Thursday June 3rd

St. George, Utah to Las Vegas

This morning is bright and sunny-so different then yesterday. Before leaving St. George, we gave the BK a badly needed bath and vaccuum. This is one chore we do not do well together. I take the wand and Fred uses the soapy brush and then we switch, but invariably one of us gets the other wet and we both end up grumpy.

We stopped at Valley of Fire State Park which is another absolutely gorgeous natural made wonder. The visitor center is well done with informative displays that explain the geological forces that created the work of art laid out before us. At one point in time this entire area was under a lake.

We hiked through the red sandstone on a trail that went past some great examples of petroglyphs. valleyfirepetroglyph We took some close up zoom lens picutures hoping to get one suitable to blow up and frame. The sandstone rock had lots of little caves carved out by erosion.

We drove past Overton Arm, which flows from Lake Mead. We have never seen water so crystal clear blue. We took the scenic route which we thought would take us past Lake Mead. However, the road never got close enough for us to see the lake, but the views were pretty nevertheless. We were mentally preparing ourselves for our next stop-the glitter of Las Vegas.

The Strip was bumper to bumper and we missed the entrance to our hotel. Fortunately around back was a parking lot and we parked and checked in. Unfortunately, the only way to get close to the door to unload our luggage, was to go back out onto the strip and pull a U-turn through three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Great job Fred on manuvering the BK. As we pulled up to the front of the hotel, we heard the great sound of someone calling our name. Diane and Bill, friends from back home, had just come out of the hotel as we pulled up. Great timing.

Where else but Las Vegas can you get a prime rib buffet dinner plus champagne on tap for $9.00? Yes-I said Champagne on tap! Those tiny champagne glasses don't hold much at one time so we wore out the carpet going back and forth to the tap. We sat and ate, drank champagne, and talked and laughed until the help gave us the evil eye. We had worn out our welcome at the buffet and it was time to try our luck at the slots.

We spent the evening exploring a few of the casinos and sticking some quarters here and there. I put a quarter into a slot and three money bags came up. I left out an involuntary scream that caused Fred, Bill and Diane to come running over. Oops! Those three money bags were only worth $1.25 but by now a crowd had started to gather. Fred, Bill and Diane were pushed out of the way (almost into the women's bathroom) by a bunch of white hairs who hovered around trying to see what the excitement was about. I sheepishly had to explain over and over that I had gotten excited over nothing. And where were my friends? They were over in the corner laughing their butts off as I fended off the crowd alone. Geez, you would think three money bags would be worth more than that.

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Friday June 4th

Las Vegas

The Geisha Bar in the casino would become our meeting point for the weekend since Diane and Bill were on the 13th floor and we were on the 17th. As we came down to meet that first morning, we spied Bill at the roulette table with a pile of chips in front of him. We stayed a discreet distance so as not to distract him or change his luck.

The Breakfast Buffet at the Imperial was excellent. Scrambled eggs, ham quiche, bacon, potatoes, pastries, and fruit were a few of the sumptuous foods we gorged ourselves on. Everything was delicious and all for $6.75. Now if only that champagne tap was open!

We walked down the strip to take a look at the other hotels. The Bellagio across the street looked like it was for the high rollers. Fountains choreographed to music shot into the air and the beige and gold facade was impressive. The Paris, in the process of being constructed, had an Eiffel Tower out front and replica of the Arc de Triomph. The facade of the hotel was built to resemble the Louvre. New York, New York looked like the skyline of the named city complete with the Statue of Liberty. The MGM Grand is so big, we wandered around for two hours before we could find our way out. Gambling must be a profitable enterprise.

As we walked down the strip, hucksters were constantly handing out literature. Magazines for adult entertainment were constantly shoved at us. After awhile, you learn to ignore and look the other way.

Outside the Tropicana, free spins of the wheel to win $10,000 were being offered. The guy assured us this was something in Vegas that was indeed free. We tried our luck and walked away with a coupon good for $2.00 off a drink served in a humougous glass. The drink cost us $8.00 each but was served in a yard. For those that don't know, a yard is a long skinny bulb-like tube about two feet high. The yards were filled with frozen Strawberry Daiquiris. Bill and Fred kept hiding theirs saying they were "sissy drinks". Diane performed a feat of magic by sucking a cherry stem up through her straw. Needless to say, by the time we were done with these drinks, we were feeling pretty good.

After that, we headed back to the MGM Grand for a free lounge show called Legends of Rock and Soul. We got four seats right up front and had a great time listening to the Blues Brothers, Arethea Franklin, Tina Turner, Cher, and Skinny Elvis and Fat Elvis. Mick Jagger was hysterical and we made our mark during Brown Sugar. On the part that goes...Yea, Yea, Yea, Whoo, all four of us threw our hands up into the air every time. Diane was cracking up because no one else was doing it but us and we were in perfect unison. We, from the East Coast, know how to rock! Diane did a great personal version of Satisfaction singing to Bill (who was trying to ignore her) that had people in the audience watching her. She is good with those Rolling Stones songs! Diane, take note-when we get home, we are going to Kareoke for you to do Satisfaction.

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Saturday June 5th

This morning Bill was again at the Roulette Table with a pile of pink chips in front of him. He had done well for himself in his early morning Roulette round.

We ate again at the Buffet in the hotel and then went to check out the Sports Book in the hotel. The Sports Book is where you bet on anything and everything. Since the Belmont was running that afternoon, we each picked a horse. We gathered at a big screen TV in the afternnon to watch the race. Adonis, Bill's horse, could barely get his butt in the gate. Diane bet on the philly, Fred picked Best of Luck and I went with Prime Directive. Unbelievably, horse #6 won the race (which none of us picked). I was mad at myself for not picking #6 because that is my lucky number. Diane decided that her horse stopped to fix her hair and Fred was making fun of his jockey, Frenchie. We all lost but it made it more fun to watch the race since we each had a rooting interest.

Here is one example of a Vegas bet - which will be higher, the number of runs scored in innings 6 - 9 during the Indians/Cubs game or what number Stephengolucky will come in during the race. Vegas will bet on anything!

We also picked some baseball games for a $5.00 bet. The Red Sox, who we had both picked, were beating the Braves when we sat down to watch the last inning. Darn if those Braves didn't pull it out with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. So much for those tickets!

We walked around to some different casinos with various degrees of luck. Bills highlight was displaying his easy rider skills on the Harley machine. I won't say how he did but lets just say we could see why you don't drink and drive. At one point we ended up on a tram between casinos. It seemed like a thrill ride to us but looking at the picture I'm sure alcohol had a wee bit to do with it.

I was bummed because I had not won anything all day. Fred hit with Lucky 7 slots, two times for $25.00 each. Diane's style was to check out the machines and then hit one with a few quarters and save all her winnings. She usually walked away with a pocket full of quarters. Bill was nicknamed Mr. Bill Jangles because he always had pockets of quarters.

I finally picked a Lucky 7 slot to put $5.00 into. I had the option of playing 1, 2 or 3 quarters at a time. I was down to $2.00 left, not winning anything, when I was going to cash out. Fred said, you might as well keep going. With $1.00 left, I hit the button to bet 3 quarters and up popped a wild card and 2 sevens for 600 quarters. Whoo Hoo-$150.00 in winnings.

All told, we just about broke even on our entertainment while in Vegas and Bill and Diane came out slightly ahead. Vegas will never get rich off of us.