.Pool Party!
Using rarely-attempted "Get An Early Start On It"-technology, the Kirchheimers, Pat, and myself drove together to the stunningly-beautiful Chuck & Judy Blomberg Estate for brunch. We were the first ones there, which (unsurprisingly) never happens when I'm with John.
I don't know exactly what we expected, but whatever expectations we had were wildly surpassed. "More food than you can shake a stick at," seemed to be the plan of the day - a concept that I can only appaud!
Chuck & Judy were wonderful hosts, the food was excellent, there was this pool, and a bunch of cool friends. It couldn't have been better! Several folks pointed out that they would've liked to have spent the whole day there, it was that good. If you missed it (and we know who you are), shame on you!
Here's the pictures:
The Litwacks, apparently trying to get their son Benjamin
interested in the Exciting Field
of Bridge Inspection .
Dave & Leslie, in profile
.
Mr. Hagan, the senior, apparently rendered speechless 
.
The lovely and talented Jill
Kirchheimer 
, doing the (inconceivable!) lying in
the sun thing.
John 
- "Around this time, we were
trying to get the car back on the road..."
Mike Ward 
- "Don't just enjoy a pool,
enjoy the hell out of it!"
Mike & Dan 
- Two Neat Guys.
The S.S. Litwack 
steams into view.
Dave & Leslie 
- now it's Corona Time.
The lovely and talented Hallie
White 
.
The not-so-lovely, but plenty talented, Mike Demirjian 
.
Dave 
- "Dude, like I am so totally
stoked, man..."
The lovely (her) and talented (him) Clint & Lara 
.
"John Hagan (senior) 
as Mr. Pool Safety-Guy!"
The Kirchheimers & the
Johns 
. Why anyone would choose to sit in a hot-tub
when it's 100° out is beyond me.
Oh right! To hang with the
Ladies! 
The lovely and rational Dr.
Edward Powell 
.
When it gets right down to it, we're really just a bunch of people hanging around John
. (And kudos to the anonymous
camerman for a fine shot of Hallie's butt!)
Pat & Dave 
- A Study In Contrasts.
Ed & Mark 
- One Man's Camcorder is Another
Man's Pool Toy.
Few people know this, but John was apparently the model for
the Walk/Don't Walk Icon 
.
Goodbye from the Pool Party!
(with Beebo) 
.
Goodbye from the Pool Party!
(with Bradley) 
.
(Editor's Note: Believe it or not, there's a few Pool Party shots that I didn't put on this page. If you care, check out rolls 10 and 11.)
After leaving the party, we went our separate ways, though several of us (the Hagans, the Wards, the Litwacks, the Kirchheimers, the Powells, the Weyns, and me, the single guy) reconvened for Another Swinging Night Out On The Town.
We went to the Luxor, by whatever means seemed appropriate at the time. Some of us saw the Secrets of the Pyramid (or whatever), the Luxor's really lame (but technically excellent) multi-media amusement things. Just like "EFX": really spiffy, really expensive, and embarrassingly stupid.
The stragglers (John's group, naturally) eventually caught up,
and after much confusion, and no small amount of
aimless-milling-about, a dinner plan was agreed upon. "If
only Ed were here to tell us what
to do next!" 
, we seem to be saying.
Dinner (at the Chinese restaurant in the Luxor) was a drawn-out affair, but the food was excellent. Actually, by Vegas standards, that's not saying much. Every meal we ate in Las Vegas (with the exception of the $9.95 surf'n'turf) was excellent. My only regret is that we didn't eat enough meals, in the mad (yet ultimately successful) quest to See It All in a few days. I personally look forward to returning as soon as possible, and spending more time eating, drinking, gambling and socializing, and less time walking around photographing casinos!
After dinner, we split up - the Litwacks & the Kirchheimers went back to their respective hotels, the Powells went to see Sigfried & Roy at The Mirage, and the Weyns had to catch a red-eye flight back to Florida. Those of us who were left (the Hagans, the Wards, and myself) decided to walk back to Treasure Island, by walking through all the casinos on the west side of the strip. I'd already done this the previous night with Dave & Patty, but none of the other four had, and besides, I had this roll of high-speed film to burn...
"Behold, for I am Gefiltefish, wily and powerful Wizard of Pewter-Crap! 
" At The Excalibur,
as if you needed to be told.
The Statue of Liberty 
in front of New York, New
York. Inside, there's this beautiful balcony
overlooking the (huge) gaming floor. Sadly, this picture 
doesn't do it justice. They also
recreate the city streets of NYC
, but without the urine smell. This,
however, would be an oddly-named
place 
to find in New York.
The Monte Carlo
. Their overall theme seemed to be
"Check out our big white building". By Vegas standards,
this is fairly tasteful 
. Their water
show 
wasn't so hot...
Caesar's Palace seemed to be having
a problem with vandals 
.
When we eventually got back to Treasure Island,
Mike & Diane split off, and Leslie went off to bed, leaving
John and I to seek adventure all by ourselves. Lo and behold, we
heard the distinctive sounds of a ship battle. Unlikely though it
may seem, there were these two boats shooting at each other, right
in front of the hotel. Damnedest thing. I snapped a quick photo 
of the carnage, just in case the
authorities required some evidence for their investigation.
John and I ducked back into the hotel, and spent many the hour kicking back 'red things' (sans their expensive souvenir Skull Glasses). The topic on the floor was "Our Friends: Their Various Merits and Personality Flaws", which was discussed in great detail. Eventually it was resolved that "they're all fine just the way they are, and anyway, it's getting late."
