Three Dog Night is famous for having never been to Spain. I've never been to Vegas. (I've never been to Spain either, but if I were to do a blog purely listing the places I've never been, we'd be in for a long haul.)
Despite the claim that everyone should see it once in their life, a place like Vegas doesn't hold a whole lot of obvious charm for a girl like me. I don't like gambling, for one. If I'm going to pour my money into a machine, I'd rather go someplace with skee-ball. Aside from that, I'm not a night owl and I don't like hanging out in smoky buildings. They say it's Disneyland for grown-ups. Yesterday I wore my mouse ears around the house while I put away the laundry. I think it's safe to say that I belong in the Disneyland for kids.
But Vegas has one draw for me that's big enough to overpower all that, one thing that's kept me dreaming of a trip to Vegas for years: Star Trek: The Experience.
I think we've fairly well established that I'm a geek. Even further, that I'm a Trekkie. (No, not a Trekker. Get over yourself.) And I’ve wanted to visit the Star Trek Experience ever since I read Wil Wheaton’s review of it in Just A Geek. Shawn and I have been talking about it for years. The thing is, Vegas isn’t the cheapest place to get to and we’ve had other destinations in mind for our travel budget. (The Sci-Fi Museum in Seatlle is a must, by the way, if you ever find yourself out that way and looking for a place to get in out of the rain.) Then a couple of weeks ago, I read that the Star Trek Experience is closing at the end of the summer. Like, forever.
You know that long, pathetic “Nooo!!!” that Luke Skywalker bellows when Vader tells him of their familial connections? Insert that right here.
Shawn and I sat down and had a very serious conversation that night. It was time to put our priorities in order. We had to go to Vegas. I’m not working tons right now and with preschool to pay for and all of that, taking money out of savings for a trip, even one as once-in-a-lifetime as this, wasn’t really a question to entertain. Serendipity, however, is on our side on this one. A timely discovery of left over Christmas money bought us the difference between driving and flying, and a garage sale last weekend will fund us further to the order of a Warp Core Breach at Quarks and a Federation-approved souvenir or two.
Vic Fontain says the only way to avoid losing money in Vegas to walk into the propeller as soon as you step off the plane. Make that a warp nacelle. Still, if you’re not going to do something silly like throw your money around with a pair of dice, it seems like this can be done without too much damage. I’ll let you know how my hypothesis pans out.
Two to beam up, Mr. O’Brien.