mellicious: Quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 1st episode: "The earth is doomed." (Las Vegas sign)
[personal profile] mellicious
Rob brought home a crumpled piece of newspaper last night containing the news that Tilman Fertitta, who owns about half of Galveston as well as the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, is giving anybody who lives in Galveston County (and can prove it) two free nights in Vegas. Rob pointed out that we do have a credit on Southwest from the trip to Ohio in October that we didn't take.... so what the heck, we're going to Las Vegas again next month. MLK weekend, to be exact. (I never thought that Rob would like Las Vegas as much as he did. People surprise you sometimes, no matter how well you know them.) I suspect that Fertitta's motives are not 100% charitable, since he's trying to get gambling legalized in Galveston and this can't really hurt his chances, but still. Free room, hey.

We could have gone next week (assuming we could get reservations) but I didn't think it would have worked out like it did last year - last year Christmas was on Tuesday, and so we left for the airport to head to LV after lunch on Christmas Day, stayed three days and got the heck out on Friday before (a) the big crowds got there and (b) the prices went up for the weekend and New Year's. This year, with Christmas on Thursday, I didn't see how that was going to work as well. First you have a holiday weekend, which would be, what, the 26th-28th, and then presumably by the 30th, if not before, you start getting people coming in for New Year's Eve. (And NYE was also the only day blacked out on the free-room deal.) I didn't go and research this but I just couldn't see a big gap in there like there was last year. AND Rob is off next week but has to work some days the week after (I think it's Monday, Tuesday and Friday, but I forget, now that I don't have the calendar sitting on my desk to look at all the time). He does have a three-day weekend for MLK so that was why we picked that. And the airfare was only $30 more than what we had already paid. I also got a rental car, the first time I've done that in LV. I hope I don't regret it - but I never stayed downtown before, either, and I didn't want to choose between depending on taxis and being stuck downtown. I haven't even been downtown in years, but my memory of it is that it's a pretty small area. I'm inclined to think we're going to want to make at least one jaunt over to the Strip.



Random holiday-related stuff:

I love that Tor is sponsoring a Traditional Jewish Christmas (consisting of a Chinese buffet and Monty Python movies). Sounds like a blast to me.

Scalzi's guide to spotting fake Santas

The Guild's version of A Night Before Christmas (last year's Guild Christmas special is on that page too)

Oh, a small thing, but some of us are picky about stuff like this: if anybody is looking for the perfect red fingernail polish for seasonal purposes, I think I'm wearing it: OPI "An Affair in Red Square". I think I bought it last year but presumably it's still around. "Russian Red" might be a pretty good description of it - it's sort of a deep metallic red, just a hair darker than fire-engine red. I really like it a lot so I thought I'd share.

Date: 2008-12-20 12:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] profrobert.livejournal.com
If you enjoy natural beauty, drive over to Red Rock Canyon on the outskirts of Vegas. It's really stunning (and you can enjoy it from the car if, like me, you're not a hiker). The Hoover Dam is also worth a trip (in addition to the sheer size of it and the majesty of the canyon it blocks and the lake it creates, there's the nerd pleasure of standing in the middle of the Dam with one foot in each of two states and timezones).

Date: 2008-12-20 07:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mellificent.livejournal.com
Yeah, that's another thing I was thinking about - I've never driven around Las Vegas at all. If it's not in the path between airport-strip-downtown, I haven't seen it. (I realize that's true of 95% of everybody who goes there, but it's not typical of ME. I like to explore.)

And the first time I went there, on the family trip in the 80s, my mother and grandparents went to Hoover Dam on a bus, and I didn't go. I think I was annoyed at my grandmother at the time and wanted a break from them! But I doubt we're gonna have time to go that far on this trip, anyway.

Date: 2008-12-20 01:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrissa.livejournal.com
I love that Tor is sponsoring a Traditional Jewish Christmas (consisting of a Chinese buffet and Monty Python movies). Sounds like a blast to me.

Heh. My Jewish ex-boyfriend used to come over to my parents' house on Christmas evening smelling of Chinese food, fling the door open, and shout, "Happy Jews Go To The Movies Day!" My family thought it was a hilarious tradition.

Date: 2008-12-20 04:21 pm (UTC)
nonelvis: (FUTURAMA paradox-free bow)
From: [personal profile] nonelvis
I grew up in the most Jewish county in Maryland, and the theaters were always packed on Christmas. Fortunately, Col has been only too happy to embrace my people's tradition.

Date: 2008-12-20 04:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrissa.livejournal.com
(I should specify that it was the door-flinging/shouting that they thought was hilarious; going to the movies and out for Chinese was just what his family did.)

Date: 2008-12-20 04:41 pm (UTC)
nonelvis: (FUTURAMA paradox-free bow)
From: [personal profile] nonelvis
No need to specify; I thought it was funny, too!

Date: 2008-12-20 04:21 pm (UTC)
nonelvis: (DW blue TARDIS)
From: [personal profile] nonelvis
I want a free trip to Vegas!

Date: 2008-12-20 06:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mellificent.livejournal.com
I was thinking that I wished you guys could come!

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