The sun rises over the desert and its warmth wakes me in a calming way, contrary to the slap in the face that Vegas gave me just hours ago. It started innocent enough, as it has so many times. Jay picked me up at the airport because the annual Consumer Electronics Show is in town and Kristy Vegas, my standard limo driver, was booked with driving what I’m imagining as a group of Korean executives from Samsung around Sin City. Her stories one up mine every time.
Jay, a long time friend from my days in Spain, scooped me at the airport and we had a very responsible lunch as we waited for Tyler’s plane to land so the festivities could begin. We toasted our twenty-year anniversary (Spain) and commenced with small talk. Again, all innocent. If I had to pinpoint the moment it all went south, it would have to be Tyler’s quote once he was in the car.
“You know, I’ve never been to Vegas.”
The concept gave me chills, and I knew we were in for long night. The rest pretty much followed the Hangover script. Kristy Vegas texted me as we were finishing our drinks at the incomparable Carnival Court. Meet me out by the taxis. Have more beautiful words ever been written?
Her new limo was nothing less than obnoxious, but in a good way. We had added my cousin Carter to the mix, here for the CES show, and the four of us piled into a modified tractor-trailer that had the entire entrance at Harrah’s blocked ad people holding their ears. We hugged, she climbed up the ladder to her post, and we headed down the Strip. I could start running at one end of this thing and be at a full sprint before reaching the other.
As is often the case in Vegas, things started to get a little chaotic and confusing. We lost each other several times, although we were all within a 100 yard radius. And so the night went on and on.
Tyler texted me in the morning to say that he woke up at the Venetian with a 50% off coupon for a gondola ride in his hands. He may or may not have met a girl who had strayed from the bachelorette party she was a part of – I love bachelorette parties. We evidently left him behind in what it seemed now as a better situation than our own. Our taxi driver woke Jay and me up, both passed out in his back seat. He needed directions and I guess we were less than informative when we piled in. Oh well…
Off to L.A.!