Stockbridge Traveler Plays at Foxwoods

On May 12,th I packed my bags and headed south for about two hours to Foxwoods in Mashantucket CT. I was going there with my youngest sister for our middle sisters bacholorette party. The girls and I had rented a suite in the Two Trees Inn which is on the property, but not connected to any of the casinos. We found this option to be most affordable and able to sleep 6 of us.

By the time my sister and I got to Foxwoods, (it was a pretty easy drive) the other girls were already setting up and decorating the room as a surprise. The room was smaller than I thought it would have been for a suite, but it was clean and had a fridge and everything we needed. By the time our middle sister was brought up to the room, we had drinks waiting and pictures of naked men hanging everywhere. (It WAS a bacholorette party, remember?!) We had our drinks and moved downstairs to the Two Trees Grill for dinner.

The menu at the Grill is full with many options. I had the Hanger steak for $18.95. Apps and salads can run from $5.95-$13.95 and they offer many sandwiches and entrees for dinner. We were all very happy with our dinners. The staff is also very nice and accommodating. I choose to carry around a Bachlorette Party Mad Libs game that the server was happy to play with us! Having those Mad Libs made the night even funnier as we continued drinking and gambling!

After dinner, we took the shuttle (it runs about every 20 minutes all over the property so you can get dropped off wherever you want) to the Fox Theater for Whitney Cumming's comedy show. We had pre-ordered all of our tickets so we could sit together. We waited in line at Will call and then in a long line for a cocktail to take into the theater with us. After getting settled into our seats, it seemed the theater was pretty packed. The opening act was this guy (his name escapes me, I wish I had written it down!) and he was SO funny!! About 20 or 30 minutes later, Whitney came on. She was very good, if not overly raunchy, perfect for our party. What was ironic was she saw two kids in the front row and asked them how old they were. 12 and 14. HILARIOUS!! They said their parents had let them go to the show while they were in the casino. She called security, but they didn't show up for about 20 minutes! Who let's their kids go to an R rated comedy show?!!

After the show and a few slot machines later, we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for a night cap and some snacks. We had a blast there! The music was loud, I made friends with the hostess and every time she walked by our table we had a dance party together! And the food was yummy too. The drinks were pricey, but we all got at least one round with the souvenir glass, so at least we could take that home as a memory of a fabulous time. We played a few more slots, then got back on the shuttle to our room. We changed into our jammies, and stayed up telling stories and having lots of laughs. I read a few of the Mad Libs with words I had collected in secret for everyone all night. it was great!!  In the morning, we go up got dressed and packed up and went down to the Grill again for breakfast. They offer a buffet and also a regular menu for brunch. We ate, we laughed, we said our goodbyes, and each left into the direction of home.

I am thankful to have met such wonderful women at this party! I hope to keep in touch with them as things with my sister and her soon to be husband progress!!

Cheers, and stay tuned for the wedding in Northampton with reception and Chandler's restaurant to follow! Also in the month of June, I will be traveling to the Olde Forge, a Red Sox Game, Strawbery Fest in South Windsor CT, and the Itam in Pittsfield. I hope all is well!

Stockbridge Traveler heads to Las Vegas!!

My traveling companion and myself headed out to Las Vegas last month. Here is a play by play of what happened, whose happening, what's not happening, what was awesome, and what was not awesome. I hope you enjoy it, and I sincerely appreciate any comments you have!! Cheers!

Our much anticipated trip got started on April 17th. We headed to the nearest Amtrak Station to hop a train to Boston for the night. When we arrived at the station, a janitor informed us that the train we wanted would not be picking us up at this station because of some track maintenance. We were thankful for his advice, and we did not get notified from Amtrak about the station change. We grabbed a cab and headed across town to the temporary station. It happens to be right across the street from Teo's, a local hot dog place that is well known. We thought to go and have a few dogs while we waited for the train to come. We sat down at the bar and I got us a few scratch tickets. I won $20! I thought if this was a prelude to what Vegas will be like, then sign me up!! We paid our tab and headed back across the street, luggage and all. Once the train arrived, we got seated with a cocktail and off we were.

Arriving in South Station, we took the T to the airport where our hotel shuttle picked us up. We got to hotel, and went downstairs to the Mexican themed restaurant  and enjoyed a nice dinner and few drinks. We were getting excited about the big trip ahead of us! 

The next day we go to the airport early and sat down for a snack. By the time our plane was ready, we were in line ready to head to Philly as our connecting city. Because we were seated in the back the plane, we were called last to board the plane. Although we both had just "carry on" luggage, the airline insisted on stowing our luggage and sending it to Vegas a head of us. We weren't happy about this, but really, what can you do? The flight from Boston to Philly was quick and easy. Our lay over was long, so we had a cocktail and walked around a bit. We saw that we could take an earlier flight out to Vegas and approached a ticketing agent as ask if we could do so. He said although the earlier flight has plenty of room, he couldn't allow it because we had "checked" bags that were not traveling with us. I knew we should have been able to keep our carry on bags!! We waited and waited for our next flight, to be told that the flight attendants that were needed for our flight had not arrived from their previous flight. So the gate was full of people waiting to get on the plane and it didn't take off for about 45 minutes after the scheduled time. Finally, off we were, to sunny Las Vegas!! 

We landed in Vegas around 8:45 PM on their time. Our hotel said they have a free shuttle that will pick us up and drop us off at the airport. They do have a shuttle, it runs from 10 AM to 6 PM. Into an airport  shuttle bus we went for $7 per person. The shuttle did not leave for about 20 minutes after we were in it and we were just itching to get to the hotel and check things out. 

At last, we were at the Luxor. As we climbed the stairs to the main floor, we were tired but excited. It was a long day to to get here! Right at the top the the stairs, we were face to face with a small Asian woman who was very friendly and nice. She wanted to sell us a time share. There we were, on the outskirts of the casino, with all of our bags (both carry on and checked)  and this woman wants us to go to an 8AM breakfast tomorrow to show us a new hotel being build. "We will refund your money!" she kept saying.  I was not going to go to a breakfast for $50 outside of my hotel at 8 AM the next day. These timeshare sellers are all over the hotels, day and night. Once you see one, typically you turn and go the other way. What a hard and boring job that must be!

Anyway, we waited in line to check in for about 20 minutes. We got to a clerk named Alex who was happy to "upgrade" us to a room with a "view of the pool" . Great! Upgrades already!! He also gave us a coupon booklet and a handful of free drink coupons to use both at the Luxor and The Excalibur hotel that is connected Luxor. Cheerfully, we headed to the elevator that was about half a mile from the check in place. 

We get to our room, and it's ok. I am not sure what kind of upgrade they gave us, but it's clean. It's night time out, so we obviously can't see the pool. We unpacked our stuff, and head back down stairs to check things out. The thing about Vegas, is that is is so smoky. The bar, the casino, everywhere. It feels like you can't find a place for a breath of fresh air. We walked around for a bit, getting a feel for the place. Using a drink coupon here or there. I was tired and headed back up to the room, but my traveling partner stayed up to check out the other hotels.