So you’re getting my and Jeff’s Vegas Pics plus my noticing that I only have TWENTY days left in the Air Force. Fucking-A!!!!
Alright, I promised you Vegas pics, so here they are. I also said there were no New York City pics, and on that pledge, I have kept firm. Still don’t know anything further about that NBC job, but rest assured, one way or the other it’ll be plastered all over this damn site, that’s fer shur.
You know, I really am getting a bit psyched/nervous/excited/a-scared about this whole becoming a civilian thing. It’s not just the job thing either. There’s more I’ve got to talk about, but that’s going to have to wait until September 1st. But still not having a definite job lined up yet is starting to make me a little antsy. And even though Lindsay Lohan is singing to me right now that I’m the ‘Ultimate’, I just won’t feel that way until I get employed. Okay, enough of my neurosis for now. Let’s bring on some Vegas pics!!!!!!!
SO! We didn’t leave for Vegas until Friday afternoon, so as you’ll see below, we didn’t have much daylight to play with by the time we got there. Allegiant Air took us directly to Vegas from the Springs, which is awesome (direct flights rule). We easily made it to the Flamingo, we all were a little jazzed by the cool GO room I had booked (it is the cool renovated rooms that Flamingo has now – very swank, but not sure I HAVE to have it now when I have to pay for it; I’d rather get a regular room comped than pay, methinks, but it was worth it this time though) but we quickly realized we were pretty hungry. We first shot for Margaritaville, but apparently you need reservations as it was an hour and a half wait. Ouch. Briefly considered waiting, but hunger won out and we went to the Flamingo’s Paradise Cafe instead, where we got seated immediately and I began playing Keno shortly afterwards while waiting for the food. After that, I changed to get ready for the Beatles LOVE show and then we three walked from the Flamingo up to the Mirage, where the plan was to watch the volcano and then I’d divert to the LOVE show and Jeff and Susan would continue walking. Well, didn’t know that the Mirage’s volcano only goes once an hour – so I missed that. Said goodbye to them, and headed into the LOVE theatre, which was quite a venue. I got first row seats, and it was well worth it. I will only provide clumsy words trying to describe the show, but it was spectacular. It was loud, it was hyper-visual, it was happy, it was sad, it was amazing. The music used was perfect, and I now have an even greater respect for the Beatles music. The soundtrack is breathtaking, and I am finally glad I got to actually ‘see’ it for myself after picking the soundtrack up last fall. Highly recommended! (I’d rank this higher than ‘O’, btw).
3 August 2007 – First day in Vegas
The next day, we woke up, got some breakfast buffet, and then Jeff and I headed to the free craps lessons (yes, I didn’t need them, but it was still fun to see what the casino says about the game!) while Susan met up with her best friend and went to the fantastic Flamingo pool, along with Erin who joined up with us that day. After the lesson, Jeff and I played craps for a bit, then wandered over to O’Sheas casino for more gambling fun and of course, midget viewing. You see, at O’Sheas they have a ‘leprechaun’ who pours shots down patrons’ mouths and blows a damned whistle while doing so. It’s quite a sight, and I know for Jeff, it was glorious. We ended up playing craps some more after being unable to find a blackjack table to play at (I ended up not playing Blackjack at ALL this trip).
After a while it was time to head back to the hotel room and get ready for going out to the Hofbrauhaus! It has been since I actually left Vegas that I’d gone to my favorite beer hall, so I was definitely looking forward to going back. Even better, we were going to meet up with Loren and Amber while there. It was definitely a great time and the Hofbrauhaus definitely seems to have built up a crowdbase since I’d been there. I remember some Fridays and Saturdays we’d go and it really wasn’t all that busy. Not so this time! It was great to see my pals again from Vegas though, and I realized I definitely have missed them. And it felt just like old times and like not much time had passed since we had hung out. Sweet.
After a good time at the HBHaus, we said goodbye to Loren and Amber and headed over to see some sights that Susan and Jeff hadn’t seen. First was the Hard Rock Hotel as it’s right next door to the HBHaus. That place never fails to impress me, especially considering how small the casino floor really is. It’s just one big circular room with a sweet bar in the centerpoint. We were there a little early for it to be super hopping, but it was still easy to imagine it packed. Better yet, we beat the super long taxi wait and jumped in a cab to see the Fremont Street experience. Again, this wasn’t for me, but it’s definitely something to see at least once. I just like the Strip a lot better than the vibe from Downtown Vegas. That’s just me though. Anyways, by the time we finished exploring up there, I was definitely exhausted, and it seemed everybody else was tired too. The plan had been to go out to a club afterwards, but all this drinking and journeying had tired me out for sure. Maybe next time!
4 August 2007 – Gambling and Hofbrauhaus! (Day 2 in Vegas)
The next day, Sunday, was a nice day to catch up on some rest and catch some rays at the fantastic Flamingo pool. We ate an ‘early’ breakfast buffet again (it is totally in your best interest to get to the buffet line by 9 am or else you’ll be waiting lots longer) and then while Erin, Susan and I went to the pool, Jeff went over to the Imperial Palace to check out the Classic Car collection (he took lots of pictures of those, but you’ll have to go to his website to see all those) and then play some poker at the Flamingo poker room. Anyways, back at the pool, amazingly we found 3 pool chairs together, but it certainly wasn’t an easy task, as past a certain time, that place gets packed. It was nice to just chill though and listen to some great 80s tunes over the pool’s speaker system. A few hours later, we finally decided to get up, shower, and then head over to Caesar’s and the Forum Shops, mainly to people watch and browse the many awesome stores there. We managed to kill quite a bit of time there and then headed back to meet up with Jeff for dinner plans. The idea was to go to Benihana’s at the Las Vegas Hilton, so we took the monorail over there and found out that you definitely need to have reservations! So we ended up going somewhere I’d always walked by but never actually went to: The Star Trek Experience. Yep, we went there for dinner. While the dinner was very disappointing, in terms of food and service, it was still quite an interesting place to be. They really spared no expense creating the outer space atmosphere, even with people decked out in Vulcan or Klingon makeup and clothing. Erin had to leave at the end of dinner to go to the Airport, but before the three of us left, Jeff and I decided to take part in the official Star Trek Experience.
We bought out military-discounted tickets (so expensive, still!) for the two ‘experiences’ that await you: The Borg in 4-D and the Klingon Invasion Experience. We went on the Borg one first, and it was certainly interesting. It’s a little (okay, a lot) hokey, but hey, it was somewhat interesting, as you’re ‘running’ through hallways to escape the Borg and finally go into a 3-D theater room that has a little bit more of a kick than you’re expecting, as the seats have ‘pokers’ that jab you when the Borg probes attach onto you. It’s pretty trippy the first time. Anyways, that was fun, but if the Klingon experience was going to be on the same level as that one, man, they definitely sucker you with that price. But fortunately, the Klingon one was a lot more fun, at least in my opinion. First, you go into this square waiting room as you’re about to board a shuttle, but then it goes pitch black, and once the lights are back on, the room has changed into a large circular chamber and you realize you’re in a Beaming room. You don’t hear a thing when it changes like that, but that was pretty awesome. Then you do some more running around hallways, first going on the bridge of the Enterprise, then eventually to the escape shuttle. This shuttle is just like those hydraulic ones from the Star Tours at Disneyland. Anyways, it was quite a wild ride in that thing, and honestly, I’m glad I hadn’t drank for a bit, as I was definitely starting to get motion sickness.
All in all, that was a fun diversion. Not worth the price you pay, but that’s like almost everything in Vegas now! We then took the monorail back to the Flamingo, where we said goodnight to each other and I went to play craps for what turned out to be about 5 hours or so (till 3 in the morning). I did really well but didn’t leave when I should have, so I ended up walking away even. That’s pretty damn good for me!
5 August 2007 – Day 3 in Vegas
On the last day, we woke up, got some breakfast, and then checked out and headed to the Airport to come home. It was just the right amount of time to spend there and I needed to get home because there was plenty of stuff to do in order to get ready for my New York trip the following day. And you all know how that turned out.