April 8, 2010

We are back from Vegas.  As we descended into Anchorage, which could be our last flight into Anchorage, I was reminded of our first flight into Anchorage on our vacation in 1999.  The normal flight pattern brings planes in over the massive mudflats that are visible in all but the highest of tides.  The mud did not provide me the best first impression of Anchorage.

The flight back provided other views with memories as well.  As we approached Prince William Sound, I saw the Copper River Delta near Cordova, an area we visited in 2008.  I looked for Thompson Ridge and Tana Glacier, the location of our backcountry trip last year, but I couldn’t identify them from that angle.  I saw Tatitlek, Mt. Ellamar, and Valdez, locations we visited on our vacation in 1999.  I had spectacular aerial views of Columbia, Harvard, and Yale glaciers, glaciers I have seen from boats before.  The views ended as we flew over Whittier.  Our end of the Chugach Mountains was choked with low clouds, including the ski resort.  It amazes me that I can look out an airplane window at that landscape and know what I am looking at.  I think I have studied the maps of Alaska a bit too much.

It was a short trip, only three nights.  We weren’t as aggressive in our touring of Las Vegas as we have been in the past.  We only gambled at a few casinos.  I remember trips where we gambled at almost every casino on the strip and downtown.  This was far more casual.  We stayed at the Flamingo which provided a decent hotel in a central location.

We met Kim and John there and enjoyed leisurely meals with endless conversation.  Between meals, we mostly gambled.  John and I toured around to various penny slot machines and competed to see who could lose more slowly.  We both had some fun hits, but ultimately the odds are stacked.  I think it is harder to get ahead, even for a short time, with the current machines.  It seems so pointless, but it really was a cheap trip and the gambling provided a way to pass the time without any worries beyond the moment. 

We had some other fun activities.  Kris and Kim spent the better part of one day at the pool, although even that day wasn’t particularly warm.  We ate lunch at the top of the Stratosphere which was almost cheaper than buying tickets to the observation deck.  After lunch, we walked around the observation decks and even stepped outside into the howling wind for a moment.  We also watched as they tested a system for bungee jumping off the top of the tower, although it was more of a controlled descent on a cable than a bungee.  They weren’t sending people over yet, just some weights to make sure the system worked.  We also walked through the new city center, although that was more of navigational error than an intentional tour.

We all competed in a slot tournament at New York, New York.  It turned out to be a smart gamble.  The payout on the tournament exceeded the total intake of $20 entry fees.  There aren’t too many opportunities to gamble where the games provide greater than 100% payback.  I think they can do it because it forces you to spend time in their casino.  You have to sign up, return to compete, and return to collect your winnings.  We all competed in the first round of the day.  My machine quickly fell behind the people around me, a real loser, but John had the high score for the round.  He and I made the long walk back in the afternoon to see if his score held up.  He took sixth place which paid $50 in free play.  He ran the required $50 through a slot machine and wound up with closer to $70, a decent win.  The winner of the tournament collected $1260 in cash.

And now we are back to Anchorage.  We have the same obligations facing us.  We need to finish our essays.  We need to get rid of all this stuff we won’t be taking with us.  We need to think about getting the condo on the market.  We probably have some things to fix up before then.  It is almost like coming home from vacation, even though we live on vacation right now.