Just spent a quick weekend in Las Vegas, attending a sales presentation for additional rights to my existing timeshare.
However, what I enjoyed more (despite my continuing sore throat) was the ability to experience Cher's Caesars Palace residency in person. That means I have seen all four residencies at Caesars - Celine Dion, Sir Elton John, and Bette Midler being the other three. (Though with Celine Dion slated to return in 2011, I may have to check her out again.) Despite her age, Cher was awesome as ever, with the show giving a lot of emphasis to her early days (with the late Sonny Bono) and her crazy exhibitionist costumes (yes, she looks good in them even today). The historical footage included even a photo where Cher and Sonny were seen with their baby daughter Chastity (who is, of course, now a transman named Chaz). This was, based on presentation, my favorite Caesars show to date (even though I personally did enjoy Sir Elton more, since I am actually a fan of his).
But more important was a change in my road trip paradigm. The last time I took a long drive like this, in a plain four-cylinder car, was back in my teens, using a carbureted Toyota Corolla, because that's all the car my family could afford. All my stateside drives in the past 15 years or so involved used at least six cylinders - and in recent years, I went ever more posh, relying on such luxuries as outside temperature gauge, as I insisted on using a BMW 3-series, then a Hyundai Genesis, for my long drives. But this time, I was back to a plain-jane four-banger - specifically, a beater Honda Accord from work that is now legally mine. The car had had some mechanical issues due to previous improper maintenance and repairs, but I've had them all worked out in the past month, and now it runs like a dream. This was the first time I roadtripped in a car over five years old (this car is 8 1/2 years old) or with odometer reading over 50,000 miles (135,000 in this case), but even on those long, steep inclines between Baker and the Nevada state line, I did just fine. I didn't save too much on fuel costs, as the Accord's fuel economy isn't significantly better than the Genesis's, but I am still happy, since the Accord is cheaper to maintain, and I'd rather save the Genesis for much longer drives (i.e. to Seattle and Vancouver) where I can really use its quietness and comfort.
Photos will upload in a few days.
