Sin City... The Vegas Report.

Hello Friends, Family and Neighbors-

Had a GREAT time Vegas and plan to go back and take care of some unfinished business, like:

• Get re-married to favorite husband (guess I should ask him ;)) at one of those wedding chapels...
• See a show, drop some coins in a slot machine, and gamble a dollar or two...
• Hike surrounding canyons, raft the Colorado River, SkYdiVe!

Las Vegas, for sure, is a city Full of Opportunities.  GOOD and BAD.  And it is a city that FEEDS any VICE,  24/7.

• Game (euphemism for gamble ;)), Consume a beverage of choice, and **I'm not talking water here ** and Walk, with said beverage, down the Strip...
• See a show.  A few from the current lineup:  Cher, Carrot Top, Zac Brown Band, Barry Manilow -- yes, he is still alive and preforming --, Defending the Caveman, Disney's Lion King OR experience LatE NIghT, billed as the Ultimate Stimulus Package for the over 18 crowd...
• Get hypnotized and Buy a gun (ad enticement: shoot a ReAl submachine gun...)

It is a place of ConTrasts and Opposites and gives NYC a run for the title A City That Never Sleeps.  So without further adieu...

The Good

• The Intense Scenery and access to the outdoors: running, hiking, biking and rafting.  ALL within minutes of the strip.  In Vegas, you could choose to go outside and experience Outdoor Nirvana, or stay inside, and NeVEr see the light of day.  The hotel/ casino complexes are SO huge and so CAVERNOUS that you could -- and I'm NOT exaggerating here -- eat, drink, smoke (LOTS of smoking going on in Vegas), sleep (NOT so much sleep going on in Vegas), game (remember that is the euphemism for gamble), have spa treatments, workout, go to a 20 screen Cineplex, Shop, Shop, Shop, bowl, see a live show AND never go outside...
• The Maverick Helicopter Tour with sunset fly-overs, and incredible views of The Hoover Dam, Lake Meade, extinct volcanoes, Red Rock formations, and the Grand Canyon (with a 2,000' descent onto a canyon ledge for a light snack and photo op).

ready for takeoff

and

The Hoover Dam

*factoid:  there is enough concrete in the Hoover Dam to circle the Entire earth with a 5 foot sidewalk...  and Lake Meade, up and to the left of the dam, will be dry in about 10 years.  A little disturbing...

and, below, pictures as we approach The Grand Canyon.  This was AmAZinG!

In the front seat,  surrounded by glass for spectacular, breathtaking, unimaginable views... Gut wrenching, stomach-lurching **the pilot made special note as to the location of the upchuck bags ** as the 'copter -- without warning -- crossed over the canyon edge and the ground instantaneously fell away, only to reveal itself again, 4000' below!

*helicopter views.

*factoid: ECO-Star helicopter, run by the Maverick Aviation Group, cruised at about 120 miles per hour and used 2 gallons of fuel per mile...  Feel somewhat guilty about being part of such a energy-sucking, pleasure trip, but hey, as my favorite mother puts it, it is sure better than taking a mule down the canyon!  And she's speaking from experience.

canyon ledge landing site (mid-way down)... Colorado River.  Notice, in the following pictures, that I'm NOT wearing my STILL-favorite green plaid Lulu jacket :)  I own other clothes, ummm, other Lululemon clothes...

*riding in a helicopter felt like being a bumble bee -- okay, ONLY UsINg my imagination here; my hippie days are behind me! -- flitting, and lifting on the whim of wind currents.  Eventually making it to the target location...

• The Race.  The Red Rock Marathon was well run, by a fellow Lululemon ambassador.    Hello Joyce!  And was set in some of the most SOuL inspiring scenery that I've ever run.  Pure, Zen-Like, Running Nirvana.  Pure connection with nature.  Body and mind moving forward; Peace, where all is right in the world.  AND, they served fresh, hot-off-the-griddle pancakes at the finish line!   Still LOve you Sedona and Easter Island!
• Placed 2nd in AG (age group) with 9th place overall (4:12) and got a groovy momento...
• Ran with fellow Marathon Maniacs.  Hello Mitch, Al and Steve!

• Met up with Mecca Pal ** special prize for anyone who emails me at brooke.sydnor.curran@gmail.com with the correct location of Mecca (fictional and in the US). **  Big hint,  I knew Pam, and saw her daily, from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Hi Pam! And (sorry) you (Pam) or anyone else who knew me from the ages of 5 to 18 (sorry, again)  are ineligible!

Pam and me at dinner

The Bad

Disclaimer:  I'm giving you my honest opinions here, and am not trying to offend, be superior (in mind, body or health), or come across as a holier-than-thou, prude...  With that said, here it goes...

• All of the Health-Challenged -- use your imagination here, but it involves food and beverage choices, legal 'drug' choices, and lifestyle choices (read: don't take care of themselves) -- masses, that sat zombie-like, glassy-eyed, and glued, to the slot machines, morning, noon and night...  There.  I put it out there.  I said it.  No one HaTe me.  My apologies to anyone who takes care of themselves, and has true, heath problems.
• Sex in oVerdriVe.  I know that sex sells and skin is in.  BUT REALLY...   Do I need to see it at 5 in the afternoon? *factoid... there are cruising billboards featuring scantily-clad women -- on vans, etc. --, driving slowly, hoping for red lights?, advertising "Female entertainers direct to your room."  Hello?!  HoOkeRs!!
• No coffee pot in the hotel room and no coffee pot to be had.  There was a martini shaker, plenty of booze, olives, and martini glasses, but NO coffee pot, and no coffee pot to be had!

The Bizarre and The Unexpected, The Learned
*new category in honor of Las Vegas

• Mid-flight (outgoing) diversion to Albuquerque -- yes, New Mexico -- because the lady behind me went into LaBOr!

paramedics boarding the plane...

• Airplane smells (returning) seeping from the pores of the over-indulged, the under-bathed and the sleepless.  Note to self:  do NOT take the first flight out of Vegas on a Sunday morning!
• Cabbie who shared why he switched to the day shift:  too many people taking CarNal Knowledge of one another in the back seat of his cab.  Ugh!

Like I said, I have to go back to Vegas.  Finish up some things.  Vegas is OutRageous.   A place of Polar Opposites.  Awesome in a seemingly lawless way.  Live Clean or Dirty.  It is ALL your choice...   So cheers; it was a beautiful day for a run!

RunningBrooke

Updates

• Next up:  London Marathon on April 25th.  5th and final Marathon Major (Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and London) and a category closer for me!
• 2010 RunningBrooke Kick-Off Party on March 17th (hello green beer!), with special recognition to the Ten in '10.  *Businesses who have 'laced up their shoes' and committed to donating a $1,000 a year, for the next 5 years, to the RunningBrooke Fund.  Find them listed on my website and blog.  Stop by, say thanks, and use their services.
• If somehow you missed my evite and would like to come, email me: www.brooke.sydnor.curran@gmail.com and I'll give you the details...
• There are new features -- thanks to web-goddess, Cheryl --  and postings on www.runningbrooke.com and www.runningbrooke.blogspot.com.  Check it out.  Listen or watch the radio and TV  interviews...
• Does anyone receive the magazine Women's Running and see an article about RunningBrooke and Fundraising?  Months ago I submitted something to them and supposedly they picked it up... Would love a hard copy.

that's all, folks...