July 1st
We decide we were going to head to the strip early. But we had postcards to mail out. We asked one of the locals were the nearest post office was, he told us it was only down a couple of blocks. We were to get this out. Well it was more then a couple of blocks, it was a lot blocks. We got to the post office, just to find out this post office was Henderson's office. We hiked that long walk for nothing. But they were nice enough to tell us how to get to a Vegas one. So, waited and waited for a bus. We hopped on the bus, we meet a local girl named Tara, she told us about were to go and were to avoid. She was very helpful. We made it to the strip. What a sight to see, if you never seen it before. We played tourist all day and most of the night, pictures everywhere (yeah, I know, I said I hate having my pic taken, but this is Vegas). We meet up with of a couple of Tom's friends. They were cool people. They took us to small little casino off the strip, I ended up winning $20. At least I won something. Then we went to the Double Down. It is a local venue where mostly all underground bands play. I like the place. It was lot better than Tundra. What do you know; Tom knew the guitar player of one band. Surprise, surprise. We didn't get to see them play cuz our friends had to get going. So they dropped us off back on the strip. We meet up with Rob after work, and end up back at his place.
July 2nd
Today is the day of the Vegas birthday concert party. The day started off like any other day. We watched a little bit of Live 8 on MTV. I thought Green Day's cover of "We Are Champions" was killer! It really got me ready for the show to come. Tom, Rob and I got to the show about an hour early. We planned on meeting up with Bill sometime during the show. There was a place called the Pleasure Lounge, of course we had to check it out. Everyone who smoked, got 2 free packs of cigarettes if you if you showed your id and a pack. Nothing like getting free cigarettes. The added bonus to the Lounge was the girl dancing in a skimpy bikini on an outdoor shower. That was great. It was finally show time. To everyone surprise there was a third band, The Adolescents. They crowd got into them, but not too much. After their show, Weezer was up next. Weezer was ok, but it seemed like the songs people knew were only the ones that got radio play. I didn't really get any pics of their show. So, I walked around a little during the show. When Weezer was over, all you heard was chats about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Once they hit the stage, the crowd went wild. They played all the favorites and a couple of new ones. That was great. Rob went on a mission to find Bill, which was a joke. Neither Tom nor I saw Rob or Bill until the end of the show. I got some really good pics, after I got a short lesson on how to take them. Thanks Tom. After the show was over, there were fireworks. I don't think anything can top seeing fireworks in Vegas. On the way out, Tom asked a lady for her pass, she gave it to him. Her friend ended up giving me hers. What a souvenir, which tops the t-shirt I had just bought. Tom got to get his pic taken with the singer of the Adolescents. Of course I was the one who took the pic for him. The funny thing, Tom and I noticed a $20 on the ground at the same time. But whose was it? To make it fair, we both decided to use it as cab fare. We hiked a long ways in the dark, before we could get a cab back to the apt.
July 3rd
Tom and I went back to the strip to pick up were we left off on our tour. We hit Circus Circus and more casinos than the previous day. Then my life took a bad twist. It was time to do the infamous rides Tom told everyone about. I was already to do them all day, but suddenly change. Riding the elevator up to the inside observation wasn't a problem. The next floor was started the problem. Mind you we are 1000ft above the ground. We went up to the next floor; I started to have a panic attack. I explained to Tom what was going on, I told him I didn't want to go on the rides because of this problem. He tried to calm me down, but that wasn't working. He was a great friend. He never really tried to pressure me into doing the rides. I thank him for that. I think all it was the hype all day and then realizing the height of the rides. I think there is a small problem when you are 1000 feet in the air, and you see helicopter flying below you. Thanks again, Tom. At least he got to do the rides. After that entire ordeal was over, we headed over to where Rob works. The funniest thing happened on the way there, we both ran into someone we knew from Syracuse. We stopped and chatted for a few, and went on our way. We meet up with Rob; he had some news for us. I guess because we never checked in with him. He went to see Billy Idol. Tom & I could have gone if only we had called Rob. Oh well, so sad, too bad. Granted I wouldn't have minded seeing him. But there is always next time. We all had a few drinks, and decide to head back to the apt. This time, we went back in style. We got a limo for the way back. There's nothing like rolling down the strip in a limo. That was cool. Once in a lifetime thing, maybe? We got back, ate a little, and crashed.
July 4th
Tom, Rob and I thought we would go to the strip and get something to eat and try out another roller coaster before heading out to the Red, White and Boom show. We found a good buffet at the Sahara, just happened to be where the roller coaster was too. Then we headed out the concert. There was a great variety of music at this show. There were a couple of bands I never heard of like Fatty Koo. Tom and I had a press and photo pass for Bowling For Soup. We ended up leaving poor Rob in the crowd when we went to get the interview. The guys from the band were pretty cool, laid back, and all. Our photo passes were only for three songs, but we made the most of it. After their show, we wandered around the crowd, talking to concert goers to see why there were there. Most were there to see Social Distortion. But that ain't any surprise. We ended up meeting and getting photos with the band Crossfade. That was cool. Better Then Ezra also performed. I didn't really know any of there music, just radio play stuff. After their set, out came one of the American Idol finalists. Sorry, I can't really remember her name, right off hand. She sang the national anthem during a fireworks show. That was really great. But the best was yet to come. All three of us, and a few others show goers had a issue with this young girl. We were all about 6 or so rows back, she had her kid on her shoulders. That wasn't really the problem. The problem was how old the child was, 3 months old with no earplugs. She said she was going to move when the band went on stage. Last time I knew, the crowd rushes the stage then. Don't really know if she made it or not. Social Distortion hit the stage, and the crowd went wild. I had enough pictures taken for the day, so I jumped into the mosh pit. That was like no other mosh pit. It was very intense and wild. What a rush it was. After the show, all of us just went back to the apt.
July 5th
I was a day to relax and reflect on our experience. Also, the day to do our wash. We really didn't do anything special, just hung out with Rob, and counted down to it was time to leave to come home. That time finally came; we all got soooooooo emotional about saying goodbye. YEA, right!! We took the bus to the airport. Took a few last pics and were on our way. With $5 in my pocket, I felt like a rich man. First stop Indy. That was a long flight; it made it longer cuz it was at night. Nether Tom nor I could really sleep on the plane. When we touched down in Indy, it was like before: You go smoke; I'll stay and watch the stuff. Nothing really special here either. Off to Detroit. Detroit was cool with the moving sidewalks and the monorail inside the airport. So we went back to the Fox Sport bar to have a cigarette or two, we had the same waitress that we had on the way out. She remembered us. I think she just remember Tom. He tends to stick out especially with a broken had. I got a bottle of water, so it didn't seem like we were just there hanging out. Well that almost broke me. I left Detroit with a $1 to my name. When we got back to Syracuse, Sarah and her boyfriend Ed, came to pick us up from the airport. It was good to be home… kinda. I can't wait until the next adventure!!!
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