Jason's Daily Notes

GUTEN ABEND. TANZ?!
Manschaft. Aka Team Manshaft.
I won $61.50. Gotta bet big to win big, I learned.

Friday night: Ross was at my apartment around 5:30. As soon as I met him, I tossed him my keys and told him to fill up my car with gas as I packed up my stuff. We drove to Pasadena (took an hour) to pick up Mickey at Del Taco. He was at Target, but instead of waiting Ross and I went to Target too. But he was already back at the Del Taco. Argh! We instead just went to Ralph's and bought some beer for the ride. In Victorville, we took a 6 mile detour off the freeway to get to Popeye's chicken (Ross, from St. Louis, simply HAD to have some). Turns out we got jipped, they gave us only 4 biscuits instead of six, but a large cole slaw (which I munched on the rest of the drive). It was 12:30am when we arrived in Vegas; dropped off Mickey to get picked up by his girlfriend at South Point. 1am, check into Circus Circus. Not that great of a hotel, and not a great location. You really do get what you pay for - we were staying in the "Manor" which is totally separate from the main hotel. Horrible location. The Germans (who came earlier with their rental car) soon arrived (~2am) with Denny's. We just hung out and drank at the hotel room til 4am. Oh, we had 2 rooms, btw, right across from each other - 2903 and 2904 - at the very end of the very last building. :/

Saturday. Woke up around 10:30. Got ready. I jumped on the trunk of my car.



We had brunch at Bellagio (I couldn't find a rear entrance to the parking garage). Bellissimo. Our server was Nigerian and friendly, hooking us up with extra champagne. Then, we walked around - Phil and I bought our Eiffel Tower sippy cups at Paris.



Then to Planet Hollywood, Walgreens, the M&M store (for Jan to withdraw cash), MGM Grand (where we played roulette, and I won $30), New York New York (the roller coaster was too expensive - $14), through Monte Carlo and Aria, and back to Bellagio. A nice hot September day in Vegas. Drove back to Circus Circus and swum in the pool for a few minutes as it closed.

That night everyone else went for a beer run while I rested for a little. We then soon left on a quest for food, around 8pm. We ended up in the Adventuredome and rode the Canyon Blaster roller coaster! Fun fun! Food was to-go but we had to sit at the table to order. Odd. Ate back at the rooms, drank, then left. Ross wanted to go to a club or strip club, so we left him behind to figure out for himself. The Germans and I then proceeded to gamble (or attempt to) at the cheap casino just next to Circus Circus's main hotel. Then we walked down the strip, checked out the Wynn and the Venetian before "settling" at the Mirage. I babysat Phil who was vomit-ish at a slot machine. Then everyone else was ready to leave, and they told me they all won like $30 each. I immediately got jealous and spontaneously threw down $40 at the nearby roulette table, betting on red. I won. I then bet $10 on the next spin and lost. Eh, $30 profit - not bad for 2 minutes' work. Back to Circus Circus via Treasure Island.

Sunday: Woke up at 10:15, check out was at 11. Ugh. Ulrike asked to sleep in our room so I gave her my side of the bed. Ross came back and luckily found his phone (which he had lost earlier). I checked out, just beating the worst of the 11am check-out rush, and kept one of the room keys in case we wanted access to the pool. We had brunch at Mandalay Bay (my tradition). Instead of walking through the Luxor, we drove the the Mirage for Felix to see Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden. I lay on a bench outside, soaking in the hot desert sun, and the other Germans gambled. I also had time to stroll across to Harrah's. I played video poker and won $1.50. I know statistics well enough to take whatever winnings I can, so I cashed out right there.
Then, we were off to the Hoover Dam! There was a 20-minute delay because of some pointless security screening stop. It was hot. The water level was much lower than it was the last time I visited (June 2008). Eh, I don't care too much for this damn dam.



Drove back to LA, leaving the dam around 5:30. Ross and Phil were in the car with me; we stopped at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign to take a couple pictures (I had never done that before!), after being separated from the other car. Darkness fell across the desert as we sped into California. Dinner was at Chipotle in Barstow (a much healthier option than all the other nearby fast food joints). We played 20 questions, and I couldn't guess what the dropper thingy was. I arrived back in West LA around 10:40, making pretty good time on the last leg.

Exhausting.