Las Vegas Highlights

Shall I finally tell you about my trip to Las Vegas back in June? I didn't blog about it at the time since I didn't have internet access and then when I got home other stuff was going on to prevent me.
Shall I make it easy on us and just hit the highlights?
We were staying at the Hilton at the Convention Center, which was very convenient because it was:
1) Across the street from the convention location.
2) The hotel where the Star Trek Experience is was located.
Oh my gosh! I was going to link to the website and it's gone. The website and the Experience! I found a website from June saying it closed down in early September. Boy, am I glad I was able to go back in June. I've wanted to go since it opened, but never had the opportunity until I had to go to Vegas for this business trip.
Of course, this means poor Hubby won't ever get to go.
(Oh, phew, I did save my ticket stub).
Well, anyway, it used to be a Star Trek Deep Space Nine themed restaurant, Quarks, and two of those full immersion virtual reality rides, Klingon Encounter and Borg Invasion. And, of course, an extensive gift shop.
Leading up to the trip I talked about the rides extensively trying to drum up interest, but no one bit so I had to go by myself.
They were so fun. I did the Borg Invasion one night. The group was herded into a shuttle bay and the Doctor from Voyager explained we all had DNA that might make up resistant to the Borg nanoprobes, so we were being brought to a space station for testing. But the Borg attacked and the room shook and the lights flashed and we had to evacuate to a shuttle. So we hustled down a hall and around a corner to the right, and you could see a hall extending to the left with damage and injured crewmen. Then another crew member was briefing us, but a Borg Drone came in! and started accessing a computer terminal. Since he didn't perceive us as a threat he ignored us. So we turned and ran the other way and finally into a shuttle.
Which is where the traditional part of the virtual reality ride was. Big, 3-D screen in front of us, the room shook and moved—and implements in the chair poked us and wind blew on us(!), the Borg Queen and Captain Janeway put in appearances. It was all very exciting. And actually left me a little dizzy, so I had to go back to my room.
The next afternoon, which was our last full day in town, I ran over and did the Klingon Encounter. This one started out as a traditional ride with the saftey lecture, but then the room when pitch black, lights flashed, there was a gust of wind, and when the lights came back on we were on a transporter pad on the Enterprise from Next Generation. Really, all the walls were gone and the floor was different, it was cool.
Then we were all herded onto the enterprise bridge. Cmd. Riker appeared on the monitor and explained that some Klingons tried to capture us and brought us into the future because one of us was an ancestor of Captian Picard. Jordy made an appearance too. Then we all got on a turbo lift so we could go to a shuttle pod and be evacuated. Well, this ride was a bit crowded and I was at the end of the group, so where they all got a piece of wall me and two other people were out in the open. And then the ship was attacked and the turbolift when into freefall and was shaking all over the place—it was hard to keep my footing.
When we got to the shuttle pod (and again, the corridors when off to the sides and were elaborate, I don't know where they fit all this stuff) the traditional part of the ride started. You could tell it was older because the seats were hard plastic and the ceiling was much close, which kind of added to the stomach churning effect of the swooping photography.
It was very exciting as well. And I just remembered that Cpt. Picard told us not to tell anyone so we didn't mess up the timeline. Drat.
I thought the rides were way cool and told anyone at the convention who would sit still all about them. I hope they reopen it in another location. If they do, I don't think I ruined anything for you, my description isn't a fun as being there.

Quark's
Of course I also had to eat in the restaurant. Since they don't feed you on airplanes anymore, when the Other Associate Editor and I tumbled into town we were rather hungry. Boss Man had flown in the day before, so he was a little more adjusted to the time zone. After showing us the lay of the land he agreed to each lunch with us.
Silly people let me choose the place. You would think they would have seen it coming.
Of course, it was all normal food, it just had silly names. I had a Capt. Janeway's Salad, which was a cobb salad with a nice presentation. The Other AE had a Starfleet Salad, which was a more traditional tossed salad, but molded into a triangle shape reminiscent of a communicator. Boss Man suddenly claimed he wasn't hungry and just got an iced tea.
There was a Klingon wandering around harassing dinners and later I saw a Ferengi and a Borg as well.
And the really cool souvenir for Hubby I kept referencing are travel mugs with stainless steel interiors. I got him a blue one with the Star Fleet emblem and me a red one with the emblem of the Klingon Empire. It fits in my purse really well when I'm on the train!
Well, that about wraps up the trip to Vegas. It was June, so it was around 100 degrees out each day and we were all dying of thirst the entire time.
Oh! forgot one other cool thing.
Hitachi gave out free video iPod Nanos at their press conference. It was a really well attended press conference. In my experience, the only thing that gets an editor's attention faster than free food is free gadgets. I had already RSVP'd when they e-mailed that announcement a week or so before the trip. Luckily I ended up near the counter where they were handing them out because I was able to just turn around and snag one. It's silver and says "Hitachi Inspire the Next" on the back. But what do I care? It was free! Oh, and loaded with their press releases, etc., which was clever.
This was way cool because I did not own an iPod. I had bought Hubby a refurbished Nano for Christmas, but having two seemed frivolous. Since being on the train I'd been considering swiping his, but now I don't have to. Oh, iPod, how I adore thee.
Ok, I think that's it.
Wow, I hadn't intended this post to be so long, but I was so stunned to see the Star Trek Experience was gone that I got carried away!
My stealth knitting is progressing nicely, thanks for asking.