Made it to Vegas, and returned with minimal scarring

Made it to vegas
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

So I mentioned I got to go to vegas right? Heres how it played out:
Last Tuesday the 12th I fly to Pgh, PA with Annabeth. I meet my mom, have lunch, then turn around and catch a different flight to Las Vegas.(different airline, but just a carryon, no luggage). Meanwhile my husband boards a flight from home to Las Vegas. I land in the airport and wait all of 5 minutes for him to arrive. NO delays or complications!

We catch a prepaid shuttle to the Hilton where we have a room for the night, then decide to head out and see the sites. We utilized the monorail to get to the strip. We got to see up close how crowded and icky the place is ...People, the city smells like hot garbage. Only one other time have I been that grossed out in a city ...New Orleans. Seriously not even New York is this bad. No wonder there is so much neon...it is to keep your eyes up off the ground. Got to see the Bellagio water show, but could not find the canopy of lights on Fremont St. (later we found out it is not on the Strip, it is downtown...miles away.) The city blocks are huge, and I guess i didn't expect the casinos to be so large. We only made it 2 blocks in 2 hours. We walked till about midnight (4am eastern time) then headed back to sleep.

Next day we discovered that nothing opens till 10 so we took advantage to go out and walk some more of the city...saw Luxor/Excalibur. and just so we are clear: 104 degrees is not ok because it is "dry" heat. I can't breathe in that kind of air...give me humidity anyday.


outside in the Dry heat
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

We finally got into ST when it opened...rode both rides, (The Klingon one was way better than the Borg one. ) Went on a backstage tour, and tried to buy souviners...but the convention the previous week and the fact they were closing in 2 weeks meant that the selection was PITIFUL. Any one know where i can get a lousy T-shirt that says " I was the last tourist at Star Trek the Experience"?

my favorite Enterprise D
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Me with Klingon
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

we stayed there and looked at all the stuff (and rode the rides more) most of the day, then had dinner in Quarks Bar. and caught the shuttle back to the airport around 11pm where Ian and I got on seperate red eyes. He went home, and I headed back to Pgh, PA for the week where my sisters wedding shower and my daughter waited.

My Biggest Challenge: trying to explain to normal people WHY we went to Vegas for 24 hours without looking loony tunes