Viva Las Vegas....I'm really not supposed to talk about it.

So for better or worse Crystal has become a big fan of Holly Madison.  For those that don't watch the E! channel she is Hugh Heffner's ex-girlfriend, star of the show The Girls Next Door, who now has her own show on E!  So for Crystal's 29th birthday I secured us some tickets for Holly's Las Vegas show.  Which in turn resulted in us traveling to sin city to see said show.  But really, what better way to celebrate your last birthday in your 20s then going crazy in Vegas.  While we were there we met up with an old college climbing friend of ours and got some high desert bouldering in.  Unfortunately Crystal was sick for the first 2 nights we were there but she toughed it out better then I had expected.

Vegas Day 1...
We landed, grabbed our rental car which was a Korean luxury sedan (ultra compact Hyundai), and headed to the Planet Hollywood.  I love how when you rent a car they like to make it absolutely clear that if you decline the insurance coverage and you get into an accident, REGARDLESS OF FAULT, the appocalypse will occur, you will go bankrupt and you will potentially acquire a rare form of cancer and die.  Just FYI, typically the credit card you use to rent the care will cover the cost of the vehicle if you are in a wreck.  Our room was pretty sweet.  The ridiculously large bathroom with spa tub was able to compensate for our amazing parking lot view.  The Planet Hollywood casino was standard except for the scantily clad dealers and table dancers.  We grabbed dinner at Cabo Wabo and cruised the strip and got our bearings considering neither of us had ever been to Vegas.  Learning point number 1- Drinks are free if you are gambling.   I found this out when I ordered a drink while Crystal was playing slots.  The Cesars waitress looked at me a bit concerned when I asked her how much my drink was.  And considering I just paid 7 bucks a beer at dinner I was expecting it to be steep.  The only problem I found with the free drinks is making your money last until the waitress comes back with your drink.  This was a problem for me more then Crystal.  We retired to our room a bit early due to Crystal not feeling great and found a bottle of champagne waiting for us compliments of my mom (Thanks Mom!).

Day 2...
Sunday morning we dragged our butts out of bed and drove out to the Kraft Boulders outside of Red Rocks for some bouldering.  On the way we stopped at Jamms for breakfast and then Desert Rock Sports to rent a couple crashpads.  We rented 2 full size pads for 2 days for the cost of what 1 roundtrip checked bag would have cost.  The Kraft Boulders are a compact bouldering area with over a 100 problems of all difficulties with quick approach.  I got in 14 problems while Crystal primarily napped in the sun.  I was able to climb without a shirt on which was nice considering the temps in Colorado lately.  The only bummer was that I trashed my finger tips before getting to The Pearl, the area super classic V4.  Once my fingers were tenderized and Crystal was well rested we headed back to the strip, stopping twice on the way to take advantage of a few places we don't have in CO...Dunkin Donuts and of course In and Out Burger.  Oh yeah.  The evening was spent checking out the NYNY, MGM Grand, and M&M world.  Crystal was REALLY excited about M&M world since it happens to be her favorite candy.  It was such a let down.  Basically four floors of crappy M&M merchandise.  We also got some last minute half price tickets to one of the ubiquitous Vegas shows available.

I strategically wore a non-contrasting color

Crystal's bouldering session

Crystal couldn't hide her dissapointment

Day 3...

On Monday we caught up with Emily, an old climbing friend from FSU who is the cofounder of DirtyGourmet.com.  We headed out with her boyfriend Tony to Red Rocks for some more bouldering along the scenic loop road.  We had a blast and even got to see Frido Bandito, Emily's dog, who is the only cool chiuahua in the world.  Monday also happened to be the night of the big show and a lucky night for Crystal.  We had a great time and Crystal really enjoyed the show.  She also enjoyed winning $200 playing roulette later that night at the Wynn Casino.  I lost my twenty  bucks rather quickly so I just hung out took advantage of Crytal's winning streak by drinking my share of rum and cokes.  Tip well and the waitress will come back often.  On our way back to the hotel we walked throught the Venetian.  It was a bit erie to walk along the Venice canals at 2am under a blue sky with hardely a soul around.  Vegas is a wierd place.

Crystal and Holly

Pinks Hotdogs!

Nothing like Venice at 2am...So Romantic

Day 4...
On our last day we checked out and drove out to the Hoover Dam to hang out with the tourists.  It was a typical american tourist area but worth walking around.  Back in town we hit up In and Out Burger one last time (I got Crystal hooked).  Back to the airport.  Luckily we didn't scratch the Korean Luxury Sedan and therefore avoided certain financial disaster.  There are slot machines in the airport but I forewent the last opportunity to lose money via gambling.