Mother's Day Weekend Recap, Part II

Sunday was Mother's Day, and my goal was to make up to my mom for my teenage years! The Mt. Charleston Lodge that I enjoy so much was having a special Mother's Day brunch, so I made reservations for noon. We arrived at noon and there was a line out the door, so I was relieved that I had made reservations. We sat down and the waiter gave us the breakfast menu. We said that we wanted the brunch menu, and he said that the kitchen was really backed up and that brunch wouldn't be served for 30 minutes. I was irritated but there was nothing we could do, so we ordered a glass of wine. Mom and I had a wonderful time chatting. In fact, we were so caught up in conversation, that we hardly noticed that 30 minutes had turned into an hour. We started to notice the people around us who were very upset that their food had not been served. Several people stormed out not wanting to wait another minute. We were told another 30 minutes. In the meantime, we started chatting with the people around us, who were quite friendly despite being very hungry. At 2pm (2 hours after we arrived!), a sheepish waiter finally came over and said that the kitchen was a disaster and the special brunch was not going to materialize. We were able to order off the lunch menu, which pleased Mom because she got the Ruben sandwich she had been craving. Lunch should have been a total disaster, but Mom was thrilled getting to talk with me for two hours, and I was happy if she was happy.

And now for the part where I win Daughter of the Year. Mom's all-time favorite musical is Phantom of the Opera. Her chorus sang it back in the 1980s, and ever since then she has been obsessed. I grew up having to listen to her sing it around the house. Despite her infatuation, she has never seen the show in person. So, the minute she bought the plane ticket to come out here, I bought tickets for Phantom - The Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian.

I wanted to surprise her, so I told her that we were going to see the Blue Man Group, also at the Venetian. As we were driving there, she asked very innocently if Jeremy ever gets free tickets to Phantom, and I said no. She was disappointed. We arrived and started to the theater, which is very clearly marked "Phantom Theater." No reaction. In front, there's a mosaic of the phantom on the floor, and she said, "Careful, don't step on the Phantom." She didn't think anything of it. I handed her the ticket and she got the playbill, both of which were clearly marked "Phantom," but she didn't notice. Walking up the stairs she pointed out the "Phantom's chandelier." Still, nothing. Finally, as we are walking to our seats, she looks at the playbill and screams, "This says Phantom! We're going to Phantom!" I wanted to surprise her, but I had no idea that it would work so well. I thought the curtain was going to go up before she realized what show she was seeing!

The show was amazing. The set was incredible. It was thrilling to walk in with the chandelier in pieces above the audience's head, then to watch it come together, and then for it to crash down just feet above the audience. The music was beautiful and the story captivating. I would see this show again and again. When it was over, Mom didn't want to leave! We sat in our seats and watched the audience file out and the workers start cleaning.


After the show, Mom called all of her friends to tell them that she got to see Phantom. Then I showed her around the Venetian. She really enjoyed the canal (which is on the 2nd floor), which she said was much cleaner than in Venice.
Next we went over to the Bellagio to check out the botanical gardens and the Chihuly chandelier. We walked over to the poker room, and Mom saw several players that she recognized from TV (Daniel Negreanu, Shawn Sheikhan, and others).
Then, we walked outside to watch the fountains.
Finally, we ended up at Paris, where we each had a seafood crêpe at La Crêperie. Mmm, I could eat there every day.