Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas NHL Awards Style

After three days of Internet blackout in the back woods of Utah, we returned to the Palms in Las Vegas last night. First thing we saw when we entered the hotel was Lord Stanley’s Cup and all the other trophies on display in the lobby.

All the Trophies

After leaving home on Saturday we were pleased to hear of the game changing trades that the Predators made with Philadelphia and New Jersey. The moves guaranteed that next year’s version of the Predators will have a new look with younger players moving into key roles on the team.

On arriving in Las Vegas, due to limited availability of a reasonable sized vehicle, we were forced to move into a larger, more Hunter S. Thompson-esque vehicle, and ended up with a baby blue Mercury Grand Marquis with rear-wheel drive.

This monster vehicle severely limited our ability to traverse the more desolate areas of the Utah outback and ended our 24-mile trek over dirt washboard seeking slot canyons abruptly when we came upon a huge sand pit.

Bryce Canyon

Our other near death Utah experience involved tent camping in sub-freezing weather with summer weight sleeping bags in the altitude at Bryce Canyon. When we finally escaped from the tent, we found a tree covered with ice where a sprinkler had showered it during the night that confirmed the reason for our all night shivering episode.

Last night after cleaning off the camping dirt, we hit up the In-N-Out Burger and then headed for a stroll on the Strip. We were surprised to run into our Hockey 54 friends Launy Schwartz and Dahlia Kurtz in the Casino at Caesars. Fisher and Jackson had never met them in person so they were thrilled to death.

Jackson, Fisher,Buddy, Joe Frazier, Dahlia, and Launy

Today, we expect to talk to Barry Trotz and several of the other Award nominees at a couple of media events this afternoon and should be able to post interviews later tonight.

This morning, it looks like we will be taking in Toy Story 3 which we are all looking forward to seeing.

More Later…

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

1 comment:

Matt Reitz said...

"Sounds like big trouble. You're going to need plenty of legal advice before this thing is over. As your attorney, I advise you to rent a very fast car with no top. Tape recorder for special music. Acapulco shirts."

You needed a different car :)