[gabed]

Day 1 (Part 1)

Back in September, my dad (along with several other of his coworkers) was awarded a free trip to Las Vegas for being one of the best at his job. Since then, we've booked our flights, packed our bags, and waited for November 4th to come. And this morning, it all began...

After waking up at 5 am, my family and I made our way to Charlotte Douglass International Airport to catch a 7 am flight to Salt Lake City. To start the day, I ate breakfast at the airport where I had a lovely bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with hash browns. Once the breakfast had been eaten, it was time to board our flight.

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And before long, we were off...

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With this being my first time in a jet, it truly was a unique experience. I felt a little nervous at times, but all in all, it was a fun first flight. While aboard, I was fortunate and got a clear view of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

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After about four hours, we arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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While I'm one the topic of Salt Lake City. I'd just like to say that for those of you who have never been, it is absolutely beautiful. The lake itself is massive, MUCH bigger than I had anticipated.

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This is only a small fraction of the overall lake.


We then sat in the Salt Lake City airport for about thirty minutes before boarding a shorter, (and smoother) flight to Las Vegas!

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To be continued...

[gabed]

Day 1 (Part 2)

After getting our bags and riding in a taxi from the airport, we arrived at the Circus Circus hotel. We will only be spending one night here, the rest of the week will be spent at Mandalay Bay. As far as Circus Circus goes, it's alright. The only negative to it is that the Adventuredome is closed for the entire week.

My family and I didn't stay at the room long, as we were all hungry for lunch. We ate at nearest McDonalds, and made our way to stop #1 on the trip...

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The Statosphere Hotel!

Stratosphere is something that has been on my bucket list since I was 9 years old, and seeing it in person was a dream come true. As soon as I walked in to the ground floor, I purchased my tickets for X-Scream, Insanity, and Big Shot. X-Scream was first! Since I probably won't be back in Vegas for a long time, there was only one way to ride X-Scream...

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The front row! (I'm the guy in the grey shirt)

Never in my life have I felt fear while riding a ride, I've felt it before while boarding, but never during the ride itself. X-Scream, was the first. From watching YouTube POV's, I thought the ride wouldn't be too bad. Besides, heights don't scare me much anymore. But it wasn't the height I was scared of, it was the speed that the ride travels to the edge. You get this feeling that you're going too fast to slow down in time. But before you face your inevitable death, you come to a dead stop, and hang over the edge.

After nearly crapping my pants, I made my way to Big Shot. I didn't expect for it to be that bad, but there was one thing that really surprised me. And that... was the airtime! Instead of slowing down before it reaches the top, it comes to a dead stop, throwing you out of your seat! Definitely more fun than fear on that one.

Next up, the most anticipated one of them all... Insanity!

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Words simply do not describe how high you are as you spin around almost one thousand feet in the air. But I didn't feel the same fear as I did on X-Scream, instead I felt a little dizzy.

After that, it was time for the last and most daring one of them all.., SkyJump!

...

Sadly, in order to jump, you have to be at least 14 years of age, I am only 13. Good thing I'll be 14 tomorrow...

[gabed]

Day 2 (Part 1)

After a long night of walking on the Vegas strip and visiting a few beautiful hotels, my family and I made our way back to Circus Circus and called it a night.

We woke up at 6:00 in the morning and packed our bags as we moved to Mandalay Bay.

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After a quick breakfast at the hotel's food court, we rented a car and drove out from the city. Once you leave the urban area of Vegas, you begin to realize just how beautiful the surrounding landscape is. You'd think a long, flat, and lifeless desert would get boring after several minutes. But to someone who has only seen it in the movies, it was amazing. Our first stop was the beautiful and amazing Red Rock Canyon.

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Before the thirteen mile road loop around the park began, I was stunned by the beauty of it all.

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And here's me looking dumb.

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[gabed]

Day 2 (Part 2)

After seeing the many sights at Red Rock Canyon, my family and I made our way to the Stratosphere hotel. Once we arrived I purchased tickets for X-Scream and Insanity for a second and final ride. Once that was over, I returned to the ground floor to but one more ticket. A ticket... for SkyJump!

As some of you read yesterday, you must be at least 14 years of age to take the jump. However, I was only 13 yesterday, and since today was my 14th birthday, I got myself a present. The gift of jumping from the 108th floor of a building!

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As you would assume, (and hope), there is a lot of safety gear to be put on and multiple checks to be done before you're allowed to take the elevator ride up.

Me realizing what I've just done to myself.

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After a few more safety checks, it was time to take the longest elevator ride of my life. The doors opened on floor number 108, and I proceeded to a large glass room where more checks were done. Once the okay was given, I walked out to the bright blue platform where I was strapped to multiple cables. I was then told to place my shoes halfway over the ledge and grab each side of the platform with my hands. This... was... terrifying. As you could imagine, it's not very comforting looking down at 850+ foot drop that you're about to fall from. The ride operator began the countdown, 3... 2... 1!

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How was the fall? Amazing! All of the fears and worries that went through your mind before leave you as you fall. It seems to last forever as you glide to the target painted below you. And before you know it, you've reached the bottom.

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[tarheel1231]

Happy birthday gabed!

[Tawny71]

Happy birthday! I'm glad you're having a great time!

[gabed]

Day 2 (Part 3)

Once I had taken off all of my safety gear from SkyJump, my family and I drove back to our hotel room to rest for awhile. After we had rested for about an hour, we got back in the rental car and made our way to the Nevada-Arizona state line. After eating at a small town Taco Bell for lunch, we drove out to see the Hoover Dam.

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We didn't stay too long, but it was definitely very cool to see it in person. As the sun began to set, we got back into the rental car and drove to the Nevada-California state line. But this was only so my sister and I could say that we had been to California. While we were driving to the state line I got to see Desperado at Buffalo Bills. However, the ride only operates on weekends.

We got back to the hotel around 7:00 pm (Paciffic Time) and went to the Luxor Hotel's food court for dinner. Afterwards, I was very fortunate and hit my 38th coaster credit.

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...yes, I know... TOGO. I had never ridden a TOGO coaster before this, but I now understand why they're called death traps. The first half of the ride was great, but it got rougher as it went on. I'll most likely ride it again before I leave on Friday.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes by the way!

[gabed]

Day 3

I know, I'm late posting this. I completely forgot to post last night, but there isn't much to talk about anyways. There's only so much a teenager can do in Veags before you've done every single thing you could ever want to do. The main thing I did yesterday was ride “The Roller Coaster” at the New York, New York hotel ten times in one day.

As far as that ride goes, it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The only negative to the ride is the painful shoulder restraints. But they're not like normal over-the-shoulder-restraints that cover your shoulders, chest, and stomach. Instead the restraints only cover the tops of your shoulders as they hug your neck. It's basically a neck pillow that beats you repeatedly for two minutes. Also, the shoulder restraints are pointless. The only thing you need to keep from falling out is the lap bar and shin restraint on the ride.

But, if you can get past the awful shoulder restraints, it's a fun ride with many unexpected airtime moments. Besides the coaster, there is very little to talk about from yesterday.

Despite all the fun I've had over the past week, I'm definitely ready to be back in North Carolina. As I type this, I'm sitting in the McCarran International Airport, waiting for my flight to Salt Lake City. Once there, I have a four hour layover before the flight back home.

Thank you for reading!

-Gabe