VACA #2, 2008

Sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.

Megan, Candice, and I set out Thursday night for an adventure to Vegas. Since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas I am breaking all of the rules to even tell you about it. Our flight left SLC shortly after 7 and was overbooked. So we offered to be bumped if needed, Adventure #1... it was not needed. Darn it. That later flight and $200 in Delta credits would have been cool. We got to Vegas no problem, got our car, checked into the Excalibur, and grabbed some late night chow.

Friday was Star Trek day. We slept in a bit, as one is want to do on vacation. I had just finished with my shower and put my clothes on and was getting ready to brush my teeth when the fire alarm went off. All three of us looked at each other, Candice said, "Shall we?" We grabbed our essential bag (purse) and walked out the door to the nearest exit and waited for the fire trucks to come... they never did. So we, along with the one other room that left the tower, walked to the front entrance and asked the concierge why no one else seemed concerned that the fire alarm was going off in Tower I? Apparently there was a fire alarm test and no one bothered to tell the visitors. Adventure #2! We ate breakfast and then returned to the room so I could brush my noxious breath. Then off to experience Star Trek.

As stated in a previous post I was raised by geeks and am 11% geek myself. I have to admit I love the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. We bought the normal pass along with a backstage tour (mostly for Megan who is the true fan) and off we went. First we walked through the museum a bit. Megan got a pic with a Ferengi, she would not touch his ears... such virtue! Then we encountered a Klingon who frankly was super funny! In the museum there are costumes from each of the series as well as a timeline that was really cool. It starts with factual dates and then adds in Star Trek dates (star dates if you will.) There are phasers even a photon torpedo (not the one that Spok was shot into space in.) There are more pictures and fun alien facts than one can read in one pass. We went on the rides next where the Borg tried to assimilate us and the Klingons tried to kidnap us so that Captain Picard would not be born. Apparently he is my progeny. It just was nice to know that I will have children one day… this is probably only funny if you were there with us… something about an inside joke because I know that Picard is not real… or is he?

After doing the rides and all we went on the back stage tour and we did raise our hands and promise to keep everything a secret, but I will tell you some of the little trivia things that are not so secret to fans of the show. GNDN, if you ever see in on a door, means Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing. The hallway in Start Trek: The Next Generation has little stickers that have fun little sayings like the theme from Gilligan’s Island, or “There is nothing behind this panel.” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” That was very cool. I would have liked to take a picture but copy right laws prevented me from doing so. Somewhere during this time we also had our pictures taken on the bridge of Enterprise D and also being assimilated by the Borg, Resistance is Futile, you know! The coolest part, to me, anyway was that we were able to be under one of the rides when it was actually happening to see how it works. Adventure #C. That was pretty cool!

After this we ate at Quark’s Bar and then went shopping. Megan was like a sexy geek magnet. I wondered if the Klingon was going to ever leave her alone of if the guy asking for her advice while shopping realized she was not interested in him. Oy Megs!! You need to stop being so cute! I got the best new shirt for me, a bowling shirt that says Quark’s Bar, and then got Ainsleigh a onesie that says: Star Fleet Academy and a jumper that says: Captain this diaper can’t take much more.

After Star Trek we drove back to change and then RACED, and I mean RACED (Adventure #4), to see Le Reve, a Cirque De Soleil show. This was my favorite part of the trip. It was my first Cirque show and I was in love with it. However, it was the most beautiful panic attack I have ever had. The beauty is great, but so are the stunts and I was a little worried from time to time that they would fall from such great heights. I would like to see another show very soon!

Saturday we packed up to come home… little did we know this was just a joke! In the morning we went to the Mandalay Bay and saw the sharks, grabbed a burger at In and Out, drank some nasty Coke from around the World (Adventure #5) and visited the M&M store (btw I found a very cool M&M Monopoly game!) After this we RACED again to return our car and make it to the airport in time to miss our flight. IDon’t get me started, don’t even get me started! We were there in plenty of time to make the flight; they just would not allow us to check in. Needless to say that $150 later (each) we had seats on the flight the next morning. Adventure #6. I tried to call a coworker to see if I could buy him dinner in return for allowing us to sleep in his spare room, but Adam did not get my message until we were back in our hotel and already had tickets to see another show that night. We went to see the jousting show that is put on and drank Dragon’s Blood Soup… it is tomato soup… they make me laugh. Actually the pain pill I was on that night made me laugh more than anything else. I was not feeling so great that day, although I can not tell you what was going on, my joints hurt.

The next morning at 4:15 (Adventure #The Last) my alarm woke us up (which is good because I was being rude in taking the covers from Candice… sorry, my bad.) We took a cab to the airport and made it there WAY early for our flight. We were home around 9. Did I mention that my church starts at 9 and I was supposed to teach Sunday School? Good thing I have a nice aunt who called the SS Pres and asked him to teach for me. I probably could have made it to Sacrament Meeting, but I went to bed instead and woke up sometime around 5 that night. The post below is full of pics, and this post is long enough.