This year I stayed at the Orleans from Wednesday to Tuesday AM with my friend K. The flight was uneventful we went through customs in Vancouver this year which was different and flew with Air Canada instead of Alaskan Airlines (last year). We arrived Wednesday and took the shuttle from the airport to the hotel. All was fairly quiet and we went down to Brendan's for a drink before calling it a night -this was not my preference but I played along. We faced out to the strip from the 18 floor which was awesome but our room was pretty much at the end of the hall and it was a long trip to our room from the elevator.
Thursday morning we took the bus out and about as I did not rent a car this year. We went to Trader Joes and Target and I got Hot Sticks finally as I had not been able to locate them in Canada. Waiting for the bus however I sunburned my purse straps into my arms. It took a while but we got our supplies for the week and we were glad to get back to the hotel. Las Vegas is incredibly windy and this year it was also hot. K. really wanted to do some outlet mall shopping since she was low on summer clothes so we then headed over to the mall. I did not enjoy this part of the trip but I owed it to her to as she was a sport about staying at a hotel that was completely over run with people. When we finally got back to the room K. was wiped out but we got our wristbands and looked around at the vendors and then I walked her back to the room and got dressed up. I decided to wear jeans my first night and a pink western shirt.
I didn't intend on seeing them but I got upstair in time to see Pacho Jose -I was really in awe of how many people were on stage it was a sight to behold. I then headed over to Bienville and caught Lauren Marie who I really enjoyed she was backed by the Horton Brothers so that was also cool. I can't remember if I saw anything after that though because I was pretty burnt out from all the activities earlier in the day.
Friday arrived and I was excited to go and get our tickets for the Burlesque Show. I had breakfast in the room and was ready to roll. The line up was insane and wound around the casino and out the doors by the pool but in the end we got in to the show we wanted to see and all was well. After we got our tickets we got some refreshments (K was all about the pre-mixed Clamato & Beer and I found the most delicious pina colada mixed drink at the Coast Liquor store which we ended up making a regular stop). Next on the agenda was the movie Deuce of Spades - I picked doing this because I knew K would never be up for the Jiving Class. It the movie was okay and very cool that it was done all independantly but I would also like to mention that the theatre had some of the best real butter popcorn I've had in my life and we used our coupon so it was a super deal and they had refills!
Next up was The Charles Phoenix slideshow it was awesome. I caught it last year by accident on Sunday and was determined not to miss it this year as it is the funniest most relaxing thing to do at Viva. Shortly after that I ran back to the room we got ready and headed for the Burlesque Show. It was my first time seeing the Show and K. was excited to catch it. I must admit it was very entertaining and I was glad we made time for it.
After that we caught part of the Medallions, Jessie and the Orbits, Joe Bennett, Big Sandy, and the a bit of the Sureshots & Ezra Lee before retiring.
Saturday was another big day and I was not about to slow down. I got out to the car show around 10 and went through the vendors and came back to have lunch with K. then we went back out to the cars we came back in just before 2 and caught Cash O'Riley (who's CD I bought), and Jinx Jones both acts were a welcome retreat from the afternoon heat. After that I rested for a bit before hurrying out to see Jerry Lee and capture a few more pictures before heading to Deke's Guitar Geek Show. Jerry Lee was awesome and it was truly the coolest thing to be there to hear him in person -he definitely still has it. Deke's show was hilarious and awesome it was cool to see the different performers and guitars and it was something I regretted missing last year. After that though I didn't get back to the shows until it was time for the Roy Kay Combo. I was really sad I missed Gizzelle but alas there's really only so much you can fit in a day and Saturday was my fancy dress day so I felt like I need some time to shower & dressed after all the car show dirt and sunscreen. 
After Roy Kay it was back to the main showroom to catch Deke Dickerson and what I can only call the crazy hooligans. It was amazing and hilarious. Then came the Caezars who's music was great and who it was cool to see around the hotel all weekend but I must admit I like better on CD than I did live. I think it is because one of my favorite things is how much performers normally smile and these guys don't (except for the drummer) they reminded me of a Morissey album cover with all the posturing going on but hey the music is great and they are all young so cool if you are not old like me ;)
I will follow up with Sunday later and maybe some of the odds and ends I bought. The collapsible cooler was awesome I think next year I might bring two as it will leave more room for random things and beverages. This is me on Saturday in my favorite dress of the weekend and the gold shoes I bought on a whim for $30 from a vendor that day!
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