Drivers Ed Trip to Las Vegas

So Chris drove to Las Vegas before Christmas with his friend Niels, John, and me. It was originally planned to get Chris all the day- and night-driving hours required for his license, but he ended up with all 40 hours before we left. And it was originally going to be a trip to Los Angeles to visit Boyd & Co. on their way to Utah from Anchorage, but in the end SoCal seemed just too far to drive in the short time we had.

We visited the new City Center,
drove along the Strip,
watched the dancing fountain at the Bellagio,
ate at buffets and In N Out Burger, watched Avatar 3D, slept in, and went Christmas shopping at the outlets. John lost $5 in the slots while waiting for me to come out of the restroom (the $5 was a voucher from the buffet where we ate lunch). After two nights in our $35 Circus Circus hotel rooms we'd had enough Vegas for the decade, and Chris drove us home again. Sweet little trip. It's really not that far away.