Thursday, February 26, 2015

Getting ready for Vegas

My wife had decided to meet a friend in Vegas who lives now on the east coast. They used to hang out in Saline Valley sometimes during the winter in the 1980s. However, my wife's friend went through a relationship ending this last year. So, I was a little worried about this adventure. Also, I wouldn't mind going with my wife to Las Vegas because we used to take out kids to things like "The Star Trek Experience" (the one with borg actors and the other one with the Klingon actors). They were so real like that my then 5 year old daughter freaked out and thought she was really on board a Borg ship and they were going to kill us. I had to hold on to her hand even though it likely hurt her hand because I knew if she ran away I would never get her back safely to my family because she was so hyterical. Now, she is going to college. So a lot of time has passed since then. Also, we used to go see Imax movies with the kids at the Luxor. We would stay at the Excalibur because it was fun for the kids too and go to the jousting in the basement in an arena with horses and knights too. That was pretty cool as well. But, this was all in the early 2000s even though they likely still joust in the basement arena under the Excalibur Hotel.

Yep they still do the Jousting:
  1. www.excalibur.com/entertainment/tournament_of_kings.aspx   Cached
    Excalibur Hotel & Casino, located in the heart of the Vegas Strip. Book your Las Vegas hotel reservation online & take our virtual hotel room tour to find the perfect ...
    • See 2 Shows For $75 Treat yourself to some quality Excalibur time, at one of...
    • Check Rates Excalibur offers many promotions, so take advantage of...
    • Fun Dungeon Take your inner child to the Fun Dungeon, the world-famous...
  2. www.excalibur.com   Cached
    Excalibur offers everything you’d expect from a Las Vegas hotel – from dining and entertainment, to non-stop Las Vegas casino action.

  3. Excalibur Jousting - Image Results

  4. www.vegas.com/shows/production/tournament-of-kings-las-vegas   Cached
    Travel back to the Middle Ages and experience a celebration of Medieval proportions at Excalibur's Tournament of Kings. This dinner and show features jousting ...
  5. mobile.excalibur.com/content_cache_of_server_query...   Cached
    Excalibur is the No. 1 purchaser of Cornish Game Hens in the United States. Since June 1990, approximately 6,700,000 hens have been served. Tournament of Kings had 48 ...
  6. www.cheapovegas.com/tournament-of-kings-show   Cached
    From classic jousts and noble steeds to the evil fire-wizard Mordred, Excalibur's Tournament of Kings Las Vegas presents a night of medieval fun that is sure to ...
  7. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohavcsJHtYg   Cached
    Mar 01, 2009 · Its me in the maroon costume fighting in the Tournament of Kings show, Las Vegas
  8. www.citysearch.com  › Attractions
    Tournament of Kings Is Not to be Missed – The show at the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas, ?The Tournament of Kings? is a live-action dinner show recreating the times ...
  9. newsroom.excalibur.com   Cached
    Excalibur's Tournament of Kings has added a new equestrian act to their show including two new cast member of the four-legged variety. Visit Our Newsrooms.
  10. www.orbitz.com  › …  › Nevada  › Las Vegas Hotels
    Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada: Find the best deals with user reviews, photos, and discount rates for Excalibur Hotel and Casino at Orbitz. Get our ...
  11. www.cheapovegas.com/tournament-of-kings-restaurant   Cached
    Come enjoy some jousting and sword fighting at the Tournament of Kings in that Vegas Castle known as the Excalibur. The whole family will love it!
 
  • Excalibur Hotel Casino
    www.hotelreservations.com
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  • So, at least the jousting is still there from the old days when my girls were little and before they grew up and went to college and all that.
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  • I've never been into Gambling or drinking but I have always found the shows amazing. I came for free the first time I stayed in Los Vegas for a business convention in the 1990s. It really blew my mind how technologically developed places liked Caesar's Palace was then. Then my company paid for us to go to Bally's across the street for free. So, this is how I discovered it would be a great place for the kids to visit too which we did in the early 2000s up to about 3 years ago. However, it is about a 12 hour drive from the SF Bay area and that was just too long a drive both ways when we did it last. One time we came in the early 2000s and it was 111 degrees Fahrenheit here. That was pretty exciting too, especially driving in on the freeway and worrying about if the car broke down with the family at that temperature in the middle of the desert. That didn't happen. But, then again I've also been in 120 degrees or more Fahrenheit in Gila Bend, Arizona when I was 27 with no air conditioning for several days when I was a partner in a mining company with my Dad. The coldest it got was 100 degrees Fahrenheit at 6 am and I sweat so much salt out that it crusted up on my t-shirts under the arms. The only way to get any relief was to get on my dirt bike (a Honda 250 XL off road  bike with knobby tires) and dip my t-shirt in well water brought up by a windmill and ride down a dry wash to cool down while the water evaporated out of my shirt just before I might almost pass out from the heat.
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  • This is not something I would would want to repeat today unless I could see my Dad once more since he passed away in 1985 when I was only 37.
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  • I helped my Dad build his retirement home sometimes on weekends from 1968 (when I was 20) until he retired into it with Mom in Yucca valley up in the Mesa toward Landers in 1980 when I was 32 and got married a 2nd time.
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  • So, weekends in the desert became synonymous for me to spending time with my Dad and Mom. But, as of 2008 now they are both gone, and going to the deserts like Palm Springs or Las Vegas or Yucca Valley or even Death Valley is sort of how I remember them now sometimes. 
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  • So, even being in Las Vegas now reminds me of my parents in the desert on their property of 2 1/2 acres of Joshua Trees and Barrel Cactuses and Cholla Cactuses. (chollas spines are the worst to get into your fingers, feet or knees (because they don't come out they just work in deeper through the years. They sort of remind me of more fragile porcupine spines that also do this to dogs sometimes fatally when a porcupine hits them with their tail.
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  • Deserts are really amazing places. If you ever go to the desert on a clear night look up at the sky. If you aren't near a city often you can see forever because it can get so clear there at night.
  • So, for me, the best place from 1960 to around 1985 when Dad passed away I would sleep up on the roof sometimes in a sleeping bag to see the Milky Way Galaxy out in the desert. Amazing!

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