Soooo....WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!

Because I'm turning 30.

We just bought our flight today.

Still a little gobsmacked.

Tell me how to go there cheaply!

The Star Trek Show is closed, so I don't know what to do except for troll the strip for Prince impersonators.

You should have gone to Florida. Florida is cooler!

Nobody will agree with that but still......okay even I don't agree with it. Have fun in Vegas.

oh man, FUN FUN.

Blue Man Group is an absolute must.

Each casino has a hook to get you in there. Go for the hook and don't spend any money and it's FREE ENTERTAINMENT. The Treasure Island one is decent cool. Paris elevator thing is neat. Bellagio water stuff is awesome awesome. OLD VEGAS is the best thing ever. Oh, there's a volcano, which, whatever. The Palms roof is party-ville and the Real World was there, and so if you like that sort of thing. Oh all those Oceans were shot at Bellagio, so you can dig on that, and they have this great glass flower installation. Penguins and flamingos at one. Dolphins? Sharks? Something like that at another. All of that can be done/seen very very cheaply.

Best advice: everywhere looks like it's a couple of blocks away- it's not. Everything is a HIKE away, so prepare.

A lawyer I work with just went down. He was there for two days and basically said "What a great place, definately not a destination to bring your kids to!"

Other than that, I would probably visit the silver and gold pawn shop, play some cheap table games and see if I could recognize neighbourhoods and crime scenes I've seen on CSI.

Depending on how long you go, the Grand Canyon is a half day away, right? My mom did that. She's afraid of heights, and partially insane. This was her at the Hoover Dam.

That would be awesome. I'd rather hit the Grand Canyon and Hoover dam than Vegas. How far away is Mt. Rushmore? That would be a cool road trip to hot all those points.

Your Mom looks like she could be my Mom's sister, Sandy. If I had any pictures of her, I'd post them, but wow they look alike.

She also looks as terrified as my Mom would be. My mom won't even consider travelling to Florida because she does not want to get eaten by gators.

Yes, gators.

Ha, Mt Rushmore is closer to you than it is to the Grand Canyon, I'd guess.

I'm so excited, stinking Jon has been there twice already and I have never been there. I love to plan trips so this will really fill my time for the next 2 weeks or so. And we are cheap, so we like free tips for sure.

Well one time I went and lost every single dime of the money I had within the first eight hours and had four days left and so waited until folks were done with their pizzas and went in for the snag.

If you really want to save...

Poker wrote:

That would be awesome. I'd rather hit the Grand Canyon and Hoover dam than Vegas. How far away is Mt. Rushmore? That would be a cool road trip to hot all those points.

Not very close. That'd be a looooong road trip.

new bird wrote:

I love to plan trips so this will really fill my time for the next 2 weeks or so. And we are cheap, so we like free tips for sure.

Hey, wanna plan my trip to Australia? I keep starting to read up on things and then getting distracted. I think I'm just bored by trip planning.

ROLL TIDE! wrote:

Ha, Mt Rushmore is closer to you than it is to the Grand Canyon, I'd guess.

Nothing is close to me.

Ana wrote:

Hey, wanna plan my trip to Australia? I keep starting to read up on things and then getting distracted. I think I'm just bored by trip planning.

Then I would totally want to go on the trip as well... That sounds like an awesome trip to plan. One day I will plan a trip to Iceland. And it will be Epic.

Well, I've already promised to squeeze about 10 people into my suitcase. I'm sure we could fit you in there as well.

Poker wrote:

ROLL TIDE! wrote:

Ha, Mt Rushmore is closer to you than it is to the Grand Canyon, I'd guess.

Nothing is close to me.

Closer than it is to me. Quit your whining.

Also, my no longer being green offends me greatly.

Ana wrote:

Well, I've already promised to squeeze about 10 people into my suitcase. I'm sure we could fit you in there as well.

Well, maybe if I get a corner I'd be in. I'll be honest, travelling anywhere outside of the US sounds good to me.

You are close to goats in Maine!

new bird wrote:

Well, maybe if I get a corner I'd be in. I'll be honest, travelling anywhere outside of the US sounds good to me.

Me too. I've never been anywhere. Don't even have a passport (still waiting on stupid paperwork for that). Figured for my first trip outside of the US I might as well make it a good one and am going for a month.

Ana wrote:

new bird wrote:

Well, maybe if I get a corner I'd be in. I'll be honest, travelling anywhere outside of the US sounds good to me.

Me too. I've never been anywhere. Don't even have a passport (still waiting on stupid paperwork for that). Figured for my first trip outside of the US I might as well make it a good one and am going for a month.

A month? That is some serious trip planning.

Emlyn wrote:

Poker wrote:

ROLL TIDE! wrote:

Ha, Mt Rushmore is closer to you than it is to the Grand Canyon, I'd guess.

Nothing is close to me.

Closer than it is to me. Quit your whining.

Also, my no longer being green offends me greatly.

You're both closer than me, probably shorter from England than Scotland(going by a zoomed out Google Maps)

Yep! I have some ideas of a few things I want to do, though haven't done much as to planning them. I prefer to just come up with a list of things I'd like to hit and then play the scheduling by ear. No point in making myself rush around and commit to a schedule. I've had vacations like that and end up coming home more exhausted than when I left.

Ana wrote:

Hey, wanna plan my trip to Australia? I keep starting to read up on things and then getting distracted. I think I'm just bored by trip planning.

If you need any help, just ask. I've been almost everywhere on the east coast, and central Australia. I've never managed to get to the west, though, for some weird reason, but I know enough to know where to go and where not to. I also haven't gone to Tasmania yet, but I've been meaning to go there for ages.

Okay, okay...yes the UK is much further. Sheesh.

I was just saying as far as the continent goes, I'm not exactly central.

sail / wind

and never the two shall meet again.

forehead wrote:

Emlyn wrote:

Poker wrote:

Nothing is close to me.

Closer than it is to me. Quit your whining.

You're both closer than me, probably shorter from England than Scotland(going by a zoomed out Google Maps)

I'm pretty sure I beat ALL of you.

Damn you, Shyks.

forehead wrote:

probably shorter from England than Scotland(going by a zoomed out Google Maps)

Very, very, very slightly. The difference in how long a flight would take would probably be minutes.

Lady Shyka wrote:

Ana wrote:

Hey, wanna plan my trip to Australia? I keep starting to read up on things and then getting distracted. I think I'm just bored by trip planning.

If you need any help, just ask. I've been almost everywhere on the east coast, and central Australia. I've never managed to get to the west, though, for some weird reason, but I know enough to know where to go and where not to. I also haven't gone to Tasmania yet, but I've been meaning to go there for ages.

Yes! Give me suggestions! What do you consider a must-see? I'll be staying in Brisbane, but plan on traveling about a bit. East coast is good for me, doubt I'll be heading west.

I was just in Vegas a few months ago:

1. Restaurant.com gift certificates;
2. Coupons! There's some awesome sites out there with 2 for 1 coupons (restaurants, attractions, etc);
3. Casino Royale (in-between Venetian and Harrahs) had $1 beer and margaritas;
4. The mcd's besides Harrahs has free wifi;
5. All the free attractions that ROLL TIDE! mentioned;
6. Groupon gets the occasional awesome deal too!

I rented a little scooter thing one day, too. And took it out to the Welcome to Vegas sign. And came back. That kept me off the tables for a minute or two.

We had a groupon for Scoot City Tours - so much fun if you can get a good deal.

And there's ziplining on Fremont Street! And a must-try-if-you-want-to-explode restaurant is Hash House a Go Go either downtown or in Imperial Palace

whaaaaaaaaaaat. The zipline on Fremont must be new.

MUST - Old Vegas/Fremont/zipline

It is fairly new - it's cheaper during the day but not as awesome.

Lorene wrote:

I was just in Vegas a few months ago:

1. Restaurant.com gift certificates;
2. Coupons! There's some awesome sites out there with 2 for 1 coupons (restaurants, attractions, etc);
3. Casino Royale (in-between Venetian and Harrahs) had $1 beer and margaritas;
4. The mcd's besides Harrahs has free wifi;
5. All the free attractions that ROLL TIDE! mentioned;
6. Groupon gets the occasional awesome deal too!

Yes! This is what I need. Free and cheap and free.

http://www.vegas4locals.com/coupon5thavenue.html

These actually work - we used the Nathans coupon a couple of times. Plus you can sign up for all the players clubs in the casinos as they sometimes give you a bit of free game play. Plus, of course, free drinks in the casino if you're gambling...

Ana wrote:

Lady Shyka wrote:

Ana wrote:

Hey, wanna plan my trip to Australia? I keep starting to read up on things and then getting distracted. I think I'm just bored by trip planning.

If you need any help, just ask. I've been almost everywhere on the east coast, and central Australia. I've never managed to get to the west, though, for some weird reason, but I know enough to know where to go and where not to. I also haven't gone to Tasmania yet, but I've been meaning to go there for ages.

Yes! Give me suggestions! What do you consider a must-see? I'll be staying in Brisbane, but plan on traveling about a bit. East coast is good for me, doubt I'll be heading west.

If you're staying in Brisbane, then you're close to so many things. Off the top of my head:
About an hours drive South (there's buses and trains if you're not driving) there's all the touristy theme parks on the Gold Coast : Wet n Wild, Sea World, Dreamworld and Movie World.
The Gold Coast is also where Surfers Paradise is. It's seriously touristy now-a-days, but worth a visit to see the beach and the shopping and just the whole atmosphere. Unless you're going in mid-November to early December, in which case avoid it like the plague *shudder*.

Fraser Island in QLD (about 4 hours from Brisbane) to see the Dingos, and whale watching and sea turtle babies if you're there at the right time of year.
If you go to Fraser Island, I'd recommend a visit or even a stay at Hervey Bay also. It's a beautiful place.
And so is Bundaberg which is just a little north of Hervey Bay. Bundaberg is where they make one of our most popular rums. That's where they make Rum, you can even do a Distillery Tour and yes they give you samples.

Philip Island in Victoria to see the Fairy Penguins and the Koalas.

You've got the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays, but that's really far north. Most people don't get that far up on their first visit to Australia, because they stay in one of the major cities.
Usually people will plan to go to Cairns or Hamilton Island on a second stay, to get that experience. If you do want to do that, you'll either have to fly there or be prepared for multiple days drive to get there.
But if you decide to do it, while your there go to the Daintree Forest. It's gorgeous. The Tropic of Capricorn crosses right through it, so it's constantly humid and raining but it's worth it to see the vegetation and the creatures living there. Some of the things in that forest aren't found anywhere else on Earth. Plus, great walking and hiking experiences. I believe they also do horse riding tours.

If you can get to Central Australia, you have to see Uluru (Ayers Rock). It's just a damn big red rock, but the tour guides are an experience in themselves. They are rich with Aboriginal culture and facinating stories. And although it is just a big red rock, there is something about that place. Something you can't get from photos or video.

A tour of Kakadu is also awesome, if you head over to the middle-north. More Aboriginal culture, sights of paintings on the rocks and fossils. And tours of crocodile infested waters (yippe!)

If you want to cheat on the crocodile bit, though, you can always go to the Australia Zoo near Beerwah, about an hour from Brisbane. That's Steve Irwin's zoo that is now run by his wife and kids. Bindi often does talks there, and even Bob is now doing some of them.

Ummm....let me think some more.

Man, you're better than the damn guide book! Of course, all these things are mentioned in there, but so are 5 million other things. So much better to just get the top picks from a real person.

Claudius Templesmith wrote:

Because I'm turning 30.

We just bought our flight today.

Still a little gobsmacked.

Tell me how to go there cheaply!

The Star Trek Show is closed, so I don't know what to do except for troll the strip for Prince impersonators.

The time I went, I went to the Star Trek show, it was cool.

But besides that, there's lots of stuff to do other than gamble. There's a casino that has a pirate battle out front every few hours.

ROLL TIDE! wrote:

oh man, FUN FUN.

Blue Man Group is an absolute must.

Each casino has a hook to get you in there. Go for the hook and don't spend any money and it's FREE ENTERTAINMENT. The Treasure Island one is decent cool. Paris elevator thing is neat. Bellagio water stuff is awesome awesome. OLD VEGAS is the best thing ever. Oh, there's a volcano, which, whatever. The Palms roof is party-ville and the Real World was there, and so if you like that sort of thing. Oh all those Oceans were shot at Bellagio, so you can dig on that, and they have this great glass flower installation. Penguins and flamingos at one. Dolphins? Sharks? Something like that at another. All of that can be done/seen very very cheaply.

Best advice: everywhere looks like it's a couple of blocks away- it's not. Everything is a HIKE away, so prepare.

All this stuff is what I was trying to remember. But yea, that's all the stuff I did when I was there that really didn't cost anything.

Don't even bother with Canberra. I know they call it the capital city of Australia, but there's literally only one thing there that's worth seeing, which is the War Memorial, and it'll take you a maximum of 3 hours and then you'll be wondering what the hell to do with the rest of your day. If you do decide to go there and you find yourself bored to tears, head over to Fyshwick, because the only thing left in the city that you can do is visit the XXX porn shops. Seriously. War Memorial, Porn Industry, Fireworks. That's all that Canberra's got. And you need a Canberran license for the Fireworks. Possession of cannabis is also legal in Canberra, whereas it's banned everywhere else, but buying and selling it isn't legal anywhere.....go figure.

Hehe ok, sounds like I'll avoid that. I don't smoke pot. And I live in an area where most porn is made. Pretty good with skipping it.

Also, I'll be there from April 30 - May 30, as far as the time-specific things go.

Treasure Island has the pirate ship battle out front.

I stayed at the Luxor the one time I've been. The elevators there are cool, as they travel at an angle.

Check out this site:

http://www.bigempire.com/vegas/freetosee.html

Ana wrote:

Hehe ok, sounds like I'll avoid that. I don't smoke pot. And I live in an area where most porn is made. Pretty good with skipping it.

Also, I'll be there from April 30 - May 30, as far as the time-specific things go.

Good time of year. La Nina has really screwed up our seasons right now, so it might rain a bit, but you won't feel cold until you get down to Victoria. Brisbane hardly ever goes below 80 degrees (in your speak), even when it rains. And the rain shouldn't ruin most of your experiences though. And even if the cold does get you in Victoria, our weather doesn't stay the same for very long, it changes its mind ever few hours or so. Sydney's weather can go either way, most of the time it's similar to Brisbane, sunny and lovely, but lately they've been adopting Melbourne's cold and windy.

The most important thing I can recommend is lots of sunscreen (sunblock, whatever you want to call it). Even on the most overcast day, you can get sun burnt badly over here. Err....and travel insurance. Just in case you get attacked by a drop bear.

I had to google drop bear.

When I retire and am planning my trip around the Pacific Rim I think I'll be better off if I stick to Tasmania and New Zealand and avoid Australia all together.

s l i t h y wrote:

I had to google drop bear.

When I retire and am planning my trip around the Pacific Rim I think I'll be better off if I stick to Tasmania and New Zealand and avoid Australia all together.

No need to fear. Attacks are pretty rare.