Vegas, old and new

So I am getting pretty pumped up about this coming up weekend. We are heading to Vegas on Friday and as always, I am having trouble sleeping before we leave. This really sucks for me as I don't really ever get a lot of sleep while in Vegas. Staying up super late, and then getting up early so as I don't miss anything. I think that is the way of most people when they hit Vegas, but maybe it is that old urban myth about them pumping oxygen into the air to keep you more awake. Not sure if I believe that or not, but it does seem odd that when I am there I have a tendency to get by on very little sleep.

The major problem is that once I get back from Vegas I need another holiday to get back all the lost sleep, but I know...poor Rob. Having to go to Vegas and party, gamble, see shows.....I know you all feel sorry for me.

So we are driving to Bellingham and flying out Friday afternoon on Allegiant Air. Allegiant is a budget, no frills airline that offers amazing deals at times. At times you can get a flight to Vegas for $28, but you have to add in taxes, seat priority, and baggage. Great little airline and so far we have always been lucky to have good flights and such. Our trip down should be a blast for Leanne and I, and seeing as it is an all day affair it should only add to the anticipation.

Arriving in Vegas around 7:00 pm, we will be well on our way to getting checked in and having drinks, I hope no later than 9:00....woohoo!!!!

I plan on playing poker down there. I know this is hard to imagine but yes, I am a poker nut. Leanne is just learning the game by playing in the BCAP league and is doing pretty good for a newbie. I will get her to play in a couple of tournaments down there to break her Vegas poker cherry....hmmmm, that sounds sordid...hehehe. We are staying at the Monte Carlo on the strip and is my first time staying there and for the most part I have heard ok things about it. Good location, decent pool with a river run, and a poker room. Stores are close by and with all the construction nearby there is new stuff to see and do. This should be fun for sure. Included in our trip package is 2 tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show "KA". I have been to a couple of Cirque shows and I enjoy them immensely, so I was tickled when they were included in the package. I didn't find out till later that we could have gone and seen Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood playing in Vegas but it would have been a couple of hundred bucks. Oh well, Slow hand will have to wait till we are ready to see him.

Leanne is not much of a gambler so being in Vegas with her will be a new experience for me. I have no problem doing other things than just playing poker and the one thing I have never done is hung out by the pool in Vegas. I imagine I will float around in the river run with her which should be relaxing for sure. Have some drinks, hit the pool, have some more drinks....etc...you know the routine.

Their is such an allure for me to Vegas. I am infatuated with the history, and aura that old Vegas puts out there. I love reading stories, books, watching movies etc. about the days of Vegas when it was just starting out and the things that happened to shape Vegas to what it is now. There is such a sordid, let loose, let anything happen feel to Vegas that it truly is Sin City. Anything goes, and it usually does. There are so many things to do in Vegas that even tho you may not be a gambler you can still never do everything that it has to offer. From shopping to sports, from sightseeing to people watching, there really is no end to what one can do there. Old Vegas or Freemont Street as people know it now, is the epitome of what Vegas once was. So many of the old movies set in Vegas you will see the traffic, people, and casinos of that area. The Golden Nugget, the Four Queens, and Binion's....to name just a few have such a history from the very start, that the nostalgia is there and for the taking.

I am stoked, and so looking forward to this trip.