But it’s a Dry Heat…

Vegas 

An early morning in Vegas and straight to the buffet (the reason I came to Vegas in the first place).  The buffet was exactly what one would expect.  But I didn’t expect lunch and dinner courses available for breakfast.  Tacos for breakfast?!

After stuffing our faces, we headed for the Atomic Testing Museum.  Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly the hippest site in town.  Leave it to a physicist and a computer engineer to make this the first stop while in Sin City…  Anyway, the museum was really cool and educational.  We even bought Albert Einstein action figures for our other physicist friends.  Here’s a montage of atomic bomb testing pics.

Then we went to the Luxor to go on the IMAX Ridefilm.  It’s a motion simulation ride.  You know, one of those rides that shake while you’re watching a movie, so it seems like you’re really moving.  Well, this is about the scariest ride I’ll ever go on.  Yes, I’m a total wimp when it comes to rides.  I even get scared with simulated motion…

The lunch buffet at the Luxor was supposed to be great (according to my guide book), but I found it to be edible at best.  Oh well, win some lose some.

Then we walked around for a while on the strip.

And of course, the even more bizarre… 

don’t we all?

At 115 F, it felt a lot like I would imagine hell to be like.  My Arizona companion said the heat felt like launching an oven into the sun, then sending an astronaut to retrieve the cookies from the oven…  That was pretty accurate.  It was HOT! 

I didn’t drink enough water, so I suffered a bit from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  I said we’d go back to the hotel to take a nap.  Well, I fell asleep at around 6pm and didn’t wake up until the next morning.  Oops, I missed Vegas at night again!

Overall, I think Las Vegas is overrated.  There were mostly families and blue-hairs.  It seems like the kind of place my mother and her friends would love to go.  It’s certainly not the ‘Sin City’ of the past.  If you’re a 20-something looking for some fun, I’d say skip Vegas.

Where’s my Antler?!

I’m so excited!  I’ll be flying out for Tucson, AZ on Thursday.  Also, we decided to drive out to the Grand Canyon before going to Las Vegas.  However, my antler and hiking stuff still have not made it back from Japan.

It’s not like I really NEED the antler…  but I do need my pack and hydration bag, and my cute cricket hat (about which I received much mocking).  I don’t care what anyone says; few people can mix style and functionality like I can.  ; )

BTW, I added a “Pending Travels” link to my website.  There you can see maps of my tentative trips. 

Some people have complained of IE (Internet Explorer) crashing when trying to load that page.  I’m not sure what’s up with that, but I think you may need the new version of IE or some plug-in for Google Maps.  However, I blame Al Gore.  He’s been so busy with his concert, he really let the interweb go to hell lately…

Vegas Baby!

Well, my wanderlust has gotten the best of me (once again), so I have just (spontaneously) bought plane tickets to Tucson, Arizona.  Once there, my Tucson buddy and I will drive to Las Vegas! 

I have no idea what I will do once I get to Vegas, but I do hear some buffets calling my name.  Mmmmm… buffets…  *drool*  Anyway, this will all go down in a couple of weeks.  So I guess you can soon expect another round of photos, and crazy travel blog stories (hopefully).