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Yes, we finally got some time for a vacation, but at this time of year New York is just as cold as Toronto, so we decided to go back to Las Vegas! Yup, we liked it so much last time that we went back.

This time we stayed at the Marriott Grand Chateau, at our nicest suite yet, although the building outside our suite was not comparable to the Venetian. This time it came with a kitchen:

And a plasma-screen TV with DVD player:

Not to mention two bathrooms and two bedrooms, and the view from our window looked like this:

But the view from the rooftop pool area was better:

And of course, it was neat swimming at night on the rooftop pool:

Across the street we had the Aladdin hotel, where I tried out my glamour-photo technique:

And thanks to the improved camera, it was nice to finally be able to take pictures in some of the darkened indoor areas of certain Las Vegas attractions like the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef:


Seriously, the last time we were there, we tried using those cheap disposable cameras, and my advice to you all is: don't ever fucking do that. Any picture we took on our last vacation in less than ideal light turned out like shit, and most of the indoor shots had much less than ideal light. For example, I tried taking a shot of the inside of the Venetian last time, and all I got was washed out faces in front of a dark, almost black backdrop. This time, I got this:

Look at the fucking roof. It's unreal how ornate that place is. It still surprises me even after going back a second time.

Mind you, Caesar's Palace looks pretty nice on the inside too:

And on the way out of Caesar's Palace, we stumbled into an autograph signing session with Kenny Baker from Star Wars, totally by surprise:




That was cool. The Strip looks cool just walking around outside too:

And of course, we had to go to the Hoover Dam:

And then finally, we got home and saw Fuzzy again. My brother took care of him while we were gone, but he was happy to have us home again.

Just playing around with B/W pictures.

As always, more pics at the Photo Album on the main site.

Some very impressive looking buildings in Las Vegas it seems, as well as some excellent photography on your part; the picture you took at the Aladdin in particular is rather spiffy. In all, it looks like a rather nice trip.

And you met R2-D2. That's just fucking win.

Nice photos. It looks like everyone was having a good time.

I noticed that your younger son was watching a Godzilla movie when you took a picture of him and the room.

woah! your oldest is almost as tall as Rebecca! Isn't he only 9?

Yarrr.. Avast Ye Mr. Wong! Did ye get to enjoy the thrill of Treasure Island? Arrrr, It be the best spot on the strip for a Piratical Good Show!

Very nice shoots.

*adds LV to U.S trip list*

Holy...holy...holy...fuck, whenever my family decides to revisit America, I'm going to suggest really noisily that we go to Las Vegas!

Stormtroopers, palaces, midget R2-D2 voice actors, pokable stingrays, my god!

And in that last pic, your wife looks especially lovely. Like some kind of fairy tale princess.

You're a really lucky man, Mike

Vegas is a hell of a good time. I did notice that you monopolized the camera though and didn't see your ugly mug in the pics. Probably better that way.

Ford Prefect wrote:Some very impressive looking buildings in Las Vegas it seems, as well as some excellent photography on your part; the picture you took at the Aladdin in particular is rather spiffy. In all, it looks like a rather nice trip.

And you met R2-D2. That's just fucking win.

The coolest thing was that we weren't even planning on it. He just happened to be there when we were coming out of Caesar's Palace.

Tysroc wrote:I noticed that your younger son was watching a Godzilla movie when you took a picture of him and the room.

Godzilla: Final Wars, to be exact. I believe that's the scene in Sydney where Godzilla is kicking the American Godzilla's ass.

Col. Crackpot wrote:woah! your oldest is almost as tall as Rebecca! Isn't he only 9?

He's 10, and growing like a weed. He'll be taller than me when he grows up, I'm sure.

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Holy...holy...holy...fuck, whenever my family decides to revisit America, I'm going to suggest really noisily that we go to Las Vegas!

Stormtroopers, palaces, midget R2-D2 voice actors, pokable stingrays, my god!

We went back a second time after visiting last time, which is one of the highest recommendations there is IMO.

And in that last pic, your wife looks especially lovely. Like some kind of fairy tale princess.

You're a really lucky man, Mike

When I first took that picture I thought she looked slightly "anime"

Knife wrote:I did notice that you monopolized the camera though and didn't see your ugly mug in the pics.

Yes, I've learned that pictures generally look better when I'm not in them

It's good to see the awesomeness of the Nikon D50 is hard at work proving that chumps who by disposable cameras to save money should be brained with their cheap slide projectors. Those are some nice clear interior shots.

And it's nice to see the boys meeting Boba Fett. It's good to have role models.

Wong, if you don't mind me asking, how much does such a vacation cost? I'm planning on stopping by Las Vagas for a few days and I'm wondering how much it would cost for 4.

Ace Pace wrote:Wong, if you don't mind me asking, how much does such a vacation cost? I'm planning on stopping by Las Vagas for a few days and I'm wondering how much it would cost for 4.

For fancy two-bedroom suites like that? You have to get two linked rooms for that, and you're talking about roughly $200 to $400 per night, per room. For two rooms and seven nights, you'd be looking at $2800 to $5600 for accomodations alone. Of course, not everyone has to travel in that kind of style; it's possible to stay in Las Vegas for much less than that.

Darth Wong wrote: For fancy two-bedroom suites like that? You have to get two linked rooms for that, and you're talking about roughly $200 to $300 per night, per room. For two rooms and seven nights, you'd be looking at $2800 to $5600 for accomodations alone. Of course, not everyone has to travel in that kind of style; it's possible to stay in Las Vegas for much less than that.

Ouch, oh well, I'm sure we'll find something, or rent a room in Zed Snards apartment complex.

Ace Pace wrote:

Darth Wong wrote: For fancy two-bedroom suites like that? You have to get two linked rooms for that, and you're talking about roughly $200 to $300 per night, per room. For two rooms and seven nights, you'd be looking at $2800 to $5600 for accomodations alone. Of course, not everyone has to travel in that kind of style; it's possible to stay in Las Vegas for much less than that.

Ouch, oh well, I'm sure we'll find something, or rent a room in Zed Snards apartment complex.

You can get standard hotel accomodations in Vegas for ~100 bucks a night. Or you can go ultra cheap and find deals and packages for ~70 bucks or so. I only spent about $500 bucks on rooms last time I went. We didn't spend that much time in the room so I saw no need to spend too much on em.

The Monte Carlo advertised room rates starting from $59 per night, although I really wouldn't want to stay in a room like that. But everyone's standards are different.

Darth Wong wrote:The Monte Carlo advertised room rates starting from $59 per night, although I really wouldn't want to stay in a room like that. But everyone's standards are different.

I might, if it were just me. I'd just sleep there and shower. With the wife, she'll want something a bit better, etc.... But your right, different people have different standards.

Knife wrote:

Darth Wong wrote:The Monte Carlo advertised room rates starting from $59 per night, although I really wouldn't want to stay in a room like that. But everyone's standards are different.

I might, if it were just me. I'd just sleep there and shower. With the wife, she'll want something a bit better, etc.... But your right, different people have different standards.

Quite true. For example, if one's travelling with a bunch of students, it's easier to just all sleep together, six-eight to a two-bed room; three to a bed, the rest on the floor. But with a family, it's easier to put the kids in one room while the parents get the next room. Simple enough.

I'm suprised Rebecca went and touched the Stingray. Theres a reason why they have there name and they don't like being touched.

Zor

Zor wrote:I'm suprised Rebecca went and touched the Stingray. Theres a reason why they have there name and they don't like being touched.

They are usually unbarbed when in pools like that.

I had a Vegas trip last December. With reservations, you can get a standard room at Excalibur for ~$40/night.

Darth Servo wrote:I had a Vegas trip last December. With reservations, you can get a standard room at Excalibur for ~$40/night.

Excalibur is one of my favorite places in Vegas.

What kind of camera did you use? Those pictures are remarkably pristine.

Fire Fly wrote:What kind of camera did you use? Those pictures are remarkably pristine.

I think Mike bought a Nikon D50 DSLR.

I wish I looked as nice and sharply dressed as Rebecca does in those pictures. I love how she's wearing her hair, and it's that perfect shade of auburn that I always wanted my hair to be!

And she's still got her figure, after two boys. I'm jealous. She just looks so lovely, it makes me feel frumpy

phongn wrote:I think Mike bought a Nikon D50 DSLR.

Aside from the fact that I remember talking about it in a thread with him, you can tell those photos are Nikon D50 shots from the distinct aura of psychic awesomeness imprinted on them when you point a Ghostbusters style scanner at it. Like ectoplasm, but photographic in nature.

*sniffs his monitor*

They even smell nicer than your average digicam.