Family Weekend

Alright! It's time for me to finally stop procrastinating and write about what a wonderful freakin' weekend Pam and I had when some family came into town. Why has it taken me so long to write it? Well, once I blog about it, that means it was over, officially. It was certainly hard to let go of the great times we had a week ago (over a week ago, yikes, I'm really late on this).

Mom, Dad, Mom-Mom and Aunt Dee Dee arrived Wednesday night, around ten o'clock. Which, if you think about it, is really late according to their internal clocks, which were still set to Eastern Standard Time. But they rallied just enough to soak in some of the Las Vegas culture before bedtime.

Pam had work until one at The 'Rise, so I walked over to the Mirage and met them. A sight for sore eyes, that bunch. It was such a relief to see some familiar faces, and to have company! I can get a little stir crazy, spending so much time by myself, so this was to be a weekend to fix that.

They checked in, and we caught up over the unpacking of the bags. Thankfully, some soft pretzels and wine got through that strict airport security. Nothing says Philadelphia like soft pretzels, and it was a nice taste of home. The five of us got a late night meal at the Mirage's BLT burger (where the sandwiches were tasty, and the "house-brewed BLT beer" was just Pabst Blue Ribbon, according to our waiter), and then decided to take a quick jaunt down the strip, just to see the sights, as sort of a precursor to the weekend.

They made it until approximately the same time that Aunt Dee Dee would be normally waking up for work, before calling it a night. What troopers!

Thursday morning, being on different sleep schedules, Pam and I arrived at the Mirage swimming pool a little later than the rest of the gang. Holy moley, what a nice pool they have over there! Especially compared to the Candlewood's rectangle filled with tepid water, this place was gorgeous. Palm trees, lounge chairs, waterfalls, poolside bar, it was the perfect place to hang out during a warm Nevada spring day. The slushie mixed drinks didn't hurt either. It's always five o'clock here.

Only our morning was spent poolside, as there is too much to see and do to be wasting it away getting tipsy lounging under the waterfall. So after one excruciatingly long but necessary bus ride (seriously, the double decker bus that travels up and down the Strip, the "Double Deuce," may just be the slowest ride you'll ever take in your life - double points if you're surrounding by very loud, very drunk people!), we ended up at our favorite place in Vegas, Fremont Street Experience.

First order of business was the zip-line. Pam and I joined my parents as we zipped across the whole of Fremont (pictures forthcoming). It being my second time, I can thus confirm that the way you are strapped in, it is infinitely uncomfortable for men of my height each and every time. But I guess you forget how much your crotch hurts when you're flying high in the air like that, because it was still awesome.

Starving, we had dinner at... ah crap, what was the name of that place? The fish place right there on the corner. Ummm... let me go look it up on Google Maps... Aha! Mickie Finz Fish House! That's right. I forgot the name, but not the food. Oh boy, their fish sandwiches are mighty fine. I could tell that everyone wanted to get the 64 oz. fishbowl martini, but we wanted to save some room for the rest of the night.

And what better place to go when you have a little room in your stomach than the Heart Attack Grill? No, we still didn't get any burgers, but the price was right for 24oz. Hamm's for three of us. My mom got one of their fruit shakes that probably got her a little bit more tipsy than she planned on. And none of us, unfortunately, manned up and ordered malt liquor. Next time!

They were also filming while we were there, and by the looks of it, it was for some kind of Telemundo equivalent of "Man vs. Food." (Pam contests it was the Telemundo version of "Regis and Kelly.") Telemundo is right next door, after all. We see the Quadruple Bypass Burger be delivered, marvel at the monstrosity for a moment, and the next moment we turn around and the dude is finished! Turns out he didn't even eat it. It was all fake. Telemundo is a sham. It all looked real to me!

(Side note: Just one day after we were there, apparently a lady had a "medical episode" that was, let's be honest, probably a heart attack. I can't imagine what everyone's reaction was. How can you have sympathy for someone that gets a heart attack at the Heart Attack Grill. Should you expect to NOT have medical issues, honestly?)

The rest of our Experience was the opposite of malt liquor and heart attacks, which means it was pretty darn swell. Aunt Dee Dee met Gene Simmons, Mom-Mom took pictures of old men in diapers, I bought a balloon hat, lost $25 by betting red instead of black, and we all had a bunch of those faithful $2 Coronas. The light and music show above us on the Fremont 1500-foot screen was supposed to be Don McLean's "American Pie," but for some stinkin' reason it ended up being Jon Bon Jovi. It was such a good night, however, that not even Bon Jovi could ruin it.

The bus ride home was long.

Friday was our travel day. The folks rented a mini van for the day, and we all schlepped off to the Hoover Dam. Though Pam and I had been there before, we took a tour this time, checking out the generators below the concrete of the dam, and bearing witness to its plumbing majesty.

A temporary plan for the day included a trip to Lake Mead, but it just wasn't in the cards, and that was totally okay with me. I'd probably rather go back to the Mirage's pool instead of jumping in a lake. Instead of Mead, we walked main street in Boulder City, and drank that wonderful elixir of the Boulder Dam Brewery. My favorite beer ever was no longer available (and will never be again, according to a worker we talked to the other day), so instead of the Dam Brewtal Ale, we settled with lesser, but still good, brew.

Our time back in Vegas began with a nap. Cut me some slack, I'm not used to waking up at 7 o'clock! But soon enough, we were again fighting the sun on the walk to the Mirage. The Flyers were on their way to losing Game 5 at that point, so we joined my Dad at the sports book and watched that for a while. After the game, everyone was accounted for, so we walked down to the Bellagio Water Show and prayed that it wasn't "Time to Say Goodbye" yet again. Give it a break, Bocelli.

After some pizza at our usual, unnamed pizza place underneath a McDonald's (wait, does the pizza place have a name? I have no idea. But I like their pizza), we hung out at the Mirage some more, doing what the kids call "pregaming" before the show we were seeing that night.

Kevin James and Ray Romano were on the bill. I think their show title was called "Paul Blart and the Woolly Mammoth From Ice Age Make 100,000 Jokes About Sex While You Sit Next to Your Parents," or something like that. I did laugh a lot though, I'll admit, despite the fact that, yes indeed, that was Paul Blart Mall Cop that was making the jokes. Great show!

The wine we drank didn't really sit that well in my stomach - my stomach is weak - so we called it a night after that. Wait, weak stomach, what am I talking about? We went to Terrible's the next day for their infamous $10 Champagne Brunch, and that is certainly not for the weak of stomach. Mimosas and bacon do a body good, ya know.

Next up on the itinerary was what Aunt Dee Dee was looking forward to the most, the Kiss Rock 'N' Roll Mini Golf, where the putters rock and roll all night and party every day. Each putting green was dressed up like a psycho circus, and when you got a hole-in-one you were encouraged to shout it out loud. I won't say who won, but for five of our golfing sixsome, tears are falling, including Beth... uh, I mean, Mom. And for yours truly, it was rocket ride to that low score. As for Pam, her score proved her to be a hard luck woman on the green. You wanted the best, and you got the best, for when I grab that golf club, I'm a killer, and when it comes to hole in ones, I lick it up. Better hide your heart forever if you want to play against me. And... uh.... Shandi.

So yea, that was a good time playing mini golf with the family. The only thing that would've made it better was if Mini Kiss had made an appearance. Maybe next time.

With the mimosas still rolling around in our stomachs, and defeat hanging over the heads of everyone who didn't win the mini golfing, we took it easy in the early evening. But around 6:30, Pam and I made our now-familiar walk up Flamingo Road and met the gang at Batista's Hole in the Wall, an old-school Italian restaurant that did not disappoint. The table was adorned with garlic bread and on-the-house bottles of wine, and each meal, in typical Italian fashion, was HUGE. It was such a pleasure to enjoy this meal with family, as we stuffed ourselves with food and toasted to an excellent weekend with the folks we love.

After our post-dinner cappuccinos (surprisingly delicious), our destination was Treasure Island to check out their pirate show. It was... not good. Embarrassing. Kinda crowded. I suppose it was worth seeing it just to say we saw it, so maybe if you know someone else that saw it, you can both laugh and roll your eyes. Oh well. A good consolation came in the form of $1 Natty Light cans being sold right outside the bar in TI. ONE DOLLAR NATURAL LIGHTS. Tasted just like college.

The six of us went to the Mirage's free Stripside show afterward, the volcano out front erupting, cleansed the palette of the dirty taste of that pirate show. Fire explosions make for a visceral experience.

And after that, and a few more drinks and a few more hours of just enjoying our company, the weekend was over too soon.

Mom, Dad, Mom-Mom and Dee Dee were all wonderful company indeed. We really enjoyed having them out west with us, and it was sad to see them go, but gosh darn, what a great, great weekend. Pam and I hope they had just as good a time as we did.

Look for pictures from the weekend soon.

Tupac

Hey, did you know Tupac was shot and killed right by our hotel?

It happened right on the corner of Flamingo and Koval, which is like three blocks from where we are staying at Flamingo and Paradise.

They were stopped at a red light at that intersection, according to Wikipedia, at 11:10, when Tupac started yelling at some girls to come meet him at a club. At 11:15, he was gunned down at that same intersection. Yes, they were at the red light for five minutes. The red lights are seriously that long out here.

It was front of the Maxim Hotel, which doesn't exist anymore. This is what the intersection looks like:

(click to enlarge)

So when you come to visit, let's drink some Colt 45 at that corner and raise a toast. Then perhaps we can go see Tupac in concert.

-5°C

Mostly quiet here on the western front, unless I'm forgetting something. Jeez, why is it getting harder and harder to remember what we've done in the past few days?

In the past few days, we've done such exciting things as: See a movie! Eat Jack in the Box! Both work our respective jobs! Actually, that's probably the main reason we have seen much action recently. We've both been working a lot. Hey, big pay checks, and why not?

We did do one thing that was spectacularly cool though, both figuratively and literally, last Sunday. For our friend's birthday, we walked to Mandalay Bay (two months in and I'm still loving this lack of open container law), and met up at an Irish Bar. Next door was the real treat though.

It was called Ice Bar. Basically, we were drinking in a big freezer. For a cover charge, you got to rent a big parka and gloves, got some free drinks, and chilled in this freezer, where everything is made of ice, and it stays at a constant -5 degrees Celcius. Yup, even the glasses that we drank out of were made of ice. This, all in the name of trying something new, and it was totally worth it. What a neat little experience.

Here's some pics that I've decided to steal from Facebook:

Neat-o, right?

Anyways, that's about it that's worth writing about in the past few days.

For tomorrow: we finally get some company! My parents and Mom-Mom and Aunt DeeDee are headed out and scheduled to arrive around 9pm PST. We're hurting for company and definitely looking forward to a great weekend.

So until next week, probably, I say, goodbye.

Stray Observations

Just some stuff I've noticed since we've been out here. Nothing too big, and nothing to warrant its own post, but I'm bored, Pam's working until the calender turns to tomorrow, and I feel like typing something.

• It still freaks me out how close to the ground the incoming airplanes are as they pass over our heads (the airport is right up the street). I mean, I wouldn't be able to reach up and touch them or anything, but still, compared to how Philly-International-bound planes would pass by Rockledge, these planes feel like they are in spitting distance. They don't wake me up anymore, thank goodness, but when we're in the hot tub and one passes, my heart still gives a little jump.

• The PPA back home is the bane of my existence. Having a girlfriend that lived downtown had many benefits, but the parking situation down there is horrendous, troublesome, and expensive. That's why it's such a pleasure to know that parking here is a piece of cake. The big parking garages that populate the busiest parts of the city are always easily accessible, always have spots available, and best of all, are free. Not that Pammy's driving her car to the Strip every night, but it's nice having that option and not have to stress over where the car will be parked.

• Traffic patterns themselves differ slightly from Philly. While driving, you're going to be waiting a lot longer at any given light. Every street, it seems, is 6 lanes long - two going each way, and two for the left-turners. U-turns are highly encouraged, because making a left and going around any given block would be like 20 minutes out of your way. For pedestrians, you actually have to wait for the go-ahead from the light to cross the street; good luck jaywalking with all the streets' congestion. And the buttons that change the crosswalk lights aren't just for show like they are in other parts of the country - they actually work here, and you actually have to push them.

• Every single building, whether it be a house, hotel, restaurant, gas station, or casino, has its address displayed so you can see it from the street. That's not something you notice is missing in Philly until you come here.

• Not many creepy-crawlies around these parts. You can't walk two feet in Rockledge without getting a face full of spiderweb, and good luck getting through a walk through Pennypack without getting a few mosquito bites. Here, you don't really see any of that stuff (I hope I haven't spoken too soon). We saw a few water bugs on the surface of that disgusting puddle of filth at Red Rock Canyon, and there's apparently a lot of cockroaches at the seedier hotels in Vegas (The Can is clean), but that's about it. Maybe it's too dry.

• Trying to follow the Phillies is kind of rough. I can't complain too much; the internet let's me keep up with our favorite sports team way more than anyone before technology age could ever dream. But I'm spoiled from having that ever-wonderful AM dial and Comcast Sportsnet available at all times. I have the MLB Audio package, yeah, but our internet can be really spotty sometimes. For instance, I missed the last out of the game today because the computer just went silent for no reason. The time difference doesn't help all that much. It's weird having to wake up at 10am to listen to a day game, and those 7pm games on the east coast start at 4pm here, and guess what time Joey has to be in work three days a week? Again, I've been spoiled, but it hurts when I can't be at McNally's watching the game in HD. (Though I did walk over to the local Race and Sports Book yesterday to watch the overtime portion of the Flyers playoff game. They had a ton of TVs, and who knows, the Phillies regular season games might be on there. But it was kind of weird being there by myself, sitting elbow-to-elbow with seedy looking betters and bookies. But hey, one dollar Shock Tops!)

• Paychecks look a lot different when you're working in Nevada. I guess a lot of the state's funding comes from that perpetual money machine called "gambling," so the tax slice off your check is a lot leaner. To someone getting tiny paychecks like me, the difference in a few dollars, but that dolla dolla bill adds up, ya'll.

• Obviously, the big difference when it comes to the sale of alcohol is the fact that you can buy cases of beer in the supermarket. Stupid PA Quaker Law. But the subtle difference that I've noticed and don't quite understand is the difference in the size of those cases of beer between PA and NV. Ever since I started buying beer at age eighteen twenty-one, I've been buying cases of 30 beers cans (colloquially known as a "Thirty Bird"), or 24 beer bottles. Here, the choices are a six pack, a case of 20 bottles, or a case of 36 cans. I don't know why there's a difference. There just is. (And, to be honest, I like the option of buying a Thirty-Six Bird.)

• There's a vast array of fast food options in this area, probably about twice the amount of different brands of food that is horrible for you. You have your McDonald's, and a few scattered BKs and Wendy's, and you have your Taco Bell and KFC, but there's a ton of fast food joints I've never even heard of before this trip, let alone be a glutton at. Raising Cane's, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr., Del Taco, In-and-Out Burger, Sonic, it's a paradise for obese people and obese people in training.

• Everyone has a pretty flippant attitude about prostitution. At least the ladies of the night had the decency to stick to the back alleys (and craigslist) in Philly. In Las Vegas, good luck walking down any street without some guy shoving an ad for "companionship" into your hand. Seriously, I could be walking hand in hand with Pam while we're wearing our "Yes, We Are In A Long-Term Relationship" matching tees, and this scruffy looking dude still thinks I'd be interested in buying a strange woman's services. Nope, we'll leave that to the unshaven business men Pam sees in the lobby when she's leaves for work.

Alright, that's fine for now. You get it, Las Vegas and Philadelphia have subtle differences, right, okay, gotchya. And now, time to wait for my girlfriend to get home. I'm hoping she is hungry for Arby's when she gets home. Typing about fast food made me really hungry (and surprisingly, typing about prostitutes did nothing to curb that hunger... ah jeez, that didn't sound right.... okay, I'm done. Goodnight).

Chateau

"Hey, let's all go to the Chateau Beer Garden! They'll take your expensive beer and dump it out!"

A Good Week Part IV: Easter Sunday

We had a good day on Sunday. We slept in. We lounged by the pool. We had a fancy meal at McCormick and Schmick's.

But Easter Sunday has always been about family, and this year, being 2500 miles from our family, Easter could have been a sad day. But it wasn't. You know why? Because we have awesome family.

All the care packages we've received in the past week or so have meant so much to us. From parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends, it felt amazing to be remembered even though we have traveled away.

So thanks, everyone, for the snacks and candy and popcorn and English muffins. We really do appreciate it, and we miss you guys so much.

From both of us, we hope you had a great Easter, and we'll see you all soon I hope! Thanks again!

Love,

Pam and Joe

A Good Week Part III: Saturday

"All you do is go to bars and restaurants and eat and drink alcohol" we said to ourselves Saturday morning, in an echo of what everyone must be thinking as they read our blog. It was time to get off our butts and take a hike.

Red Rock Canyon is the local area of nature, I guess you could call it. It's a huge section of the desert, and a beautiful one at that. We took a scenic drive, which was a thirteen mile loop that had specific stops where you were encouraged to get out of your car and enjoy the scenery. Enjoy it we did, and thankfully, we brought along the camera to share some of the best sights.

A view from the car on the way in. The neatest part about the mountains and rock structure were the different colored layers of sediment. It was like Mother Nature painted with stripes when she created Red Rock.

"Do not feed the wild burros. $500 fine minimum." And wouldn't you know it, we actually saw a wild burro. I wanted to ride it - there was no sign forbidding that! - but I was too scared that Pam would drive away without me if I did.

See what I mean about the stripes? Neato.

Pamela soaking in the scene. I sense a new Facebook Timeline Photo...

We're pretty high! Not really, but the crevices went pretty deep in between the rock structures. There was a helicopter flying right near us, and we saw paramedics running along the hiking path with a trauma board, so we think someone may have fallen in one these. I hope he or she was okay, and I hope he or she never accidentally watches 127 Hours after an experience like that.

Reminds me of The Lion King.

I think I was trying to take a picture of the helicopter from this vantage point. I guess I wasn't successful.

We got out and hiked a one mile loop hiking path that claimed "seasonal creeks and waterfalls." I guess the season ended early, because all we found was a little green puddle of bug-infested water. WE FOUND OUR WATERFALL.

Cacti!

A salamander!

Beautiful place, right? It was nice to know that Vegas isn't all neon lights and hangovers. But more so, it was nice to just get out in the sunshine for a bit and enjoy our precious earth.

A Good Week Part II: Thursday

I had to go to work at 2:30 today, so I had to cut it off somewhere. Writing about Monday exclusively made sense, because that was a crazy night. Tuesday and Wednesday I can probably just skip. What happened on those days? I can't even remember. Neither can Pam, I just asked her. I mean, I had work Tuesday, she had work Wednesday. Umm, I think we made pancakes on Wednesday night? We probably went in the hot tub at some point too? I have no clue. It couldn't have been too important.

Thursday was a little different. It was baseball day. God, I love baseball season. Waking up on Thursday to the sultry sounds of Scott Franzke and Larry Anderson was like waking up on Christmas morning. And yes, I had to wake up early due to the time zone difference. Phillies games at 10:30 are weird ("Poor you, I had to wake up at 5:30 you brat!" yells Pamela in the background). I made sure peanuts and beer were available, because what Opening Day would be complete without beer and peanuts? Even at 10:30. And hey, the Phillies won! I remember what that feels like, when that happened all the way back on Thursday. Maybe I'll feel that way again sometime soon (breathe, Joe, it's a long season... breathe...).

And I say it was baseball day because not only were our Philadelphia Phillies debuting their 2012 campaign, but also Pam and I were headed to our first Las Vegas 51s game that night. My buddy picked me up around 6:00 - Pam would meet us there after work - to head over to Cashman Field, which is in close proximity of Fremont.

The crowd we were with was definitely a good one. It's great meeting new people when you're far from home, especially when those people are people that you genuinely enjoy hanging out with.

A few thoughts on the baseball game itself. It was cold. Like, probably the coldest baseball game I've ever been to. But luckily, I had two jackets to put on. The first was my brown jacket that Pam brought me from the apartment. The second was my beer jacket; it was dollar beer night, after all. These minor league games are incredible with their promotions. Imagine going to a Phillies game and getting dollar beers, as opposed to their customary $6.75.

It was also pretty neat seeing some names I recognized. The Las Vegas 51s are the AAA team of the Toronto Blue Jays. A few of the players we traded for Roy Halladay to the Blue Jays were on the 51s, like the catcher Travis D'Arnaud, and the outfielder Anthony Gose. It gave us people to root for, even though the 51s got killed anyway. Ehh, who cares? Go Phillies.

So that was our Thursday. We got our Phillies win, we got our hot dogs at the stadium, we got out handfuls of dollar beers, and we stayed warm throughout it all. Pam had work the next day, so my night continued a bit afterward, when I walked to Cheers to meet up with the crowd again. Yes, there's a bar called Cheers, but no, we didn't yell "Norm!" when Norm came in. And no, Norm didn't actually walk in. But that would've been cool.

And that part of the night was definitely on the tail end of the night. Without Pam, what is life really? So I went, played some pool, won some pool, and walked home. I think. Kidding!

Thursday was a great day.

I'll write about Saturday and up until the present... tomorrow... this time with pictures!

A Good Week: Monday

Okay, if I wait much long than this, I'll start to forget what we've been up to. Let's see...

I guess we'll start with last Monday (jeez, time moves quickly out here). It started like any typical Monday, we weren't planning on doing anything exciting. But, carpe diem, right? So when our friends from down the hall invited us out to a Tiki Lounge, I hopped out of my work clothes and we hopped onto one of those lovely city buses to meet up with them (And we didn't get lost on the way to the bus WHAT WHAT).

Frankie's Tiki Lounge was pretty neat. It's owned by the same people as the infamous Double Down (a place Pam now officially hates - no more Ass Juice for ol' Joey here), but unlike the Double Down, their mixed drinks actually tasted good (I assume, as I stay away from liquor for the most part). Pam drank their Mai Tais and I'm told she enjoyed them (at least, I think she was saying that in a very slurred conversation... kidding, kidding). We had a group of seven, and the night was still very young, and we decided to traverse over to the best place out here, Fremont Street.

We had no plans, so the beginning of our latest Fremont Street experience was just walking around and showing around those in our group that had never been there. We thought it would be a good idea to hit up the Griffin, this despite the fact that our previous sojourn to that establishment ended with our acquaintance throwing up all over the bar. But, perhaps fate was with Pam and I that night, and the Griffin was closed. Or maybe they locked the door when they saw us coming, either scenario is likely.

The night had other plans for us, thankfully, and a sign from heaven came in the form of a chalkboard outside the Beauty Bar proclaiming KARAOKE NIGHT and DOLLAR SIERRA NEVADA NIGHT. Yup, it was gonna be a good evening.

You should've heard Pammy. Ah, those pipes were golden. She was No-Doubt-era Gwen Stefani incarnate. The whole bar fell in love with her. It helped, too, that she followed a group of rowdy frat boys that all took joy in singing "I'm An Asshole" and singing the truth at that. But she was awesome. We all got up there (besides our designated driver), and it was great fun, as karaoke always, always is.

This went on until, I dunno, two or three o'clock, maybe? And of course, a diner run ended the night. A night that ends at a diner is officially declared a great night.

So that was Monday. More to come when I feel like writing about the rest of the week. I guess tonight. I'm really procrastinating on this.

Happy Easter

I have no excuse this time. We've had a handful of great nights in the past week, but I haven't written about any of it. Tonight, after we get back from our Easter dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, I'll write up a big long post. Until then, enjoy your Easter, folks! And try not to get too upset about another horrible Phillies loss today. It's a long season.

New Acquaintance Bingo

After a great conversation with a construction worker from west New York in the hot tub the other night, Pam and I stared talking about how many people from how many different places in America we were having the pleasure of meeting in our journeys. So, naturally, we decided to turn it into a game. New Acquaintance Bingo was thus born.

It's just like regular bingo, except instead of numbers, there are names of states in the boxes, and if we meet someone from that state, the box is checked off. Five in a row or four corners wins. Check out our cards:

(click to enlarge)

I just got a blank bingo card, randomly selected numbers between 1 and 50 and matched up the numbers with their corresponding state to create each card.

Two rules:

1) The person from the state must be someone we didn't already know starting on April 1st at 10pm PST.

2) The person must be met by both of us at the same time (so no cheating with "Hey Joe, my new coworker is from Delaware, you should really meet her!")

So that's our new, months-long game we're playing. We met some fine folk from Louisiana last night, but we're oddly still tied, because Louisiana happens to be in the same spot on both of our cards. Maybe a chance encounter in the hot tub tonight will yield some positive results.

The Rest of the Weekend

My last blog post ended short because the Ron Ron had become the Sammy Sweetheart and I was the one holding Pam up from going out on time. Let me be clear on this: Pam was ready to go out before I was. I want to make that statement definitive and certain. This is a rare and momentous occasion. Pam was ready. To go out. Before I was. I was so shocked I almost dropped my laptop.

But ready she was, so blogging ended and our night truly began. Friday was awesome. We met two of our Vegas friends at a neat bar called Insert Coins, which is similar to Barcade in Philadelphia. It combines the lure of old school video games with the intoxication of alcohol to create one fun night. Just hanging out at the bar was fun in itself. We tried to get our own private booth to play Mario Kart 64 (the best party game of all time), but it's obligatory to order bottle service if you want the Mario Kart 64 booth, and there was no way the four of us were shelling out $150 to play Mario Kart 64. Eh, whatever, I played enough drunk Mario Kart in college.

We walked over to the Griffin that, unlike last time, was pretty darn crowded. But that was okay, the fireplaces and Hamm's were just as nice. Our friend was so enthralled and ecstatic to be there that she threw up all over the bar (hey ma, look, it wasn't me this time!). After that, it was Pam and I on our own. I don't think we'll be showing our faces at the Griffin for the next few weeks just in case.

It was only like midnight at that point, and this was our weekend, gosh darn it, so we trekked on, and checked out the last remaining Fremont bar we hadn't been to yet, the Beauty Bar. It was modeled after a 1950s beauty salon, except for, ya know, the loud pop music of 2012 blaring about. One weird thing we noticed was that a lot of people kept walking to the back and disappearing behind a closed door. There's no way all these people are going to the bathroom right?

So we go through the door ourselves, and end up out back in the huge outside party area. It was really bizarre. I felt like we were in Narnia or something. What bar in Vegas let's all their patrons into their backyard for some drinking under the stars? So that was nice.

And our final adventure of the night involved our mortal enemy of the west, that scoundrel bus system. We finally, finally found the bus transportation center that all the buses for the city ran out of. We were Moses in the dessert, finally finding the promised land. But, like Moses, we struck the rock twice instead of once, or rather, a rock struck our scheduled bus before it got there, and a window was all smashed up. We had to wait an additional 30 minutes to catch that elusive ride home. When it comes to the RTC bus system, we are so totally lost in the dark (or rather, I am, I guess. Pam is not pleased with my lack of bus know-how).

Saturday was a lot more relaxing, and thus, there's not as much to write about. There's the food, of course; for breakfast, we went to the Blueberry Hills diner, which I can promise you boasts a mean biscuits and sausage gravy. That cured half our hangovers, and the other half evaporated at the hot tub. I can't imagine life can get much better than a relaxing March weekend by the pool.

For dinner we checked out that Crab Corner, and feasted Baltimore style. The crabs were almost as good as those Maryland beauties, and almost means they were very, very good. Just hanging out with Pam and cracking open some blue-shells, it was dinner to be happy about.

So our weekend is over, but that's okay. More adventures to come! Now, time to watch some Mad Men with my Pammy.