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Published: November 16th 2009
Welcome
Welcome to VegasThis is being written about two months from my return to Vegas. Just thought I'd write up a short review of the trip and add some photos and stuff.
Billy, a friend of many years, and myself had decided to go on a short trip a few weeks prior to get away from the old grind of everyday life. At this point Billy was really getting into poker and wanted to try his hand at the Vegas tables so he suggested we take a trip there. I'm not much of a gambler but then again Vegas was a city I knew I wanted to see at least once in my lifetime so I figured what the hell, this could be fun regardless.
We left in the early hours of September 10th 2009 and were slated to stay for six full days. Many had told me this might be too long for a Vegas trip, but since it was to be our first times for the both of us in this town we figured it would do. We traveled from Montreal to the Fort Worth Airport in Texas (one of the cooler airports I've seen), and from there headed to
Over the Desert
Desert on the way to Las Vegas Vegas. We reached our destination in the early afternoon and marveled at the strip as we landed. The first thing we noticed was the intense, dry heat which seemingly began to drain our life forces. It was 37 Celsius with humidity below 10%!
We then took a shuttle from the airport to Treasure Island, the hotel we were staying at, right on the strip. It seemed really luxurious from the conditions we were used to when traveling, but we weren't going to complain. We explored the strip and noticed right off the bat how each hotel was attempting to outdo the next, to the point where it was becoming ridiculous. We checked them all out, the Bellagio, Venetian, Ceasar's Palace, Riviera, Paris, Luxor, MGM, New York New York, Mirage and many others.
For the next few days we saw some shows, gambled, ate (we bought a lot of groceries since eating out(properly) three times a day there was WAY beyond our budget), and went swimming. Billy ended up doing quite well at poker however and made several hundred dollars in winnings. I did well in slots but needed to control myself before blowing everything.
On our second
Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon to last day we rented a Jeep wrangler and proceeded to drive out of Nevada, into Utah and then south into Arizona all the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The views were spectacular and we experienced the vastness of the canyon that could only be attained from being there in person. After a while there we left to head back to Vegas and reached it late into the evening. Driving through the desert was an adventure in itself. We did about 500 miles in total, Billy drove there and I drove back. Billy now misses "our" Jeep.
On the final day we checked out all the little things we had left to do. We walked all the way to a shooting range and I fired a pistol and an automatic for the first time, it was an awesome experience. Billy, already being in the military, scored well with his single fire rifle. We then checked out the body works exhibition at the Luxor, which made me more aware of my visceral insides, skin, muscle, bones, etc. We went out again in the evening for our last time on the strip by night. Supposedly this town
Slots
Playing Slots is the brightest in the world after the sun sets.
The strip is a lot bigger than it seems in pictures, and we spent many hours just exploring. One thing that we had expected was how fake everything in Vegas really was, I guess this is why most people get over saturated with the place in only a few short days. As one cab driver we conversed with put it "This place is full of SHIT man!", and we whole heatedly agree. Still it's worthwhile to see at least once in a lifetime, whether you gamble or not.
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Nice pics!
Really good writing! Really good pics...got any more? Looking forward to Asia? Have a wonderful time and be careful!