2012 Vegas GT/Friday

Good Morning Vegas

Nati: I woke up too early Friday morning so took a walk up the strip and found a really neat breakfast. Potato skins filled with scrambled eggs and bacon! Took a few snapshots from the strip and of the hotel.

Katrana: Sagan and I did not have the luck that Nati had with breakfast. We found a crappy buffet where the toast and coffee were the best things we ate! After that we met up with the rest to shoot guns!! (Katrana with a gun, scary huh!?)

Tynian: No breakfast for me. I slept in.

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  Bally's

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  Bally's again

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  Paris hotel

SHOOTING GALLERY!! (Nati's favorite part)

Wish, Katrana, Sagan, Natilena and Tynian (as an observer) attending.

Nati: This was AWESOME! That's really all I have to say. Even better I actually managed to hit the targets! I don't recall the actual guns now but I shot a pistol, a shotgun, something fully automatic that went really quick and the fun little one with the scope.

The cab driver on the way back to the hotel was really really odd. First he insisted all 5 of us had to sit in the same small cab. There was NO room in the front, I was sitting 1/2 on top of the seat belts and 1/2 on top of Tynian's lap. Then he kept telling us these really racist jokes!

Tynian: So, why would I go with this group to a shooting range and not shoot? Two reasons: First, I was trying to keep my expenses down (which I did pretty well until I lost my mind gambling on Friday evening). And second, I'd never taken pictures at a shooting range before. I knew there was a possibility that they wouldn't let me take photos, but it seemed worth the risk. And indeed, only shooters allowed in the standard shooting -- the fact that I wanted to do my shooting with my trusty camera didn't seem to matter! There was a private shooting range option, and I would have been allowed inside, for a mere $50 per person. Craziness!

Katrana: I was so nervous about shooting a gun! I shot a rifle before, and for some reason I was terrified. Still, I went through with it and had a blast! I shot a AR-15, and some 9mm, a P226 or a Glock or something like that. So much fun! I hit the target lots! I am now fully ready for a zombie invasion.

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  Choosing our packages!

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  All safetied up ready to enter

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  A selection on the wall

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  More of the same.

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  Wish looking dangerous!

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  Wish getting some instructions

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  Natilena ready to take her turn

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  Nati with the pistol and Wish on the side

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  Wish and his target

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  Nati and her target

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  Wish

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  Someone's target! (not sure who's)

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  Wish

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  Sagan gets a turn

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  Katrana is up!

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  Wish

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  Katrana

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  Sagan

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  Nati and the shotgun target

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  Sagan

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  The really awesome dude who was helping us. He was great, one of the others was NOT

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  Sagan

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  Nati and that scope gun thingie she can't remember the name of

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  Nati's target, she hit it!

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  Nati

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  Nati and the automatic gun thingie

Lunch, Hamburgers and how Bliss can't Walk

Nati: We finally met up with Vale and his lady friend! Little did I know this would be the ONLY time he appeared. We left the hotel and headed over to The Cosmopolitan, beautiful hotel! It was about a 10 minute walk over and Bliss whined the WHOLE WAY! In her defense she did warn us all ahead of time she doesn't walk and whines a lot.  :) We had lunch at a fancy burger place called Holsteins. Vale's lady friend was nice and didn't seem too traumatized by the rest of us geeks. Lots of crazy cell phone pictures shall now follow!

Bliss: 1. Vale and Lindsey are soooo nice! *hearts* 2. Cosmopolitan = so beautiful! 3. They LIED to me! It was NOT 1 block. It was NOT 10 minutes, either, more like 20! I explained that I was Frankenstein's Bride, using a walker with cut up tennis balls, did I not? 4. Holsteins was fantastic. 5. *group hug*

Katrana: Yay for Vale and his lady friend! They recommended the restaurant, and it was fantastic. I loved the burger and the 'adult' milkshake. That shake was absolutely to die for. I still believe his lady friend should make a character! Vale, get on that! ><

Tynian: I sat across from Vale, and we talked briefly about the concept of getting paid to code. I feel like such a fool for coding for free all these years! Version 5's goin' commercial, baby!

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  PINK COW! How could anything be better than that?

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  Lots of burger choices and they were amazing.

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  Sagan and Katrana

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  Vale and friend

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  Vale and friend

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  Tynian

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  Wish in the back, Tynian, Nati's nose and hair

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  Wish in the back, Vale and friend

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  Sagan and Katrana

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  Tynian and Wistom and Nati's elbow

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  Cell phone fight!

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  More of the table

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  Wistom and Nati covered by a camera

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  Messy picture but Wistom in the middle!

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  Nati's hand

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  Sagan and Katrana

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  Wish and Tynian

Afternoon Adventures

Nati: Well, I can't speak for the boys, they went off to gamble and didn't get any pictures but us ladies got the trip of a lifetime! Bliss, Katrana and I climbed into Bliss' car and then Katrana and I held on VERY tight as the crazy lady drove us around Vegas. We ran a couple errands Bliss needed to do for work and then off to the Fashion Show Mall and a visit to Build A Bear! Bliss recorded her voice, one per limb, Nati picked out a bunny and an outfit for it, Katrana just laughed.

Bliss: 1. Lies. You got me lost, Nati! I had to make up time, so we could optimize shopping time! Well ok, not a lie that I'm crazy. 2. That guy's hair at Build-a-Bear confuzzled me....but he was very nice :) 3. Nati named the bunny Bliss, btw, so she could stomp on it every time I do a no no, or a boo boo ...

Katrana: Oh man, Nati! You forgot about her doing a U-turn on Las Vegas Blvd!  :/ And yes, I was the patron in the build-a-bear helping Nati find an outfit for her bunny:P

Tynian: My adventure was so much better than the girls'! Okay, really, I just took a nap. Hey, sleep can be very difficult to come by for me. And all I can say about the Bliss-bunny getting stomped on every time Bliss slips up is... THAT POOR BUNNY.

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  Natilena getting her bunny filled

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  Nati putting the heart in her bunny

Dinner, A Show and some Gambling

Nati: A rest at the hotel again and then we gathered again to find some food. Wish and Bliss got together separately to have dinner at the Bellagio and watch "O" Cirque du Soleil show. I hear Wish managed to get Bliss to taste eel too.

The rest of us (Vale is now missing for the rest of the event) headed to a BBQ place in Treasure Island at Gheorghe's suggestion. We shared a big platter of food and enjoyed some more drinks. Wistom, Katrana, Sagan, Gheorghe, Tynian and ME at the table. Nobody got a picture but they had the bestest thing ever on the wall. A mounted bunny with antlers, its Jackalope time!

Bliss: Dinner at Yellowtail, great! Yes, it's true. Wish, with his supreme power of persuasion, convinced me to try the eel. I ate the eel *scrunched up nose*! The kobe beef was way, way better :P The "O" show was spectacular and incredible! Oh! And, OMG, there was a guy on FIRE for at least 5 whole minutes!!! I didn't believe Wish when he said it's a REAL guy. But it was. Head to toe! Fire! Inconceivable! Wish almost bought his wife a sculpture there too, "Price Upon Request," but decided it wasn't good enough for her. Go Squishy Power!

Tynian: I had no difficulty figuring out what to eat at the BBQ place. Yum.

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  Katrana, Sagan and Wistom

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  Gheorghe and Tynian

The After Party

Nati: For the rest of the evening we split up again. The boys headed .. err .. somewhere! for more gambling. Katrana and I wandered through the shops in Caesars Palace and dodged questions about our matching shoes. We were kind of looking for the moving statues but they didn't appear to be working OR maybe.. possibly.. we were just in the wrong spot. It was a nice walk anyway!

Katrana: Haha, we got lost in Caesar's! Even though we had no idea where we were going it was a lovely stroll! Though everyone commented on our shoes, it was crazy!'

Tynian: I went with Sagan, Gheorghe, and Wistom to gamble, and as none of us were high rollers, looking for some cheap tables. We ended up at O'Sheas. The original plan was craps, but the tables were crowded, and we ended up at a Blackjack table. I watched the three of them play for a time. Wistom graciously provided me several Blackjack pointers and explanations. After a little while of this, I sat down and played Blackjack at a casino for the first time... and won my first hand. Unfortunately, I lost more than won, and ran out of money. Wistom came prepared, and loaned me some more cash. Alas, I ended up losing it all. So much for winning enough money to pay for the trip! I got back to the hotel, exhausted (good thing I took that nap). But my adventure wasn't over. Back at the hotel, I ended up with a flooded bathroom, due to a stopped up toilet that wouldn't stop running. The water shut off valve was missing. I called, and the hotel was going to send someone... but they were sent to the wrong room. Fortunately, I was able to get the toilet to stop running, and 20 minutes later, called them back. After about two hours of maintenance and housekeeping staff entering and leaving the room, I finally got to bed (about 3:30am).

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  In Caesars Palace

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  In Caesars Palace