Fabulous Las Vegas: The top vacation destination for people who are bad at math

Example: A friend of mine fed $20 into a slot machine and was happy when he walked away with $16. Happy? That machine just took 4 of your hard earned dollars in approximately 3 minutes. $4 for 3 minutes of entertainment...and I thought movies were overpriced.



I really wasn't looking forward to going to Vegas. I'm not entirely sure why we went...I heard talk of a vote while I was asleep one day. Anyway, despite my hesitations, it actually was pretty cool. There's lots to see and do- I didn't realize before going that each hotel/casino is themed for the most part. There's the Luxor with an Egyptian theme. Excalibur with a medieval/knight theme. Caesars Palace with a Roman theme. New York New York and Paris Las Vegas have obvious themes. Seeing the architecture, lights, and decor in each place was pretty neat.

We stayed at Sam's Town a few miles from the strip. It has an old mining town theme and there was a 10-15 foot waterfall in our lobby. The hotel also had a movie theater and bowling alley, but I didn't have time to visit either. We got to the strip at noon yesterday. We started at Bill's Gamblin' Hall and walked through The Flamingo, Harrah's, and Casino Royale before turning around. Then we did Paris Las Vegas, MGM Grand, and Tropicana before crossing the street to Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, and the Bellagio. I went to see the Pirate Show at Treasure Island after that- lots of cool effects and stuff blowing up. Then we headed over to Jimmy Buffet's Margaitaville for dinner. The inside of the restaurant was neat- a volcano, Jimmy Buffet concerts being projected on to screens that look like boat sails, people walking on stilts, etc. A live band started playing as we were leaving. After dinner I went to the Venetian and Caesar's Palace. I was probably in about half of the hotels yesterday. I guess I'll have to go back some time to catch the other half.

By far my favorite part of the day was the water show at the Bellagio. I need to put that big fountain in my backyard so I can watch it every day. I saw it 3 times- Singing in the Rain, Fly Me to the Moon, and I Hope You Don't Mind. It's very Ocean's 11 and quite relaxing. All in all, the Bellagio was my favorite stop for the day. Just past the lobby there is a butterfly conservatory and lots and lots of real flowers. The colors and the smells are awesome! The Venetian was neat too, but I was only there at night and didn't stay long. I think that was everyone else's favorite, though.

I was surprised by a lot of things in Vegas. First of all, it can be really cheap if you know what you're doing and you don't blow it by gambling. Our rooms were the cheapest we've had on the tour and they make my Top 20 list. There are also plenty of free shows and even gifts-I got a pack of cards from Sam's Town and Tropicana. Second, Vegas is in the middle of nowhere! No matter what side you come from it's desert, desert, desert, Vegas, desert, desert, desert. North, South, East, West it doesn't matter- it will always be desert, desert, desert, Vegas, desert, desert, desert. Third, Vegas isn't that big. All the main stuff to do and see is on the strip and it's only a few miles long. Further out is downtown, but there is not that much there either. Don't get me wrong, there's lots to keep you busy, but it is all in a very compact area and not spread out like in other cities. And #4, I knew that Vegas was Sin City and "What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", but I didn't realize how accessible prostitution was. On every corner there are people handing out baseball cards with naked girls on them with a phone number to get a girl delivered to you. There are also flyers on all the light poles and moving billboards on lots of trucks, it's everywhere! Sad.

That's about all I have to say about Vegas. I had a good time. Lots to see, lots to do, just know what you're getting yourself into.

For more pictures go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024308&l=3ae8a&id=69102139.

Flying Days

We flew back to Pittsburgh today.  Perhaps a little known fact about me is that I had never been on an airplane prior to coming on tour.  My first flight was a Pittsburgh to Cleveland connecting to Phoenix.  I'm not sure if you have ever flown from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, so you may not know that they fly you there on a toy plane.  Remember...this is my first EVER flight. I'm anxiously waiting for the plane to get there at about 6:30 AM.  Finally, our plane arrives.  It is a 19 seater- one seat on each side of the aisle and 3 across the back.  Well, at least we all got window seats!  As I got on the plane I said, "Wow.  They look bigger on TV."  I asked the dozen other passengers on board, "Are they all this size?"  No free drink or snacks on that plane.  No overhead storage, it was all stowed under the plane.  No door on the cockpit either, you could see right out the windshield.  So that was my first flight.  

When we got to Cleveland, I had to run to keep up with our leaders.  Apparently they thought we would be late.  Looking back on it, I sure am glad we sprinted through the airport, pushing people out of our way, so we could sit at our gate and wait to board for about half an hour.  Anyway, we made it in time and they served us breakfast on the plane while we watched SpiderMan3.  (I thought all flights were like that until I flew Southwest this time.  No movie, 1 free drink, and some snacks.  I can't wait to fly  JetBlue- I think they know what their doing, but that's a whole other discussion.)

We made it to Phoenix that day.  It was 40 degrees when I got on my paper airplane at Pittsburgh International.  It was 110 degrees when I got  off at Phoenix Sky Harbor.

Today, thankfully, the temperatures were pretty much the same.  So Pittsburgh has the same temperature at 4 in the afternoon as Phoenix does at 4 in the morning when I got up. 

Driving Days

Another long day of driving has gotten us safely to Tempe, AZ. Nothing very exciting has happened over the past few days- lots of movies, newspapers, and naps. Today we had the first ever bus pillow fight. Last night we stayed in El Paso in the same hotel as the band Thrice. Perhaps you've heard of them...but I haven't.

It's nice and warm out here. The scenery is still pretty amazing. Lots of rocks, cactus, sand, trains, and mountains that never get any closer no matter how long you drive.

We fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow to do some filming so I may not write for several days.

We a Big Deal!!!!

God has been blessing us with some nice perks recently.

On April 9th, David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs attended our show in San Antonio.

We're now in Dallas for the Heartbeat International Conference. I was walking out of General Session room the first day and was stopped by Deion Sanders manger with questions about our equipment. I looked up and there was Deion standing in the doorway.

Later that day we realized Joyce Meyer was in town doing a free conference. We caught a train that night and hoped we could get a seat. When we got to the Reunion Arena, there were lots of empty seats in the high sections so we were relieved that there was room. On the way to the nosebleed seats, a Joyce Meyer Ministries usher approached us and asked how many we had. He then took us and sat us in the second row! To sweeten the deal, Matt Redman was the opening act and he and his band were seated right in front of us when they were finished!

Last night, we had to move our entire set down a floor then do a portion of our program for the General Session and no one got dinner. We wanted to go to the West End for dinner, but since the trains stopped running at 11 and it was already 9 we weren't sure what to do. We walked outside our hotel and there was an Escalade Limo. We worked a deal with driver and it ended up being cheaper for the 14 of us to take the limo instead of taking the train one way and several cabs back. Here's a tip you learn in you travel to big cities a lot: if there is limo in front of the hotel there are 2 possibilities. 1. It's booked and picking someone up/dropping some one off or
2. It doesn't have any business and is willing to make a deal! Limos are often cheaper than cabs! Plus when your in a limo, people wave at you and you can put down the windows and yell "we a big deal!!!!" Since our driver was late picking us up, we talked him into driving us to Dealey Plaza and showing us the site of the Kennedy Assassination.

Tonight, our team set a new record for our fastest tear down with a time of 1 hour and 9 minutes! After 3 exhausting days, being done in record time was perhaps the greatest blessing!

(ClapClapClap) Deep in the Heart of Texas

For those of you that think my life on the road is glamorous, here is a glimpse into what day to day life is like:

So I started off my morning by killing a roach, attempted to go for a bike ride on a broken bike, watched Gilmore Girls, said goodbye to our hosts, then we finally got back on the road! After lunch, we watched a movie on the bus, I finished reading a book, and pumped over $130 worth of gas before we arrived in Austin. At our first gas stop this morning the Exxon station was giving away free ice cream. Is that not the greatest idea you have ever heard?!?!??!? For every $10 worth of gas you get a free ice cream cone. As you can imagine, we racked up quite a few cones with a diesel bus. It was awesome! Visit that Exxon outside Brownsville TX next time you're in the neighborhood.

We're now in Austin, as I said. We got here in time for me to catch the new episode of SVU- a rare and appreciated treat! We leave in the morning for Dallas to tech a pregnancy center convention.

Brownsville, TX

I have just spent the last 4 days in Brownsville, TX. Brownsville is as far south as you can go and still be in the US. After traveling constantly for the past several months, staying in 1 place that isn't my home for several days has been hard.

Brownsville is like no other place I have ever been. As the natives have told me, Brownsville should really be considered Mexico. If the US and Mexico ever become enemies perhaps we could give them the city of Brownsville as a peace offering. Anyway, they are correct, it really is very Mexican here. All the billboards are in Spanish, you must be bilingual to get a job here, and the WalMart clerk I spoke to yesterday answered me in Spanish. 3 years of Spanish in high school did not get me very far...I still couldn't find the sticky backed Velcro I was looking for.

The wildlife down here is a completely different story. I had heard from my friends that lived here that roaches, scorpions, and tarantulas were common sights. Well, they weren't liars. I haven't seen any scorpions, but I have seen the other 2. Our guys saw some snakes too.

And then there was the Mexican border town...
If a grown-Columbian-man wasn't with me, I would not have gone to Mexico. All of the shop owners are very pushy. As you walk down the street they will yell, "Come into my store! We've been waiting for you! Free to look! I give you good deal!" When dealing with one shop owner, he told us, "Come on, you're from over there. You've got the money." Even the kids are very forward. As soon as we got out of the car 2 kids ran up with candy bars. They asked us to buy from them so they could buy new shoes. That was border town culture, I'm told the interior is very different.

Lots of security to get back into the states. Mexico apparently couldn't care less if you come in, but the US requires a Passport now to get back in, as I'm sure you all know. You also can't bring anything with seeds across the border. The Rio Grande is not so Grande between Brownsville and Matamoros. The rivers in Oil City are bigger... it was about the size of Oil Creek. Our hosts told us that it is not uncommon to see Mexicans soaking wet on the other side because they swam across. They also told us that the border wall that has been proposed will actually cut through the town of Brownsville and part of the college campus will be on the Mexico side.

The culture down here is very Hispanic. The men greet all the women (me included) with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. They are all very respectful- carry things, open doors, give women the front seat, etc. That is about the only thing I will miss about Brownsville, TX.

The Wait is Over

Everyone kept telling me that I should write about my trip and my adventures. Well folks, the wait is over! Here is the blog that will keep you up to date on all of my travels; you will see the sights I see and read about my experiences. Since I only have a month of travel left, I will attempt to play catch up and write about previous experiences before I forget them all!

Enjoy the journey and don't get too upset if I don't write for long periods of time...I get distracted easily.