I'll leave it to John to post about his Vegas trip when he gets home (he's boarding a red eye right about now), but he was nice enough to have his lovely family spend their final day here with us at our house. We had a great time and we even took them for their first In-N-Out Burgers ever! I've hung out with John several times in the past in NY, but it was nice to finally meet his wonderful family! Here's a pic of me and John (I'm on the left):

Hey, I recognize those guys! Although I'm surprised to see that DanO is wearing a Commie t-shirt.

Glad to know you managed a get-together. I'm sure we'll hear more details after John recovers from his vacation!

Just think of the combined CD resources behind that picture.

Hey, I just woke up from my nap.

We took the redeye out of Vegas last night and didn't touch down till 11AM NY Time.

We had a great time on the Strip (at the Flamingo) and the two highlights of the trip. Seeing Beatles LOVE and meeting up with DanO and his lovely family (wife Joanne and daughter Jennifer).

We did many of the touristy stuff (seeing many of the super casino's, riding the rollercoaster at NY NY, going to the top of the Stratosphere, enjoying buffets). Quite the place.

And that dry heat is true. I loved it though it was 108 degrees!

more later,

I also have to give props to Renny, we really enjoyed our meal at Le Burger Brasserie inside the Paris casino. I had the Paris Burger which has Brie cheese/ caramelized onions and smoked bacon. The Paris is a beautiful casino. One day we had crepes there for lunch.

john,

glad you enjoyed your burger!

vegas really is a fun place to visit, you do not have to be a gambler to have a great time there.

renny

Another highlight is the Treasure Island pirate show just outside the casino. Talk about seeing some booty!
My wife had to drag me away from there.

We saw the volcano eruption at the Mirage a few times, its that good. Music by Mickey Hart of Grateful Dead fame.

The Stratosphere was something else. We got to the top and I needed to sit down (they have comfy chairs). Almost as tall as the Empire State Building, we could see the sun setting in the West. Beautiful evening. We stayed there for over an hour and my son (16) did the Extreme Ride which is they basically dangle you over the edge of the building. Very frightening for a parent to experience. My son of course loved it. Then I had to get him the t-shirt.

One interesting sight up there was seeing a parade of jet helicopters coming in from Phoenix as part of their daily commute. They fly out at 6AM and return at 8PM to Vegas. Must have been 15 of them. You could see their lights from as far as the eye could see towards Lake Mead.

The Venetian hotel is a must see. We were very impressed by that building and its shops (where Michael Jackson shopped) and they have an amazing food court. One evening we had some great coffee and gelato. Watched the gondola rides and then checked out its sister hotel The Palazzo.

DanO lives in a beautiful area called the Seven Hills. Up there reminds me of LA where you can see the city below and all the lights. One of his neighbors? Only the guy who invented eBay!! Dan treated us to some In And Out Burgers that were delicious. I had always heard they were good and they are. We all sit inside the restaurant and talked bout ICE. The things we said!

john,

in 'n out burger or burger brassierrie (sp?)?

i 'might have to try to find this in 'n out burger....

renny

One small difference being that I own a home in a development and Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar owns a home that IS a development! He used to live across the street in a normal home, but he recently bought an entire development and built one tremendous mansion that looks like a huge, white shopping mall. It must be the size of at least 20 normal large homes. There is a strange array of celebs who live nearby, including Tony Curtis, Janet Jackson and her father, Joe, Celine Dion, Flava Flav, Brandon Flowers of the Killers, Jason Giambi, the Hiltons and many more, but they mix in with us regular folk just fine! Celine apparently gives the In-N-Out Burger drive-up workers a $100 tip whenever she stops by!

Next time John or any other IMWANkers come by we have to find time for Zia records - a good old fashioned record (and CD) store. We have two of 'em now! Are you listening, Jimbo????

While you can't beat the atmosphere and dedication to culinary treats of a Le Burger Brasserie (and also the smokin' hot waitresses), In And Out has a delectable burger called the Double Double thats only $2.99. You will like it. Very clean place and non-greasy. mmmmmmm......

Beatles LOVE was stunning!

Can't express enough how all Beatle fans and 60's rock fans must see this show.

They really bring The Beatles back to life through their music and the way the talked to each other. Many comedy bits are included.
The sound system is state-of-the-art. I would love a tour through their production room. The room sounds like it has big speakers but you don't see any.

The part that always gets me is hearing the screams of the girls when "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" comes on....that Beatle scream back then sounded like a jet engine and it still gives me chills. Ladies and Gentlemen......The Beatles!!

The cast plays their roles to the hilt. My wife and daughter were very impressed with the physiques of many of the men (I need to get back to the gym) and of course I spotted a few lovely ladies during the acrobatic parts. Nothing like a girl on a swing.

We took some pictures outside of the hall (I have to try and load them tonight) and the staff was very helpful assisting us with a photo against the illuminated Beatles wall (the one where all 4 are jumping into the air).

Normally I wouldn't spend this kind of money for 4 tickets but even my wife said (she's the frugal one) it was worth every penny.

Jimbo would be blown away by this show. Renny, have you seen it?

Here's us outside the arena in the hallway before the show. Picture was taken by a staffer dressed like Rita The Meter Maid.

Another of me and my daughter by a LOVE poster inside The Mirage.

Here's a nice one from inside The Venetian though it looks like we're outdoors in a palazzo. The guy who took this photo looked real shaky but it came out nice. The magic of digital photography.

john,

yes sir, we have, and i agree worth every penny. we are actually talking about seeing it again.

the "double-double' eh? sounds right up my alley.

dano,

are there any "in n out' joints on the strip?

renny

I didn't see any as we walked most of the Strip but I did see one out by the highway that runs west of the Strip on the ride to DanO's house. We ate at one near his house out in the valley.

If you rented a car it would be a short ride. Short even for a taxi but who rents a taxi to get burgers. :

btw... the pool at the Flamingo has some awesome music being played on their loudspeakers. It was a treat to walk down to the pool area at 8AM, secure some chairs, get some coffee and a paper, then listen to the music.

One morning they actually played "October" by U2! Talk bout a deep cut.

Lots of 80's music by Talking Heads/ B-52's/ Erasure/ Pet Shop Boys/ Rolling Stones "Shattered"/ even KISS "I Was Made For Loving You". We even heard Zep's "Dancing Days" and some Kiki Dee.

It's also strange to go from temps at 108 to todays NY temp of 76 degrees. Its beautiful out, sunny, warm. not humid but this isn't July the 4th kind of weather. Its too nice, kinda like September.

I'm enjoying my backyard today, getting some sun, listening to my IPOD (Yes's Close To The Edge) and reading all about my Mets.

As John mentioned, there are none on the strip, but the I-15 runs behind the strip and just 2 minutes south on that is an In-N-Out. Or another 15 minutes away by our house. As always, if you have an hour or so, we could pick you up and take you to an In-N-Out or anywhere else! BTW, In-N-Out will make you a triple-triple, quadruple-quadruple or anything else you like - though their posted menu only lists about 3 things. Google their secret menu (such as "animal style" burger and/or fries - I often get that _ I had Animal Fries during John's visit).

We had a great 4th over here. In the afternoon we went to the strip because my youngest daughter wanted to meet Chester Bennington - lead singer of Linkin Park. He was signing in Miracle Mile with his side band - Dead By Sunrise (featuring members of Orgy). As we were on line to meet him, I noticed that Brad Garrett from "Everybody Loves Raymond" walked by with a female companion as they were doing some shopping. He was hidden in a hat, sunglasses and scruffy beard, but I knew it was him (He IS 6'8" for goodness sake). Nobody else even recognized him. We couldn't leave the line, so I promised my daughter I'd try and find him again when we were done. Sure enough I spotted them leaving a sporting goods store. I apprached very discreetly (check Youtube to see his physical altercations with Papparazzi) because I figured a little respect and a 13 year-old girl would be different than photogs looking to sell his pic.

I ambled up beside him and quietly said, "Sir, would you be able to take a quick picture with my daughter, please?" He said. "Sure, if you can make it real quick." As I took out the cell camera I said, "Boy I wish I had my damned ELO album with me." (In 1979 he appeared on the back of "Discovery" as the middle-eastern garbed character). This made him laugh and he said "Oh Dear God". He then smiled nicely for the photo and his girlfriend even asked if we wanted her to take a pic of all of us with him. I declined because I wanted to honor my promise to make it real quick. He was very cool.

Then we came home for a nice swim (the pool was 81 degrees - gotta love that). We then went out for an outdoor dinner at Green Valley Ranch to watch the Grucci Brothers fireworks while a live rock band played - all free of charge (except the tacos) and fantastic! At least 7 or 8 locals casinos had professional fireworks shows all at the same time last night. Must've looked really nice to someone just landing on a plane!

Jen meets Dead By Sunrise. Chester Bennington of Linkin Park is bottom-right.

Thank JohnG and DanO for the pictures and your thoughts and feelings of your trip and meeting up together.

These kind of postings make IMWAN a special place where "friends" get together!