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Prologue

June 30

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Epilogue

Sven and I woke up early to get a jump on our first full day in Las Vegas. We pulled the old shit-shower-shave maneuver and by 7:30 we were just about ready to go. Just one more thing needed to be done before we left. I pulled the big roach from the joint we had smoked out of the ashtray, lit it up and smoked. It seemed even more potent than it had the night before. The Wake and Bake trick worked like a charm. We grabbed our gear for the day and headed towards the Bus Stop. Our first mission was to find a Post Office and drop the TomAroundTheWorld post cards. (As my newest idea, people pay a dollar and put their name and address on the card, I put on the stamp, write them a little personal note, and mail it from wherever I am. Each card has a Lucky Number on it that is good towards winning cool prizes from the events I attend.) We had over two hundred post cards in a small box that were ready to go!

Our second mission of the day was to figure out the mass transit system and learn the layout of The Strip. Our third mission was to meet up with Monty. Our final Mission: Have Fun!
We asked directions to the nearest Post Office from a guy at the Bus Stop and he told us to go around the corner and walk a few blocks to a plaza that has one. We start walking and begin to realize we were no where near this mythical plaza. We continued to walk towards the next intersection thinking we could at least catch a bus there if we couldn't find the post office.
Along the way we passed a restaurant with a giant Chili Pepper out front. Considering the fact that we were in Las Vegas to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I am not one to pass up a great photo-op, we paused for a few moments and shot some photos. I thought it was very funny.
We ended up walking about two miles or so in 110 degree heat with no shade before we finally found the Post Office in the plaza. We bought more stamps and finished putting them on all the postcards. Then, we went up to the counter to get the postal worker to stamp the post marks on the cards. As we watched the Postal employee cancel the stamp on the first one, I noticed that the post mark said "Henderson, NV" and that just would not do. I ask her not to do any more. We explained what we were doing and that the postmark must say "Las Vegas." She understood our predicament and gave us back our box of cards, except for the one cancelled one. She informed us we would have to drop them somewhere else and that all the major casinos had post boxes.

We could drop them there to get the Las Vegas postmark. We thanked her and with tears in our eyes we went off in search of a different Post Office.We walked to the nearest stop to get a bus that would take us in to "The Strip." We decided to grab a drink at the KFC across the street from where we were waiting. The place had the worst service ever. All we ordered were two large drinks. It took the crew forever to get to them. And, when they finally did get to our order, the soda machine needed to have the tank changed. We tried to get a different drink, but the guy said that it would only take a second to change. Instead, it turns into this whole fiasco that that takes like another five minutes. So, to make a long story short, we end up missing our bus. I got fuming mad. We finally get our drinks and head across the street to wait for the next bus which, as another customer told us, would come in about a half hour.
Luckily for Sven and I there was a paper machine at the stop that carried the local free entertainment newspaper. We perused the local rag and found out about all the local shows. It turned out, that other than the Las Vegas stage shows; we would be attending the two biggest concerts in the whole city that weekend. Sure, the Billy Idol show would be cool, but the two festivals we were scheduled to attend would be huge! After nearly 40 minutes, the next bus came. Sven and I each purchased a $5 all day pass. They were good for unlimited rides during a twenty-four hour period. It was a great deal and made it easier to get around in the heat. On the bus we met a cool girl named Tara that was really friendly. She gave us the "low down" on the bad sections of town.

We chatted with her for the entire ride to the bus station. She practically told us her whole life story. At the depot, we shared a cigarette with her and saw the funniest sign. It read "Beware of Danger of Flying Balls from Sports Park Next Door." You don't see a quality crafted sign like that very often. I had to take a photo of that! We had to go, so we said our goodbyes to Tara and gave her a button.
Our bus dropped us off at the end of The Strip near Mandalay Bay on Las Vegas Boulevard. Sven and I didn't go into Mandalay Bay. We walked around outside the casino and posed for photos in front of the beautiful fountains and statues. To see such giant fountains in the middle of the desert was spectacular.
Our next stop was the Luxor. Being daytime, the light was not on, but it didn't matter. The Luxor was awesome. It was as big as the real pyramids in Egypt and made of Black Glass. There were many cool statues and a huge obelisk out front. We posed with the giant Egyptian statues. I couldn't resist striking the classic "Walk Like an Egyptian" pose and singing the song... Sometimes I act like such a nerd. It was funny though. Sven was laughing so it wasn't just me. We took a few more photos and then entered the Luxor. The inside was even cooler. Literally… the air conditioning felt great! The interior of the Luxor was huge! All the art reflected the stuff you would find in a real pyramid. It was breathtaking. It was like stepping through a time warp into the past. We took a lot of photos. We asked a casino employee where the Post Box was and dropped the postcards. Our first mission was complete.

We left The Luxor and continued down The Strip. We discovered that there were boxes along the street that contained magazines featuring the famous Las Vegas escorts. The books were all censored, but the chicks in them were HOT! There were also tons of escort cards. Having never seen them before, Sven and I grabbed a bunch of them as souvenirs. We both joked that we wished there were services like that available at home. We lit up smokes and kept walking. Our next stop was Excalibur, and as you can guess, it was designed to look like a fantasy castle. It is one of Las Vegas' family oriented hotels. Outside the casino were large fountains and statues of armed guards dressed in armor. There were also knights on horseback and a cool carriage. We posed for photos in the carriage and on the horses before making our way inside. The Excalibur was like walking into another time warp. There were knights and maidens everywhere. They even had a giant indoor jousting ring with several shows daily. It was a few hours before the jousting so we were unable to see it, but the arena was cool. Sven and I wandered around looking at all the things to do. There was a two level arcade for the kids to play in while Moms & Dads hit the Casino Gaming Floor. We posed for photos with a lovely Maiden next to a statue of a dragon. Then, we posed with our heads in the mouth of the dragon. I made it look like I was choking the fire breathing lizard. It was really funny.

After leaving Excalibur, we made our way across the street to the New York, New York casino. The outside of the place looked like a scaled down version of New York City, complete with the Empire State Building, a Statue of Liberty, and a harbor setting with a NYFD rescue boat. Winding through the buildings was the Manhattan Express Roller Coaster, the longest coaster in Las Vegas. It was awesome and I got really excited! I couldn't wait to ride that bad boy! We entered the casino and were amazed again. The entire inside was made to look like sections of the real New York. They had streets with apartment buildings that even had clothes lines stretched between them with clothes on them. There were pizzerias, hot dog stands, and even manhole covers in the floor with the Casino's logo on them. Except for the fact that there were no puddles of "mystery moisture" on the ground and no weird smells, it was truly like walking in the Big Apple. We played a few slot machines on the Gaming Floor and I lost a few dollars, but it was fun.
We eventually found our way to the correct level to ride the roller coaster. The ride went upside down, so you couldn't bring anything on with you and we had to get a locker for two dollars to hold all our stuff in.
We emptied our pockets except for the cash we would need for the ride. I also had to go to the gift shop to get a strap for my glasses or I would not be allowed to wear them on the coaster. And if I couldn't wear them, the ten dollars would be a waste. What good is paying the money if you can't see what is going on? I ended up paying three dollars for a strip of plastic tubing that would have cost me thirty cents at a hardware store. I attached it to my glasses and put an extra knot in the back to make it super tight. There was no way in Hell those glasses were going to come off of my face. They couldn't have been tighter if I put them on with Super Glue.
We purchased our tickets to The Manhattan Express for ten dollars and got in line. We had to wait for a while to be in the very first car, because it is the best place to sit. That is where the view is the best. Plus, for the purposes of the website, when you buy the ride photo, you get the logo on the front of the car. You don't get that in the other cars.

Finally, it was our turn. We climbed into the front seats and strapped in. My heart was beating blast beats. I was ready. The attendant wished us a fun ride, and we were off.
The Manhattan Express lifts riders up to a height of 203 feet, and then drops them at a speed of up to 67 miles per hour, making it the second fastest roller coaster in Las Vegas. The cars whiz along 4,777 feet of track with incredible loops and several drops of at least 144 feet. The Manhattan Express also features the world's first "Heartline" twist and dive maneuver. It simulates a barrel roll in a jet fighter as it rolls 180 degrees, hangs 86 feet in the air, and then dives back under itself. It was AWESOME!!! The coaster runs through the buildings on the outside of the New York, New York Casino and even dives down over the hotel's swimming pool where you can get a quick glimpse of hot chicks in bikinis. As soon as it was over I wanted to do it again, but we were on a schedule. We returned to our locker, grabbed our gear and headed over to where you could purchase a photo of us riding the monster coaster. Photos were ten dollars each and came with a cool display card featuring photos of the casino and the coaster itself. When we got our photo, Sven and I laughed at our expressions. They were so funny! Although we looked nervous or scared we weren't. I swear that sometimes I think that the guys who run the coasters strategically place those cameras in places that catch you at your worst…

We persisted in our tour of the Casinos, and it brought us to the MGM Grand. Inside they had a Rainforest Café. I got another crunched penny that says "Rainforest Café @ The MGM Grand" on it with a picture of a gorilla playing roulette. After that we took some photos of us touching a giant mechanical alligator. It was pretty funny looking. The MGM Grand also has a Studio 54 club inside. It was closed at the time we were there so I took a few photos of the outside and we moved along. The MGM Grand is known for it famous lions and they have an inside habitat for them. The entire environment is enclosed in glass and at several periods throughout the day, the lions come out and entertain the crowds. They don't do tricks or anything, they just come out and act like lions. They lie around, wrestle each other, and do the other normal things that big cats do. They were beautiful to look at. The crowd around the glass enclosure was about eight to ten people deep, and everyone was "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" over the lions. It was hard to get photos with so many people scrambling to get to the front, but I got a few halfway decent shots of the famous felines.
Sven and I were getting hungry, and Las Vegas is known for its big buffets. We buffet at the MGM Grand was around thirty dollars. That was a little pricy for us. We decided to wait and catch a buffet at one of the other places on The Strip where the price usually runs around ten to fifteen dollars. We had been warned to avoid places that had prices like seven dollars. We left the MGM Grand and continued down The Strip.

Besides Casinos, there are tons of stores, shops, and boutiques. We soon found ourselves standing in front of M&M World. Being a choc-aholic and a big fan of M&M's there was NO WAY we were passing this place up. It was really cool! The front had a big display of the M&M characters dressed in Star Wars costumes. There was everything you could think of with an M&M logo or character on it.
The entire building was four floors tall with shopping areas, museum, and a fanciful cartoon-like M&M factory that explained how the candies were made. As you made your through part of the M&M making process, there was a catwalk that had a spinning tube around it. You never move from the catwalk, but you start to walk sideways as your brain tries to make up for the rotation of the tube. It was a cool trick.
There were also many fake movie posters satirizing famous films with M&M characters as the stars.
In the other part of the store, one whole wall was covered with giant tubes containing every color of M&M's possible. The only ones I couldn't find were the silver ones. They had what they called "silver," but it was a grey color, and I was not about to get them. I know for a fact that they make shiny metallic looking M&M's. Just like the silver candy cake decorations. I have read about them or saw them on a TV show. THOSE are the silver M&M's I wanted. Alas, I was to have none… Such is Life.
As a souvenir, I picked up a book for collecting the crunched pennies in.

We left the M&M store and found a pay phone. We called Monty to meet up. He told us he would not be able to leave for at least an hour and to call him back in a while. We agreed to call back in a while and headed out to eat.
We chose to eat at the famous Boardwalk Buffet. It is the only 24/7 all-you-can-eat buffet in Las Vegas. They had everything you can imagine. Roast beef, seafood, chicken, pasta, and much, much more as well as every side dish possible. The fifteen dollar cost was far more within our price range. I had a ton of BBQ Ribs and got sauce all over my cast. We ate until we couldn't move any more. After dinner, we called Monty again. The babysitter had not shown up yet and he said it would be a little while longer.
As Sven and I headed further down The Strip, we collected tons of "Escort Cards." They were the size of baseball cards and featured different female "entertainers" on each one. There were even ones with men for the ladies (…or for some men). The cards had phone numbers to call and proclaimed that the "entertainer" would arrive within half an hour and listed their minimum prices. Some of the girls were extremely hot. We picked up the cards everywhere we went. There were even guys on the street handing them out as we passed by. By the end of our day we had nearly five hundred cards. It was like Pokémon for adults. We saw a few groups of other guys collecting them as well. We even traded a few cards with them. By the end of the day we had collected over five hundred cards. There were girls of every race, color, size and persuasion. Prices ranged from forty-nine dollars for some girls, ninety-nine dollars for two girls, and climbed from there depending on what "services" clients asked for. It goes without saying that Sven and I wished we had brought more money! But considering the amounts the girls were charging just to show up, it would have cost a small fortune to get them to do other stuff. Plus, neither of us wanted to bring back any "souvenir" he hadn't planned on. So, we put the idea of hiring hookers to the back of our minds and continued on our way.

Our journey resumed and soon we were in front of the Harley-Davidson Café. The café had giant motorcycle coming out the front of the building. It was the biggest bike I had ever seen. We didn't stop in because we had already eaten, but we took a few photos and continued our trek.
Next up was the Aladdin Casino. It was all done up like a Middle Eastern castle. The entry led into an open air market that resembled those in Morocco. We sat on a bench for a few moments to rest and have a cigarette. We wandered around the Casino taking pictures and checking things out. One thing that really impressed me was a huge Pegasus-like winged horse that came out of the wall above the Gaming Floor. It was magnificent. After examining the inside of the Aladdin, we went back outside to have a cigarette and we surprised to find one of the famous Las Vegas showgirls in full costume having a smoke as well. She was very pretty and was wearing a white outfit with a huge feather headdress. We chatted with her for a moment and asked if we could take a few photos with her. She was more than happy to pose with us. She posed perfectly, the way showgirls do. It was great. We thanked her, gave her a TomAroundTheWorld button, and she headed back inside. From the Aladdin, we were we could see the Paris Casino. It has scale versions of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d' Triumph, and a reproduction of a famous Paris fountain that featured mermaids, fish, and Poseidon.
The inside of the Paris Casino was just as cool as the outside. The entire ceiling was painted to look like the sky and the light effects on it made it look so real. The base of the tower was inside coming through the roof. The entire inside was done to look like a section of Paris, complete with "outside cafés" and shop fronts. I was very impressed with how much it reminded me of the Latin Quarter in Paris.
I posed in front of a beautiful fountain for a photo with one of the lovely server girls that walked around with drinks. Then we took off down one of the "streets" and found a "living statue." The guy was painted all gold and looked like a bona fide statue. But if you posed with him and gave a tip, he would move ever so slightly and do something funny.

We continued along the "street" until we realized that it was a corridor connecting with the Bally's Casino. We came to the giant slot machine that read Bally's on the front before we figured out what had happened. We walked around the Gaming Floor of the new casino briefly. We stopped for a few moments to watch a Motown style Soul group do their thing for a song or two and snapped a few pictures. The performers were all dressed in red jackets and had all the right moves. They danced like the Temptations and did a great revue of classic tunes. We could hear them all over as we walked around. Sven went to the "Cage" and we picked up One Dollar Gaming Tokens from the Cashier.

We put them into the giant slots and tried for a win. Neither of us hit... Oh well, what would I do with a million dollars anyway? That question would be the topic of my mind's fantasies for the next few days. But it was truly egged on by what we saw next. As we made our way back to the Paris Casino, we passed by a display for a gambling tournament that had a one million dollar grand prize. The cash was in a glass case in the middle of the isle.
Sven and I stopped and marveled at the huge stack of cash. It was the largest pile of money I had ever seen in my entire life. You know the old Tex Avery cartoons where the wolf's eyes would pop out of his head, and then turn to dollar signs? I swear to God that really happened when I saw all that loot!
Being so close to all of those dead presidents made me take a sudden interest in history, especially great robberies… Ha ha ha. I let my imagination run wild. I had a quick daydream about smashing the glass, stuffing all the money into a bag, and making a mad dash for The Strip. But my greed-induced fantasy disappeared as quickly as a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. We looked all around us and counted at least nine cameras that we could see. Every single one was focused on the box of cash, just like my glazed over eyes. Seconds later, reality set in and I realized that I would never be able to get that fat grip of cash out of the casino without being seen, and a tiny, little, greedy part of me died.

I pulled Sven away from licking the glass box, slapped him once to bring him back to the real world, and we took a few photos to remind us of all the money we wouldn't be winning.
We found a phone to call Monty and Rob. Monty was finally able to come out and meet us. We agreed to meet on a side street, near the Flamingo Casino, at a place the tour busses usually pull into. It would be easy for us to find and was accessible to Monty's car without having to come up The Strip. By this point of the night, The Strip was hopping, and there were people and traffic everywhere.
We had about an hour before Monty would be there, so we walked around the Flamingo for a while. We played a few slots and found our way to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Bar. The place had a great tropical feel. The whole place was done up like a beachside bar on a desert island. And there were parrots everywhere. It also had the most humongous margarita mixer in the universe. It was about 20 feet high and had a tornado going on inside it as it swirled the tasty concoction within. I posed for a photo with a waiter that was walking around on stilts. He carried a fishing pole and was wearing a fishing hat and vest all covered in lures and tackle. There were a lot of people there just wasting away again and looking for lost shakers of salt. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, but I know it's my own damn fault. (Sorry… I couldn't resist. Ha ha ha.) Sven and I walked upthe street taking Photos of The Strip.

We left Margaritaville and walked over to Harrah's Casino to meet up with Rob at the Improv Comedy Club where he works. He asked how our day had been. We told him that it had been long but fun and that we were meeting up with Monty in about twenty minutes. He said that would probably make it a LOT more fun. I agreed and Sven laughed. I was a running short with my on-hand cash. I told Rob I had a bunch more back at his place in my bag and asked if he had some cash that I could borrow until we got back to his house that night.
To both of our disappointment, he only had about enough money to get a cab home after work. Rob told us that if we met up with him when he got out of work later, that we could catch a ride back to the crib with him. We agreed to meet him back at Harrah's later in the evening.
It was getting time to meet up with Monty, so we said "smell ya later" to Big Rob and walked over to our designated meeting spot. When we arrived, Monty was not there. We found a stone bench, sat down, and took a load off.
It actually felt good to sit, even on a solid stone bench. We had been walking for most of the day, and by that time we had been on our feet for nearly fourteen hours. We lit up cigarettes and relaxed.
About the time we finished our smokes, Monty showed up with his wife Allison*.
We hopped into their car and Monty asked if we wanted to go to a place that was really cool and a little quieter than The Strip. Sven and I were in agreement that someplace quiet would be nice for a while. Monty suggested the Ellis Island Brew Pub, and we decided it would be an excellent idea to try the local brew. We took off in the direction of the bar.
Monty had been informed by Pete that I would be looking for some recreation that was outside the norm of Las Vegas, and asked what I needed. I told him I was on a tight budget and he handed me a bag of nuggets called "Train Wreck," and another bag containing mushrooms. I asked him how much and he gave me a price. I told him I didn't have that much left on me at the time, and it would have to be either one or the other.

Monty said to take them both, keep my cash, and pay Pete when I got back home. He said that way I could have fun in Las Vegas and not have to worry until I got home. I thanked him and put it away. I asked him why they called the bud "Train Wreck" and he laughingly replied, "You'll see…" I knew the stuff was going to be great. These guys are personal friends with members of the Grateful Dead and don't mess around when it comes to good pot and poppers.
We arrived at the Ellis Island Brew pub and found seats at the bar. Again, the entire top of the bar was inset with Video Poker screens. The bartender came over and we ordered drinks. Because I needed a hydrating drink before I got into the alcohol, I chose to first have one of the bar's brewed root beers. It was awesome. I then joined Sven, Monty, and Allison in a pint of red ale. It had a great color and tasted pretty nice. The price wasn't bad either.
We played poker, talked about Monty and Allison's recent wedding, and friends back East. We had a few more rounds of beers and played more video poker. I got up to about fifteen dollars from an original bet of a quarter. It covered my round of drinks and that was fine with me. Allison did really well and won thirty-five dollars on one hand. We were having a really good time. Monty got a call from a friend who was looking for something to do, and Monty suggested he join us.

Ten minutes later, Monty's friend Chuck* showed up and we decided to take a trip to the Punk bar: The Double Down Saloon. I had planned on going there anyway. My friend "Standard Handshake" Dick, back in Syracuse, had highly recommended it. He said I would love it there. By going there with Monty, it made things easier for July third, which was the day I had scheduled to go there. So, we finished our drinks and off we went to the parking lot.
I wanted to try some of the "Train Wreck" but had no pipe. Chuck, on the other hand, had a pipe, but no weed. (Ironic… isn't it?) Sven and Allison don't smoke weed, and because Monty had to work in about six hours, he wasn't going to smoke either. We decided it would work best if I rode to the Double Down with Chuck in his pickup truck and we could take care of business on the way over.
We all hopped in to the correct vehicles and left. I packed a bowl and sparked it up. The buds tasted great! I passed it to Chuck and commented on how good it was. He agreed telling me that it was pretty much all he smoked now. I told him I could see why… I was about to say more when I saw the giant Neon guitar of the Hard Rock Casino. I snapped photos as we past and while we waited at the light.
Chuck and I finished smoking as we pulled into a parking lot nearby the bar. I have got to tell you: That "Train Wreck" was some SUPER good shit! It was true; I knew why they called it "Train Wreck." My head felt like I had been sideswiped by a bullet train. I was stoned! With a big grin on my face and a glazed look in my eyes, we undid the seatbelts and stumbled out of the vehicle. Well, at least I stumbled. Chuck was fine. I guess because he smoked it all the time. We told the security guy we would be back within the hour to get the truck.
We walked to the club and met up with the rest of our crew. We showed our licenses to the bouncers and found our way to the bar. I looked around the club and was amazed at how much it reminded me of the old Lost Horizon in Syracuse. The black walls were covered with flyers, stickers and graffiti. The band on the stage played some kick-ass tunes.

The bathroom was covered in graffiti and stickers as well. There were even a few stickers from bands placed right inside the urinals. I couldn't help thinking that I hoped that the stickers weren't put there by members of those bands. I wouldn't want people pissing on my band.
I wandered around and looked at the rest of the club. I checked out the flyers for upcoming events, talked to a bouncer for a few minutes (something all bouncers do in a different club…) and watched the band that was playing. They announced that they were almost done. I watched the band play their last song. As they tore down, another band began to set up for their performance. I stood there drinking my beer, taking in the ambiance of the establishment. Suddenly, I heard someone to my left call out, "Tom Carpenter…? TomAroundTheWorld…?" I turned to look and saw a guy about five feet eight inches tall, with short dark hair, bushy eyebrows, and a bunch of tattoos. He was wearing a black Minor Threat t-shirt. It was a bit dark, so took me a second to recognize who he was. He said, "It's me! It's Nathan Beebe… from Syracuse!" I couldn't believe it! What were the chances of someone I know being in the same place as me nearly two thousand miles from home? We grabbed each other in a big hug and laughed like crazy! He asked me what I was doing there and I told him, "Hey, it's called 'Tom Around The World' for a reason. Otherwise I would call the site 'Tom Stays At Home.'" I told him why we were in Las Vegas. He thought it was awesome.

I posed the same query to him. It turns out that Nate had moved from the Syracuse to San Diego and got hooked up in a band called Rat City Riot. They are on TAANG Records! (www.TAANG.com) It's a great label to be on. The Mighty Mighty BossTones and many other bands have been on TAANG. It just so happened that they were out on tour and playing that night at the Double Down Saloon! Talk about Fate stepping in and kicking your ass! This was a real surprise.
Nathan had me come over to the merchandise booth and hooked me up with a Rat City Riot t-shirt and CD. I thanked him for the great gifts. I bought a patch, as well as a few buttons. Nathan also handed me a bunch of stickers to pass around. He asked if we would be there all night. Unfortunately, I had to give him the bad news that we would be leaving within the hour. I explained that we had to meet up with Rob by one o'clock to get a ride back to his place for the night. Otherwise we would be stuck on The Strip for the rest of the night and we were nearly out of cash. I told him had about six dollars left at that point, and that would just about cover the cost of a few non-alcoholic drinks to keep me from dehydrating.
About that time, Sven, Monty, Allison, and Chuck came over to see what all the commotion was, and to inform me that we had to go soon because Monty had to work in the morning. I introduced them all to Nate and let him know that we would be leaving in about twenty minutes.

Nathan grabbed a poster and a Sharpie ® and had all the guys in his band sign it for me. Next, he brought them all outside to pose for photos in front of the Double Down Saloon's Marquee. For the photo, I took off my dressy tourist shirt and threw on the Rat City Riot shirt. The photos looked great! I thanked Nathan again for everything and we said our goodbyes to the rest of his crew. I told them to stay in touch and to look for the story on my site because the whole experience was just too incredible not to write about.
Chuck was also going home and we said goodbye to him. It had been a pleasure partying with him.
We climbed into Monty's car and headed to Harrah's to meet up with Rob. Before they left, we thanked Monty and Allison for everything and for the wonderful time. It was a blast hanging out with them and Pete would be glad to hear about it when we got home. They said that they had a great time too. We had the valet guy take a photo of the group of us. We all exchanged hugs and handshakes and parted ways.
Our arrival coincided perfectly with Rob's departure from work. We met up with him at the Improv, had a drink or two down in the casino and caught a cab back to Rob's apartment. Rob and I smoked a joint, chatted, and checked email as Sven fell asleep. It had been a long and busy day and I looked forward to resting myself. Soon, Rob was ready for bed as well. He wished me a goodnight and went to his room. I smoked a cigarette and flipped off the light switch. Before the room got dark I was sound asleep.

Home

History

Prologue

June 30

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 4

July 5

Epilogue