April 14, 2009

Playing tourist is exhausting

I am beat. I feel like I could sleep for days, averaging five hours of sleep each night for the last week has done a number on me. I simply cannot hang like I used to. My body aches and I'm just exhausted.

Saturday and Sunday we went off-roading we did runs through Coyote Falls and Potato Ridge, I'll share those photos in their own posts. Those runs filled our days, nights were spent drinking, seeing the sights and gambling. In between, Frank and Shane spent time wrenching. They worked on the Jimmy and the Suburban.

Friday, Katie and I went to Stratosphere. I took her to see the views from the observation deck and ride the big shot, two must do's for any first-time visitor. Big shot scared her, but she enjoyed it. It's such a great ride, I've been on it fifteen or so times, yet, I still get butterflies fluttering in my stomach just before lift off. From there we went to Wynn and Encore, I showed her around, we spent sometime on the patio outside the country club taking in the golf course views. After that we drove down the strip and parked at Mandalay Bay. I gave her the tour of Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur. Luxor was a ghost town, it was pretty eery. Excalibur on the other hand was hopping, it was the busiest place we were all night. I finished up the tour with a stop at the Las Vegas Sign. I like the new parking lot it makes it a lot easier to stop by for photos. We returned home, we relaxed on the patio and drank a few beers. When the guys wrapped up work on the Jimmy they joined us. We poured shots of Patron and hit the hot tub. Shots and beers flowed into the early morning hour.

After a few hours sleep, we left at 8:30 for the Coyote Falls run. We went shooting after we finished the trail. Then, grabbed lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger (Rainbow north of Blue Diamond) I heard good about their burgers and shakes, we were nearby so it was a good opportunity to give it a try. We weren't impressed. The burger itself was fine, it's nice you can add a variety of toppings for no extra charge, but the buns were weak and failed to support the burger and goodies. We won't be back. We were thinking of running Tierod Canyon, but Frank took us by old mine trails instead. Those offer great views of the valley and strip. Later, we grilled steaks for a delicious dinner. Our friends, Jake and Alysha came by, we played cards and had a few beers, margaritas and shots. Around 11 o'clock, they left and the four of us went to M Resort. I love M more and more with each visit. It has a great feel, cocktail service was excellent. Frank, Katie and I all won on video poker by hitting four-of-a-kinds. Shane wasn't as fortunate. Frank pressed his luck and took his winnings to blackjack and craps. Craps took it away. Katie couldn't deliver on her virgin roll. We had a fun night. M Resort is becoming a fast favorite. I hope the feeling sticks.

Sunday, we left for Potato Ridge via Red Rock Canyon at 11:00. Jake, Alysha and their son joined us. We had a picnic at the peak. It was a great run until Jake ran into troubles and got himself stuck. We blocked the trail for a couple hours while we got him out. He turned back the way we came, and then we continued on toward the rock garden and finished the trail. Despite the setback it was a fun ride and beautiful day. Back at home the guys went to work on the Suburban, Katie and I killed time at the house until they were done. Then, we went downtown. We gave the tour, caught a light show and had drinks at Binion's Bullpen Bar. I like the set-up of the bar and cigar lounge. It's a nice addition. Then, we went to the Plaza for $5 blackjack. We played for almost four hours, sucking back drinks and just having a load of laughs. All four us made money. I was the biggest winner, I made $140. I can't tell you the last time I had a winning session. It felt great. Combine that with the video poker win at M, I was on top of the world. What a great weekend!

From binions

No comments: