"Las Vegas 2002 or How I Became A Travel Agent" by truesunn

In July of 2002, I had been having some personal problems, and was talking to my very dear friend who had moved out to Las Vegas on the phone about it. My daughter was going away for a week with my parents, and my friend suggested that maybe I could come out there and visit him for a few days to clear my head.

I had been invited before, but was deathly afraid to fly. I had sworn I would NEVER EVER get on a plane. I had travelled extensively across the USA, but always by car or van! Circumstances being what they were at the time, I decided I had nothing to loose, and with 4 days notice, I purchased a round trip ticket on Spirit Air from travelocity.com. Rememeber, I was DEATHLY terrified to fly, AND I was going alone!

It was finally time to get to the airport. I took my daughter to my parent's house and set off towards Detroit Metro. I had been there several times before, but had only ever parked at the airport for short term parking to pick people up.

I parked in the airport parking garage (big mistake, wait till I get back!) and was on my way. I took note of the letter and number above the elevator and made my way up (another mistake). I wasn't aware that there was constuction in the parking garage and therefore had to loop around to get to the crosswalk. Great... I had a rolling carry-on, but my suitcase itself only had a shoulder strap! Ouch!

So I finally make my way into L.C. Smith Terminal, and I happened to meet Tonya, a girl that was travelling with her parents to the Rio. We started up a conversation while waiting in line to check-in our luggage and boarding passes and decided to sit together. It turned out that she was returning on the same flight too!

I knew I would be nervous, and luckily had borrowed some anti-anxiety medication from my mother (hehe), which I did make use of.

After an hour wait near the gate, it was time to board. Looking down that jet way into that plane was probably one of the scariest moments I have ever had. I had sworn NEVER to fly! But I took a deep breath and followed Tonya onto the plane.

I was surprised at how tight the seating was on the M-80. I am only 5'0" but with my carry-on under my seat, it was rather cramped! I had requested and received an aisle seat. I was getting the nervous shakes by this time, but my new travel buddy assured me everything would be ok, and I buckled my belt for take off...

It was surprisingly smooth and uneventful, and I became curious at what was out there... It was about 10pm, and I stood up when the belt light went off, and I saw Chicago at night. I was hooked...

Most of the other passengers were sleeping, but I was too excited to... For a long time, there was black nothingness out the window. Suddenly, a HUGE burst of light shone from the windows on the opposite side of the plane. I stood up, looked thru the window and there she was, the most exciting, awesome sight I have ever seen, Las Vegas at night...

We landed without incident. I will not forget walking down through the airport with slot machines and a huge WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS neon. I met up with Dave, whom I hadn't seen in a year, and we collected my luggage and we were off! I had brought a sundress to change into, and when I went to change in the bathroom, I discovered my clothing was wet in the suitcase due to the light rain that had started before we departed Detroit!

The first place I wanted to go was Caesar's Palace. We parked at Barbary Coast, ate (see food tips on the Vegas Page) and I stepped out onto the Vegas Strip for the first time. All I could do was halt mid stride, and do a 360 stare. Pictures had not prepared me for the magnitude of the resorts in all their neon glory... I knew this was the place I really belonged...

When I returned home to Detroit, I decided I had to go back to Vegas, but I was working a menial job at a local retail store, and certainly not making enough to afford to stay at any of the megaresorts!

So I decided to take a correspondence Travel and Tourism course. I completed the course in January 2003 and got a job 3 weeks later! Because of the state of the airline industry, there are no longer agent discounts on airline tickets or free upgrades. I do get good hotel discounts, however, with the current state of the industry, we were forced to take a pay cut, and still cannot afford to stay there anyhow.

As much as I love to travel, I have realized this is NOT the industry for me. I love to give advice and share my experinece (obviously), but I have a difficult time dealing with person's expecting something for nothing and the archaic reservations system we use is a joke! My favorite quote is "I only paid $XXX for that flight 2 years ago!" (HELLO 9/11!)

Because of my trip, I also found a renewed interest in photography. My old SLR was shot, and in February, I invested in a brand new Nikon/Tamron outfit. I am hoping to eventually do professional freelance travel photography. The one thing I want more than anything in the world is to get out of this area, and live a little before I die! I would still have my travels, but no longer dealing with John Q. Jerkoff, I mean Public, to fund it ;)

I plan on moving to the Las Vegas area as soon as I am able...

I gave up the travel business in mid 2004 and returned to the Administrative field. I no longer intend on moving to Las Vegas, although a vacation home there would be nice! I did get married there, though, and that was a great time ;)