Vegas and the BCS National Championship

Back from Vegas with many stories I can and cannot tell, and a #2 ranking which is surprisingly gratifying. Brief synopsis in beautiful bullet point format:

Day 1: Welcome to Vegas, baby

• Arrived late at the Monte Carlo, relieved that our hotel had a bunch of cheaper fast food places. Cheap is a relative term, however, as Josh's first meal at Subway was $16.
• Gambled and did a bit of exploring. Made big plans to conquer the New York roller coaster out our window but never made it.
  

Day 2: limos and $1 hot dogs

• Woke up with plans for In N Out burger, but was too hungry to wait til lunch time. Was a good idea to pass as everyone who walked ended up on the side of an eight-lane highway salivating at the restaurant on the other side.
• A few of us ended up on an adventure around the strip. All the ladies accidentally dressed in magenta and with a boy running around taking our photos everywhere it looked more like an trashy album cover photo shoot than anything else. We even found an older lady with the same colors on, became bff with her and added her to our band.
  
• We decided to be classy and 13 of us rode across the strip in a limo. Our high class ended at Sahara where we enjoyed $1 hot dogs, $1 beer, and $1 blackjack. Inside we encountered numerous NASCAR fans and discovered riding in a limo to get $1 hot dogs was a win-win. Oh, and Katie fell asleep at the huge Wheel of Fortune slot machine (classic).
  

Day 3: high rollers

• Siegel found Hash House a Go Go, a restaurant featured on Man v. Food. 11 of us ventured that way for some GIGANTIC benedicts - it was absolutely incredible. Definitely worth the drive and a must-do for anyone visiting Vegas.
  
• A group went to the Bellagio for a classy dinner and had the best bartender since Murray. We also enjoyed a beautiful view of the Bellagio fountains, which I can never take enough pictures of.
  
• Lillie, Josh, and I went to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil. It was breathtaking and I recommend it to anyone. The storyline was not coherent, but watching people disappear underwater after flying high in the air on a trapeze is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
• Late night Josh and I decided to spend my $2 ticket on penny slots. I made a $1 so I cashed out (I'm rather conservative), but a penny eBay slot machine caught my eye on the opposite side of the room. Just for fun I played and won $45 for both of us in bonus rounds! Obviously I was lucky, so I played black jack and won another $50.
  

Day 4: BCS National Championship

• Woke up 6-ish for the drive to Pasadena. It was absolutely gorgeous, although I can't tell you much since slept most of the time. (Thanks for driving, Sieg!)
  
• Met up with Dad for the Texas Exes tailgate at the Rose Bowl. Nothing better than burnt orange everywhere, free food and drinks, and 10,000 fans doing "The Eyes of Texas" before the game even begins.
• Josh Groban and Flea opened the game with the National Anthem, then a fly by and a bunch of parachuters fell out of the sky. I had goosebumps.
  
• The team came out strong until Colt got injured, and then Garret Gilbert surprised us by getting the offense to function by the middle of the third quarter. The defense played AMAZING - I left really proud of the team, but very sad for Colt. It was possibly the best sneak preview of next season you could ask for. Emotions ran high, and Alabama will forever have an asterisk over their title win. (Side note: go to http://peopleofwalmart.com to see where Alabama is showing off their trophy... About as much class as Saban in the last 2 minutes of the game.)
• Quote of the night: "It looks like Hannah Montana at the Houston Rodeo" - Mrs. Wood talking about Alabama's risque band routine
  
• Dad and I enjoyed a great tailgate with the Woods including a stoner kid almost convincing Mr. and Mrs. Wood to buy ganja cookies - "are they made with Hungarian herbs?". Later we had the best pizza Dad had ever tasted out in Eagle Rock - ask him about it, he'll talk for days.

Day 5: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

• We were the first car to leave Pasadena and somehow arrived last - our 9 stops included a winning scratch off ticket, a town with the largest thermometer in the world (not very impressive), the Alien Jerky store, Monte Carlo to get my gigantic red suitcase that would not fit into the car, and dropping off a giddy nerd at CES. All were totally worth it and in a beautiful desert.
• The girls left the boys for a peaceful dinner at Wolfgang Puck's, and it was one of my favorite times all week. Of course when we reunited with the boys they were a little bit messy after making besties with the cocktail waitress and a few hundred dollars down - now I understand why we were invited to begin with.
• We ended the night at Studio 54 for a lot of dancing to DJ Shift (who?) on the 1s and 2s. It was incredible and I left sweaty, sweaty.

Overall an amazing trip and an amazing group. I want to thank Siegel, Kenny, Josh, Butler, Chapa, Koetting, Van, Fulmer, Lillie, Julia, Gillespie, and Brehm for making it such a great time, the Woods for a great game, and Dad and Mum for the everything. Hook 'em!

Listening to: Top 50 albums of 2009 at http://hypem.com/#/zeitgeist/2009/albums/5