Star Trek: Vegas

Per MWT's request and because it was chronologically first...

I went on my first trip to Las Vegas with my sister, my good friend Stacey, and her good friends, Susan and Angela. These latter two came from Houston and we met them at the airport so we could all travel to the hotel together, which we did (in a limo!). We dropped off our bags (didn't even check in since we had already paid a bunch for the limo) and were whisked off to the Las Vegas Hilton, where they have Star Trek: The Experience. We got there so early (10 am, I believe) that the shows were not started yet and the shops were not open. So, I lost my first $10, gambling on slot machines.
There were lovely models of some of the ships at the entry.

The "experiences" were two participatory rides/shows that were quite well done -- not extravagant, but well done.
The "museum" portion of the exhibit had the expected movie and TV memorabilia -- lady Klingons, captains' uniforms, phaser pistols, and all manner of Star Trek minutiae. There was also a timeline, tying together all the movies and TV events.The associated shops were fun. There were the usual key chains and mugs and I loved the t-shirts. Unfortunately the best t-shirt designs were all child sized. There were stuffed Tribbles that chirped and wiggled when you touched them. There were mock communicators (predacessor to the modern cell phone) and Romulan Ale and teddy bears of many varieties, from Star Fleet officers to Borg bears.

Added later: Oops, forgot to say that we ate at Quark's. I had a Saurian Brandy, which was a chocolate and banana flavored cocktail and a Clementine Shade (whatever that is) French Dip. Angela did get the Romulan Ale, and described it as "blue Miller." It was fun, with a great environment (a Klingon came by and commented on my sister and I being clones.), but the food was way less adventurous than the photos make them look. Oh well, probably not a bad thing.

For Nathan: Resistance to our cuteness is futile!

It was lots of fun, especially talking to a particularly chatty tour lady, but I am not enough of a Star Trek expert to fully appreciate the level of detail involved. In this, as in most things, I am a dilettante.

Tomorrow: the drag show.