restaurant bills on the room by that much. It was charged to the credit card and she was finished in 2 minutes.  

Another MLife Easter Miracle.   Things she’ll never forget….  Tom saw it happen this time, so she knew it wasn’t a hallucination.  Was she the only poor old lady patiently standing in line waiting, not playing on a cell phone perhaps. She will always wonder….

It was time to head outside and arrange for an Uber, so they could see how Caesars Entertainment would compete with this last experience. 

 Planet Hollywood was calling.  It was close enough that she could hear it from where she was standing, but it was too far to walk with all the luggage.

They arranged for a Lyft, using “ Call ahead” feature, which meant a car would come in about 25 minutes. That would save them $3, and they had lots of time as they would probably get over there by noon. Wouldn’t you know it? A car arrived for them in 5 minutes! 🤣

The excellent driver and car cost them about $12 to their destination, and as was usual, Kodi gave the driver her thanks and a $5 cash tip.

The lobby here was a madhouse. The 50 people in the Disney type winding line were expected to use the self-serve kiosks stationed all along the front desk.  There were 3 harried employees visible, with their backs to the line, and computer screens in front of them, but they walked from kiosk to kiosk to assist guests trying to check in.  Some machines were not working, some people were just having problems inputting the information needed.  

Kodi need not have worried about being too early. It was 1:30  when she finally got to the head of the line.  Being severely technically challenged, she got an employee’s attention and asked her to check her in on the computer. The woman was very abrupt with her, looked up her reservation and said that they had some Ultra Hip, 2 Queen rooms cleaned and ready to go…and it would cost her an extra $30 for the early check in fee.  Kodi said “ It’s 1:30 now and your regular check in time is 3:00.  Could you not waive it or at least lower it?”  “NO!  Do you want a room or not.”    Kodi said no thanks to her,  and walked away. Everyone at the kiosks around her were mentioning the fee, and accepting it, getting keys and leaving the Lobby.

Kodi hoped Tom wouldn’t be mad at her, and he said that he agreed with her decision.  He thought the system was criminal. He’d could understand early check in fees if you got to a hotel at 8 a.m. or such, but this was ridiculous. “Let’s just put the luggage at the bell desk, and go upstairs to the casino.” And they did just that.

Not too much had changed in the hotel since they’d last been there. They had never had much luck in the casino, but since Kodi had a room offer they decided to try it. She was getting 2 nights comped, one night at $69 and another at $25.  The kicker was that each night would incur a $52.50 resort fee, including the comped nights. 😡

And they had thrown in a whopping $30 free play perk. 🙄

Still, when they were trying to put 21 days together that coordinated, the offer had fitted the nights they needed to fill. She had considered Bally’s, but from what she’d read on the forums, food choices were almost non existent at the moment.

Since it was mid-afternoon, they decided to head out into the Miracle Mile Mall attached to the hotel, and get a great meal at Ocean One Grill where they had eaten in the past and really enjoyed the meal.  They’d probably eat a lot there while they were at this hotel. 😁.  Once again, they somehow took the longest way around the mall, and Kodi was pooped by the time they got to the entrance.  There were only a couple of people standing in front, so that was a bonus! 

They both hoped that the chicken dish they’d had last time was still on the menu. For only $4.99 it had been delicious and filling….they weren’t sure if lunch prices were still in effect, but they figured they weren’t too late for that.

They walked up to the girl at the entrance and said “Table for two, please.”  She responded with.  “We are serving a limited menu right now. We have some issues in the Kitchen.”

 

“Oh…what do you have on it?”  She showed them a slip of paper with 4 items written on it.  3 were seafood based meals, and one was Quiche. None suitable, since ‘Pisces’ Tom doesn’t even consider eating any of his relatives. She told them that there would be 4 different choices for Dinner, but it seemed that they were nearly all seafood dishes as well, and when asked about the next day, said she had no idea when the kitchen would be back in full operation.

They decided to worry about eating later, and headed back into the casino. 

They played all kinds of machines while they killed time, and every one hated them. Tom really wanted to play 25 cent keno and Kodi joined him, and they ordered drinks. Just afterwards, a fellow sat 2 machines away, with the foulest smelling cigar they’d ever encountered.  Geez, hurry up with those drinks, lady!

 ( They had found that frozen and blended drinks were no longer on any casino floor when they asked.  One gal said that they took all the blenders out. Not sure if others found the same thing, or know details if it’s true) 

Cigar man kept the stub in his mouth and when he got excited, billows of clouds erupted.  Once they got the drinks, they ran for the hills.

Kodi went downstairs again and waited in line, getting to the front at 10 minutes to 3. The same woman remembered her and told her there would still be an early check in fee. Bitch!  She went to the end of the line and at 3:05 the male clerk who served her, smiled and gave her their keys.  She asked for a room next to the elevators if possible.  He happily complied. 

They went up to room 1642 in the South Tower, and it was  great. Getting off the elevator, you turned right and entered the second door. It would come in handy if Tom went up to the room early, and she had to go up on her own late at night. ( Well it COULD happen . It used to happen a lot! 🤣). She never liked long corridors by herself at night. 

 

They called for the luggage, and it was there within 10 minutes.  They were happy to give the bellman $5 of the $30 Planet Hollywood didn’t get. They were here for 4 nights so some unpacking took place, as Kodi figured out what ‘laundry’ she would have to do before they made their final move.

Now to figure out where to have their Easter Dinner!  They had planned to eat at less popular or relaxed  places where they would not need reservations this trip. ( Okay, okay.. just about every trip that they take!😂). They figured if they could get into Hollywood Cafe at 5 p.m. they would eat there tonight. And off they headed, just before that time.  There was a half hour wait, but from what Kodi could see at nearby venues, it wouldn’t be better anywhere else. Kodi stood on Tom’s foot, because he thought a little differently….sigh.

They were seated at the very back of the restaurant..in a table with a bench seat on one side…in a corner!  Kodi was a happy girl.  They got the sweetest server, who joshed back and forth with them earning her tip from the beginning.  They had seen a Prime Rib Special sign at the entrance,  so asked about that. When they said they both wanted it, she said she’d hurry and get the order in because it was popular and they often ran out of it by 6 p.m.

There was another small table next to theirs..the two tables

 were in a sort of alcove.  The couple was arguing..she was complaining that their order was taking too long, and she wanted to leave. He tried to calm her down, and tried to get her to keep her voice down, and was obviously uncomfortable.  

When Kodi and Tom got their included salad delivered 5 minutes after they ordered, she went ballistic. Ranted how they were there first, demanded a manager, said she was being treated like trash.  She told the waitress she wanted to speak to the manager.  She was told that the manager would be out shortly, as would their food.  

When Two roast beef dinners arrived from the kitchen, she jumped up and started to walk away, yelling, we were here before them, with her man pleading with her to sit back down. Then he gave up and followed her. Of course, the Kodis were trying not to choke, and pretending they didn’t hear a thing.  

The manager came to the empty table, and looked around, asking if they knew where the lady was. “She just left..”

Their server came back and apologized to them, for having to hear it all, and told them not to feel bad. She explained that the beef dinners are nearly ‘ready to go’, while the meals the angry couple ordered had to be prepared from scratch.  With no idea how long the couple had been there before they arrived, Kodi had no idea if they were being unreasonable about the wait time or not…but they certainly got Dinner and a Show for their Easter Meal.

By the way…the meal was fabulous  ( Best prime  rib of the trip) and they would be back for the same again,  before they moved on.

The gambling that night was just liked they hoped it WOULDN’T be. 😉  They went to the room early…. together.