Viva! Day Four

9/10 Tuesday morning. I skipped the rah-rah opening session and breakfast. Did my two morning sessions, ate a very light lunch, did the two afternoon sessions, and then headed out on an In-N-Out burger quest.

I got on the Deuce Bus right outside the Venetian for $5 for a 24-hour pass, and took that down to the Excalibur. Made my way through the casino and along Tropicana Avenue. I could see the restaurant getting closer, but I-15 was in the way. I found some underpasses, but still no way across the Interstate, short of playing Frogger on an eight-lane superhighway. I was within baseball-throwing distance of the restaurant. Headed back north to look for another way across, but never found it. I was pretty dejected by this point. I was really looking forward to a 3-by-3, animal-style, extra toast, with a side of fries, well-done, animal-style. Some have suggested I take a taxi. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $20 for a $5 burger. Maybe I’ll regret that decision later, but if I come back next year, it’ll be worth the $20.

It was only 100F (and 12% RH), so I walked around a bit, getting pictures of New York,
New York,

and a really good one of a building covered in green dots.

I stopped at an indoor mall, and wandered around a bit, buying some personalized Las Vegas license plates and actually found “Tristan” and “Zoe,” so I had to get them. I got JR a fancy “JR” rubber stamp, and a really tacky Las Vegas bathing suit dude bottle opener for her to take to happy hour. I also got two dice lollipops in yellow and purple for the kids. I stopped at a restaurant called “Aroma d’Italia” for a(nother) prosciutto panini and more gelato: green apple and pina colada.

I went back outside and got some more shots outside “Paris,”

and then took the Deuce Bus (so named because it's a double-decker) back to the Venetian.

Uploaded pictures, dealt with e-mail, and went down to the Blues Brothers concert that was part of our conference. Despite the 6000 people in the room, mostly at tables, I made my way right up to the stage before the concert started. At the last moment I saw that photography was not permitted. Just damn! I was close enough to get some really good shots. When the “brothers” came out, I was within five feet of both Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd at one point. I had a great view of the Hammond player, who was great. The volume was a really comfortable level up there behind the speakers. But the Blues Brothers aren’t really my cup of tea, so after a few songs, I bailed, stopping by one of the many free beer tables for some refreshment for the eight minute walk back up to my suite, and picking up two pairs of cheap knockoff Ray Ban Wayfarers for the kids.

Back upstairs to start packing, more e-mail, and a few more pictures out my window. Getting back onto Eastern time is going to be rough.