Sunday and the long drive home from Las Vegas as Susan

Today is Sunday October 29^th, 2023, and Diva Las Vegas is officially over for another year. It is always sad when it ends and it is hard to say goodbye to all my friends especially Cassandra and Peggy. I got up today at 6am to get ready as I am driving home as Susan. My goal was to be on the road by 7am. I got ready and then got all my things packed, well my makeup as everything else I packed last night. I went out and said mt goodbyes and loaded up my car for my drive and I was pretty close on my time schedule as I pulled out of Cassandra & Peggy’s driveway at 7:04am, and my GPS using Google maps said I would get home tonight at 10:37pm, a little over 15 hours. Now it was cold out today, when I left it was in the low 40’s and by the time I got to Beatty it as down in the 30’s. I did snap a quick picture in the car. I did have to stop 3 times for gas, and yes once to get lunch at McDonalds and a couple other rest breaks but they were short maybe 5 to 10 minutes at the most.

It was a nice drive sunny all the way and great scenery, yes I love road trips. Even though I have made the drive many times I still enjoy it. Now normally from Klamath falls I go through Alturas but my GPS always tells me to go another way that is 20 miles shorter so today I took it just to see. It was a very beautiful drive and it may be shorter milage wise but not sure it saves time. the road is narrower and not as well maintained and a lot more curvy so would be hard to pass slow moving cars which was not an issue as there was no traffic. The big difference is the speed limit, there is about 140 miles and it is 55 the whole way where going through Alturas it is 65. This way I can pretty much cruise at 70 where the other way in some of the areas where there were a lot of curves it was even hard to maintain 55 so I am guessing time wise they are close to the same or maybe a little faster through Alturas. Traveling at night I think through Alturas is better but it was a nice change.

Going through Willamette Pass the temperature actually got down to 27 and yes there was about 10 miles where I had some snow on the sides of the road. It was a nice drive. Now as I said when I left this morning my GPS said I would get home at 10:37 and after over 15 hours of driving I only missed it by 5 minutes as I pulled into my driveway at 10:44pm. It still amazes me how it can be that accurate. It was a great trip though and now I am looking forward to the week ahead and more Susan time.

Saturday of Diva Las Vegas and last day as I head home tomorrow

Today is the last day of my trip to Diva Las Vegas, yes I have another week of vacation but tomorrow I will drive home. it is sad that Diva Las Vegas is over for the year and yes this marks the halfway point for my nails as next Saturday I will get them shortened and a neutral color put on them. We have no plans for the day at least till dinner so I got up and put my dress from yesterday on and am waiting till later to do my makeup as we are just hanging around the house. Cassandra made breakfast for everyone and we sat and talked. I figure I will get cleaned up and do my makeup at 11:30am as Cassadra is taking Veronica back to her truck as she hast to go to work and will be gone for a little over an hour and Peggy hast to work a couple hours. It is amazing how fast this week has gone. I got all dressed and was just finishing up when Cassandra got back so it was perfect timing. I worked on my blog as Cassandra started getting ready. Peggy got home and changed and we were all ready by 4pm for dinner, we are going to Margaritaville at Flamingo.

We got downtown just before 5pm and traffic was bad with the construction for the Formula 1 race, it probably took us 30 minutes to go the 4 blocks from the freeway to the Flamingo. We got to Margaritaville about 5:20 and I was surprised for a Saturday night they were not busier; the bar was full but there were several tales open so we didn’t have to wait. It really was nice to have a nice dinner with Cassandra and Peggy as I really do miss them but they love living in Las Vegas. Our waitress came and we ordered, I got their cheeseburger. Margaritaville is really a fun place and great for people watching and having a relaxing time. our food came and we had a wonderful dinner. while we were eating Meeshell showed up as she is hosting the last dinner of Diva Las Vegas here tonight at 7pm. We invited her to join us but she wanted to sit at the bar and hold chairs as she waited to see how many showed up. by the time we were finishing up dinner Treena, Nadia and anther girl had shown up for dinner so they only had 4,

Meeshell said we were welcome to join them if we wanted to hang out with them so we said yes and she got the big round table near us and we moved over there so e could talk with them as they ate. They are all leaving Sunday morning, Meeshell is driving back to Idaho and Treena flying home to Canada, the other two girls are also flying out although not sure where they live. We had a wonderful time and yes we got pictures including a group picture for Diva Las Vegas web page but I forgot to ask the other girls if I could post it and I never post pictures without permission so I have no pictures for todays blog. It is a shame as we all looked so good especially Meeshell as she had on a short sparkly pink dress that looked awesome on her. We sat here and talked till a little after 9pm before the other girls headed over to Harrah’s to go dancing and Peggy, Cassandra and I headed back to the car.

It was just after 10pm when we got back to their house and relaxed the rest of the evening. Peggy gave me a little of a foundation she found that she likes to try and it is a full coverage one plus a little makeup remover she likes so I will be trying that at some point this coming week and letting her know what I think of it. by the way today was the only day it was really windy here this week and it was on the cold side, I don’t think it got much above 70 today and this coming week the highs will be in the low to mid 70’s and nighttime lows upper 40’s to low 50’s so I guess we had the right week for weather.

We stayed up till about 11:30 before getting ready for bed. Now my plan for Sunday is to be on the road by 7am and yes I am driving home as Susan so that means getting up by 6am to get ready. It was an awesome week of fun and reconnecting with some of the girls I have met over the years. A big thanks to Cassandra and Peggy for letting me stay a couple nights with them, they really are awesome and I am lucky I met them years ago. This was my 11^th Diva Las Vegas, hard to believe as it seems like Cassandra, Peggy and I were just going to our first Diva Las Vegas but that was 14 years ago in 2010.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.

Friday of Diva Ls Vegas and I say goodbye to the Flamingo but not Las Vegas

It is Friday of Diva Las Vegas and I say goodbye to the Flamingo. I only booked my room here Sunday through Thursday but plan to stay with Cassandra and Peggy for a couple days before going home. I got up early because I needed t get ready and checked out by 11am and I had to pack up all my stuff and it would take two trips down to my car, yes Susan does not travel light.

It was about 10:30 when I was all checked out and on my way to Cassandra and Pegg’s house. They live about 15 miles north of Las Vegas so it took about a 1/2 hour to get there, most of that was getting out of Flamingo and to the freeway. I got there and it was great to see Peggy again as I have not seen her sense last year when I stayed here. Cassandra, Veronica and another girl were all out by the pool talking so I joined them. the one girl leaves tonight so we will drop her off at the airport on our way to dinner and Veronica leaves tomorrow. Cassandra and Peggy have a beautiful house and are so nice about letting people stay with them. We just had a wonderful afternoon sitting and talking and enjoying the weather till it was time to leave. We left for the airport at 3:30 and on the way out Cassandra reminded us all not to forget our cell phones and I only bring this up as just as we got on the freeway Cassandra called Veronica, well actually it was Peggy calling on Casandra’s phone to let her know she forgot her phone at home so Cassandra was without a phone tonight. We dropped the other girl off at the airport and then drove down the Strip to the Flamingo.

We had about an hour so we went to Margaretta Ville for a drink and to talk till it was time to go to dinner. We sat at the bar and Cassandra knew a couple of the staff here. During COVID when things just opened up she came here a lot as she got free rooms all the time. She actually has pictures inside the casinos and of the strip with no people on them. We got our drinks and sat and talked and I was surprised as my coke was under $5 even with tax which was the cheapest this week, most places were at least $6.99 + tax. We sat here till 6pm before walking over to Off the Strip to meet the girls for drinks and dinner.

We sat at the bar and talked with a few Girls, Meeshell, Terra, Nadia till it was time to go upstairs for dinner. It is nice to just be out with all the people so they can see who we are and how we act. It was 7pm when we went upstairs to our table, we had 9 of us tonight including one girl named Marci who brought her wife with her. We ordered dinner and I got the Chicken Parmesan which I love. It was $36 and I know food is more expensive here but the portion size here is big similar to Giovani’s in Beaverton but way better so really not that bad, probably the best value meal I have gotten here this week. We had a wonderful dinner and I realized my week in Las Vegas is coming to an end. Tomorrow night Peggy, Cassandra and I are going to Margaritta Ville for dinner and it turns out that is the last dinner of the week for Diva Las Vegas, Meeshell has reservations for 9 girls. If we can we will join them but as we didn’t sign up for it we may be on our own.

After dinner Veronica, Cassandra and I walked over to the Flamingo to do a little gambling, Cassandra played Craps and Veronica and I played Blackjack. We played about an our at a $25 table yes on the weekend it is more expensive. I was happy as I walked away $125 ahead so I won which should put me ahead for the week on gambling but won’t know for sure till I count my money as this year I separated my gambling money from the money I used to pay for other things like when they only have one check per table at the dinner.

We got back to Cassandra’s house about 11pm and sat and talked for a little before going to bed. It was a fun day

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.

 

Thursday of Diva Las Vegas ad gong golfing and dinner at Virgils.

It is Thursday of Diva Las Vegas and today is the golf tournament which starts at 9am which means I need to be up by 6:30 am to get ready. Yes I am putting a full face of makeup on to go golfing. I got up and got ready and was on my way by 8am. Several girls were there already and I had just enough time to get a quick breakfast before we tee off. I don’t golf often maybe a couple times a year, at Diva Las Vegas as my female self and when I visit my brother as my male self so not really good but I enjoy it and besides it is not how well you play but how cute you look playing. It was perfect weather, no wind and just a little on the hot side. We didn’t warm up so it would take a few holes. Now we have 9 girls playing today and 5 of us are from Portland.

We played at the club at Sunrise and the course was in great condition and the staff was wonderful. This was the first course we played at, in 2010 but back then it was called desert Rose. I had some good shots and not so good but it was a lot of fun and I was consistent as I shot a 53 on both the front and the back for a 106. We finished about 1:45pm and then had a snack and drink as we talked one of the girls, I think her name was Melissa was actually here from Australia so I a guessing she traveled the farthest. It was a fun day. It was a little after 2:30 when we left and I did need to go back to my hotel and clean up and redo m makeup for dinner tonight, yes Susan is a little ore high maintenance.

I got all cleaned up and redid my makeup and put on a dress for dinner. I was all ready by 5:30pm and relaxed till it was time to go to Happy Hour at 6pm. I got to Virgil’s and we were doing dinner upstairs as this is considered the farewell dinner even though there are events through Saturday. Now we have eaten here before and they have great food but they also have a balcony here and we could go out one and get a great view and yes pictures. I got a few of just me and the other pictures were Katie, me, Claire and Brenda and we all looked so good and the view behind us was incredible. We mingled and talked till 7 before sitting down and ordering dinner. The table I was at had Brenda, Katie, Claire, Trish, DeeDee and me, I met DeeDee last year and got to know her. We had a wonderful dinner. After Dinner Jenifer, Bree and I walked up the promenade to a Gelato place and got dessert and sat and talked for a while and people watch as they walked by. It was a little after 10pm when we walked over to Harrah’s and met up with some of the girls at the lounge here.

There were about 12 of us here and we just sat and talked. I mostly talked with Micki, Teri Lynn, and Paulette and had a wonderful time. We are all very similar and talked about so many things and it was amazing how fast the night went by. Lotus stopped by with some of her friends and we talked briefly, she was livestreaming herself and sat next to me so I was on her livestream which is something I have never done before. It was after 1am when I finally called it a night as I have to check out by 11am tomorrow. I am going to stay the weekend with Cassandra and Peggy so I get a few ore days here in Las Vegas ad get to spend time with them which I am really looking forward to. It was after 2am by the time I got back to my hotel room, cleaned up and in bed, yes there have been some late nights here in Las Vegas but so worth it. That is why I took the next week off to relax before going back to work.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.

Wednesday of Diva Las Vegas and dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse.

It is Wednesday of Diva Las Vegas and tonight is dinner at Ruth Chris in Harah’s. I got up and posted m blog from Tuesday and then started getting ready. I was going to meet Claire, Trish and Brenda at noon and then go get lunch and walk around for a while ad check things out. I decided to wear my Salmon colored short summer dress today. I went downstairs just before noon and Brenda was there waiting and it was a few minutes later when Trish and Claire showed up. we talked for a few minutes and decided to walk down to the Venetian and get lunch. We all like this hotel casino as it really is probably the nicest here with the most restaurants with almost 40 of them.

We left and walked down the Las Vegas Strip with all the other people. We got to the Venetian and went in and walked into the shopping area to find a place to eat. We walked by a store called Man Cave and we just had to get a picture in front of it and a lady walking by was ice enough to take our picture. Now they have a lot of Italian themed restaurants here and what is nice is it is like you are walking down the street and a lot of the restaurants with seating outside like an outdoor café. We decided to eat at BRERA Osteria and we were able to get a table right out by the corner where we could people watch. I really wasn’t hungry especially if we are going to dinner at Ruth Chris but then again like all our dinners it is really about the people I am with and not so much about the food. Our waitress came over and I ordered just a Caesar salad and coke and I think we all had the same idea as Brenda got an appetizer and Trish and Claire split a small pizza. It really was nice to sit here and enjoy a nice conversation plus they did have entertainment a couple girls and a man singing Opera and the girls were beautiful and in very beautiful dresses that I would love to have and wear although I don’t know where I would wear it. We sat here till after 2:30 and had a wonderful time before leaving and walking back through the shop area. On the way out we did get a last picture and had one of the Security guards take our picture. We walked back down the strip to the LINQ and the other girls went up to their rooms to rest.

I had a couple hours so I went to the Horseshoe to play Blackjack, it is a Caesars property and I wanted to play a little at as many of their casinos as I could. I did well at first and then things changed so I only played about 30 minutes and won about $50. I walked back towards the Flamingo and stopped at the Cromwell and played as they had a $10 table but it was a cold tale and I lost $100 really quickly so I quit and went back to the Flamingo for my last try before going up to my room to get ready for dinner. The table I sat down at the dealer remembered me from last year, his name was Albert and he was awesome, he actually talked the players and really seemed like he wanted us to win. I played till about 5:15 before I had to go up and get ready and yes I won $75 so I was $25 up for the day. Monia texted me and wanted to meet at my room and walk together to dinner so I told her to be at my room by 5:50. Jennifer also replied and she said she would meet us at between the same place we have been meeting all week. I had jus finished freshening up when Monica arrived and we were on our way.

We met up with Jennifer and she had on a beautiful red dress with black polka dots. We walked over to Harah’s and met several of the girls in one of the bars for Happy hour. One of the girls we sat by was here for her first time going out and she was doing really well. Jennnifer and I talked with her as we waited for dinner. The rest of the girls showed up including Cassandra and Veronica, yes Veronica made it this this year after all. I would say our group has 15 girls here this year so we are a big % of Diva Las Vegas. Just before 7pm we headed for Ruth Chris and I did take some pictures of the new girl here tonight standing by a slot machine so she could send her wife a picture of how when looked for dinner, yes her wife is supportive. Now we had 24 girls tonight for Ruth Chris and I sat between Cassandra and Trish with Robin, Veronica, Claire and Jennifer on the other side of the table and further down was Brenda, Katie, April and Stacy so 10 of the girls tonight were associated with our group.

Micki talked to them and got them to do individual checks, which was nice as it made it easier as several of the girls had gift cards and I wanted to use my comp dollars from my players card. Now everything is ala carte and big sizes but expensive, yes this is the most upscale place we eat at here. Cassandra and Robin went together and split their meal as did Claire and Jennifer. Trish and I split a ribeye steak, 16oz size for $78, I ordered it and Trish gave me cash for her half and then we each ordered our side dishes, I got mashed potatoes and a coke to drink. We had a wonderful dinner and the food was incredible. Our bills came and mine was a little over $101 and I actually had enough on my players card to cover the cost so I just had to pay the tip. I really recommend getting a players card if you come to Las Vegas regularly even if you don’t gamble as some of it is based on how much you spend while you are here.

Cassandra, Veronica, Robin and I walked back over to the LINQ to meet up with another girl at the bar and talk. We only talked for about 30 minutes then Robin and Cassandra went to play Craps and Veronica, me and the other girl went to play blackjack. We played about an hour and Veronica and the other girl lost their money and I was down so we quit. When I cashed in my chips I had loss $35 so the final number for the day is I lost $10. We went back to the Bar and Robin and Cassandra were there as they had the same luck at the Crap table. We talked a little about Thursday as a few of us are golfing at 9am so it was tome to call it a night.

It was a great day and hard to believe Diva Las Vegas is 1/2 over. Thanks for reding my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.

Tuesday of Diva Las Vegas and the main dinner at Baham Breeze.

It is Tuesday of Diva Las Vegas and tonight is the main dinner at Baham Breeze which is probably my favorite event of I got up today at 9am which was early as I didn’t go to bed till after 3am, I wrote my blog from Monday and posted it and then it was time to get ready for the day. I texted the other girls to see what they were doing and Brenda replied so we agreed to meet and walk around. I got ready and was on my way. I met Brenda at the food court at Caesars and we had a quick lunch and then we were on our way.

Now I do love coming to Las Vegas as there is so much to do and see even if you don’t gamble. One of my favorite things is walking around and checking out the hotel casinos and yes getting pictures. We walked over to the Bellagio to view the fountains and get pictures but just like at the Mirage the sidewalk was closed and they had built huge grandstands for the Formula 1 race next month, it really is sad. Now I am sure the city is doing this as they no they will make more money this way but it really makes the strip look bad. They are going to do this for the next 10 years so I really hope they move Diva Las Vegas to a different time next year. If you are thinking of coming to Las Vegas to see it I would not come in October or November. It was nice though to walk around and talk with Brenda. We walked over to the Horseshoe (formally Bally’s) to check out the remodel of the hotel, they have the inside part done so really just the outside painting and renaming. We walked through the shops and wound up in the Paris, we didn’t realize they were connected and you could go from one to the other without going outside. It was time to head back to the Flamingo as I was meeting Jennifer to drive her to her makeover for tonight’s dinner, yes she booked a makeover and wig styling at a salon here in Las Vegas.

I met Jennnifer at 3:20 and we were off, where she is going is only a couple miles but with all the traffic impacts from getting the roads ready for the formula 1 race it would take about 25 minutes to get there. We talked on the way and Jennifer had done the top golf today and it turns out 2 of the girls didn’t show up which happens but in this case the cost was based on the number of girls and with 2 less the cost went up for the others plus those who did sign up but were on a waiting list didn’t get to go even though in the end there was room for them. I really think events that have a fixed expense really should be pay up front. Golf is always prepay except for 2 years ago and the same thing happened and now it is back to prepay. Diva Las Vegas is all volunteer and the ladies who do arrange these events put a lot of time in coordinating these events just because they want too and make the event wonderful and it seems to often they end up getting stuck with extra cost. I dropped Jennnifer off just before 4 and then headed back to the Flamingo to clean up, freshen up my makeup and change to m red dress for the night. Monica was meeting me at my room at 5:20 and then we would go down and Meet Brenda as they were riding with me to the Bahama Breeze for dinner. Now yes I am wearing my 3″ heels tonight but I carried them to the car and wore my sandals as it is a long walk. I would put them on at Baham Breeze for dinner and then back to my sandals after.

We all met up and were on our way at 5:30 and again Bahama breeze is only 1.5 miles away but because of the Formula 1 road work it my GPS took me 3 miles around and it took 25 minutes to get there. We got to Baham Breeze right at 6 and went in for Happy hour. There were only a few girls here and this year they didn’t do the new member meet up we checked in and then found a table for 6. Brenda, Monica, and I sat down and talked as we waited for others to show up. Kendra a girl we met last night joined us and Cassandra and Robn showed up also and joined us sour table was full. Other girls showed up including all the girls from our group and if you count the ones who belong to our group but don’t live in the Portland area we had 14 girls here tonight so we were well represented. I did move around a little and talk to some of the girls I have know for years from coming here and even met a few new girls, this is why I like this event as we get the biggest turnout for this dinner although tonight it was a lot smaller then years past.

I did see Lotus who I met 2 years ago and she also had on a beautiful red dress so yes we had to get a picture together. It was great to see her again and talk with her. I didn’t get a lot of pictures tonight at least that I took. Service was slow as they were short staffed and only had 1 waiters for the room we finally ordered and I got the steak which is always good, they really do have wonderful food here and fair prices. The dinner was great and it was nice to talk with others and see everyone. The event was a letdown this year tough for a couple reasons. Normally the head of Diva Las Vegas gives talk and welcomes everyone and introduces the ladies who volunteer their time to plan events and thank them and that didn’t happen. I only know a couple, Jennnifer from our group, Treena, Micki, and Meeshell and I would like to recognize them and thank them. The other thing is we always get the big group picture here and tonight that didn’t happen so there will be no group picture this year. After dinner it took a while to get the bills and we actually had to go up and get them because of the short staffing. I know some of the girls were unhappy with the service which was understandable but it was not the staff as they did the best they could. I made sure and thanked them and told them they did an awesome job and yes even though the service was not what we were use to I gave them a nice tip and on the way out and thanked the people at the front desk also and told them how wonderful the bight was.

We got back to the Flamingo and I went and met Jennifer and Bree and we talked for a while before we met up with Kattie, Trish, Claire, Treena and a few other girls. We went to a bar called the bird bar in the Flamingo and sat and talked till 12:30 am and the bar tender remembered us from last year and offered to take a group picture of us. It was a wonderful day and now looking forward to the rest of the week.

Thans for reading.

Monday of Diva Las Vegas checking out the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Freemont Street.

It is Monday of Diva Las Vegas and I was looking forward to my first full day in Las Vegas. I got up and wrote my blog from yesterday and posted it and then texted the other girls to see what their plans were for the afternoon as I wanted to walk part of the strip and get some pictures. Brenda, Trish, Jennifer, & Claire said they were interested so we agreed to meet between the LINQ and Flamingo at noon so it was time to start getting ready.

I got downstairs to meet the girls right at noon and Trish was already there. We only had to wait a couple minutes and the other girls showed up so we quickly made plans. Now all the Hotel casinos on the strip are beautiful and worth checking out but my favorites in order for getting pictures are the Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn, & Mirage as they are all beautiful outside and great for pictures. We decide to walk up over to Ceasars and get lunch and then walk up to the Venetian. We walked over to Ceasars and found a restaurant to get lunch and even though I wasn’t really hungry I ordered a pancake and sausage patty. I did get pictures one Jennifer and my nails. We had a nice lunch and then left to walk up to the venetian and had to walk right by the Mirage so I had hoped to get some pictures by the volcano at the Mirage which is awesome and the new owners of this hotel casino is going to remove the volcano ad build a new hotel tower to increase the number of rooms but they have bleachers set up in front of it for the formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in a couple weeks so we continued on to the Venetian. By the way these resorts are huge so even though they are next to each other it is still a long walk.

We got to the Venetian and it is so beautiful outside, it is designed to look like St Peters Square and has canals around it that you can take gondola rides on like in Venice Italy. We did take lots of pictures outside and even a few in the sun that turned out nice, normally I avoid pictures in the sun as my face doesn’t look as soft, yes I have learned what lighting I look the best in. We were taking pictures and a lady asked if we wanted her to take a picture of all of us which was so nice and we thanked her and it became a theme as we asked a few other people as we walked around to take our group pictures. Yes this blog will have a lot of pictures in it.

Now this is a huge hotel casino, probably the biggest in Las Vegas as between the two hotels here they have 7,100 rooms and a huge convention center here. We walked inside and it is beautiful inside. A few of us took pictures inside the casino and then walked towards the shops here. Now a lot of casinos have shopping areas and inside them and they are all designed the same way, they look like you are walking down a street and the shops look like buildings along the street and the ceiling is painted to look like the sky so you really get the feel you are outside walking through a town but you are inside a huge building. It was also really crowded with thousands of people walking around and most had convention credentials around their necks. We got lots of pictures inside and yes they also have canals with gondola rides that goes through the shops with little bridges that go over the canals and what is even more interesting is this is the second floor of this hotel casino. We all took lots of pictures and Jennifer took a few of me including my favorite as I was walking up the stairs. It was a relaxing afternoon just 5 ladies out walking around. We headed back to our hotels a little after 2 as we wanted to freshen up and change dresses for dinner tonight and going downtown to the Freemont experience.

We were going to meet at 4 pm so we had about an hour so I did stop at a blackjack table for my first time gambling this trip. I sat down at a table with 4 men to play, it was a $15 table which was nice as I do like the cheaper tables and yes now days $15 is cheap. I only played about 30 minutes and yes I won, only $75 but it was a win. It was about 3:15 when I headed up to my room as Monica is going to meet me at my room and we will walk down together at 4pm. I did a quick touch up on my makeup and changed to my purple dress which matched my eye shadow. Monica showed up and we went downstairs and met up with the other girls. We were going to Whisky licker up saloon at Binion’s hotel casino as this is where dinner is tonight. Monica rode with me and Trish took the other girls. Now, I did talk Monica into going up to here room and getting her tennis shoes to where and taking her 3-inch heels in a bag as again we would be walking a lot.

We got to Whisky licker up saloon just before 5 and several other girls where here including Terri Lynn, Janet and Meeshell from last night. e sat down and ordered drinks and talked, actually tonight happy hour get together was at 5 and dinner at 6. Other girls showed u and yes even Cassandra came to dinner tonight and it was great to see her again as the last time I saw her was last year when I was here as her and her wife retired and moved down here 1 1/2 years ago. We ordered dinner and the food really was good and for Las Vegas very reasonable priced. My only complaint was I had asked the waitress if she could do separate checks before we order and she said yes but just before our food came she came back and said her manager said because of the size of our group she could only done group so at the end Cassandra put it n her credit card and then we all had to go through the bill and find what we had and owed and then add the tax and tip on that.

After that we walked out to the Fremont experience to walk around. Cassandra, Me, Monica and another girl walked down to one of the casinos as Cassandra wanted to walk in and see if anyone recognized her as she actually did work here for a while u to about a month ago. I was sure no one would as I know her both male and female. A couple of the employees walked by us and never said a thing including the man who hired her, even one of the dealers walked by and stopped to talk with us and tell us how nice we looked who Cassandra new and she actually stood right next to Casandra and gave no indications she recognized her. We left here and Cassandra left to go back to the LINQ and meet up with a few girls and Monica was going to get a ride with the other girl so I was on my own and decided to see if I could find Brenda, Claire Trish and Jennifer so I walked back up the street. I met up with them and we walked around for about 30 minutes before we left and headed back to our hotels.

I met up with Cassandra, Robin, Vivian and another girl at the bar and we sat and talked. By the way now I think we have 10 girls from our group here now. It was a nice relaxing way to end an evening just sitting and talking. Now you also meet all kinds of people here and there were 2 men at the bar that came over and talked to us a few times, as a matter of fact they bought our tables drinks a couple times and we had a great time talking with them over a couple ours. Now I bring this up to show people are he same from all over. They own a small business back east and they told us 2 things upfront. First they like and support everyone’s right to live their life as they want and be who they are. Second they are far right and huge Trump supporters. They were awesome though and treated us awesome and we had a great time with them which goes to show in today’s society we can have different political views and still live together as Americans.

Another young lady came over and asked if she could join us, she was here from Wisconsin with her boyfriend and a few other friends and they were all playing blackjack and she didn’t gamble so she just wanted to join us so we invited her to sit down with us, her name was Patty and she was really nice although I think she had had a few drinks already. She only sat with us about a 1/2 before her boyfriend and another friend came over and they stood and talked with us for a while also before they left. They are here all week also so we will probably see them again. Trish, Brenda and Claire also came down and joined us for a while. The night got away from us and before I knew it, it was after 2:30am. There rest of the girls headed up to their rooms but Cassandra wanted to play a little Craps so I watched her for about 20 minutes but then I headed up to my room so it was about 3am when I went to bed but it was an awesome day.

Now I am looking forward to tomorrow and especially dinner as it is the Bahama Breeze dinner which is my favorite event here.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me and be sure and read my Diva Las Vegas blogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday and my first day at Diva Las Vegas

I will start with the funs stuff, going out for dinner at Yard House and meeting my friends. I started getting ready a little before 5pm. Now we have 7 girls from Portland this year but Monica and me are the only ones here so far as 4 of the girl flights don’t get in to till 5:30pm so Monica and I were going to meet to go to dinner, it is Monica’s first trip to Diva Las Vegas so that makes it special. I did my makeup with my rose-colored eye shadow and a brick red lipstick which is one of my favorite looks. Monica is in the same hotel as I am the Flamingo so I told her I would walk to her room and pick her up. I got to her room and she was just finishing getting ready and looked great. Now we did talk a little about the evening and I did notice the shoes she had picked out, 3-inch spiked heels which were really cute but I did talk about how far things are and how far we will be walking, yes I wore a casual summer dress and my sandals, Monica went with the heels. We left her room about 5:50pm and walked down through the Hotel and over to the LINQ to find the restaurant which took us a little while which was down by the high roller wheel. In all I bet we walked more than a 1/2 mile yes these hotel casinos on the strip are huge and the walk down the street between the LINQ & Flamingo is like an old cobble stone street.

We got to Yard House and went in, it was bout 6:30 now so yes we had walked for about a 1/2 sense we left Monica’s room. We were the first ones here but MeeShell who is coordinating tonight’s dinner showed up so the 3 of us went into the bar to sit and talk as we waited for some of the other girls to show up. It wasn’t log and Grace and Janet and this is their first Diva Las Vegas so I got to talk with them for a while, Janet is from Seattle and Grace is from a small town in Arizona and this is her first time going out. I texted Jennifer to see where they were and they were just getting to the LINQ from the airport and were going to check in ad then come to dinner, Jennnifer, Brend and Claire were all on the same flight and flew as their female self so hoped to be here a little after 7pm. I told Meeshell so she went and arranged for a table for 10. It was a little after 7pm when we got a long table in the bar and sat down. It was about 7:15 when Jennnifer, Claire, Brenda and Trish showed up so we had 6 of us from our group in Portland here tonight. A few mor ladies showed up Treena who is coordinating golf on Thursday and a few more, in all we had 13 of us for dinner tonight.

We ordered food and I got their burger as I was hungry as on my drive I really only snacked as I didn’t want a full tummy while driving that far as that makes you tired. We all sat and talked and of course I had to get a look at Jennifers nails, she got a classy white French tip kind of and it is actually a look I thought of getting the first time I did the light pink on the corner of my nails a couple months ago. I should have gotten a picture of our nails together and will before the trip is over and of course I showed her my nails. We had a great dinner and sat and talked, it was a wonderful evening. It was a little after 9 when we left and walked up the pedestrian mall between the LINQ & Flamingo and did stop and get a picture with the pedestrian mall behind us with all the other people out, don’t we all look awesome. Claire, Trish, Monica, Me and I believe Teri Lynn and Janet. Now I was really starting to feel the lack of sleep as I have been up for about 4 hours now other than a brief maybe 2 hour nap 26 hours ago so I was ready to call I a night but did stop at a bar while the other girls had a drink and talked with them as I was having such a fun time. It was about 10pm and we all said our goodbye and Monic and I walked back to the Flamingo as the other girls are staying at the LINQ. It really was a fun night and I am looking forward to the rest of the week. It was about 10:30pm when I got to y room and quickly washed away my makeup and went to bed.

Now I will jump back to my drive to Las Vegas, I did travel as my male self but did do a light eye makeup that turned out a little more bold then I planned and did a light eye liner and full mascara so it really was more of a daytime look and went a head and did a mauve Longwear lipstick so yes anyone I come in contact with will be able to tell I have makeup on but I figured with 1/2 long red nails people would notice anyway. I left my house at 9:30pm Saturday night and drove straight through only stopping for gas, snacks and bathroom breaks. I got to the Flaming at 1:30pm Sunday afternoon, 116 hours. Now I have made this trip many times but this was the first time I almost it a deer. In northern California about 3:30am I came around a corner and there was a deer in the road and a few on the side and I had to hit the breaks but had time to stop. About 30 minutes later I actually had another deer jump out in front of me ad there was no time to stop but luckily the deer stopped and I was able to quickly swerve around him but this was the closest call, now maybe 15 minutes later I went through a very small town where the speed limit slowed to 45 and I noticed a cow standing on the edge of the road. It was an interesting drive and I actually enjoyed it as I love road trips. The weather was great, a little rain leaving Portland but by the time I got over the mountains it was clear and you could see the stars. It was also a beautiful sunrise and I did get a picture of that below.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me and be sure and follow my blog for Diva Las Vegas.

Friday and leaving Las Vegas on the long drive home

It is Friday and today I drive home from Las Vegas. On a side note I have had my long red acrylic nails for 14 days now which is actually the longest I have had them as usually I only take 12 days of for my vacations but this year with taking weekends on both ends I will have them for 15 days. Now I have had some girls ask me why I am Susan just to sit in my car all day, yes it will be 16-hour drive home so really not doing anything today. The reason is these trips are my chance to live full time as Susan and that includes even the boring part of just driving. Now when I talk like this I always get someone who takes it as I want to transition and go full time and that is not what I am talking about. There are certain times and things I do where I do want to be Susan full time and my vacations to Las Vegas is one of them. Sense 2010 I have come to Las Vegas 12 times now and for all or those trips I have been Susan 24/7 from the time I left home till I got back home, it is the experience of being able to live as Susan for these trips. Part of that is the checking in and out of hotel rooms, yes I even flew once on a plane. It is being able to say I did that I was able to live as a female completely for a couple weeks. Now that may not seem like that big a deal to most people but 20 years ago I was lucky if I could just take a late-night drive as Susan so for me it is a huge deal. In the last 14 years I have come so far in accepting this side of myself and incorporating Susan into my life and it is the blending of both my male and female side that makes me who I am today. We all have goals and things we want to do or accomplish and it doesn’t matter if other people think they are small or unimportant, what counts is how we feel about it. early on my first goal was to go through a drive through at Burger king, a quick trip into a convenience store and yes go to a nail salon and at the time I did them they were huge accomplishments to me. Don’t judge yourself against other people or define who you are based on other people or their expectations. Well just my thoughts.

I got up today at 6am to get ready for my day as I hoped to be in the road by 7am. I did my makeup and yes used my long wear foundation and did a rose colored smokey eye look. I was all ready by 7am but still had to load my car, Peggy was up so we talked a few minutes and yes I had to pet both the dogs also. It really was a great trip and I had so much fun staying with Peggy and Cassandra, it was hard to leave. I will visit them again, I am already thinking about it and trying to decide when. I do want to go visit Julie and Trixie in Palm Springs in either February or March so the question is do I do a 2-week vacation and do both at the same time or make them separate trips. I know Peggy wants to visit Trixie so there are options there as I could visit Peggy and Cassandra and then Peggy could ride with my to Palm Springs and fly home are do it the opposite but either way it would be fun. I have time to think about it though. By the time I got my bags in my car it was 7:20am when I pulled out of their driveway and started my trip home. My GPS said I would get home at 11:09pm tonight. Now I knew I would have to stop 4 times for gas and probably a couple added bathroom stops and something to eat so I was curious how close it would come.

The drive home was a lot easier then the drive down for several reasons, first was the weather as on the drive home I had no wind and just a light mist of rain but that was only the last hour of the drive. It really was a beautiful drive and those who know me well know I am a road trip person more then flying. The other thing was I got a good night sleep so I never got tired on the drive home, the trip down was hard that way as I only got a short nap so I was tired driving down mainly from about 5am to 10am on the way down and yes I did stop a few times along side the road on the way down just to walk around my car and get some fresh air. I did stop at the candy shop in Beatty and get some snacks and I did hit a McDonald’s in Fallen Nevada. And I did check the difference in a couple spots on how My GPS told me to go, the main two were the cut off before Fallen, the cut of only saved me 8 miles and time wise no difference and the cut off around Alturas was 18 miles but even though it was 18 miles farther it was 2 minutes shorter. Both were better roads and not as many turns or curves so it was an easier drive.

Going through the mountains I was worried a little about snow, yes I have chains for my car and know how to put them on but have never done it with nails plus being out in the cold and snow to put chains on as Susan was not something Susan would like to do and as it turned out she didn’t have too as through the mountain pass there was a little snow on the side of the road but the road was clear and dry and the temperature was 37 so it was a wonderful trip.

Now as I said earlier my GPS said I would get home at 11:09pm and believe it or not I pulled into my driveway at 11:15pm to only missed it by 6 minutes on a 16-hour trip, that is amazing. It was also 1,000.6 miles from Peggy and Cassandra’s driveway to my driveway. It was a great trip and a big hug and thanks for Cassandra and Peggy for letting me stay with them for the week.

Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me.

Thursday of Diva Las Vegas going golfing and my last day in Las Vegas

It is Thursday of Diva Las Vegas and several of us are going golfing at Aliante Golf course in Las Vegas so I had to get up and get ready a little earlier today as our tee time is 10:30. Cassandra had t work till 3am so I wanted to be up and ready before she got up so I got up at 7am and started getting ready. It will be a long day today so I wore my Maybelline super stay 30 hour active wear foundation. This is an awesome all day full coverages foundation but you really need to use a cosmetic sponge and put it on very lightly and then add to it as needed as it is very easy to use too much and then it does not look good but if you get it right it will last all day and still look good. I was all ready by 8:30 which is when Cassandra got up yes it was a short night for her. luckily the golf course is only about 10 minutes from her house. It was just before 10am when we left for the golf course.

We got there about 10:15am so we had time to pay and get our cart and yes I did get a hot dog to take with me and then it was time to tee off. All the other girls also got here about the same time. there were 6 of us today, so we did groups of 3. Cassandra, Veronica and I were in the first group and Trish, Katie and one more girl from Portland made up the second group. Now none of us took time wo warm up so it will be interesting to see how we do.

We teed off on the first hole and I could tell the day could only get better, by the way the weather was perfect for golf, clear blue skies and the high would only be about 70 today but most important no wind. We had an awesome day golfing and yes Cassandra had one of her best rounds on the front 9 but fell apart on the back 9. Now I am not a real good golfer but I do enjoy it but a few of the girls are really good. I did not play well as actually other then golfing once last Diva Las Vegas and once with my brother over the summer I have not golfed in almost 2 years. I won’t bore you with my score but what really counts is I only lost 1 golf ball in 18 holes which is good. I will also say that my nails might have had a little to do with it as they were a little longer this year but I would rather have the nails then worry about my golf score. It was an awesome day and this curse is really nice and definitely worth playing if you are in Las Vegas. It was about 3 pm when we were done.

Now tonight Cassandra and Peggy invite some of the girls over for dinner at their house which was so wonderful so we headed back to her home for that. Most of the girls who golfed went plus one more. By 4:15 we were all there, it was Peggy & Cassandra of course but also me, Veronica, Katie, Dana and one other girl from Portland. It was great to hang out with them and I had a better chance to talk with Dana. She lives a couple hours south of Portland so she is not real active in the group so over the last couple years I have only seen her at the Bahama Breeze dinner.

We had some Snack as Peggy made a cheese and cracker tray to snack on out by the pool, 3 of the girls did use the hot tub and of course Peggy and Cassandra’s dogs were out with us. What is funny about their dogs which are really cute by the way. one will jump in the swimming pool and swim but the other one only goes in if Cassandra or Peggy are in the pool. the dog that doesn’t go in the pool will jump in the hot tub though trying to get the bubbles from the jets, it was so cute. Sitting in the sun was so nice and perfect but it was a little cool if you were in the shade. By a little before 6 we had all moved over by the house and Cassandra and Peggy have a gas fire pit so we were al sitting there to keep warm. By the way sitting around the fire was awesome.

Peggy made a Caesar salad for dinner and also Lasagna and garlic bread which we ate around the fire. It was really good and she finished it off with Pumpkin pie with whip cream which by the way is my favorite pie. We all sat around and talked and had a wonderful evening and yes by 8pm Peggy had brought blankets out for us as t was cold out even with the fire, mainly my legs and feet. I really took summer clothes for Las Vegas and it was a little cool this year, daytime highs were only upper 60’s to low 70’s and at night it would get down to the upper 40’s which is cold for Las Vegas. It was a wonderful night and so much fun and a huge thanks for Peggy and Cassandra for doing this and opening up their home like this. It was a little after 9pm when the other girls left which was sad.

Cassandra, Peggy and I sat and talked more and I really didn’t want the night to end as tomorrow I have to head home and that means my vacation is coming to an end. We talked till 11pm before I finally had to go to bed as I need to be up at 6am to get ready as I want to be on the road by 7am to make my 16-hour drive home. I really want to thank Cassandra and Peggy for letting me stay here this week with them. it is funny as I leave Friday morning and Friday afternoon Veronica and the other girl from Portland are going to move in and stay with them through the weekend, I really wish I had known as I could have taken a couple more days off and stayed through the weekend. You know we all had so much fun none of us thought to get any pictures.

Now tomorrow I will drive home and then have the weekend before my 2-week vacation comes to an end. Thanks for reading my blog and sharing this part of my life with me and be sure and read some of my past blogs from Diva Las Vegas.