25 Hours
With Aubrey
February 16th, 2016. I picked up Aubrey just a
little after midnight, at the Las Vegas South Strip Transfer
Terminal. She looked a little different than I remembered, but
the way she made me feel when I'm with her was still the same.
Without delay, I drove us to The Gangnam Korean BBQ on Paradise
and Harmon. However, when we walked in, the girl at the register
told us they've stopped seating for the night. I begged her to
let us stay, said we were really hungry, and I showed her the
clock on my phone that it was only 12:31, and she should let us
eat. The begging worked and we were seated. I ordered Beef toro,
bulgulgi, and pork cheek for the grill, with bibimbap and
chicken sukiyaki on the side. It was a decent amount of food.
Despite the combined food consumption power of Aubrey and Li,
there were still a tiny bit of leftover. After I paid for the
meal, and as we were leaving, I promised the workers there that
we'd leave them 2 positive reviews on yelp for their generosity
of letting us stay. Hours spent together: 1.5
After food, we drove to Aria to spend the night. We got room
5208 which was on the 5th floor. It was Aubrey's first time at
Aria, and for me the lowest floor I've gotten there. While we
were both getting ready for bed, I presented her 2 gifts that
I've been holding on to for a while - A matboard-mounted 8x10
print from our smoke shoot, and a packet of plum powder that she
initially mistaken for sand from a beach. After playing with the
technologies in the room and realizing there were nothing but
infomercials on at 3am, we turned the lights off to go to sleep. Hours
spent together: 3
I was convinced that my side of the bed was slanted toward the
outside, and I kept feeling like I was falling out of the bed.
Perhaps the bed was just too soft. It did help a little when I moved
closer to the center. Although the room temperature was set at
69 degrees, I woke up several time due to body overheating.
Aubrey got up a little after 7am. Before bed, I instructed her
to punch me should I start to snore. I didn't find any bruises
on my face in the morning, so I guess I didn't snore or I wasn't loud enough
for her to hear me. I stayed in bed while Aubrey got ready.
Played with the all-powerful tablet that can control all the
electronics in the room. Hours spent together: 7
We both were ready well before 9. Our first stop was the LINQ
hotel for breakfast at the Hash House A Go-Go. Since I've never
been to the LINQ, I ran into a bit of parking confusion. In the
end, I parked at Harrah's and we walked over to the LINQ. While
searching for the Hash House, we were stopped by an older
gentleman who asked if we were married. When I said no, he asked
if we cohabitate. I think he was trying to sell us timeshare
units. After circling the entire casino, and asking for
directions another time, we realized we've already walked past
the escalator to the restaurant. When we finally found it, we
were told there was a 20-minute wait. I suggested that we walk
around the casino to kill time. Hours spent together: 9
We stopped by an empty craps table and asked the dealers to
teach us. Turned out they weren't very good teachers, but they
tried. I figured the best way for Aubrey to learn was to
actually play. Bought $100 worth of chips and split it with her
50-50. We started playing as one of the dealer continued to
explain the plays. After 20 minutes of play, we cashed out and got back $99. An one-dollar loss
for a couple of beginners wasn't that bad. As we returned to the
restaurant, I heard them call my name, and we were seated
immediately. Perfect timing.
We got one of the booth against the wall, and the way tables
were arranged, we had to sit side-by-side facing the center of
the restaurant. It had a good view for people-watching. Aubrey
decided on their famous chicken Benedict. I went with my usual
salmon hash. While waiting for our food, we took our first of
many selfies that day.
First selfie, Hash House
A Go-Go
Both Aubrey and I
are known to finish our plates, but Hash House's infamously
large portions had us beat. We held our full bellies and waived
our proverbial white flag as the server cleared the table.
That's 2 out of 2 meals where we couldn't eat it all. Aubrey picked up the tab and we continued
on with our adventure. Hours
spent together: 10.5
Chicken Benedict and
Salmon Hash
We Drove to
Bellagio hoping to catch the 11 o'clock fountain show, but found
out the show doesn't start until 3pm. Instead we walked to
Caesar's, hoping to witness Serendipity 3's glorious desserts in
person, but it was closed too. With much disappointment, we
walked back to Bellagio to get our car and decided to kill time
at downtown Las Vegas.
Bellagio fountain, taken
by a Brazilian tourist
Caesar's Palace
Corner of Flamingo and
Las Vegas Boulevard
On our way, we
started to notice the abundance of tiny wedding chapels in Las
Vegas. I started to point them out as I see them. After we
exited the parking garage, we found a dead section full of
abandoned shops. Only until we found Fremont street where we saw
some activities. Aubrey was amused by the Heart Attack Grill,
where people over 350lb could eat for free. We walked down
Fremont street, took a couple more selfies, and circled around
Containment Park. I once again pointed out there was a wedding
chapel there, but Aubrey didn't seem to get the hint. I then
tried to convince her to let me take a picture of her standing
in front of a tattoo shop so I can text the photo to her mom,
but Aubrey didn't want to give her mom a heart attack. Hours
spent together: 11
Giant mantis sculpture
in front of the Containment Park
A random snap shot of
Aubrey walking down Fremont Street
After we left Down Town Vegas, we went straight to Valley of
Fire State Park. We arrive a little before 2pm. The weather was
perfect. Temperature was in the 70's and just a teeny bit of
high clouds.
We started with a quick stop at
the visitor center where Aubrey climbed some rocks right away.
Then we followed the map and headed east and stopped at the
Seven Sisters. We started taking dance photos. The lighting was
just as perfect as the weather. We continued to drive
around and made stops when we see photo opportunities. We went
to the cabins area where she did some splits between the
rooftops of two cabins. Then, at another stop, she climbed on a road
closure sign. We did some "follow me" photos with different bracelets,
and lastly, Aubrey did acrobats on top of a rock against the sunset. As the sky
got too dark for photos, we headed back towards Las Vegas. Hours
spent together: 17
Hiding inside a rock
Rock climbing by the
visitor center
We came back to our room at the
Aria to get ready for dinner. Since we talked a lot about
burgers, we decided to check out the one at Mandalay Bay. I made
an 8:15pm reservation at the Burger Bar, and we both changed
into something a little nicer.
Neither of us were too
adventurous. We both ordered the classic burger instead of one
of their specialties. Aubrey got a red velvet milkshake and i
went with a coffee flavored one. We finished our meal a little
after 9pm, just in time to catch our 9:30 showing of Michael
Jackson ONE. Hours spent together: 21
Aubrey enjoying her red
velvet milkshake
I would say her love for
food is as strong as her love for dance
I ended up getting a seat
further back in the theater so we can see the whole stage
easily, and we were dead center for the best possible view. The
first time I saw the show was when it has just came out, so
there were a lot of rough edges. This time around, it looks like
they've worked out a lot of the kinks. It was a magical 90
minutes as we shared our love for the King of Pop. Hours spent
together: 23
Michael Jackson ONE at
the Mandalay Bay
One of the giant posters
of Michael
Of course we took
selfies before the show
In a city that never sleeps, we
weren't just going to waste our last 2 hours together sitting
around checking our cell phones. We drove to Bellagio to catch
the last fountain shows of the night. I parked on the roof deck
where there was a secret view of the fountain little
known to the average tourists. After the 11:30 show, we walked
down to the street level where we caught the 11:45 run from the
Las Vegas Boulevard side. And as we were walking back to the
casino, we watched the final, midnight show that started a few
minutes early.
Secret rooftop spot
View towards Las Vegas
Boulevard
Last selfie of the night
by the fountain
The temperature dropped
significantly. Cool desert breeze hastened our returned to the
hotel room. And all that were left to do is have Aubrey pack
up her stuff to catch the 1:30am bus back to Los Angeles. I gave
her a few odd things that I weren't able to bring back with me
to Virginia, including some cranberry juice, 3 miniature bottles
of merlot, a souvenir glass, and yes, a half bottle of fabreeze.
I wasn't sad at all. My heart
was filled with joy. We knew exactly how much time we had to
spend together, and we used it thoroughly and wisely. It was in
some way, surreal, because when Aubrey was still a senior, I
have made the suggestion that we take a trip like this, but I
wasn't actually thinking it would happen, and so soon.
I can't explain the bond we
have. The best I can describe is good chemistry. I love watching
her dance, and how easy it is for me to capture a great moment
when she's performing. As I drove
southbound on Las Vegas Boulevard, there was a quiet moment. All the
bright lights from the
casinos became dimmer and dimmer, until it was just a normal
city street at 1 a.m. The silence broke when we arrived at the
bus terminal. We gave each other one last hug, the kind of hug
meant to be remembered, meant to last you a while.
I didn't linger. I didn't watch
her walk away and disappear from my sight. I turned around and
drove away. It was already perfect. Should anyone ask me to
describe a perfect day, I'd gladly tell them about the 25 hours
we spent together.