Clint and his brother Blake had planned on going to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas this year, so Rebecca and I thought it would be a good excuse for us tag along and turn it into a fun vacation. So, we booked our tickets, and we were set...with the exception of a place to stay. Blake and Rebecca were cashing in on their high roller status at the Imperial Palace to stay for free at the Quad, so Clint and I decided to go slumming with them and booked a room there as well.
The night before we left I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, I got no sleep. To top it off, our flight was at 6am, so it was an early morning for us. We made it to the airport and to our gate just in time to board. As we boarded, I noticed we would be flying on a brand new 737! The Boeing nerd in me came out as I pointed out all the cool features to Clint...the new lighting called the "sky interior", new overhead bins with more storage and tucked away to give you more head room, quieter, better air flow, comfy seats...ahhh, it was nice. But, like I do on all flights, as soon as we took off I fell asleep for the duration of the flight. Way to take advantage of a new plane.
 |
| we are not morning people |
 |
| how awesome is that? |
 |
| arriving in Vegas! |
Once in Vegas, we headed straight over to get our rental car. We thought it'd be fun to make a day trip out to Hoover Dam while we waited for Blake and Rebecca to get in from San Diego that afternoon. We got ourselves a blue Mustang convertible (fancy) and headed east.
After a short drive, we made it to the dam. We first stopped to check out the new memorial bridge that was built to cut down on traffic going across the top of the dam. There's all sorts of informational signs (Clint's favorite part) explaining how the bridge was built, and you can even walk across it. This gave us a great view of the dam from above.
 |
| Clint learning about the bridge |
 |
| the Nevada side of the bridge |
 |
| risk seekers |
 |
| Hoover Dam |
 |
| us with our stylish gas station sunglasses |
After checking out the bridge, we headed down to get a closer look at the dam. We drove across it to the Arizona side and parked at a lookout spot to get some pictures.
 |
| working on the bridge, scary job |
 |
| over to Arizona |
 |
| Hoover Dam with the memorial bridge in the back |
 |
| panorama shot |
 |
| Lake Mead |
We headed back to the Nevada side so that we could go on the Hoover Dam tour. We bought our tickets (opting to upgrade to the full tour - worth it), and sat down in the theater to start with the informational video. We next got introduced to our tour guide, and he let us know there were no restrictions for cameras, so to take all the dam photos we wanted.
An elevator took us down about 500 feet so that we could check out the ginormous pipes that transport water from Lake Mead to the dam's generators. The pipes transport enough water to fill 900 bathtubs each second, crazy.
 |
| penstocks (huge water pipes) |
 |
| showing us how it all works |
Next we took the elevator to a viewing platform in the powerplant where we could see the generators. I tuned out for a little bit at this part, but I'm sure it's all impressive.
 |
| walking through the tunnels |
 |
| powerplant generators |
Then it was off into the inspection tunnels. This part reminded me of when Clark Griswold goes on the Hoover Dam tour in
Vegas Vacation and gets separated from the group. Oh, good stuff.
 |
| lagging behind |
 |
| Tour Guide Charlie showing us how to get a good photo |
 |
| air vents overlooking the dam |
 |
| looking up out the air vent with my camera |
 |
| watch your step |
After learning all sorts of fun facts during the tour, it was time to wrap it up and head back to the top. Our tour guide let us go, and we did some more exploring before hitting the road back to Vegas.
 |
| standing on top of the dam |
We made a quick stop at A&W for lunch and got burgers and split a rootbeer float, yum!
 |
| sweet ride! |
 |
| mmmm |
We made our way back to Vegas, and decided to hit up old town. I had never been, so it was nice to take advantage of having a car and make the drive over. I'm sure it would be more impressive at night with all the lights, but it was still fun to see. We found a place to park, and walked through the Golden Nugget Casino and out to Fremont Street. The Golden Nugget was actually impressive. I thought all the hotels in old town would be dumps, but it was decorated nice and had an awesome pool. There was even a water slide that went right through a shark tank, how cool is that?
 |
| Driving through Old Town Vegas |
 |
| pool at the Golden Nugget |
 |
| gambling on the pool deck |
 |
| slide through the sharks |
Things out on Fremont Street are pretty odd. Lots of fun people watching.
 |
| Fremont Street |
 |
Clint's new lady friends...they weren't
as cute as we thought close up |
 |
| panning for gold |
We watched this guy for a while and concluded that he must be the store's security camera. You can see him again in the back as Clint got his flattened souvenir penny.
 |
Clint has collected these pennies
since he was a kid |
With our fill of old town, we got back in the car and headed to the strip. It was just starting to get dark, so seeing everything lit up was pretty cool.
Clint dropped me off at the hotel so I could get us checked in while he took the car back to the airport. Fortunately, they had a shuttle for him to get back so he wouldn't have to pay for a cab. The check-in line at Imperial Palace (or the Quad) was a little ridiculous...I probably waited for an hour just to get to the front desk. But, at least they had some entertainment for me. The table dealers are all impersonators, and the each take turns getting up on stage to sing.
 |
| Green Day on stage |
Our room was far from luxurious, but hey, we had a "love tub"... even though we were too scared to use it without knowing it was cleaned properly.
Once Clint got back and we were all settled, Blake and Rebecca showed up as well. We met in our room for some drinks, and then headed to dinner. They knew of a restaurant downstairs called the Hash House (a go go). They're known for their ginormous proportions of delicious food. Clint and I split the chicken pot pie (oh.my.yum!) and Blake and Rebecca split a burger with horseradish potatoes. I definitely recommend checking it out next time you're in Vegas.
 |
| biggest chicken pot pie ever! |
After dinner, the boys stayed downstairs to gamble for a bit while Rebecca headed upstairs and called it a night.
