For the Fall tour circuit, which is three months, we get about 3-4 itineraries detailing where we are performing along the road. Its always an exciting, heart fluttering moment to open that mail package and see what new part of the country we will get to visit. Well, imagine how excited we were when we saw that Click, Clack, Moo was performing in Las Vegas. Now try to think really hard about how excited we were when we realized we had a day off in Vegas. I think the word elated might begin to cover it. There were a few Vegas first timers on this trip (myself included) so we started planning about a month before our arrival for the activities we would partake in.
We had about a 5 hour drive to Vegas, the cast waived their overtime for the day so we could get there without taking more than one hour meal/rest break along the way. We arrived about 9PM and checked into the Sahara Hotel and Casino. The Sahara is a famous hotel that opened in the 1950's...and it shows. The casino is as tacky as tacky can be, the carpet must be from the 80's and the cigarette stains on the walls are from the 50's. But we did not let the shady ambiance of our hotel dissuade us. As Kyle so optimistically put it "It's all a part of the experience".
After checking in we all took about 1.5 hours to make ready for our first jaunt along the strip. We donned our heals, tightened out ties and and applied that last bit of eyeliner (even some of the boys took part in this ritual). Now for those of you who are planning to go to Vegas but have never been here is a little tip. Try to stay somewhere that has a monorail connection. The monorail saved us on this trip. It stops up and down the strip in about 7 or 8 places. The Sahara is the last stop as it is a bit north of the bustling strip that everyone is familiar with. If it weren't for the monorail we would have had to take cabs everywhere.
After hopping on the monorail we decided to make our first stop The Bellagio since we were familiar with it from the Ocean's Eleven movies. the most recognizable feature of The Bellagio are its choreographed fountains that go off about every 15 minutes. We started off with a drink each (I had my signature Jack and Coke) and some slots. I instantly won $5 and then lost it. Ah well, its Vegas.
From there we moved on to Caesars Palace, The Flamingo (which was almost as trashy as our hotel) and then back to the Sahara. I've skimmed over the little bits in between but I will say this, there was drinking, there was gambling...don't give me that disapproving look...its Vegas!
At the end of the night and after accruing about 3 enormous blisters per foot caused by my new heels, we met at the Sahara bar for a few more drinks and then a goodnight. Kyle and Cameron retired first at about 4:00AM I followed soon after at 4:30AM and then Sarah and Jed did the same. However our ladies, Rachael and Brynn, stuck it out and saw that brilliant Vegas sun come up on the neon city. Those girls are troopers, we all said we wanted to stay out until 8AM and they actually did it!
The next day was our actual day off. Sarah was intent on touring the shopping areas within the various malls. We couldn't actually buy anything within them due to the fact that all the shops were high end and high price. No thanks. We roamed through The Venetian which has an actual canal that gondolas float by on with their gondoliers crooning to the passengers. We then sauntered over to the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace. Upon riding up the swirling escalators which were supported by giant carvings of Roman women (to which Jed exclaimed "Thats a big booby") we noticed a sign that said 'Moving Statues'. Our curiosity was peeked. We made our way over to the statues which were located amongst a large fountain and waited for the show to begin...Sarah was ripe with anticipation.
The lights dimmed, mist curled over the edges of the fountain, a thunder clap sounded throughout the arena (actually the middle of an indoor shopping plaza) and finally as we couldn't take anymore suspense...a busted old animatronic rose from the fountain and began to retell the story of how Atlantis was destroyed. Basic Plot line: The dude who ruled Atlantis had one son who wielded fire and who's rubber neck had holes in it and was falling off. He also had one daughter who bore a strange resemblance to a Xena with blond hair and wielded water. They both wanted to rule Atlantis and were whiny biatches about who the father would choose. The father in turn was an indecisive old guy with rubbery hands that wiggled when moved. Since nobody could decide who was going to rule, the Gods thought that drowning Atlantis would be the quickest solution.
The main event of the day however was our famous Vegas Buffet. There were talks of seeing a Cirque show but we decided better not because of budget concerns. There are so many specialty and famous buffets in Vegas how do you choose? Well we asked around and the general consensus was that the The Village Buffet in Paris was by far the best buffet in all of Vegas. So Sarah, Kyle, Rachael and I decided to hop on the monorail and embark to Paris. Now let me tell you... the general consensus was right on the money! The meal wasn't too pricey, the wine was cheap and the food was plentiful and delicious. We ate so much and yet for some reason I didn't feel heavy or overly full...I was completely content. A more perfect meal we could not find.
After dinner we wanted to catch the Sirens show at Treasure Island. It's a bit of a walk and my feet were still hurting from the massive blisters I accrued the night before. We arrived about 10 minutes early only to hear that due to high winds the show was cancelled. Boo. So we called it a night and all headed back to the hotel.
The next day we had our performance at the W. Ham Concert Hall on the University of Las Vegas at Nevada Campus. the crew was helpful and kind and the kids loved the show. All in all a great performance with no mishaps...which makes me very happy.
This was our last night in Vegas however most of us were too tired to really go out and party. But Sarah and I accepted a mission for ourselves. We wanted sushi...and we wanted a lot of it. We first embarked to the Imperial palace which is Asian themed and had a Japanese/Korean/Chinese restaurant. You would think this restaurant has a wide assortment of sushi, yes? WRONG! There were maybe four rolls available to choose from and they were all almost $20 a pop. Not worth it. We moved on.
Next we ventured to The Venetian to see what the restaurant Tao was all about. It was beautifully laid out, the food looked great and was expensive as all hell. No! This shall not do, we want sushi, a lot of it and relatively cheap. Where shall we find this enigma?
Light bulb!
A sushi buffet! Sarah whips out her smart phone and locates an all you can eat sushi buffet in the Miracle Mile shopping plaza located within the Planet Hollywood hotel. Awesome, perfect, stupendous! There was only one problem....we were in the Venetian and the buffet was in Planet Hollywood...which are on opposite sides of the strip. So we start to sprint weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians like insects trying to avoid being hit by a car on the highway. We made it, albeit breathless, to the buffet with an hour to chow down. It goes without saying that the sushi was delicious and we had a fabulous time after catching our breaths.
But wait! Didn't we say we were going to meet Kyle and Cameron for another shot at the Treasure Island show? Yes we did, and where is said Treasure Island hotel? Oh, that's right! On the other side of the strip. So off we ran, we had 30 minutes to get from Planet Hollywood to Treasure Island which is even further than The Venetian. I would like to point out that this was the second time we had to sprint to see this show. Did we make it you ask? Oh yes we made it! We met Kyle and Cameron just in time to see some women shaking their butts at the audience and some men on another Pirate ship making sexist comments. Fun times. After the show we had some drinks (among them a more than foot long margarita) and then headed back to the hotel.
Nov 12 TRAVEL TO Stockton, CA
Nov 13 DAY OFF Stockton, CA
Nov 14 DAY OFF Stockton, CA
Nov 15 10:00 Warren Atherton Auditorium Stockton, CA
Nov 16 9:30 / 11:30 Wells Fargo Center for the Arts Santa Rosa, CA
Nov 17 10:00 The Crest Theatre Sacramento, CA
Nov 18 10:00 Chabot College Performing Arts Center Hayward, CA
Nov 19 10:00 The Herbst Theatre San Francisco, CA
Nov 20 DAY OFF San Jose, CA
Nov 21 DAY OFF San Jose, CA
Nov 22 10:00 Flint Center for Performing Arts Cupertino, CA
Nov 23 10:00 Rogers Theatre Modesto, CA
Nov 24 TRAVEL TO Roseburg, OR
Nov 25 Travel to Seattle, WA HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Nov 26 DAY OFF Seattle, WA
Nov 27 FLY TO Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 28 REHEARSE IN Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 29 10:00 / 12:15 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Nov 30 10:00 / 12:15 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Dec 1 10:00 / 12:15 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Dec 2 10:00 / 12:15 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Dec 3 10:00 / 12:15 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Dec 4 2:00 Discovery Theatre Anchorage, AK
Dec 5 FLY TO Seattle, WA
Dec 6 TBD
Dec 7 TBD
Dec 8 TRAVEL TO Salem, OR
Dec 9 DAY OFF Salem, OR
Dec 10 10:00 / 7:00PM Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
Dec 11 TRAVEL TO Boise, ID
Dec 12 TRAVEL TO Provo, UT
Dec 13 TRAVEL TO Avon, CO
Dec 14 10:00 / 12:30 Vilar Center for the Arts Avon, CO
Dec 15 TRAVEL TO York, NE
Dec 16 TRAVEL TO Peru, IL
Dec 17 TRAVEL TO Streestboro, OH
Dec 18 TRAVEL TO New York, NY **Load Out to Follow**
