Sunday, July 09, 2006

An exciting couple of weekends... #2 Las Vegas

On Thursday I picked up my friend Ryan from Calgary at the Los Angeles airport, and we promptly drove to Las Vegas after stopping at In N Out burger for a #1 combo.

As with the road trip to Prakash and Priya's wedding the week before, I was very happy with the fuel economy of my car, which made it to Vegas in less than a tank of fuel.



We got to the Mandalay Bay on the Strip in about 6 hours, as the traffic was horrid and I guess we left at the wrong time. The others that were meeting for the UFC fights on Saturday were held up in Calgary, so Ryan and I went to the casino and met with a former colleague and friend of mine Mat Simper for a buffet dinner Vegas style. We then proceeded to go to Rumjungle club for a quick beverage... Thursday night was a bit quiet.

The others were there from Calgary on Friday, so we went to the beach pool and to the Luxor Hotel for a lunch and the world largest marguerita. Friday night was interesting, a couple of the guys were a bit up on the casino, and they certainly enjoyed the free beverages while gambling. I had spent my $40 budget, so I was a bystander for most of the gambling time, although I quite like the free drinks, and the wheel of fortune one armed bandit machine is very tempting, although the house normally wins.

I took this photo of the Vegas airport from my hotel room. The planes that you can see parked up are the unmarked 737's that ferry workers from Vegas to Area 51 which is the top secret US Airforce base about 80 miles north of Las Vegas. I would like to see what the military has hiding out there...



On Saturday I drove up the strip to look at a piece of property that is for sale in which I have been working on selling. The outside temp was about 42 C. Phew



I then proceeded to go to Henderson Nevada where Mat Simper lives. He lives in a great subdivision and it is about 20 minutes from the strip. We hopped in the car and proceeded to drive to the Hoover Dam which is on the Nevada Arizona border. It is an amazing piece of construction and as you can tell Mat seemed to be impressed too.



So we crossed the Hover Dam to Arizona and took some great photos of the dam and surrounding areas.... Here is the proof I was actually there.







I tell you, it was hot out there, but they tell me it was a mild day.



Knowing how hot it was, 41C, doesn't that water look inviting?



So we hopped back in the car and headed back to the great state of Nevada. It was very exciting driving over the Hoover Dam. The Government is constructing a new bridge to bypass the dam, so it wont be much longer you will be able to drive over Hoover and take pictures like this...





I then went to Mat's place and watched the UFC fights on pay per view. I went back to the hotel and got up very early this morning and drove back to my place in just over 3 1/2 hours.

That was my weekend..... I had fun.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice pics Rob.
Don't bother going to area 51, there is nothing but desert and lengthy signs which give the impression they will shoot to kill if you get close. I'm sure the moon faced farm boys stuck in the desert on guard duty would just love to "light up" a trespassing kiwi. Yeehaw!

Rob Good said...

I guess that you are right. I have seen a photo of the warning sign. They even have electronic sniffers to decide if it is a animal or human crossing the border.... Guess I will need an invite if I want to go to Area 51.

Anonymous said...

Wow, they have dirty hippie sniffers? Thats some impressive tech.

I can just imagine some tin foil hat wearers trying to sneak past using 8 bottles of Drakkar Noir as a cloaking device...

Rob Good said...

Well I wonder who would get the last laugh? I'd say the gentleman with the machine gun.....

Rob Good said...

Hey Horsie, At least you are still beautiful.... :-)

Mike J. Stark said...

Weather sounds brill mate so why the black clothes? goin goth now?.

When ever I think of the Hoover Dam I recall a Mathew Perry movie "Fools Rush In" when Salma Hyek (spelling i know) drove over the stateline and tossed a coin over for good luck. I'd like to try that myself one day

Rob Good said...

For the record, the shorts are blu along with the shoes Mikee..... You better hurry up if you want to do that as they are building a bridge to bypass the dam it should be complete within a year or two.

Stephanie said...

Gotta befriend an MM Rob!

Rob Good said...

I have a few Military friends. They are mot allowed at area 51 either.