Knee Injury

So while wrestling with my nephew, Elijah, I felt my knee pop. It wasn't until later when I tried to use the stairs that I noticed something wrong. I felt my knee and there was a huge lump on it. I pulled up my pant leg and there was this ugly "Fred Flintstone" lump on my knee. It had to be sticking out about three inches. I decided to rest it and ice it for a few days but after another day of pain I went to the hospital. The Dr. told me that I have some damage but isn't sure the extent. He called it a sprain with some tearing. I have to go to an orthopedic surgeon to scope it and repair it. I had hospitals and I hate needles and knives. I know it will be a small operation, but I am scared. I am one fragile fat kid...

Skype

Skype is the coolest program I have used on my computer since the day I found google earth. Skype lets you video chat with your fiends over your computer. No lag. Great sound. It's so sweet. I just hung out with David for about two hours tonight. He lives in San Francisco and I'm in Salt Lake. We talked, laughed and even played video games. It was like he was in the house with us. I suggest you all add Skype to your computer to keep in touch with your loved ones.

Top 5 best song ever...

As of right now I don't know what other four songs I'd place with this, as there are so many songs that come to mind, but this song is hands down one of my favorite tunes. God bless George Harrison.


PS. Did you know that Eric Clapton plays the electric guitar on this song? This is the product of two guitar geniuses!

The Beatles Love

As my friends know, I am a huge Beatles fan. Anyone who loves music can not deny how important and how revolutionary this band was. Everything from their early boy band style to the drug enhanced rock on their latter albums still trumps most music produced today.

Another one of my favorite things would have to be Cirque Du Soleil. I've been to "Mystere" at Treasure Island in Las Vegas three times. I have also seen "KA" at the MGM Grand, "La Nouba" in Orlando, and naturally the blending of my favorite band, the Beatles, and the Cirque troupe, in the Mirage's Beatles "Love" show. Anyone heading to Vegas needs to check out this show. The sound and sights are mind blowing and worth the price of admission. A collection of my friends are going to see this show with me next month. I am very excited!

New York Giants

My New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers tonight to lock up the 1st seed through the NFC playoffs. Hopefully my team can pull of a repeat performance from last season!

Las Vegas II

So in my last post I listed the Vegas hotels I have stayed in. This time I will rank them from worst to first in this post. God bless boredom. So without further adieu:

14. La Concha. I stayed at the La Concha during my many retreats after high school graduation. It would always be a spur of the moment decision to run off to Vegas with a group of friends. We were all minors and this was a rare place on the strip that let you rent a room under 21 and without a credit card. It was a major dive and I swear one room we had was once a murder scene. The trips were well worth it though. The motel has since been demolished for condos.

13. Westward Ho. The reason this room is listed so low is because I don't remember much other then it looked like a brown Motel 6 room. I was only around 9 or 10 when I stayed here so I don't remember it so well, other then I wasn't into the Cowboy theme. This was around the time MC Hammer was rocking my world. Sheesh... This motel has been torn down and is a future site for a McDonalds.

12. The New Frontier. On my honeymoon Jill and I traveled to Disneyland and had bookend stops in Vegas. On the way out we stopped at the Stratosphere, and on the way home we stayed at the New Frontier. The Casino was dingy and dark. It smelt of Cigars from years past. The room had a nice view of the strip, but the bed was hard, the room smelled, and it felt dirty. It did have some old Vegas charm and we laughed at the beer bottle opener built into the marble sink tops. The New Frontier has recently been imploded and a Swiss themed hotel is scheduled to take its place.

11. The Sahara. The ONLY reason I place the Sahara this high is because of the great times we've had watching The Amazing Jonathan performances. He no longer plays here, but he still performs in Vegas and I highly recommend his show! The Casino is ok if you like to gamble. The food is edible, but the rooms here are hands down the worst rooms I have stayed in, in Vegas. The beds are full size, not queen. The doors do not reach the ground so the hall lights shine in. The walls must be made from cardboard as you can hear your neighbors every move. The rooms do not feel clean, and even though they can be the cheapest room on the strip I suggest you pony up the extra couple dollars and stay at the other cheap hotels like The Stratosphere or Circus Circus.

10. Harrah's. I stayed here as a kid and they used to shine green lights at the building at night to make it glow green. I remember these lights being intrusive and interrupting my slumber. They no longer shine these lights however, and the room was clean and nice.

9. Stardust. As a kid, the Stardust was my favorite place. Back when Vegas was about the lights and not the huge buildings and crazy architecture. The Stardust seemed futuristic and the pink and purple lights lit up the night. The rooms were simple, but clean. The Echelon resort is being build on the site the Stardust once stood.

8. Imperial Palace. This hotel/casino has the worst car access from the strip. If you are driving south on the strip it takes forever to turn in. The Casino is small, but fun. The rooms are ok, but have nothing to do with the Asian theme of the resort. The only reason to stay here is the low room prices and the excellent strip location.

7. The Tropicana. The room we had here was a corner room, which are much larger then the standard room. It had a really nice view of the strip. But this room was located in the back tower which took forever to walk to from the hotel lobby. The rooms felt too warm even with the ac on. They also had tacky mirrors on the ceiling. Nothing about this room was really great, but nothing was really wrong either.

6. Excalibur. I have a love hate relationship with this casino/hotel. I love the location, the theme, the casino, the restaurants, and I always park here when we go walking the strip. I do not like the rooms or the tiny pool though. The price here has come down in the past few years to make it a good choice, but the rooms are dingy and boring. But the good outweighs the bad here and I'll stay again.

5. Circus Circus. The casino here makes you feel lost. The old folks flock here. Kids run ramped here as their parents take them to the free circus shows and for the midway games. The buffet is weak and forgettable. But surprisingly the rooms in this old casino are nice. They have an old motel like building in the back, but I have never stayed there. I have stayed in the standard and upgraded rooms here and have not been disappointed. They have been remodeling the rooms too and though I haven't stayed in the new ones, I look forward to it as they look really nice. The theme park here can be fun. The Steakhouse is excellent and it is where Jill and I had our first dinner as husband and wife.

4. El Cortez. This place is located in old Las Vegas, just off Fremont Street. The Casino is small, but fun. It has the old Mafia feel too it. The main hotel is one of the oldest still standing in Vegas. They also have a tower that was built in the 70's. Jill and I stay in the tower rooms when we go. They are very large and clean. They have antique furniture and good views of Vegas. My brother stayed in the old portion and swears it was haunted and didn't sleep much. I love the old school charm of this place and want to stay again.

3. The Stratosphere. This place is my safe bet. I've stayed here many times because of the cheap prices, clean yet simple rooms, fun casino, good shows, and of course the Tower. Nothing about this place is mind blowing, but it has never let me down. I love the Tower and seeing the Vegas lights from 1,149 ft in the sky. The rides at the top are excellent, if not down right scary. The shows we've seen here are fun and between the mall and casino, there is always somewhere to go. If you want to do Vegas for cheap, yet still fun, I highly recommend this place.

2. The Luxor. My favorite themed casino/hotel. The Egyptian motif is fun, and staying in the pyramid hotel is so fun. We stayed 20-something stories up and the view from inside is just amazing. I suggest that everyone stay in the pyramid once. The casino is great, the food is awesome as Fusha is one of my favorite restaurants. The show here are great. The Imax theater and arcade are fun. Nothing bad to say about this place at all. PS- Chris Angel...

1. Trump International. This place is soooo nice. There is no casino here, just a top of the line hotel. Everything here is over the top fancy. The beds are so comfortable. The bathroom is as large as most Vegas hotel rooms. The mirror in the bathroom has a tv behind the glass. The tub is a huge jacuzzi. They give you slippers and robes. Plasma tv's here. Books to read. Amazing views. Excellent furniture. Everything is mind blowing. The only drawback is you have to pay for parking everyday. If you can afford to go stay here. The only reason I got to stay here is because of a sweet deal on hotwire.com and splitting the cost with a friend.

Las Vegas

I love Las Vegas! Other then visiting any Disney theme park or Hawaii, it is my favorite place to be. I love the lights, the over the top hotels, the casinos, the energy, the naked lady trading cards the Mexican dudes hand out...Well, I liked the last one a little more when I was 15, but you get the point. I have seen a dozen different shows and I have seen WWE pay per views. I spent some time on my honeymoon there, many random weekends, extended vacations, and I am going again in January. But what I want to do on this blog is list the different hotels I have stayed in there. Some are gone and some are brand new. Some fancy, some seedy. I am not going to list the countless Motel 6's and Rent-A-Suite type places, just locations with casinos. So here they go, in no particular order:

Tropicana
Excalibur (2)
The Luxor (2)
Trump International
Circus Circus (3)
La Concha (3)
Stratosphere (5?)
Harrah's
Imperial Palace (2)
The New Frontier
Westward Ho
El Cortez (2)
Sahara (2)
Stardust

I think that is all of them. Next month we will be staying at the MGM Grand, so I'll be able to add that to my list. In a future blog I will rank these hotels and their casinos. Why? Cause I can.

Peace!