Yes I know; this is my third trip report on Vegas   . It's one of my favorite places to go now for NYE celebrations! Also it is now 2008 which should see me traveling more and also taking my first international trip to Madrid for two weeks sometime in the spring or late spring. It was going to be EZE but I refuse to pay north of $1000 for a cheap ticket unless I'm in C class!! So I'm going to have to put together some type of checklist of things I need to have and take care of before I go to another country for the first time. My passport is collecting dust!



Southwest Airlines Flight 885
MDW-LAS
December 30th 2007
Dep: 740am on time
Arr: 929am early
737-700 Old Colors

I decided to sleep all day on the day before so I could sleep on the plane on the way there. That attempt proved to be futile. I just can't sleep on planes yet. Perhaps when I take longer/international flights that leave at night I can sleep. I arrived to MDW at about 612am that Sunday morning and to my surprise it was no huge line at check in. WN has very efficient check in counters. I printed my bag tag and gave it to the agent. This time my bag went right onto the belt and not the TSA because of the new in-line system being operated. They are also in operation at ORD in T5, 3 and 1. I knew this so I made sure to leave my bag UNLOCKED! HA!

At this time I started taking a few pics of MDW. I think this is such a nice looking airport compared to my home at ORD which is still under construction three and a half years later!!!







So after passing the TSA checkpoint I went to McDonalds for break-fest. I had the deluxe meal which hit the spot because I was hungry. Now why are most of the airport McDonald's employees at ORD and MDW Latinos?
Well I was sitting at an empty gate eating because my own gate at B7 was full and thats when I noticed these things:


I'm looking at these things going "oh those are new". I was trying to figure out who lined up where because the numbers and arrows were a little confusing on them. Soon it was time go to back to my gate and at 725am boarding had started so I was a little late. I got into the B line when I thought it was the A line. Everyone was just standing in line however I had got into the wrong one. Somehow the lines got mixed because of a row of seats behind the lines that caused the lines to curve. People were so confused on who went where. But I made it onto the plane and took some window seat about 3 rows behind the exit row. We had a Houston based crew and made it known by the "yawls" that kept flying out of their mouths. Here is a sister ship next to us while boarding.



Boarding was done fairly quickly however those poor last of the line C passengers couldn't find seats and had to get off. WN so far has been so consistent when I fly them which is only about once a year lol. We taxied to some runway and soon as we lined up we zoomed down the runway. I can never figure out those tarmac markers. This was the first flight out to LAS and we were full. It was a little bumpy going up because there was an overcast but it wasn't too bad. I think now I'm getting used to chop. I wasn't as nervous about it or really about the flight at all. I used to be so nervous about flying when I started doing it again. The usual snack and drink service was given. The crew were very nice and attentive. This was the first time I had a preggers F/A. She was showing but she was able to do her job with ease. When we got over the Rockies the flight became choppy again and the captain sat the F/A's. I wasn't that nervous to my shock so I think I'm starting to really enjoy traveling by air and I plan on doing more this year when money allows.

After about 3 hours and 30 minutes we were descending to LAS. The Captain said winds were in our favor since we were a little early. Here is a video of our arrival into LAS!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZmaazwMJtDw

LAS McCarren
http://youtube.com/watch?v=g4sJ7RdmMRc


Baggage claim





I was in Vegas for three nights! I usually do two but I decided I would stay one extra day to do more things. I took one of the shuttle buses to Planet Hollywood Resort. I'm moving on up!! The first time I stayed at the Luxor, then had a west wing at MGM, now I am in the middle of the strip!! Next time I'm doing Bellagio no matter how much it cost on NYE! I got to PH about 1040 and there was a room available. They have really made this place hip and modern. The casino was beautiful and has mood lighting that changes! That night I saw O for the first time and it was an amazing water show! I think it's my second most favorite behind Zumanity. I walked around more and I was able to see the soft opening of the new Palazzo Hotel:




The strip is crowded to say the least! I really think they have lost their minds with City Center! The Strip will suffer from too much capacity one day I see it coming. Now it was time to get dressed down for NYE!! That night I made my way over to NYNY to see Zumanity....AGAIN! But I really went to see the last show for Joey Arias who gave his last performance as the show's host after 4 and a half years. it was kind of emotional at the end but the show was great. I had front row seats!!











Finally NYE night came. The amount of people that crowded the strip was unbelievable! Over 250,000 or so according to the news reports! I bought a long Island in one of those big cups you can take home from La Cantina. Drunks were everywhere and half naked women. I was having so much fun. Here is a video of the fireworks show and you can see how many people were out there that night:

Here is a fountain show from the lovely Bellagio!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MxX3iA8loFE


By the time I had to head home I was exhausted! My feet were hurting from all the walking and shopping I did. I made my way to LAS at about 9am. Here are some pics I took



A grounded Maxjet



US Airways with old AWA tail!!

WN flight 335 LAS-MDW
Dep: 1050 delayed 40 minutes
Arr: 440pm/5pm actual
Canyon Blue colors
January 2nd 2008

So I'm at one of those C gates and there was some chaos. First, these poles LAS had were not like the ones at MDW. They were black and spin in a circle according to what letter was called. Who is supposed to spin them because a passenger was told to do so by the agent. My flight was on "hold" because of weather and they had no more information. They decided to give our plane to an El Paso flight so all of their passengers came to our gate. WN changed their minds and put MDW back on that plane. The boarding process was confusing because people in the B line with me didn't realize that the pole spins so we were standing in the wrong spot! After all of that we made our way on board and I had my first female Captain, an older brownish haired lady. Now this is the most jacked up WN nose I have ever seen, I thought it was a UA plane in disguise!


We took off in that great land/rotate que LAS is famous for. A plane lands while another takes off. We made a couple of right turns that took us over the mountains and back past the strip heading east I think. This flight was bumpy most of the time but it got smoother once we were clear of the mountains!




I started watching season 7 of Star Trek DS9 that I bought from the Las Vegas Hilton to pass the time. We had another great crew and soon arrived back into MDW. I survived another flight without incident. I guess plane crashes are rare and you will most likely die in a car crash!!!   

I also took this while at the Hilton!!


I had another great time in Vegas for NYE. I can't wait to go it again next December 31st. I'm already saving money for it. But some of that money may come is use later this year. I'll be 25 in two months and I want to see some more of the country and the world while I'm young and have the time. Next up should be two weeks in Madrid for Spanish immersion classes at a school I have yet to decide on. There are so many to choose from. This would be my first international and longest time away from home on my own. I'm just nervous thinking about it. If the price comes down I may instead do AA's ORD-EZE round trip. Also, I want to do more domestic routes like MIA, LGA, Cancun for vacation and I know I'll be going to the south next fall for some SWAC football games! So if the money is right I wonder where the winds will carry me next.....