Laughlin is a blast!

Blast furnace that is! We spent the last couple of days in Laughlin, Nevada. Yesterday we were walking around in 118 degree heat. However, the gambling was good (at least for us). We never seem to come back from Vegas ahead and we are small time gamblers but we are about $60 ahead right now. We will probably not be that far ahead soon since we are now in Vegas. The first machine we played after arriving in Vegas took all the money we put in to it. It was exactly the kind of machine that was paying off for us in Laughlin. I had always heard that you had better chances in Laughlin and now I believe it.

We also took a side trip to Lake Havasu City yesterday. BORING!!! Most of the British shops that they built to go with London Bridge are closed. The only bright spot was a brew pub where we had lunch. The brews were all a tad on the sweet side though.

Northwest Airlines does good!

Since we had a free ride to the airport that saved us those huge parking fees (Thanks Alex), we were a few hours early for our flight. We checked our bags and then meandered over to the gate where the next Las Vegas flight was departing. We got on the standby list and they told us there was a good chance we would make it but we would have to return to the airport to pick up our luggage 4 hours later.

Yes, we made it and with the kind help of a passenger, we were able to sit together. The flight was good, avoiding a storm in western Minnesota, and we arrived on time. After getting to the baggage claim area, we checked with an employee at the desk that confirmed that since we checked in so soon, our bags had indeed traveled with us!

We were able to dine at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the strip without needing to return to the airport afterwards. We ended up with front row splash seats for the volcano blow where a girl in a bikini slides down the volcano into a huge margarita. Too bad I forgot the camera (and the fact that my phone has one).

Thanks Northwest! (Did I say that?)

Hot enough for you?

Global warming seems to be affecting even chilly Minnesota. We are not going to be able to keep up our image of a cold zone when the temperatures are in the 90's. I guess it could be worse, Las Vegas is expecting 113 most of the weekend. Of course, that is a dry heat! So where do I go and leave the kids at home to work, etc. - Vegas.