Tuesday, December 15, 2009

In the middle of a blogger weekend

Who knew it got foggy in Las Vegas?  It’s really not foggy, outside anyway.  The time rushing by certainly make this weekend a blur.

This is the December weekend when friends we call the poker bloggers descend on Vegas to hug, drink, talk, and gamble a bit.  I scheduled this trip for myself back in the August heat of Iraq as a present to myself.  Of course, Dr. K has been great about allowing/encouraging this trip, so at least half of the gift is from her.

The trip out was smooth.  I had a first-class upgrade on US Airways, so the booze started flowing before we left the ground.  After 4 more mini-bottles of of tequila and a nap (go figure), we touched down in Vegas.  First stop after check-in, the MGM poker room and the first of several monetary losses playing hold’em.

Next came the Geisha Bar at the Imperial Palace and the gathering of friends, both old and new.  Of course Falstaff found his bachelor party level of  intoxication and seemed to enjoy every bit of it.  Dr. Dave Schwartz came by and chatted for over an hour.  What a great, fun, nice, smart guy.  It was a pleasure to let Falstaff buy him a drink or two. :) 

A big shocker was the attendance of Mrs. GCox.  I knew (and still very much regret) that GCox would not be attending, so it really didn’t register when I saw the Mrs.  My mind told itself “she looks an awful lot like Mrs. GCox.”  It wasn’t until later that she came back around and we had a great talk.  The GCox’s are some of the finest people I know and a always come away from visiting with them richer for that time.

Yesterday brought a visit to the Neon Boneyard.  Here is an areal view:

It’s a little hard to see on the small view, The lots full of old vegas signage are on either side of E. McWilliams Avenue in the center of the map.  In the lower lot is a clear view of the old skull sign from the Treasure Island.  This was a great time and well worth the 2 hours and cold temperatures.

Here are a few pictures of the Neon Boneyard from ground level:

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My trip report on the second half of the weekend coming soon.

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