So this was my first time in Las Vegas as an adult so I wasn’t sure what to expect…
I was so anxious Thursday night/Friday morning I didn’t get much sleep with the excitement and working really hard that week to get all 5 days worth of work in 4 days.
Denver to Las Vegas got off to a real quick bang when one of the cabinets at the McDonald’s blew a hose and all the crew came running out of the back. Dang now where should I get some breakfast.
1st time flying Southwest (Airlines) and the flight crew were really friendly, courteous, etc. Oh, also my first time flying since the tragedy of September 11th so I wasn’t ready for all the “new” security procedures, i.e. taking of shoes, etc & I just bought new shoes and they weren’t even close to be broken into and still a little hard to slip on and off.
Okay get to Vegas and I didn’t think it was THAT hot but you could definately feel it. Also, what a busy city; everyone hustling around getting from place to place.
Friday, go to the hotel and we all were able to check in early which was nice. We went lunch at the Peppermill Grill was was really really good food and then we got tickets for “The Rat Pack”. The show as really funny & great and we all got some good jokes to tell over and over again.
After the Rat Pack we walked down Freemont Street and went to Binion’s and had a late late dinner. Afterwards Audi, Charlie, Nancy, Kathryn (and their dogs of course), and myself made it to the Deuce bus and amazingly made it to back to the hotel after how long it seemed to take to get on the bus and how long it took once on the bus. At least they let us get on the bus first because of the service dogs.
Saturday… breakfast… then over to Tix4Tonight to get Penn & Teller tickets; David, Ed, & Myself. The others got in line to set us up for all the things at Star Trek The Experience. So we got back and then went to the museum and then in line for the Klingon Encounter which I would have to say was one heck of ride! It really throws you around & I thought, “No way are my sunglasses are going to fall off my head.”, but they came awful close.
Then to the backstage tour which was really great. Melvin, our tour guide, gave us a lot of info and made it really interesting. The Borg 4D ride, one comment, “That ain’t right”. One of the “probes” in the seats needs to be turned off because at least one of mine went somewhere that was not comfortable. LOL
Then over to the Rio for Penn & Teller after the horrible food at Paris and I can’t believe how those two can do some of those illusions with a live audience. We even got pictures with them after the show. We stayed at the Rio so some of them could play and keep their cards active and we even got to see the “Show in the Sky” where they ride these gondalas that went around tracks in the ceiling. After THAT show then the Chippendales set up a backdrop right behind where Ed was playing where he won some moola.
Sunday… get up early to get all our boarding passes printed. Then to The Experience to get our pictures taken and that was fun and we found our “Crewmen #6″. Eating at Quark’s Bar was fun even with the limited menu.
After that Ed & I went exploring down the strip or should I say that Ed took me to a few interesting casinos & places. We went to the Fashion Mall & I went to the Apple store. We also went to Bally’s, Paris, & the Venetian and saw the inside part of the gondolas and got to see them do the gondoliers shift change with them singing and dancing. We also went to Caesar’s Palace where I put down $5 for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series.
We got back and Ed wanted to get his picture redone so he got that done while David, Debby & myself headed to the airport but Ed was able to catch up with us with plenty of time to spare.
So overall I’m sad that The Experience is closed (hopefully for just a short time) now that I’ve been there. And now I figure I’ll have to go back because you can not see all that you need to see in 3 days.
Saturday Fun Day - Sat we started the day with breakfast at the café at the Hilton I had a pretty good omelet and decided what to do that evening. The day was going to be spent at the Star Trek Experience, one last time before they shut it down. It was also my birthday!
We decided to see about getting Penn & Teller tickets. We had seen them at the Tickets 4 Tonite but had been sold out for Fri night. Ed, Arty and I walked over while the rest of the crew worked on getting it setup for our tour tickets.
The tickets ended up being slightly more but still over 30% off! The only issue was that we needed to get over to the Rio to exchange the voucher for assigned seats. We trekked over to the Rio. Originally we tried to catch the shuttle from Caesar's but the valet steered us wrong, bad valet no tip for you, and after waiting and no shuttle in sight, we finally grabbed a cab over. After exchanging the tickets we found the shuttle from the Rio to the Paris, caught the monorail back to the Hilton.
On the way to the monorail we got stopped by someone that had just bought two 3-day tickets and was selling them cheap. I wasn't sure about their authenticity but Arty and Ed got them and the turned out to be a genuine Vegas deal.
When we got back Debby was just getting up to the ticket booth. The place was packed with lines out the door and down the hall. I had been there many times and haven't seen lines like that since the very beginning. We spent time taking tons of pictures in the museum and we got in line for the Klingon Encounter since Arty had never been on either and we universally agreed it was the one to start with and still the best.
Our back stage tour was getting ready to begin. While we were waiting I too several more pictures and took some pictures for other people in our group. Much to our surprise we me met some of the coworkers of Gary that had driven out after work Fri night and were spending the day at the Experience then driving right back! That's commitment!
Melvin our tour guide was great he gave us tons of details and even though we had been on this tour two years ago the tour was different, thanks to Melvin's different experiences and take on the whole Experience. It was cool to be under the Klingon Encounter ride while it was in progress since we had just been on it. Everyone had a great time on the tour and we got our Certificates and headed back to ride some more, time for the Borg 4D ride.
Another awesome ride this time with a Borg flair to it and in addition to the 3D glasses and video there was also a tactile experience, hence the 4D in the name! With the lines so long we didn't have enough time to ride much more and fortunately we got to defer our pictures in the Borg Chamber and Bridge until Sun. Off to Penn and Teller!
Took the Monorail to the Paris and had a quick dinner at a Café in the shop are there. I should have had the croissant sandwich, the pizza wasn't very good. I guess when in Paris don't have the Pizza? Free shuttle to the Rio from the Paris, got us there with just enough time to get in to the theatre and get a couple of overpriced drinks, it was still my birthday after all!
What can I say Penn and Teller live is an experience, we have watched several specials and the Showtime series but they are even better live. Only regret was I would have liked to have been closer. We stuck around after and did the meet and greet and got pictures with them.
We stuck around the Rio since Debby needed to get points on a player's card for her friend. We played in the are of the 'Show in The Sky' show and it was your dance and singing show with some decent talent, but the differentiator was that they had tracks in the ceiling that they had gondolas and the performers dropped beads from them to finish out the show. Ed was the big winner at some slot machine he was playing while watching the show, way to go Ed. Overall he ended up paying for the trip from it.
Sunday Final Fun and Return Home - Sunday we got up cleaned up and packed so we could get our pictures done first thing. Audi and Charlie had earlier flights than we did and we wanted to get us all as group on the bridge. This is one of the many great things to do at the Experience and it was once again a great time. We ended up picking up a crew member, just for the picture though. He was there to get his picture and was the only one not a member so we invited him in, pretty cool huh? More so when the picture goes live and everyone asks, "who is that?".
Pictures done we finished checking out while Audi and Kathryn got a table. Quark's was also packed and they were running out of everything. Had the Jambalaya and it was very good. Our last meal before everyone shipped out so we raised a toast to all that had gone before and good luck to all those that had put on a great show for the last ten plus years.
Arty and Ed went exploring and Debby and I went to the Stratosphere to keep our cards active. We thought $14 was bit high to go up in the tower and we couldn't find a ˝ price coupon so we bagged it. Cool view and all but $14 for a few hours? I actually hit two 4 of a kinds on video poker but it was early still and I made the mistake and kept playing and put it all back. I did earn $3 off a buffet, whoop de doo I was working toward getting a free spin at the $1 Million machine and mistakenly thought it was for each 100 points. Oops. Quit while you are ahead. I played one of the HD video machines near the front and hit a straight flush so I ended up even for the day but I was only playing 1 coin killing time and missed the big jackpot. Always play max coins.
Headed back to the Hilton and spent some more time playing my all time favorite machine, the new Star Trek machine. It has 'Adaptive Gaming (?)' and keep track of your progress with medal and levels and opens up new games when you get so many medals. Very cool sounds, effects and juts a fun time. I want one! Caught the shuttle back but left Ed at the Experience, he didn't like his picture and was re-doing it. He did meet up at the airport fortunately. Plane was delayed and we got in real late but we had a great time and I'm still glad we had those extra few hours in Las Vegas. Thanks again to the Star Trek Experience for 10 years of missions!
RIP Star Trek Experience Jan 1998 - Sept 1 2008. Live Long and Prosper.
Fri Morning: Travel day - Debby and I met Ed and Arty at his house and carpooled out to the airport. Instead of our usual parking at US Airport parking Ed took us to the Pikes Peak lot on the airport. Slightly cheaper than USAir in a 'no frills' way we waited for the bus but for only a few minutes, just long enough to take the 'Remember where we parked' picture, well just in case.
Check-in was quick and easy and caught a quick breakfast at the Airport. In making Ed's meal they apparently blew out the kitchen and Arty needed to forage elsewhere, glad we got in line before Ed. At the gate we met up with Audi and Charlie and we were all on the same flight out.
We had a good flight the usual small snack and beverage service nothing special and I got to start a new book, the SG-1 tie-in novel Roswell. Debby sat next to a young lady who was on her second audition for Brett Michaels Rock of Love, good luck! We picked up or bags and grabbed a shuttle. We had hoped to get a limo as they used to have a per person rate just like a shuttle but with more style. We did find the company but they no longer do that just per hour or day rates. We got checked in, even got in early, and got settled, now time for lunch.
Off to Lunch - We met up with another couple of friends and headed off to lunch at the Peppermill. We had been there several years ago and it was a reasonably priced and good tasting, and we were glad to see that it still was. I had a really good Buffalo Chicken wrap and Debby had BBQ grilled chicken, all very delicious. While we ate we scoured the coupon books and worked on a plan for the evening. Apparently the Blue man group outsourced their ticket line to India and Ed couldn't understand the operator. We called the theatre directly and found out the cheap tickets in the ad were way in the back and on the sides, pass. You would think they could lower there ticket prices with all the savings from outsourcing. Since we had been there several years ago they were almost twice as much.
Right next door to the Peppermill they have a Tix4Tonite, a discount, overstock ticket seller that has last minute deals up to 50% off. These aren't always the best seats in the house but they are good and great deals to boot. We looked at the list and found the 'Rat Pack Is Back' show. Debby, Gary and I had seen an earlier version of this show and it was great so we decided to give it a try and the price was right.
We headed back to the Hilton since we had several hours before we needed to head out to the show. Walking in the lobby we found the new Star Trek slot machine! This is awesome! I'm not a big fan of slots but the Star Trek machine is very entertaining and you login and get an ID to track your progress. As you progress you open up new levels and bonuses. In the first two bonus levels you beam down to the planet and phaser away at things on the surface and are in a space battle with, who else, the Klingons. The sound effects sound and video clips are awesome. This is my all time favorite slot machine. I want one! Given we had so much fun we didn't get much in the way of rest but we met everyone in the lobby and took cabs to the Plaza for the show.
Rat Pack - We hung out near the theater and played some of the machines and had a drink or two while we waited for the doors to open. We got decent seats and had one obligatory, overpriced drink inside.
The Rat Pack is Back casts Brian Duprey as “Chairman of the Board” Frank Sinatra, Kyle Diamond in the role of Sammy Davis Jr., co-producer Sandy Hackett as comic foil Joey Bishop and Johnny Edwards as Dean Martin! The show recreates the vibe of the 60's Las Vegas and the performers were dead on. Many of the jokes have been updated for the times but Sandy/Joey's comic timing is perfect and the four work together splendidly. Each performer does some of the solo classics and then they come together for several numbers to close the show and complete the Rat Pack Experience. All together an excellent show and even having seen this show several years ago I think it has gotten better and the venue at the plaza is retro cool. If you have an evening in Las Vegas I highly recommend it. Stay around after for the meet and great and the inevitable photo opportunity, great fun.
After the show we wandered around taking in the Freemont Street Experience and ended up at Binion's café for a late dinner. I had some good prime rib and at a decent price, everyone seemed to have had an equally good meal as well.
Debby, Ed and I stuck around Binion's and played the machines for a few hours, my luck didn't hold and ended up putting my winnings back in. I had an active players club card that got me a discount in the café but it was too late to see what I had earned on my card. Since it was after midnight the three of us decided to share a cab back, the rest of the crew had taken the bus back. When we got in the elevator to head back up to the room, we ran in to Arty, one of the group that had taken the bus. Score one for the Cabbies!
All in all a full day of fun and games in Las Vegas, Sat and Sunday updates coming soon. Stay tuned!
A group of us made the ‘Trek’ out for one last ‘mission’. As you probably know the Star Trek Experience is ending it’s 10+ year mission at the Las Vegas Hilton on Sept 1st, 2008.
A couple of our Intrepid crew had never been so it was equally cool to go with them and have it all new and cool. We did the Back Stage Tour and it was different from the last time we went but always cool. I am glad we did that once again as well.
The place was packed, more packed than I had seen it on previous trips, most likely people seeing it for the first time or wanting to have on last Experience. Lines were out the door and down the hall all three days we were there. It was an added bonus that I got to do it on my birthday!
We had a nice meal at Quark’s on Sun before heading out to the Airport. The food was really good, I had the Jambalaya. The food there was better that the rest of the Hilton come to think of it. It was equally cool and sad at the same time. All but one shop was closed and very little remained merchandise wise. I did get two hats I hadn’t seen before, Romulan Ale and Light Ale, very cool. We will miss having the Star Trek Experience as one of our must see travel destinations.We wish you well… “Second Star to the Right and straight on ’til morning”
They did warn me though and I had numerous backups. I was able to restore the site in a few hours and as far as I can tell, except for a missed forum post all should be present and accounted for.
If you notice issues let me know…
I am still going to upgrade the site but am working it in a parallel branch. Overall more work but less distruption.
One of the things we have kicked around off and on is creating a fanzine for the USS Pioneer.It would feature stories, fan fiction, comics, poetry, reviews, filk, parody, or anything else we want to put in it. I know there are a few writers out there or at least those that always wondered if you could.
We also know artists that we hope we can convince to help us out as well. From the days I used to publish the Blade of Honor I have some art, Klingon language lessons, etc.
I would prefer to get new work and if there is interest from the Pioneer members I will contact the folks that helped me out on that to see if I can get some new stuff.
We talked last night after Alien Volcanos with Brooks and he expressed tentative interest, and I know both Debby and I are interested.
Debby and I can serve as co-editors unless there is someone else that is interested in that role. Optimally I would like to have something ready for Milehi Con but that is pretty tight. Maybe a December meeting time frame?
I have Klingon Kristmas Karols but they aren’t my originals. anyone interested in creating some new ones?
We want as many Pioneer members to participate as we can get. So who is interested? Don’t be shy this is a very amateur publication and is intended to be fun for all.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Aug 2008 issue of the Silver Bulletin, the USS Pioneers newsletter. Thanks to David R for putting it all together and dealing with some very late articles from me. Check it out here:
At Worldcon we got the honor of meeting Kevin and Rebecca, very cool. During their signing they handed us a copy of the first book in their latest series Crystal Doors.
Apparently to promote the series they are giving away, free as in beer, a hard cover, not an eBook, a hard cover, version of it. Want to get your own? Well here you go: http://www.wordfire.com/news/crystaldoorsoffer.html
I just got it but as soon as we can we will post a review. There is even a teacher’s guide. I really enjoyed the panels at Worldcon they were on and was amazed at the breadth of work they both had, especially when looking at the bookshelf trying to decide what to try to get signed.
Let me know when you get yours and what you think. Check out their blog and let them know thanks and what you think of it.
Thanks to everyone on the Crew of the USS Pioneer for stepping up and making this another great convention for the Pioneer. We had several big last minute changes that effected the Federation Ball, Poker and our panels. Plus the addition of the Starfleet Regional panel at 8am on Sun. We got quite a few awards that we will present at the next meeting. I didn’t make the regional panel, sicne well it was 8am on Sun after all Poker on Fri night was a big success once again, thanks to the efforts and donations from many of you we were able to give out something to everyone and Arty, Debby, Audi, Bette and I donated shirts, matchbox type cars and much more. HOPS on 104th donated some glasses and HOPS Bucks for our winners and final table. Ultimate Poker of Champions gave us shirts to wear and entries for our winners to their quarterly tournament. We wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without the assistance of David R, Jennifer, Arty, Debby, Audi, David H, Bob S, Ed and Gary. Thanks everyone. Next year?
Our crafts panel on Sat morning was well attended even though it was earlier than usual. I didn’t make that one but heard it went well and the Paper Models/People were a big hit. Thanks to everyone who helped out there.
Federation Ball - This was the biggest change from last time as we had to move to the Atrium to make room for Gamefest. I didn’t make it into Gamefest but heard it was a big success. Anyone go/enter? The last minute change to the Ball put extra work on everyone but we got quite a few compliments and our DJ’s were awesome as usual. At this time we have a few things we need to get worked out to make it a bigger success and are at this time planning to have it back in there. Give us some feedback on what went well and what needs improvement. We didn’t loose money but it was touch and go. We hope we can move the time back to 9-12 next years as I think this was the biggest impact.
Utopia Planitia - I actually attended this one and had a great time. We had a good turnout and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The paper models/people were a hit here as well. Thanks to everyone who helped out here as well and thanks to Gary for organizing it.
I was also able to make it to one SFA event on Sun morning. Starfleet Fashion or Faux Paus? It was well run and Bruce and Trish work so well together. Funny and informative. They also helped me make it to the Utopia Planitia panel since it immediately followed and in the same room!
Overall I had a great time we all work really hard on planning and putting on all our events. I got to see some of the speakers and all were excellent. I did miss the Studio presentation so I want to hear all about that one from those that did.
Thanks again to everyone who made this another great Starfest you rock!
Hard to believe it, it was 2008! How did that happen? We all converged on Captain Hudson’s house with lots of food and drink. Pizza rolls, bagel bites and chicken, oh my. Add peanuts, popcorn, chips, veggies and dip, etc.
Who showed up? Gary, of course, and his brother Jim and his girlfriend came in around 2:00 am, Audi, Duane, Arty, Kathleen, Glen and Kathy, Joe, Scotty, Charlie, Ed, David R, Jennifer, Eric, David H, Joe Turtle, Riker Bear, Peaches, Max (the dog) and me. Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone, but I’m sure I can come up with an excuse if I did. LOL the highlight for most people was the home made beer that Gary made. We tried to come up with a good brand for his new beer, and at first Garyweiser was the top choice. However, the later it got, and the more people drank, it became clear……. Spare Tire. The perfect name for this so interesting brew. Please note that I did not actually try the beer, since I’m not a beer girl, but I drank most of two bottles of champagne myself. The guys tell me it was great. Kinda sad seeing all those dead soldiers on the kitchen counter at the end of the night. We brought out the wii, and started the games. Bowling was the hot ticket, and baseball was on deck (pun intended). Scotty took up golf, and then it was back to bowling. We had started off with Wrestling, but the game didn’t work. What a bummer. I was looking forward to taking some pictures of the guys slamming each other with wrestling moves.
When it got to be close to midnight, we handed out parchment paper. Each person was supposed to write down on the paper what their worries were for the coming year. The next step was for us to go out and burn the scrolls. This was based on a Peldar Fest tradition from Bajor. Anyway, it was SO cold that we looked for options to starting a fire outside. The fire place was an option, but we decided not to start a fire in the fireplace just for this, so we did the next best thing……. Gary drug out his paper shredder. It worked quite well. We loved that little ceremony. I thought of another paragraph after my first sheet went in, so scribbled another quick one to add to my troubles, and rushed it into the shredder. Then, we realized we only had like a minute until midnight, so everyone grabbed something to drink for the countdown. It was close, but we were up to the challenge.
As soon as the kissing and hugging stopped, we set off like 160 party poppers all over the living room. We kept laughing about the smoke alarms going off, but they never did. I was kinda bummed by that. I thought it would be funny to watch everyone taking dish towels and wave them at the smoke detector until it went off. Oh well, there’s always next year. Each of the party poppers had confetti in it, and there was confetti all over. I must confess, I found confetti in places I didn’t know it could get. A bunch of nice people helped to clean up, and then it was back to baseball and eating/drinking. People started leaving a little after midnight, one or two at a time, and Kathleen took a little nap on the couch. It was all because of Gary-he served some Lemon shot thing that was almost 100% everclear, and it did horrible things to some of us. If only I could remember (just kidding). Eventually, there was only a few of us left, and we helped to clean up and then headed out. I think we got home around 3:30 am or so. Thanks to Arty for driving us to the party!!!
11th Jul