It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. OMG! Eric arrived in Vegas late, way past my bedtime (he came from Denver where he and Celia have been for the last month). Yet, he was "starving" so I sucked it up and went out in search of his dinner. The streets were packed, shoulder-to-shoulder. There were birthday celebrators, wedding elopers, bachelors party attendees, March Madness watchers, end of Lent recognizers and general crazies. I commented on how much fun everyone was having and how generally happy they seemed. Eric let loose, shrieking at me about decadence, exploitation, waste and the low life population amongst us. I took a deep breath... It was an evening of Light, it was the evening of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." It's good to see Eric again. It really is.
I had an easy flight from Boston. Margot dropped me off at Logan at 6:45 a.m. and I waited a couple of hours for my shuttle to Newark. It was worth the early arrival. There were no lines and I was able to sweet talk the attendant into giving me a bulkhead seat for the second leg to Vegas without having to pay the upgrade fee. Thank goodness. A seat in the back of a full 727 for five hours would have really sucked.
Across the isle on the Newark to Vegas leg, three women, probably in their late thirties (see photo.
), were readying for a big girl's weekend away. Moments after takeoff they ordered their first of many Bloody Mary's. Pace yourself girls. It's going to be a long three days.
With their loud abrasive New York accents, they discussed their plans for the weekend. Def Leppard (can you believe they still exist), playing at the Hard Rock, was the centerpiece of their plans. Apparently this is some one time special event for Def's most "special fans". Whatever.
Beyond the concert, there were plenty of other things on their docket. They spent a lot of time reviewing their rules of engagement for the weekend; be each other's wingman; no one was to leave a club with a strange guy. Also, don't let your drink out of your sight. If you're suspicious, don't drink it. "When in in doubt, throw it out". Be sure to tri-text, so we can be in contact as a team. Keep your antennae high. There a lot of creeps out there. The bad ones tend to be by themselves. Lean towards guys that are with friends." All good advice. I was impressed.
I killed some time on the plane by watching "Life of Pi". Heart warming. Terrific special effects. Two hours well spent.
The flight arrived 20 minutes early. Yay. After being taken on a long detour by the cab driver (his English seemed to get a lot worse when I protested), I checked into Treasure Island, me and a hundred others. Because of the long wait, The desk clerk said he was giving me a "Deluxe" room. I think "deluxe" is the new "No frills". It was ordinary at best. Oh we'll, at least there were two beds and a ceiling.
I went down and and hung out by the pool for an hour (see video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVUcMvd_R0g ). It wasn't a place for solitude and a new paperback. It was fun nonetheless. There is no place like Vegas.
I had dinner and then watched most of the Michigan - Kansas game at the Vanitian. With three minutes left and Kansas leading by 13, I decided to head to Caesars Palace to catch the Duke game. When I arrived, Kansas had blown its lead. The game was heading into overtime. What? Are you serious? The overtime was a thriller (see video. http://youtu.be/htPGgXB4t-0 ). March Madness at its best. I can't believe Michigan won! Brian, that one was for you. By the way Brian, I have my "Heaven can wait" T-shirt with me. I'll take a picture with it at some cool place and post it on your Facebook
We pick up the bikes late morning. I think we will head to Hoover Dam and then towards Flagstaff. I'm not sure we will make it the whole way. It doesn't matter. We're going to take it slow, exploring some off road trails and probably do a little hiking. I can't wait to get going. I've been looking forward to this for quite awhile.
Over and out.
George
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