I'll let the guys make their own entries but here ya have it from the lips of the Leopardy One...
After a week of fitful sleep on my part, Unca the Tech Dude, my husband Terry and I arrived in Sin City on the afternoon of January 9th, 2005. I had been looking forward to our mid-winter break for three months. Yes, I longed for some sun in the midst of the dreary January rain and threats of ice here in the Pacific Northwest but mostly I was eager to meet two of the Big Losers on the MakeMeThinner Forum.
Affectionately known as ‘Guido’ and ‘Spidey,’ I have chatted with them on the phone and via the Forum but I longed to meet them in person. Mike has successfully lost a load and maintained his weight for just over a year and Gerald’s weight loss journey is well under weigh [pun intended]. We had been planning this rollicking rendezvous’ for a long time and had purchased our tickets before Thanksgiving; nothing was going to prevent it from happening on my end.
As our airport shuttle rounded the corner, our hotel loomed large. It had a facade of the Big Apple skyline - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island and a dozen sky scrapers. We disembarked from the shuttle and Terry and Unca gathered our luggage so that Leopard Woman would be unencumbered and able to make her sweeping entrance to our hotel, the New York, New York.
Poor guys, they nearly had to call for an ambulance as my humongous leopardy wardrobe on wheels threatened to activate their hernias...
We entered into the Times Square area of the lobby and standing near the clock tower was a handsome hunk of a man wearing a navy blue Take Shape For Life polo shirt.
I came to my senses and found myself engulfed in a Guido hug with my boots not touching the floor!
Although I have an exceptional imagination, I cannot fathom Mike as ever being overweight. He looks so good, he IS slim!
Moments after meeting the amazing ExplorThis, I was still reeling with giddiness and Gerald strode into the lobby. It was like the Clock Tower stopped its tickage, all the sights and sounds grew faint as we greeted one another. Leopard Woman felt like royalty to be flanked by such special men – Terry and Unca, Mike and Gerald! Ahh…because she can!
A few years ago I might have had TONS of dining fun and gained TONS of poundage because Las Vegas is known for having fine dining establishments, the hotels have multiple restaurants, lounges and buffets; the casinos offer free food and drinks but I was mindful of the foody damage that could occur in a relatively short time.
To avoid a feeding frenzy, we took RTDs, bars and oatmeal with us. Unca had his daily double shot of Dutch Chocolate Medifast Plus Joint Health shakes straight up outta the shaker jar.
It was a totally unique experience for us. I was on sensory overload the whole time we were there.
Now I know why Las Vegas is referred to as the 24-Hour town or the City That Never Sleeps!
Lights winking and flashing their neon colors, trying to entice an impulsive gamer to stop and play, the ka-ching of the machines is constant!
The Manhattan Express roller coaster was part of our hotel and it roared by every 15 minutes, its white-knuckled riders screaming and the wheels of the cars scraping along the metal tracks at 67 mph. Of course, we stayed in the tower replicating the Empire State Building - Leopard Woman slept very little because she kept peering out the window for King Kong...thanks to Medifast; she's so tiny now that KK could easily hold her in the palm of his hairy hand!
The night of our arrival, Spidey generously treated Terry and I to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic theater called "O." Making us feel like we were celebrities, Gerald squired us about the strip in his Lincoln Town Car, pointing out places of interest and then drove to the portico of the lavish Bellagio. Well-known for its singing fountains, the water and lights are choreographed to wonderful selections of music - we heard "Singin' in the Rain," apropos for a girl from the northwest! The lobby of the Bellagio was magnificent and I immediately recognized the huge hand-blown glass flowers as the work of glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.
We walked past gaming tables, meeting rooms, elegant shops, and small rooms for high rollers and eventually to the theater entrance where the liquid magic was to begin. We had spectacular seats and now I know how it got its name - filled with wonder, I kept saying,"Oh!" because the stunts are unbelievable. I don't know which I enjoyed the most - the performance of Cirque or the spectacular sight of our dear Spidey walking the very long distance to the theater - Because he can.
Imagine, just a few short months ago he was tethered to his room by a rolling chair and a cane. I still get tears in my eyes when I think of the length of his walk.
On Monday after I pried open my eyes, we all met for lunch at The Nine Fine Irishmen Pub. We had a grand time of it and chatted away like old friends. It was a blessing to share about how our lives and health have changed as a result of our weight losses. Again it is phenomenal that Gerald was able to walk such a distance the night before.
Speaking of walkage...that Mighty Mike has an unbelievable stride! After lunch, he led me across one of the sky bridges of the New York, New York hotel, to the drawbridge and moat of the Excalibur Casino to show me how real men play poker. Now mind you, I had never ever in my 56 years on planet Earth been to a casino or poker parlor. I thought I stepped out at a fairly good clip when I was on my way to do the Mall Crawl but keeping up with Mike was hard! I was out of breath as I ran to stay on his heels - he was a man on a mission.
It's been over a year now since Mike lost 114 pounds (and has kept it off!) and he walks with power and speed with NO huffage and puffage - Because he can!
I was hoping to be Mike's lucky charm as I stood behind him and watched him play poker. He is very good at covert activity! Once dealt his hand, he managed to sneak a peak at his cards without letting LW get a glimpse - it's a good thing since I don't have a poker face and most likely would have given away the fact that he had a pair of kings!
Las Vegas is a kaleidoscopic adventure for the senses.
The architecture is unique. There's a 30-story pyramid called the Luxor with a light beam that can be seen from 250 miles above the earth!
Then there's the Stratosphere, the tallest building west of the Mississipp' with its observation tower; the Mirage is a golden-colored Polynesian resort complete with a shark tank and a volcano that erupts every fifteen minutes and the grand canals of the luxurious Venetian Resort took us to Italy in our minds.
Unca enjoyed the various live bands playing in the hotels. He’s such a private guy but I’ll letcha in on a little secret – he is very musically talented himself – you name it, he can play it. He sings, too – I’ve heard him!
I saw an advertisement that said, "4 Days and three nights - there will be plenty of time to sleep when you get back home" it's because there is NO time to sleep when you're in Las Vegas!
We were there for four days and I think we averaged three or four hours of sleep a night/morning! Sheesh! It's a good thing I took 'White Out' and spackle with me to cover up the dark circles under my eyes...
Wednesday afternoon Unca treated us to Shark Reef – certainly, a display one wouldn’t expect in the desert. It is an exhibit with rare golden crocodiles, a water monitor, piranha and yikes! A wide variety of creepy live sharks!
Just before our flight home, we went to the IMAX Theater in the Luxor Hotel and Casino where LW napped alternately on the shoulders of Terry and Unca.
Hey! That was NOT snorage! Leopardesses emit soft purring noises when they are content.
P.S. Sorry, Girls Leopard Woman did NOT do any shoppage at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. I know, I know, I have let you all down. This is our first post-Medifast trip where I came home with no new clothing. My only souvenir is a paltry pilsner glass from the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe...if I am to do any world class shoppage in designer boutiques, my People, you need to slurp a lot more Medifast!
Hey Unca my husband is also a music dude if you have any music you want others to hear post it on norecordlabel.com my husbands name is Mick he also has music there. Isn't Terry and Nancy a good looking couple? Hope you all had a blast!
he'll paste the photos amongst my writings here. P.S. Looky! He did it just like that - what a man! At the snap of my talons, he's right there. Love ya UT.]
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