Hurricane, Utah was left behind with a tearful goodbye. We fell in love with that small Utahian town for its subtle charms. We felt a few extra volts of electricity surging through us in that town. I think the fact that the town had a bulging, muscly arm protruding out of both its East and West borders helped it win a place in our hearts.
We entered Nevada searching for trouble, also known as the Hoover Dam. When the gas gauge sunk to perilously low, we pulled off an exit to get gas...five miles off the exit. I had never seen such brash decision making in posting a misleading sign in all my life. That's Nevada for you.
Anyway, while driving these five miles to the overly expensive Exxon station, we saw a sign that said "Hoover Dam - 89 miles." So we said, "Hey, let's just follow this mammajamma out to the damn dam," in unison kind of creepily. And what we encountered will change lives forever. A long, winding road that was sometimes mud, sometimes pavement, always boring. We finally got there though, and it was raining.
We ended up taking a tour of the power plant with a tour guide who used very interesting inflection. She was informative, though, so I got no beef. For those of you who haven't seen the short film that accompanies the power plant tour, I can sum it up for you: the Hoover Dam is man's single greatest creation since the Great Pyramids and America rocks more than anything or anyone you know or can even imagine. Take that, China. Short films don't lie.
While there, Kristen found out that her flight was canceled, so she prudently got it changed for the next closest time (Tuesday) out of the next closest stop on the trip (Los Angeles). So, it appears we will be spending a couple of days in LA until she flies out.
So, Vegas.
Luckily, we got a hotel right on the strip for around the same as what we've been paying the whole way, which is good. We walked to the MGM Grand and very quickly lost the allotted money we had set as our limit. It was almost like robbery, only legal. So, we had nothing to do until our Cirque du Soleil show at 9:30. What do you do when you're in Vegas and not gambling? Let me rephrase: what do you do when you're in Vegas and not gambling and you have higher morals/ethics than to blow your money on prostitutes? You drink. You walk around. You eat sushi. We did all of the above.
By the time our show came around, we were pretty good and toasty, sipping on a vodka martini until Kristen spilled it on her pants and looked like she peed herself the rest of the night. The show itself was visually amazing. My ability to stay awake in the face of these amazing visuals, however, was next to nil. I had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was epic. People climbing up walls and jumping around and such. It made me get my second wind by the time the climax came around. Unfortunately, my contacts began acting up just around then and I spent the last third of the show trying to keep them from falling out of my dried up eyes. But, I remember certain parts very vividly and will take those memories to my grave. Nanny nanny boo boo. Eighty bucks well spent.
http://jb5353.tripod.com/bnbdoa/goddam.wav
ReplyDeleteSix years later, I still love it.
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