15 The morning after isn’t ALWAYS bad.

The morning after was here!  Toos and Kodi were full of warm fuzzies, eating the last of their pineapple, and reminiscing about the previous day.  

Wowed by the things Kiddo had planned for them, Kodi sent photos and the rundown of their adventure to Tom and to Ingrid, Toos’ daughter.

The plan today, was to relax by the pool, gamble a little and then later head over to the Mirage, where Kodi would use the last of her MyVegas rewards, and hopefully see the Volcano erupt for the last time ( and her friend’s first time of course). When Hard Rock, who had purchased the Hotel officially took over, it would be just another Vegas memory for those that loved it.

The watched the news while getting ready to head outside, and then Kodi checked the guest services page for the room. Damn it!  Not only was the extra ‘early check in fee’ for their second night still there, it had been added on for the previous night as well!  She decided she’d have to talk to the front desk in person, and watch them make the correction.  

They were going to get some breakfast at the Nook, on the way to the pool, and since they had to pass by the front desk on the way, Kodi decided to send Toos on ahead to pick up the food, and get a table. 

There were ‘only’ about 30 people ahead of her when Kodi got in line.  

She was chatting with the lady behind her, who also was a current guest and had a service issue, but still had to run this gauntlet like she did,  to get something resolved .  A man in pj bottoms, a t-shirt and loafers pushed past them. Rather than walk around the big squarish roped line, like most people were, he had decided to ‘cut through’ the middle.  He passed Kodi and went to the knee high rope where the line curved and stepped over it. He was now outside the line on the right side.  He then walked forward towards the front desk, past everyone in line, and decided he’d step over the slightly higher rope there. He ended up catching his back foot on the rope and flew face first across the floor on the other side, his large coffee spilling everywhere.  A guest ran over to him, but he got up quickly, saying he was fine.  He then joined 3 people, presumably his family, (still holding his mostly empty coffee cup)  at a kiosk,  where they were checking out.  By the time Kodi got to the front of the line 15 minutes later, they had an employee standing there, telling everyone to be careful about avoiding the large puddle of coffee on the floor.   Entertainment everywhere….

Kodi was directed to a kiosk , but explained that she was a current guest needing to speak to someone.  That took a couple more minutes.  The lady brought her information up, after asking for ID, and  checked the code for the $30 entries, put in credits for them, and said she’d contact someone to make sure it didn’t happen again. While Kodi had a live body in front of her, she explained about using the email offer, but the issues she’d had.  The lady brought her reservation up on the screen, and said ”Nope, it was done online, there is no code attached to it, so it wasn’t using an offer.”  

***Heads up for anyone booking Caesars properties, be sure your offer CODE is attached to the reservation and confirmation .   

Kodi might not be able to book rooms at 1 a.m. next time, using a “book now” button.   Lesson learned…

She figured Toos would be finished her half of the Reuben sandwich they were going to share , by the time she walked down the mall, but surprisingly, she was just being served!  There were about 2 dozen people in line behind her.  There was only 1 table, with 1 chair available ( and the table was covered with food debris.)  Kodi sent her to the table, and finished getting the coffee fixings and lots of extra napkins.   When she went over, she handed Toos the coffees ( the sandwich was on her lap)and cleaned the mess up as best she could without water.  The food now on the table, ( on top of even more napkins) she hunted down a chair from a table that had an extra one.    The split sandwich was delicious, and the coffee hit the spot.  Kodi moaned a little about her frustration with the Flamingo.  She had booked there for ‘old times sake’ but she apologized for some of annoyance she’d exhibited while there. Toos understood, but said she still was glad they had stayed there. So…case closed.

It was later that day when they made their way down to the pool area, so it was busier  than the day before. Someone else had the nerve to take Kodi’s railing lounger before she got there.   There was nowhere else they could see for her to safely sit.  Kodi hadn’t actually gone to check out the seating that the guard had mentioned to her that was also in the shade, so they wandered in that direction to see what was up there. Yes, so a few stairs…and a couple of young men passed them as they were making their way up.  

Kodi spotted one chair by a small rail leading up to yet another few chairs. Hallelujah!  The young fellows walking ahead of them immediately went to the rail chair and the one next to it. Oh geez…

Kodi quickly spoke up. “Excuse me. I know it’s a really big ask, but would you mind if I took that end chair by the railing? It’s the only way I can get into and out of a lounger. “  

The young man had just dropped his butt down onto said lounge. He looked up and said “No, it’s okay” and got up again.   She expressed her gratitude as she lowered herself down using her cane and the rail.  The young men sat opposite them and were joined by an older gentleman a short while later.  The three left about a half hour later.  

This day was beautiful, and Kodi found herself daydreaming, and cloud watching, feeling totally relaxed. It would be her last time at the pool, and she felt blessed. 

She didn’t move off the chair for two hours, but Toos went for a couple of dips in the pool, saying it didn’t seem as cold that day.  Her back was bothering her a lot, and she figured it was a result of waiting for so long in the line at Nook.  The were going out later that day, so she’d up her medication, but said she was going to make sure she didn’t stand too long anywhere, since that aggravated her condition the most.  Kodi asked her if she’d been behind the waterfall at the pool, and was surprised when she replied that it was so dark, she was afraid there might be bats in there, and she was freaked out by them, or even the idea of it. Yep, Kodi learned something new every day.  

She didn’t try to explain all the reasons there would NOT be bats in there , because phobias can’t be changed by reasoning.  They are gut reactions, and your nervous system doesn’t listen to explanations.   She herself had a fear of heights and she’d seen Toos run across a roof while helping her husband shingle roofs years before. Kodi had, with lots of assurance from them and Tom, gone up a ladder and joined them all on the roof. Looking out at the beautiful skyline, she immediately felt dizzy,  but when she’d tried to go back down she got to the edge and was paralyzed, unable to turn around and put her foot on the rung of the ladder. She did however have the urge to jump off instead.  Go figure! That was two hours of grief and hysteria none of them ever wanted to deal with again, LOL.

As they began the walk towards the exit, they heard some shouting, so got another unusual show…there were 4 security guards surrounding a man and pointing to a couple of chairs with bags on them next to the pool. He was waving his arms and shouting back at them.  Toos recognized him from the previous day..as he’d been sitting in the same area then, ( and she’d passed by while going into the pool) when they were just behind him.  As they passed by one of the guards left , and the man moved away from the other ones . The female guard was pointing at him and shouting “Out!  Get your things and leave right now! Get moving!”  Kodi accidentally got a photo of the end of the incident as she took one last shot of the pool. 😜

They left the pool area and wandered through the garden.  Kodi wanted to go up the ramp and show Toos the other little, quieter pool, but her friend’s back was bothering her, so she didn’t want to do that.

They headed up to the room and had a protein bar, took midday medications, then changed and headed downstairs for a while.  The plan was to meet at the Linq exit, and work their way over to the Mirage at 2:00. 

Since it was the last full day in Vegas, they took their time, with Kodi pointing out a lot of places they hadn’t been, and explaining a bit of history, and how things had changed in that area since she’d first stayed at the Flamingo with her parents in the late 1970s.  

Kodi still marvelled at how much Caesars Palace had expanded and at the size of the Forum shopping area.  In fact, every direction she looked brought back memories of  when she saw things built from the ground up ( Bellagio, Venetian , Wynn, and the Mirage) or changed and expanded.  Knowing any trip might be her last one, she soaked in as much Vegas magic as she could, every time she was there.

They crossed the street in front of Harrah’s and walked past the dolphins on the Mirage walkway…soon to be part of Vegas history.

 Kodi helped Toos to get oriented inside the casino, pointing out the washrooms ( so very important at their age) and the little restaurant where they would meet at 4:45. They then went their separate ways to play slots for a couple of hours.  

Kodi sat down at a Willy Wonka machine, and the magic of the shiny penny quickly took effect.  Playing minimum bets, she got bonus after bonus.  

She turned $40 into a hundred and cashed out, then she turned $60 into $180, and took a long time to play that down to $100 and cashed out. She had a $50 bill left and had it up to $80, looking at her watch and seeing it was 4:15.  Darn it…she was having penny luck, but would have to stop playing shortly to meet Toos and eat.  That my friends is the beauty of traveling alone…you can skip a meal, or un-plan a plan, if you are on a streak.  She played, still getting bonuses regularly and still had $75 in the machine when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  

Toos said “ Are you winning big?  I waited for 15 minutes, then decided to come and look for you. “     Kodi looked at her in surprise.  “ We said 4:45, right?”  “Yes, and it’s 5:00 now.”  Kodi checked her watch.  It read 4:15.  After faithfully winding it every night since they had arrived, she must have either been too excited or too tired and had forgotten the night before.  She showed Toos her watch, and apologized profusely.

After a pit stop, they headed for Snacks restaurant.  Kodi recognized the same young man who had been at the order counter  when she’d visited on previous trips.  They each got a bacon cheeseburger, and shared a tater tot order.  They got refillable sodas from the machine..Toos cola,  and Kodi root beer.  It was all tasty, and very filling.

They played for another hour ( Willy had caught a cold and had left the game to rest elsewhere ) and Kodi realized that she had enough MLife reward points to get a piece of delicious carrot cake to take back to the room, for later that night…then they’d be all gone.  

They  headed outside at dusk, and Kodi saw that people were gathering across the street, waiting for the Volcano show to begin in 20 minutes or so.  She was looking forward to watching it one last time.  Toos, however, said she definitely couldn’t stand for that long…sigh.  They slowly walked back to the Flamingo. Toos went up to the room to pack for the morning, and then get off her feet.  Kodi decided she would play until her day’s money was gone, since it was her last chance to gamble for a while, and she was pretty sure the shiny penny charm still had some power in it.  The new system was actually an improved one,  since it felt better not having a hot sticky coin in her bra.

She played some 4 card, 6 number Keno.  This was $1 push, so she slow-played, and had a pina colada, and then two hot chocolates with Baileys and whipped cream. She certainly wouldn’t be eating any of the carrot cake that night.

She won small amounts fairly often, so played for a couple of hours until she was down to her last $80 dollars, and then hit this….

Thanks magic penny! 

She cashed out and headed up to the room, where Toos was just nodding off. The Take Home Envelope was whimpering in anticipation , ( because she has a mind/flap psychic connection with it) but she would keep the money in her purse that night, because she needed to organize and pack in the morning.