Vegas 08 meetup

This is what you would call the pre-pre-meetup...just Melanie and myself hanging out on Freemont street.  We also visited the gardens in the Bellagio and watched the fountains out front, which never fails to amaze no matter how many times you've watched it before.

Friday night was our pre-meetup where we were to meet at Diablo's in front of Monte Carlo and right on the strip.  I left my hotel quite a bit early because I figured traffic would be crazy...it was crazier than I could have ever imagined.  I sat at the Tropicana intersection for a good 20 minutes, alone.  It took me an hour to go 4 miles!  But I did make it a couple of minutes before our scheduled meet time.  Melanie called me as I was parking and asked me to hold our reservation because they were running late, with the traffic.

  About 45 minutes later my dear friends arrived...they had to park at the new york new york parking lot.  We couldn't believe how congested the traffic was.  With the NASCAR race in town, this made it even worse.

I had already been with Mel the night before, but this was my first time meeting Tracy, Julz, AngelBaby, and Will...although Will showed up a little later.  Sometimes it is a little uncomfortable getting with a group of people you've never met, but I instantly felt very comfortable...like I had known these people from my past life:)  And we had a fabulous time talking, joking, drinking, and taking pictures.  We soon discovered that Diablo's was not a place we'd recommend for food and drinks...they were way overpriced!!!

After dinner we went across the street to the MGM and into a bar called the Rouge...all red inside.  There we continued our great conversation, some more shots, and just kept getting sillier.  Will left us later to prey on the out-of-towners who were practicing their hand at poker (Will is an accomplished poker player).  LOL  So the girls and I carried on until...I really don't remember the time, now.  It was a huge time, and I felt like I was ready for the main event.