Vegas Baby* (*which I had to write in third person to help remove me from the whole dirty, grossness of that sorry excuse for a city)

Having been together pretty much nonstop since they left on their road trip, Pie Girl and Dirt Doc decided to spend some time apart....

Pie Girl found out that one of her favourite students (sorry, it's true. Teachers have favourites whether we like it or not) was going to be competing in a National Taekwondo tournament in Las Vegas, NV. Not knowing how far Vegas really was from San Diego, she told her that she most likely would not be able to make it. After doing a little research, however, Pie Girl was pleased to find out that it really was only about a five hour drive. A five hour drive that would take her right through LA. Perfect! Pie Girl and V were looking for an excuse to take a road trip and this sounded like the perfect opportunity! V had never been to Vegas and they decided if she was ever going to see it this was her chance. Pie Girl planned to arrive in LA early afternoon on Friday to catch the tail end of a Magritte exhibit at LACMA. This was the entrance to the exhibit....

Upon walking out of the art museum, Pie Girl's ears were awakened with the sound of.....



She met lots of dogs, including two "wolf" dogs that put on a show for her! With about an hour to spare she hopped in her car and headed out to Pasadena to meet V at the Norton Simon Museum. They planned to meet there, take a look at a b&w photography exhibit, and then pick up where they left off a year and a half ago. Not a problem for these two ferrets.
The photo exhibit was so-so, but both V and Pie Girl really liked the Mike Mandel photographer baseball card collection. He had all of the famous photographers of the time in their best baseball pose. It was hilarious to see Ansel Adams and Diane Arbus with baseball gloves and bats. He even had their stats on the back and quotes!

They headed back to V's place, ate a yummy homemade dinner, and caught up on YouTube videos before going to sleep rather early. This was a very popular one with the two DogLovers:



Saturday started with a delicious breakfast a local eatery. Pie Girl had been jonesing for some huevos rancheros for about two months and was happy to satisfy the craving. After filling their tummies and the gas tank they hit the road! It was Saturday morning...time for a line up of some of their FAVORITE NPR shows. They chatted for about 30 minutes until....CarTalk! Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, and A Way With Words. Woot! That was just about the time that the station became all staticy. They tried to pick up a different NPR station. No Luck. Now normal people might forget about it and pop in a cd. Not these two NPR freaks! They searched and searched. They tried to make out what was being said between the static. Frustrated, they decided they would never live between LA and LV because of the lack of NPR. Well, not that either of them were ever thinking about it, and not that this was the only reason to keep them away. The drive became less scenic as they approached Vegas. The desert was..sandy. The dirt hills were...dirty. Vegas was getting closer. They could sense it. And Dame Judy told them it was only a few miles away. That was just before she starting acting demented.


After a couple of quick phone call to Felicia, their accomplice in this adventure and mommy to the taekwondo expert, they found out that they were all back at the hotel, Excalibur. They planned to meet in the lobby in a couple of minutes. V planned to tape everything in hopes of getting the girls' facial expressions when they saw Pie Girl. She did an amazing job....



After lots of hugs they all ran to get something to eat before they were due back at the convention center. Pie Girl and V took their car and the family took a cab in hopes of the cabby knowing the back way to the convention center and thus, getting them there a little faster. Pie Girl and V discovered that Dame Judy was on strike and would not help them at all. They had to resort to...the map. They eventually arrived, parked the car, and ran through the Convention Center, which looked a lot like an airport. After buying their tickets from a guy from DELAWARE, they raced through a sea of white taekwondo uniforms to the two saved seats awaiting them. They made it just in time to see some awesome forms, weapons, and sparring. See some action for yourself...



The end result....

Watching all that action made everyone hungry so we planned to meet at Fatburger for dinner. They dropped the gang off at Excalibur and headed over to their off-strip hotel to check in, but after sitting on the strip for a really long time V and Pie Girl decided to pull off the road and park in a garage. All was going well until they discovered their "shortcut" actually turned out to be...

A Taxi Parade!

They finally parked the car and arrived at Fatburger for a sub par meal. They entertained themselves with camera tricks while they waited for their food.



With food in their bellies they all set out to explore the strip. It was just as unimpressive to Pie Girl as it was last time. The fountain show at Bellagio was cool, and while it is very impressive that all of this is built in the middle of the desert, she just is not getting it. She is desperately seeking help here. Can someone explain the appeal? V and Pie Girl discussed this at some length on the ride home and they promise not to judge you, but if you like Vegas please leave a comment (it can even be anonymous) to help them understand.
On the way back to the car they stopped to take this shot of V with Hooters in the background (since we never actually made it there- Sorry, Kelly).

Okay, so I honestly don't know how many people are actually still reading this and I did write a very poetic ending to this blog entry only to find out that I must not have hit the save button before closing out. Now, I am too frustrated with the whole thing. So, yadda yadda yadda, they went home. Trip over. The end. Maybe I will finish the rest later, but I am already a week behind and there is so much to tell! Stay tuned for the Interview Chronicles.