I had very small plans for the xmas/new year’s holidays. I was going to spend xmas weekend in Portland, and then go back to work on Monday. Then, I’d take Thursday & Friday off for New Year’s and go to a party here in Seattle… that WAS the plan.
On the Friday after xmas, I was talking to Chris & Angela, and lo & behold they didn’t have to work all next week. Kara also didn’t have to work, so I didn’t want to be the only schmuck working! Right there in Roadhouse Grill we all decided that we should drive down to Las Vegas for New Year’s!
We left that night and drove straight through for 20 hours. We got there Saturday evening as tired as can be. We also discovered that we had reservations at a really crappy motel!! As soon as I got in the room, I started calling hotels closer to the strip. We found one closer that was actually cheaper than the dive that we were at! Of course, I made reservations at the other joint, and we only had to spend one night in the slums.
The next few days were spent doing the standard ‘Vegas’ thing. We walked a ton, looking at everything, gambling and drinking. As New Year’s Eve got closer, it became evident that there was some concern that Vegas was a possible target for a terrorist attack. A few days before, they announced that the city would be a no-fly zone for New Year’s and that there would be Blackhawk helicopters patrolling the strip! It made ya think, but then I wasn’t going to change my plans because of what some bastards might do.
Kara & I wanted to see at least one show while we were down there, so we got tickets for Cirque du Soleil: Mystere for NY Eve (it was the only day that still had tickets, and of course it was more expensive than normal). After the show, we met up with C&A at the Rio (this is officially my favorite casino. They have cool, free shows all through the night and a huge buffet that you have to see to believe).
After a while at the Rio, we caught a cab back to the strip; THIS is where the part was at! Las Vegas Blvd. was shut down to traffic, and opened up for people. The streets were PACKED with people all getting positioned to watch the fireworks. Kara & I ended up in the street in front of The Venetian facing north. From there, we were able to see three firework shows (a bunch of casinos do them off of their roofs). As soon as the fireworks ended, everyone in the crowd started moving. We followed a big chunk of people, and ended up in The Venetian. Everyone was yelling “WOOOO” and “HAPPY NEW YEAR” in the echo-y hotel lobby… The people behind the check-in counter just stood there looking bewildered.
Anyway, after the crowd had mostly dispersed, we started trying to get a cab. Since everyone else was doing the same thing, we didn’t have any luck. We ended up walking all the way back to our hotel (it was probably about 2 miles).
The next day we started our road trip back; this time we planned to make the trip in 2 days. A pretty uneventful trip back, primarily because Angela was in Perma-Bitch mode and Chris was in her sights. It was definitely a relief to get back and rest, but it was also an awesome spur of the moment vacation! I’ll definitely do it again sometime (New Year’s in Vegas that is… NOT the driving 20hrs part).
That was soooooo epic that reminds me of when Odyseus gouged the Cyclops' eye in the Odyssey.