Colliding Continents
For The Adventurer Within
Monday, April 14, 2008
Whirlwind Ride Through Vegas
Sometimes you need a vacation from a vacation. One particular trip comes to mind; Las Vegas 2005. I went to go visit a friend of mine in Los Angeles in July 2005 for a little over a week just to get away from the east coast of US for a little bit. During my stay – throughout which I persisted on the California sun, chlorinated water, $3 happy hr. margaritas and copious amounts of Enzo’s 22” Hawaiian pizzas - his neighbor, whom he had befriended, had mentioned that he was going to Las Vegas for the 4th of July weekend.
It was a family tradition. His family was quite wealthy and were the owners of a very famous professional basketball team. He, himself, is one of the most down-to-earth persons that I had ever met. He insisted that I go along for the trip and that it would be great fun. I explained that I really was intent on maintaining my regimented schedule of sun-tequila-lunch-sun-dinner-tequila throughout my stay as I had been in need of serious relaxation. Vegas, my gut instinct insisted, would be way too dangerous given my extremely extroverted nature.
My gut instinct is my biggest asset. It has been correct throughout my existence and has gotten me out of the stickiest of situations on numerous occasions. Unfortunately my brain, my spirit and my gut were not born to listen to each other. Instead they come together on a regular basis to discuss “next steps.” It is during these board meetings that decisions are made regarding the course of my life. Unfortunately, on some occasions not all members of the board are coherent or sober, much like the moment I decided to yell out “We’re going to Vegas!!” on a street corner, in LA, in front of a Mexican bar/restaurant, with my friends in response to: “So, it’s 4th of July and it is 8PM, what do we do now?”
It was somewhere in Nevada that we decided to address some key logistical issues. Where are we going to sleep, change, etc. The decision was made that we were not going to sleep, that we would spend the night having fun and return the next day to LA. Changing in the car and leaving the car in the MGM Grand parking lot would accommodate our need for a changing room. The plan was perfect!
Arriving in Las Vegas sometime after 12AM, we park the vehicle, change and make our way to the casinos. The magical thing about Las Vegas casinos is that you drink for free as you gamble. It only makes sense. So you take a $20 and break it into quarters and take your sweet time at the slot machines. Until, of course, you are inebriated enough to move to the big boy tables. One of my biggest vices is roulette and after an undisclosed amount of Bombay and tonics I said hello to the spinning wheel with all the numbers. Now I know this sounds like a prelude to a painful experience, and it is, but not at the roulette table. I walked away a happy camper, with hundreds more than I expected to walk away with. Yet it was only 2AM and I had another 16hours in Las Vegas with no sleep.
The night continued leaving my friends empty handed and beyond the ability to operate heavy machinery. Eventually the desert sun filled the sky and our bodies demanded food. We found ourselves at an all you can eat, 24hr buffet in an old casino at 7AM. Needless to say we were not in top form. Old people were looking at us with expressions of pity and disgust. Our food tasted like the expressions on their faces – pitiful and disgusting, but we ate it. Even the orange juice wasn’t right, how do you mess up orange juice?
The sudden slamming of plates woke up my two companions from their temporary sleep as the waitress brought down a few plates onto the table with a certain vengeance. “No sleeping at the table!” I explained, in an obvious attempt to maintain some class, that I wasn’t sleeping and I thought her actions rude. She looked at me not slightly amused and pointed at my two friends, both of whom had slipped back into unconsciousness. I force them awake, finish my food and we all left the restaurant.
It was 103F at 10AM. The three of us did not know what to do. So we wandered along Las Vegas Blvd., our hangovers getting worse, exploring both the classy and not so classy areas by day. The heat pounds down onto your shoulders like a hammer on an anvil, it is relentless. The sun’s rays washed everything out, Vegas really only looks good at night. It felt like one big hazy dream. Like being lost in a desert. Naturally, regret begins to show itself. The thought of just laying out on the pool pushes me to a certain level of annoyance. “I should’ve listened to my gut!” I tell myself. “Could be at a pool right now!” Then a realization dawns upon me “...well, why not be poolside?”
Within twenty minutes we find ourselves lounging on pool chairs in Caesar’s Palace. The cold rough cut marble was soothing to the touch. The sounds of water splashing from fountains with cherubs put us to sleep within minutes. It was perfect, We found paradise, for about forty minutes. That is how long it takes Caesar’s Palace security to notice three fully clothed men passed out by the swimming pool.
As we were escorted out our friend who was in Vegas to visit family calls and is in shock, he can’t believe that we actually made it out to Vegas and invited us over to his family’s house. Thank god there was no one there except for him. I said hi, sat down and passed out thirty-five minutes into our conversation. How rude of me, I know.
Later in the afternoon, we made our way back out to the casinos, somewhat refreshed. One last dance before we hit the road again. It was uneventful save for my last win on a slot machine. The journey home could have been better. The trip had exacted a heavy toll. 48hrs awake, 1.5hrs of sleep, dehydration and a slight case of insomnia. My eyes were dry and my entire body hurt.
The entire experience was fun, all in all, but I would never do it again. Next time, I’ll have a hotel, a nice cool room and lots more time. I owe it to myself, and I owe Caesar’s Palace that much.
It was a family tradition. His family was quite wealthy and were the owners of a very famous professional basketball team. He, himself, is one of the most down-to-earth persons that I had ever met. He insisted that I go along for the trip and that it would be great fun. I explained that I really was intent on maintaining my regimented schedule of sun-tequila-lunch-sun-dinner-tequila throughout my stay as I had been in need of serious relaxation. Vegas, my gut instinct insisted, would be way too dangerous given my extremely extroverted nature.
My gut instinct is my biggest asset. It has been correct throughout my existence and has gotten me out of the stickiest of situations on numerous occasions. Unfortunately my brain, my spirit and my gut were not born to listen to each other. Instead they come together on a regular basis to discuss “next steps.” It is during these board meetings that decisions are made regarding the course of my life. Unfortunately, on some occasions not all members of the board are coherent or sober, much like the moment I decided to yell out “We’re going to Vegas!!” on a street corner, in LA, in front of a Mexican bar/restaurant, with my friends in response to: “So, it’s 4th of July and it is 8PM, what do we do now?”
It was somewhere in Nevada that we decided to address some key logistical issues. Where are we going to sleep, change, etc. The decision was made that we were not going to sleep, that we would spend the night having fun and return the next day to LA. Changing in the car and leaving the car in the MGM Grand parking lot would accommodate our need for a changing room. The plan was perfect!
Arriving in Las Vegas sometime after 12AM, we park the vehicle, change and make our way to the casinos. The magical thing about Las Vegas casinos is that you drink for free as you gamble. It only makes sense. So you take a $20 and break it into quarters and take your sweet time at the slot machines. Until, of course, you are inebriated enough to move to the big boy tables. One of my biggest vices is roulette and after an undisclosed amount of Bombay and tonics I said hello to the spinning wheel with all the numbers. Now I know this sounds like a prelude to a painful experience, and it is, but not at the roulette table. I walked away a happy camper, with hundreds more than I expected to walk away with. Yet it was only 2AM and I had another 16hours in Las Vegas with no sleep.
The night continued leaving my friends empty handed and beyond the ability to operate heavy machinery. Eventually the desert sun filled the sky and our bodies demanded food. We found ourselves at an all you can eat, 24hr buffet in an old casino at 7AM. Needless to say we were not in top form. Old people were looking at us with expressions of pity and disgust. Our food tasted like the expressions on their faces – pitiful and disgusting, but we ate it. Even the orange juice wasn’t right, how do you mess up orange juice?
The sudden slamming of plates woke up my two companions from their temporary sleep as the waitress brought down a few plates onto the table with a certain vengeance. “No sleeping at the table!” I explained, in an obvious attempt to maintain some class, that I wasn’t sleeping and I thought her actions rude. She looked at me not slightly amused and pointed at my two friends, both of whom had slipped back into unconsciousness. I force them awake, finish my food and we all left the restaurant.
It was 103F at 10AM. The three of us did not know what to do. So we wandered along Las Vegas Blvd., our hangovers getting worse, exploring both the classy and not so classy areas by day. The heat pounds down onto your shoulders like a hammer on an anvil, it is relentless. The sun’s rays washed everything out, Vegas really only looks good at night. It felt like one big hazy dream. Like being lost in a desert. Naturally, regret begins to show itself. The thought of just laying out on the pool pushes me to a certain level of annoyance. “I should’ve listened to my gut!” I tell myself. “Could be at a pool right now!” Then a realization dawns upon me “...well, why not be poolside?”Within twenty minutes we find ourselves lounging on pool chairs in Caesar’s Palace. The cold rough cut marble was soothing to the touch. The sounds of water splashing from fountains with cherubs put us to sleep within minutes. It was perfect, We found paradise, for about forty minutes. That is how long it takes Caesar’s Palace security to notice three fully clothed men passed out by the swimming pool.
As we were escorted out our friend who was in Vegas to visit family calls and is in shock, he can’t believe that we actually made it out to Vegas and invited us over to his family’s house. Thank god there was no one there except for him. I said hi, sat down and passed out thirty-five minutes into our conversation. How rude of me, I know.
Later in the afternoon, we made our way back out to the casinos, somewhat refreshed. One last dance before we hit the road again. It was uneventful save for my last win on a slot machine. The journey home could have been better. The trip had exacted a heavy toll. 48hrs awake, 1.5hrs of sleep, dehydration and a slight case of insomnia. My eyes were dry and my entire body hurt.
The entire experience was fun, all in all, but I would never do it again. Next time, I’ll have a hotel, a nice cool room and lots more time. I owe it to myself, and I owe Caesar’s Palace that much.
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