Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Lou wanted to go swimming this morning (he did yesterday morning), but he convinced his father to go breakfast at 9:30 instead of 10:00, and we slept in, so swimming will have to wait.
We're doing Circus Circus for breakfast and going to watch the show/clowns, etc., as this is what Bobby wanted to do. Kori's pick, seeing impressionist Danny Gans, is not possible. Alas, he's sold out three months in advance. We're here this morning, then off to the Hoover Dam. I hope that we can head back to the hotel; I was unaware of the plan, and didn't bring my camera! Oh no!
We played a bit of the slots at Circus Circus after the *extremely* sweet breakfast (I had not seen so many doughnuts or pastries or other sweet things (not counting dessert areas) for our breakfast buffets until today). I was dumping the quarters won at the Luxor into a few machines (still no "Take Your Picks" - they really must be exclusive to the Luxor), and finally settled at Wheel of Fortune. Played some, using all three quarters, and finally got a spin at the Wheel, and out came 125 quarters. Or rather, credits, until I cashed out. Decided to stop there, carried my quarters out to find my husband, who was promptly losing money at his addiction, video poker (Deuces Wild). I had given him $20 earlier as he had only $50, and then wandered off to play the slots at which I had won. I dropped five into the machine next to him and didn't win anything, but he didn't either. I cashed out all the quarters, and ended up with $58.25, which meant that I had won today $18.25 (that I kept, I did have more) because I had $40 in the cup before. I was pleased. We then had to start heading to the front to leave - I found another addiction of mine, the "win the car" slots, and dropped $10 into that. I was up at one point, but this was my $10 attempt to win the car, not to win money, so I kept going until it was all gone. I then wandered upstairs and saw a really cool juggler, but I was late and had to come back down to leave. We did go back to the hotel and got the camera (and various other bits) and then headed out to the dam.
Hoover Dam was pretty cool in and of itself. I had learned before we went out that the cement in the dam won't finish curing for 500 years, and that it was built to last 2k years. Pretty cool, even if the hard hat tour, the one down into the guts of the dam that Lou's parents had gone on last year at this time, was off-limits now. And I got to say I've been to Arizona (we walked across the dam bridge until I crossed the state line)! We headed back to the hotel then, with a brief jaunt to Lake Mead. We missed a chance with a wrong turn to go to the Dairy Queen, but with our trip to the Star Trek Experience with Sarah and Chris tonight, I think we'll be okay.
Lou wants to hit the Sahara again tomorrow and their $1 Blackjack tables. We also have The Fremont Street Experience, the Amazing Johnathan, and I need to see the water fountains at the Bellagio (everyone else saw it last night while I crashed), and then it's time for home on Friday.
We had enough time between the time we were back at the hotel and the Kindreds' visit to go swimming. As the weather was warm enough, I decided to go, even though the sun was setting. Lou had told me the pool was heated, and it felt nice. There was a slight breeze, so staying as much under the water as possible was a good idea. If the water started to feel too cold, I just went to the shallow end and stayed above the water for a while, the quickly submerged again, and boy did it feel good! There was a hot tub off the exercise area, and Lou and I headed there for a soak before going to shower and change. The Jockey Club also had a sauna, but we didn't get a chance to use that.
Sarah and Chris picked us up, and we headed out to the Las Vegas Hilton, home of the Star Trek Experience. We had dinner first, at Quark's bar, which was fun but we had not-so-good service. Sarah's appetizer was not what she ordered, and her meal never got entered so she didn't get any dinner, so that was a pain. But the food was good. I had a Pattern Buffer drink which was tasty, and the Joseph Sisko's Bayou Pasta, which was good and spicy. Lou had a Class M Pizza, as did Chris. Sarah was supposed to have gotten the Harry Kim Pad Thai. Lou had the Cardassian Creme Brulee for dessert and Sarah had the Apple Crisp (sorry, I forget the cutesy name with it). Then Sarah and Chris waited while we went through the museum and ride.
The museum itself was a lot of fun, with props from all the series and movies. I love the "Stone Knives and Bearskins" (okay, that's not its real name, but that's Spock's reference to it in the episode!) memory circuit, and the timeline. Then we got in line for the ride, which was just so much FUN! I had no idea what to expect, and that made it all the more fun. Suffice it to say that, without revealing the secret, any Trek fan should go on it if they get to Vegas, and more than once. We only got to go on it once, but it was a highlight of my trip. Best Ride Ever!
We headed back to the hotel then, bid farewell to Sarah and Chris (much TRiH talk was had during our visit, which was fun), and crashed again. It was an early night, but I'm still getting used to this place. Our hosts did recommend seeing the Treasure Island Pirate show, so we may try to hit that tonight, but a lot depends on timing. We've got The Amazing Johnathan at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, but dinner and the Fremont St. Experience before that. We'll have to play it by ear.