Las Vegas: entry

Dinner with Joey & Colleen Brewster in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS

January 11, 2005

Back on the road to Vegas, we checked into our hotel early evening and headed straight for the Strip! Our hotel offered a free shuttle, which dropped us off at the lobby of Harrah’s. In hindsight, it would have been all too easy to walk through the casino onto the main Strip, so we opted for the more adventurous route through the dark alley. Opps! After a few wrong turns, we knew we had hit the Strip when we were blinded by the bright, flashing lights! All very impressive, but we would hate to see their electric bill at the end of the month. Ha Ha!!

Our first stop on the Strip was dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. The food, drinks and entertainment were all authentic to the Caribbean-style that we enjoyed back on our honeymoon. In fact, the dinner entertainment included an island-themed show with people walking on extremely high-stilts as Jimmy Buffet played in the back ground on the big screens. We were impressed!

After dinner, we explored the world famous Caesar’s Palace. Joey got off to a good start on the nickel slots with a grand total winning of $5.25!!! Needless to say he left Caesar’s slightly “ahead.”

With Joey’s recent financial upturn, he treated us to a round of frozen mixed drinks at Fat Tuesdays. He even got us the extra dollar shot on top! Stumbling on, we ventured through the shops and restaurants at Caesar’s Palace, where you truly feel as if you are walking the streets of Rome. Caesar’s even goes as far as creating a dome-shaped ceiling with blue skies and white fluffy clouds, you almost forget that you are actually inside a casino.

Trying to leave Caesar’s, or any casino for that matter, can often take several attempts… at least it did for us!!! It can be hard to navigate through the thousands of slots and gambling tables… especially after several “free drinks.” But alas, we found our way out and headed for Paris.

The Paris Casino also had an authentic European feel to it. In fact, we swear we were walking down Champs Elysees. After a few five cent slots, we ventured onward to Bally’s, etc.

We capped off the evening with one more round of drinks and a slice of Margarita pizza for Becca.

January 12, 2005

We started our day with the thrilling Manhattan Roller Coaster Express at New York, New York Casino. What a rush! After the roller coaster, it was off to the New York, New York’s Arcade. We came across an old-style carnival game that was originally from the Daytona Beach Boardwalk!! We couldn’t pass this one up! Dusty was victorious and won a Patrick doll from the Sponge Bob Square Pants cartoon.

During the day we hit the Excalibur Casino and the Luxor, and then headed back to New York, New York for pizza on Broadway!

Passing through Harrah’s on the way back to the hotel, Becca tried her luck once more and scored! On the last quarter of her dollar, she hit it big and walked away with $125 in pocket. This ended up being our most profitable financial upturn in Vegas .

Later on that evening, we kicked things off at Z Tejas, which was conveniently located next to our hotel. Thanks again Uncle Gus & Aunt Katie for introducing us to these frozen margaritas! From there, we were off to the Luxor to catch the Blue Man Group. If you ever get a chance to check them out, you should! It was awesome. From flying paint to drumming on PVC pipes… it really is hard to put into words. But check it out! Highly recommended.

We ended our evening with a nice sushi dinner at a place recommended by Dusty’s Mom and Steve.

Heading back to the shuttle, we chanced another dollar in the quarter slots, but came up empty handed and a dollar short. Vegas definitely is a town of hit and miss luck!

January 13, 2005

Vegas began to take its toll on us and it ended up being another leisurely start to the day. By noon we were finally ready to check out the Hoover Dam!!! A destination Dusty couldn’t miss! On our drive there, we came across our first, of many, In N’ Out fast food restaurants, where Joey was introduced to his first Animal Style Cheeseburger and said it was “Fantastic!” Joey explained that it was the “best cheeseburger he had ever had in his entire life and looks forward to more as the trip continues.”

Continuing onward, we arrived at the Hoover Dam in the early afternoon. The Hoover Dam truly is an “engineering wonder of the modern world!” Many men sacrificed their lives in order to bring the dessert to life. The entire southwest portion of the United States should be grateful to this turning point in our nation’s history. Dusty would like to extend his personal appreciation to the late President Hoover for showing that men can come together as a team, when lead properly, to accomplish feats that supersede human capabilities.

Later on that evening, we joined our “best friends” Joey & Colleen on Freemont Street, the Old Vegas Strip. We dined on the 24^th floor of Binions Horseshoe Casino, where we enjoyed “a cheap steak.” The restaurant offered breathtaking views of the downtown Vegas lights. And Joey & Colleen provided refreshing Kirby conversation of everyday Vegas life. It was great seeing you two again!

After dinner it was off to the infamous Golden Nugget Casino, a marvelous hangout of the late, great Sammy Davis, Jr. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any of his luck with the “loose slots.”