Well, as they say in Hollywood, which is about 6 miles from where i'm sitting at LAX, that's a wrap. I've only got a 10 hour stopover between me and the flight home, having just arrived on the 40 minute flight from Vegas. I'll arrive at about 9am Weds morning, no doubt dead tired and smelling like hell.
The last couple of days in Vegas didn't disappoint, though I didn't go as hard on the booze as the first night. This is probably a blessing, since the 6 hours of passed out sleep I had after 'that night' brings the total sleep I've had in Vegas up to about 10 hours, over three nights (bed sucked). Yeah, i'm tired, and it's another 24 hours before I see anything resembling my bed.
On the second day there I did the walk up and down The Strip in about 25C weather, which is a nice thaw out from the weather we'd had in Europe and Eastern America, and a bit of a lead in to the heat at home - though I am stoked I missed a week of 40C temps. Apart from the guys trying to hand out hooker business cards, the walk was good, with lots of happy snaps and a few amusing moments, especially the guy running across the road against the lights, tripping on the gutter and faceplanting. I also checked out where the very first casinos in Vegas were built, way north of the Strip, and the one mile shopping centre they have, which has nothing on Knifepoint.
Walk out of the way, I again headed for the tables, and avenged the losses on Day 1 by nailing the most clutch hand of poker i'll ever get. Non-poker players, skip to next paragraph. Pocket aces, flop comes with King, Jack and Five. The guy betting hard against me has the King (I later find out) but I go pretty hard, since nothing was suited. On the turn another King pops, and i'm getting less confident, until the third ace pops on the river. Full house. $300. Thankyou ballboy. Though I did get yelled at for texting while at the table, but I had to let Ness and Jo know - up yours, Vegas!
Welcome back, non poker players. So following the win I ate at the 'Grand Buffet' at the MGM, and it pretty much re-affirmed my hatred for trough food. It was all cold, and what wasn't sucked anyway. Cirque de Soleil was amazing though, and even though I couldn't swap the tickets so I could see the fight, still had a great night. I was a bit surprised that the show actually had a plot, and wasn't just guys doing insane crazy stuff. I must admit I didn't really follow it, but the insane crazy stuff was 'wow' enough to keep me entertained anyway. So, show over, I went to bed in prep for Superbowl Sunday...in Vegas...I was a bit excited.
Unfortunately, I only got to sleep at 4.30. I was pretty hungry when I got up, so I went down to 'Fat Burger', about 10 minutes from my lego fortress. Now if the burger I had in San Fran was the best I've ever had, the one in Vegas was the biggest...by a mile. My only regret is I forgot to take my camera, because this thing would make Andre the Giant break a sweat. Needless to say, I got my arse kicked by a burger, but I shrugged it off and went down to the tables, gambled a bit more but couldn't repeat the exploits of the previous day, then bunkered in for the game. In short, best Superbowl of at least the last ten years.
Massive TV with sport, lots of beer, screaming fans... its pretty much my utopia. So after the game I did all the responsible adult stuff like pack, and check my flights, then ate dinner at a place called Dick's Last Resort. Apparently there's a few of them in the States, but this was the first I'd seen. The concept is that while the food and drink are good, the service is deliberately rude, insulting and in your face, and you're encouraged to give it back. It seemed the fitting end to my time in the United States (no, honestly, most of the people here are nice, redneck Arizona fans aside).
So 11 countries (technically, 12, if you count the hour in Auckland on the way home) and something like 19 cities across a 7 week journey has come to an end. Not sure how many of you are still with me on this blog, but those of you who are, looking forward to seeing everyone and it'll be nice to be home. For everyone else, I don't like you anyway (kidding!). Thanks for reading the trials and tribulations of the trip of a lifetime (or at least the next few years), it really made keeping in touch a whole lot easier than email.
Adios amigos!
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