Hello, Friday morning! Adam and I are at Sac airport, the second-to-last group to fly out. Here's me waiting...playing piano on my new iPhone. "King of Pain", anyone? And here's Adam at gate A11 - our gateway to Vegas! Hey, look...I'm at gate A11 too! Handy, that. And here I am waiting to get on the plane, with a helpful Southwest employee behind me. Pre-boarding rocks! Adam's cranking some tunes on his iPhone before take-off. You know, you have to turn that off before wheel-up, or we'll all crash and die. Is a few minutes of Rick Astley really worth that? We landed! Here we are on our shuttle bus headed for Caesar's. If you look close, you can see me in the rear-view. And here we are checking in at Caesar's, Viva La Casa Central! Of course, Adam's staying at a Hilton nearby, but that doesn't mean he can't drop in for some marble boobage, baby! Yeah! I feel like Beavis. And Butthead. Just to remind you you're in Caesar's, here's some artsy fartsy historical stuff. And some more of it. Man, those Romans knew how to party! Hey, there's my roommate! A.T. meets up with us, ready to rock this town! Rock it inside out, I tell you! And there's where we sleep. Please note...separate beds. Just wanted to be clear. Don't be fooled. That's not a real hotel outside our window. It's just a Mirage. Hey, it's our anything-but-complimentary fridge! Each of those bottles is sitting on a sensor that bills your room if you lift it. I'm NOT kidding. Here's a little behind the scenes footage of us setting up for a shot. DVD extras are cool, aren't they? And here's the shot! It was worth all the prep-time, don't you think? Hilarious! Say, while you're our guest, would you like to take a dump and make a call? Be our guest. Adam here is practicing his "I have a dream" speech, looking ahead to the future, to a thousand points of light... A.T. did a little shopping while waiting for us to land. The party is on! Hey, more of the gang finally show up! There's James, Brandy and Ken! They've already checked into their respective hotels. And Chris B.'s in the house! He's hydrating, preparing for the night ahead. Please take note of that yellow M&M bag on the table. See how many times you can count it in the rest of the weekend's pics. Brandy and James chill while A.T. works the phones, trying to wrangle everyone else. This, by the way, is all A.T. needs to survive on. Orange vodka, orange M&M's. James and Ken relax on my bed. There's something wrong with that sentence. Let's move on. Teresa shows up! She and Rich are staying upstairs. Brandy and Chris B...who is obviously DONE hydrating and ready to begin. Cheers! And also starring A.T. as your bartender! Sparks for all! Chris B. having another. Why not? Pacing one's self is for pansies! The gang fills in! Stacy and Tim finally showed up, as did Rich. Los Chicos! There's the birthday boys, A.T., Tim, Rich and myself. Viva la Casa, Chicos! Rich and Tim. And the M&M bag... Stacy and Tim. At this point, a small handful of us know that Tim's going to propose during this trip. Stacy, obviously, is not one of the handful. Will it be tonight? Stay tuned! Teresa and her old man. Seriously...he's OLD. This, by the way, is a dramatic recreation of a famous T and Rich shot from back during the La Casa days. Which was, uh, about twelve YEARS ago. How did THAT happen? Chris B., Rich, James and me, kickin' it at the Friday night pre-party. Tim, Stacy, A.T. and Rich, chattin'. Hey, the final members of the Lucky 13 arrive! Chris K. and Tami finally tear themselves away from their room at the Bellagio and join us! Everybody's catching up, making plans for the eve to come. See the yellow bag? It snuck in there. Me, Tami and Chris, ready for the big weekend to begin! A.T. and Chris B. Yes, even his damned cell phone is orange! Tim and James having a swell time. Yes, I'm 40 (though not until midnight), but I'm Irish! So no worries! Fair play to you, lads! Actually, there are two M&M bags, but the larger one is going to retire. The small one? It has many adventures ahead of it this weekend. Chris B., James, Tim, Rich and Ken want YOU to party with THEM! Or else!! Adam and I showing our state-of-the-art iPhones...which will look hilarious when we look at this pic in like 6 months when they're obsolete... Chris and A.T. as the pre-party starts winding down and plans for dinner begin. Hey, it's me, Ken...and Caesar. It's his place, you know. And...us again. Me and Adam, having a cigar outside. With Donny and Marie spookily watching us from the background, trying to make us feel guilty for our tobacco use. Tami, Chris K., Teresa and Rich as we're all getting our Total Rewards (tm) cards that'll cut twenty bucks off our dinner! Sweet! There's my Caesar's room key...and my Total Rewards card! Total-ly awesome! James and Ken, thinking of all the magical things they can do with the twenty bucks they'll save. The words "happy" and "ending" are probably in their thoughts... Me, Chris B., and a yellow bag in the Caesar's casino. A.T., Brandy and Rich laughing it up. Oh, wait, James is back there, too. Tami and Chris K. say "thumbs up" to buffet dinner! People love it SO much when I take pictures of them eating. That's why I have to do it every chance I get. I'm all about making people happy. Mmmmm. Vegas buffet. Life is good. Get...in...ma belly! All of us eating and drinking and WAITING for a text from Tim, who's at a different restaurant in Caesar's with Stacy, with a ring in his pocket, ready to propose! Everyone at the table now knows it. The suspense! Brandy, Tami and Teresa. ...and Rich, me and Chris. Hey, didn't we pose for a picture like this in another restaurant, like, two decades ago? The buffet dinner gang, sans Tim and Stacy, who we're STILL waiting on! Chris salivates over his giant plate of desserts. Hey, look who showed up! Mr. and the future Mrs. Tim Watts! (She said yes. Otherwise his face would look a lot different here). Is it just me, or do the guys all look like they're talking about boobies? I was right. I knew that shot would look completely gay. Damn, I'm good. And it's time for a little clubbin' on Friday night, and some drinks to celebrate the big proposal. Here's Tim and Stacy as we live it up at Cleopatra's Barge inside Caesar's. Rich, enjoying the night life. He likes to boogie. Married Rich is easily occupied by funny stories, but single James keeps his eyes wandering as many little black dresses go by... Stacy, A.T., Chris B. and Adam. While Ken and Rich look on, Adam starts to mysteriously glow... Stacy and Ken. And a familiar bag... Tim listening closely to his bride-to-be. An act he had best get used to. Rich. Club rat. A look outside the front door of Caesar's. Friday night in Vegas. Again...creepy Donny and Marie. More Vegas by night. Yes. It's good to be the emperor. Our rooms are somewhere up there. I think a couple of us might be up there turned in already. SLACKers! The night is young! Come to our room for all your beverage needs. There's plenty, you know... Saturday morning. I'm awake! Mostly. Oh, and here's what Caesar's looks like out by the pool. The pool's down there, trust me. Busy day ahead, but time for some quick brunch. Oh, and this is Adam filling us in on how he just had the cops called on him outside. Long story, on another page. Before an evening out on the town with a fine meal and a classy show, you know what a man likes to do to get in the mood? Why, fire automatic weapons, of course! Here's Rich, Adam and Chris K. in line at the Gun Store. Chris and Tim, picking out guns n' ammo. Choices, choices. Yes, get that wallet out, Chris. Shootin' machine guns ain't cheap. I like the "Gift Certificates Available" sign (is Mother's Day coming up?), but more than that, I like the "All Sales Are Final!" one. Yeah, not a good idea to argue over a refund at THIS store. ...and please pass the ammo... Tim, Adam and Chris in line for the firing range. Cocked, locked and ready to rock! (Did that come off gay?) Yes, these are REAL machine guns. The sign says so. And look, they're open seven days a week, so you can get in some target practice after church on Sunday. Excellent! Tim getting ready to head into the shootin' range. Fortunately, while you're waiting, those protective earphone also play a medley of Motown classics for your enjoyment. There's Chris getting ready to get his Rambo on. Adam's good to go. Automatic for the people, baby. All three of the guys, exercising one of those amendment thingees. Adam checking his targets after unloading all his ammo. All I'm saying is, paper targets should NEVER have stolen Adam's lunch money when he was a kid. Payback time. The guys swapping shooting stories afterward. Tim and Adam grabbing some Gun Store swag! Adam and his M249 S.A.W. - when you absolutely positively need to kill every...well, you know. See his ad in Soldier of Fortune this month. You've heard of going postal? This time, Dr. K is going dental! Tim chillin while we wait for our cab, post-shootery. And Chris chills with him. I was surprised to see the Gun Store going with McCain. I would have thought for sure they'd have backed Nader... The glow that surrounds a man after his first time shooting machine guns can't be described. It must be experienced. Rich needs no guns, however, for as you can see from that look, Rich can just kill you with his bare hands. Adam, Chris, Tim and me outside the Gun Store Hey, and we found some helpful tourists to take a photo so Rich could get in the shot, too. Oh, wait...we're tourists, too, aren't we? Well, they had accents, so they were more touristy than us. Bin Laden's goin' down! Team 40 is coming for YOU, beeyatch! And we say a fond farewell to the Gun Store boys as they prepare to head back to their rooms to get fancied up for dinner. James at A.T. hanging back at the room, back from their own wanderings. Mmmm. Orange M&M's. It's like Purina A.T. Chow. And soon it's over to the Bellagio, and to Todd English's Olives, for the official Viva La Casa birthday dinner! Here's Adam and I as we're waiting for the others to show. Okay, look, we're just standing there, okay? He's NOT my date! Seriously, he's just my traveling companion. Wait...damnit! Check out how everybody cleans up, yo! Here's Chris K., Tami, Tim, Stacy, Teresa, Rich and Me, ready for a fine dinner. And here we are again. We're waiting for five extra minutes because the place is just opening, and the room we're dining in is the same room they have the pre-evening staff meeting in, so we're waiting for them to clear out and get it ready for us. And while we wait...time for more photos! Adam, Tim, Stacy and me. You probably recognize Tim, Stacy, Teresa, Rich and me from previous photos... And one more of the gang for good measure. Except Adam, who's taking the picture. And he's not my date. Tim and Stacy. They're engaged, you know. And Tim and Stacy again. But, like, closer. Rich and Teresa, Galt's favorite citizens. The K's. And we get seated...at the chef's table! Tami pulled this one off, and got us hooked up in our own private room next to the kitchen, with our own view of the famed Bellagio fountains. Nice! Am I just content in this photo, or have I dozed off? Hard to tell. Okay, I'm awake now. Here we wait for the rest of the gang to show up, as they're on their way there. Luckily, Tami found something on the ceiling to stare at to help her pass the time. Rich and T get ready to check out the menu. The K's are planning their dinners as well. Chris and I want drinks, so here I'm whistling obnoxiously for the waiter. Okay, it just looks like that. I'm actually texting the waiter on my iPhone with our drink orders... The rest of the gang's here!! Woo hoo! A.T. and Chris B. make the scene! As do Brandy and James. Hmm. Brandy's going to hate me for that shot, isn't she? I have a talent for catching people in mid-blink. To be fair, let's do one with a much better shot of Brandy, but one where James it looking like he's shaking his head like a wet dog. Adam with the fountains, and the rest of Vegas, behind him. Ken, Brandy and James. Stacy, Tim and me. And cocktails! Woo hoo! Chris and Tami, who love their children very much...but are happy to be alone with grownups in Vegas!! Teresa, A.T. and Chris B. Me and Chris. Didn't we used to be a lot younger? Me, Chris and Tami...either posing for a photo, or just really, really into the fountain show outside. Rich will drink to that! To what? Oh, whatever it is! He'll drink to it! The right side of the table is still working out their meal choices But beverage choices were no trouble at all. An expert in hand-to-hand combat, Teresa specializes in the ability to choke a man to death with just her wrist. As A.T., sadly, had to discover. Chris and Tami as wacky stories are told around the table Hey, it's Ken, Brandy and James again. And it's me, Chris and Tami again. Everyone enjoying the breads and salads. The left side of the table. Uh, sorry, Chris K. You probably don't appreciate me calling it that, huh? Ooh, look...behind the curtain, it's the kitchen! This is where the magic happens. He looks like he's giving a speech, but Rich is actually just getting a better view of the fountain show outside. I'm sure it would have been a great speech, though. "Hey!" says purported mob boss Tim "Caesar" Watts. "Get that guy with the camera!" And then his soldiers beat me unconscious. Stacy and Tim watching the fountains outside. Yes, I composed that shot myself. Thank you. Thank you very much. As this side of the table is getting ready to go out and see the show "O" after dinner, we all took the opportunity to test out our "'O' faces". A.T.'s imaginary friend can be pretty spooky. Good thing no one but A.T. can see him. Members of the Mission Park Mafia - A.T., Chris B., Ken and James. A.T. has a point to make. There. See? He pointed. Brandy waves goodbye as dinner comes to a close. Group shot! Yes, we got the whole "Lucky 13" together in one pic! Of course, this first one's a little blurry. Better take a couple more. Much better! Wait...A.T. didn't get to smile. Let's try one more. There we go! Oh. Except now Chris B. looks like he smells something bad. Okay, close enough. Here's a little-known fact about Vegas. EVERYTHING COSTS MONEY. Including this dinner. It's pony-up time! While I'm counting up my dough, Chris tries to pull the old "Oh, honey, I think I left my wallet back up in the room. Think you could take care of this one...?" In case you didn't know it, the K's are all about the Benjamins, baby! Watch how they roll, sucka! Okay, I know it looks like an alien spacecraft passing overhead, but it's actually just the ceiling in the theater at the Bellagio for the Cirque du Soleil show "O". See? This shot doesn't really do the size of that curtain justice. That's only about half of it. It keeps on going up. And if you look REAL close, up by the rail, near the front, you can see Tim, Stacy, Rich and Teresa, who bought their tickets separately but just happened to end up next to each other. I told you! There they are. They're seated in a "wet" row, as they were warned when buying the tickets, and the reason for that became evident as the show started. Seated down below and across from me and Adam are Chris and Tami. Here Chris is taking a shot of them. That's an ad up next to the restrooms at the Bellagio. In case you ever wondered what a giant supermodel would look like in person. Come on, we've all had that fantasy, right? Tim, Chris and Rich waiting for the ladies to finish powdering their noses. Wait...why does Rich have a Luxor bag if we're at the Bellagio? Curious. Tim and Stacy walking together through the Bellagio, post-"O". The SUA classes of '86 and '87 reunite in Vegas over 20 years later. Tim, me, Rich and Chris. One more so Tim and I can smile this time. Me and my wad outside the high-rollers room at Caesar's as we head back our rooms for some people to turn in, some people to change and head back out. Two very important things happened in Vegas history on October 18, 1968, forty years ago today. First, I was born. Second, Circus Circus Las Vegas officially opened its doors. We're both still around, and both still just as cheesy. So Adam and I had to head over there so I could get my photo with "my" Casino. Happy birthday, me and Circus Circus! Me chillin' outside. I think the King would have been proud to be immortalized in a midway coin game, don't you? Thank you. Thank you very much. Not only is Adam an avid midway game fanatic, but a talented juggler as well! Circus Circus indeed! Keep it going, keep it going! The focus and concentration of a true juggling professional. A wonder to behold. Here Adam actually uses the balls for their intended purpose and tries to win some goodies. Not his game, this one. After that, he tried his luck at the old baseball-in-the-milk-jug game. Would his skills bear fruit in this contest? And BOOM! There's the winning shot going in! BOO-yah! As the reward for his victory, Adam gets to carry a giant basketball all the way home to Sacramento. With pride! Sadly, there are no Kings balls available, so Philly will have to do. No complaints from the victor. After that we caught a cab over to the Stratosphere to go up and check out the view. This is about 1am. Tall, isn't it? The sign says it all. And there's the Stratostastic view of the strip from atop the bigass casino. Wouldn't want to have to pay THIS city's electric bill. Hey, I think I can see A.T. down there, twisting his ankle and ending his Saturday night... A more colorful shot of the view. If you look through the rail there, you can see the lit-up domes of the Sahara, where the Slack Pack first stayed ten years before on the 30th birthday trip. James and Chris B. cabbed over to meet us for drinks downstairs at the "C Bar". Here's Adam and James, probably around 3am. Here's Chris trying to decide if he's drunk enough yet. He decides not. Onward! There's me having another round around 4:30am. Me and the bag are having a fine time in Vegas. This is the drink that got Adam way too plastered. Another round, waitress! Adam's buyin'! Me, Adam, Chris and James winding things down around sunup. One more pic, please, waitress. Chris wasn't coherent enough on that last one. NOW he's awake... Ah, the breakfast of Irishmen. Well, the brunch, actually. It's Sunday morning, and we're all checked out, and A.T. had to bring along the unused beverages (waste not, want not) as we all met up in the Caesar's food court for chow. And that's the food court. Quite colorful. I'm going for a burger, myself. It's a meal that goes good on three hours of sleep. Stacy, Tim, Adam, A.T., Ken, James and Chris B. enjoy some chow and swap Vegas stories as we start to say goodbye to some of our group. A.T. and Ken scarfing. And a Sparks for A.T., of course. Brandy and James finishing up and getting ready to depart and take their leave of us. Bye guys! A shot of the Caesar's casino outside the food court. Wanted a shot to remind me of the place where once AGAIN I just threw away money on the slots. I suck at gambling! Why do I bother?! Adam and the bag chill while we're waiting to reconnect with the remaining others. Tim and Stacy have now gone, and the Mission Park remainders are getting ready to head out, too. To all good things... Ken, A.T. and Chris B. have a flight back to California to catch. I'm waiting here with them for their shuttle bus. Chris notices there's a photo going on this time. Ken. A man and his tee shirt. Ken and A.T. watching for the airport shuttle. Now appearing in Vegas - A.T. and Marie! She's a little bit country, he's a little more goth. And, sadly, the shuttle finally arrives. A.T., Ken and Chris line up to stow their luggage (probably heavier for all the stolen towels and robes). Still waiting...with Caesar's in the background. A.T. and Chris, ready to hit the road. Ken, A.T. and Chris climbing aboard. See ya back in the real world, guys! And with that, the shuttle departs, and we bid farewell to the guys. Oh, but this trip ain't over! Adam and I chose to catch the last flight out of Vegas that night, so there's plenty of time left for some final adventures! Party!! We met up with Chris K. and Tami, who were staying until Monday, at the Bellagio. Here we're grabbing a cab over to Mandalay Bay. Cabs with wheelchair ramps rock!! Here's the front door of Mandalay Bay. And look, some kind of...mythological...thing... The driveway at Mandalay Bay. Me getting out of the cab, ready to venture inside. And why did we come all the way over to Mandalay Bay? For the shark exhibit. Duh! Here's Chris, Tami and me in front of it. Ahhh! It's a dragon! Oh, it's just a komodo dragon. Whew! There's more than sharks to check out at Shark Reef, you know. Case in point...alligator!!! And a really big fish swims by. And another one. Hey, if they swim, what do they need those stairs for? Manta ray at Mandalay. That's fun to say. Big fish. Small face. Another fish realizes the stairs and redundant and just swims by them. Have you noticed that for all their beautiful fluid motions, most fish are really freaking ugly? Case in point. That one kind of looks like a mobster, doesn't it? Look close and you can see Adam, marine photographer, snapping this fishy shot. Chris, King of the Seven Seas, getting some fish shots of his own. Tami. Checking out fish. While it looks like Adam's making a phone call, he's actually listening to interesting fish facts on the audio things they hand you when you go in. Ah, now we're getting somewhere. We were promised sharks, and are finally going to get some. Yeah, we're quite underwater. This would be a bad place to be if an earthquake struck Vegas, wouldn't it? Ahhhh! Shaaaaark! Whew. That was close. He didn't spot me. Ahhhhh! Another shaaaaark! Checking out the shark-infested waters. Here comes another one. Creepy. Sharks are cool. Cool glowy fish. If you ate one of them, I wonder if your tongue would glow for a while? More glowy fish. Dah!!! What the hell is that?!! It looks like a shark's ghost. Look out, glowy fish! Shark comin'! More unattractive fish. This guy's wearing Kings colors. Good for him. Hey, are you guys looking for Nemo? I didn't like seafood BEFORE this. Now I really have no interest in it. I can't eat something that homely. This guy's kind of cool. I still wouldn't eat him, though. Maybe he's a normal fish, but just wearing like a fish super-hero costume... See ya later, Super-Fish. This pool allows you to actually pet a manta ray. Um...ewww? The jellyfish, ladies and gentlemen. A fish so popular they named a donut after it. It must be jellyfish, 'cause jamfish don't shake like that. Next week...more sure-fire undersea pickup lines. Stay tuned! Jellyfish, eh? Starfish! Look out behind you!! Ahhhh!!! What if fish made horror movies? Did you know that Tami actually raises THREE kids? Me, Tami and Chris planning ahead to go see Super-Fish: The Motion Picture. Before dinner, Chris and I pause to smoke a couple of the birthday cigars that Aaron and Jeni sent me for the trip. And to end our Vegas adventure, the four of us that remained sat down for a fine dinner at Wolfgang Puck's italian restaurant inside Mandalay Bay. Here Chris and Tami considering the fine dining choices. Tami and Adam...eatin' breadsticks and making choices. And finally, I couldn't be this close to Rumjungle and not get a photo in front of it. It's a joke at my work. Don't ask. They understand. And with that, it was goodbye to the K's, off to the airport for me and Adam, and the end of the Viva La Casa trip, a fantastic experience for all involved. What do you say, gang....next year for A.T.'s 40th? Woo hoo!

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