Vegas, Baby!

Vegas, Baby! was Originally Posted on August 16, 2011 by lavarock

The story can now be told. I snuck out of town last week for a little vacation. A friend / old co-worker of mine had a room booked for the 45th Star Trek convention in Vegas. I headed out for a 10 day vacation and attended the convention for a couple of days.

I have been to the conventions a number of times and have many autographs and photos to show for it. The Hilton here used to have a Star Trek Experience with a ride and memorabilia, however they closed it down and this convention was moved to the Rio.

As I walked down the hall to the room I passed a security guard taking Rene Auberjonois for played Odo. Seems he was staying 2 doors away from our room.

As you can imagine, there were many stars from the various movies and series. Shatner was there with Patrick Stewart and Kate Mulgrew.

Although many people dress up in costumes, I don’t. There was an event to try to get the most costumed people in one place. Many of the costumes are elaborate, however some people just purchase a stock uniform. The sight of a young man in a star trek cadet uniform reminds me of my days in military school.

The costumed attendees got stares from regular patrons in the casino, however, if you have been in Vegas before, strange costumes don’t bring all that many stares.

One innovative woman had a remote-controlled rock that she maneuvered through the events.

When you think about it, this 1966 series has spawned a TV series, fiction books, comics, movies animated series, schematics, toys and so on. One actor said he knew he had made it when he had his own action figure!

Besides the convention, we enjoyed many free prime rib buffets and some at half price. I also did a bit of gambling and did fairly well at blackjack for the short time I played. I started with $100 and after building it up to a maximum of $185 or so, cashed out at $145, so a $45 profit for perhaps a half hours fun.

I now have to work very hard to catch up on the farm. I have weeding and mulching to get done right away and I also have to start picking the first crop of my new trees. That coffee should be offered fairly soon on my ItsKona.Com website.

I hope all of you have had your vacations already and are recharged.