February 9, 2009

Rain, Rain Go Away...

After work on Friday I made my way over the hump to Pahrump. It started raining at Tecopa and it’s rained off and on since then, I think it finally stopped drizzling mid-morning today. It sure put a wrench in our plans, we intended to hang by my mom’s this weekend so Nicky can drive his viper, ride his horse, chase chickens and play in dirt. But when it rains, my mom’s land turns into muddy quick sand; it’s no fun at all. Keeping him inside with all the animals in sight out the window would be pure torture – for everyone. So, they decided they’d come to Vegas on Saturday. We had the local Chinese buffet for dinner, and visited for a bit. Then Mike and I set off for our night of gambling.

We drove back to Vegas; we got to the Hard Rock around 11:30. It’s been Mike’s favorite property since his first trip nearly nine years ago. Now he’s 21, he was in heaven, it could have only been better if he had a bankroll to throw around Nick Pappageorgio style. The bars and clubs were hopping, the table games were pretty busy, but the slots were pretty dead. It worked in our favor because the cocktail waitress came by regularly. We played a few penny slots and I showed him how video keno works. He wanted to play the numbers from his fortune that he got from his fortune cookie earlier. We had a slow burn going with our money. We hung around for a couple hours then he wanted to hit the strip.

We parked at Harrah’s, he wasn’t feeling the vibe so we went to check out Carnaval Court the rain curtailed any fun there, they were packing it in for the night. We went on to IP. Good crowds in there, a little too crowded so we kept on heading south. Next stop was Flamingo, it was pretty busy in there, too. Nothing caught Mike’s eye, so we went to Bally’s. It was a ghost-town. We were able to get drinks playing slots real quick so that was nice. All players’ clubs seemed to be closed so he wanted to go somewhere he already had a card for so we decided Bellagio would be the next stop. We walked right past the penny slots near the shops entrance and wasted a lot of time looking for them. Bellagio’s clubs were pretty busy but the rest of the place was eerily calm. I’ve never seen it like that. I wanted to play VP I found a decent bank of games, we sat and got comfy. I showed Mike how to play, instructed him on what to keep and what to toss. He picked it up quickly. We played for an hour roughly and not a single cocktail waitress walked by. So, when my buy-in was gone, we booked it. We went to Bill’s. Crazy busy in there at 3:30. We made our way back to Harrah’s. Mike played a little to get another drink. Along the way we ran into all kinds’ characters, drunks that could barely stand, hookers looking for date, hookers being questioned by police, a drug bust, a few drug dealers, a couple pukers and these three girls that wanted to walk to Fremont. Around 4:15 we headed home. I haven’t been out that late in ages. It was interesting.

Saturday, the rest of family came by. We hung around the house; never got into the hot tub it was too chilly from the rain and wind. Nicky had a blast in my big master bathtub, though. He thought it was the best tubby ever. Amy, Nicky and I stayed home while everyone else when downtown. My mom was able to get three comped nights at the Plaza. They gambled and drank – good times were had. No wins to speak of, but Frank said the Plaza is back to the basics and he enjoyed playing there again. I'll have to check it out sometime soon.

Sunday we were able to swim in between storms. Frank took Mike and Amy off-roading. Around 6:15 he called asking for me to come pick them up. The Jimmy wouldn’t start. I dashed off in my mom’s Blazer. They were in a retention basin off Blue Diamond west of Hualapai. I’ve never been there before and it was dark. I had some trouble finding it, only the wall is seen from Blue Diamond, I never knew it opened up on the other side. Luckily, I was able to find them. We hooked a tow rope between the vehicles. I towed Frank across the basin. I did fine until we had to climb the side. At that point I kept slipping and the tires were spinning. We switched. Steering the Jimmy anytime is a pain, this was especially challenging, but I managed. We got the Jimmy all the way up to Blue Diamond. We left it on the side of the road. Frank bought a part that he thought would fix the issue and we went back after dinner. By then, my mom, Blaine, Amy and Nicky headed back to Pahrump. Mike stayed at our house to watch the Grammy’s; he’d later be staying the night at the Plaza.

The part wasn’t right. Plus, it was really cold it was rainy and started to snow. So, we decided it was best to call a tow truck rather than fuss with it anymore. An hour later, the tow truck followed us to our repair shop. Thankfully, it was only a seven mile tow so it wasn’t too costly. $71 said and done, had we not recovered the Jimmy ourselves it would’ve run around $400. Once that was taken care of we went back to the house. I packed Frank a bag; he decided he was going to stay at the Plaza with Mike. Shortly after, they headed out for a night of gambling and drinking. And I headed straight to bed. Six hours later, I was awakened by my alarm. Back to work. Weekends are too damn short.

I was surprised to see it was still raining. The mountains are covered in snow, at least, it was a pretty drive on my way into work. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. I’ve had enough of the rain and cloudy skies. It’d be nice if Nicky could run around outside before it’s time for him to head back to Chicago and be cooped up for another couple months.

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