Home at last!

We didn't finish until late on Thursday night. After listening to two presentations and one session of the scientists comparing and arguing, we were exhausted. They didn't post the rides to Las Vegas.

Fortunately, Tracy and I got a ride with Liza, the gal in charge, her two sons, and Rafael, a scientist/professor from Mexico City, Mexico. Liza took us directly to the Hilton and dropped us off. Ah, if I could have only seen Barry Manilow!

We had no problems checking in and it was quite nice to have a nice soft bed, several pillows, television, and a bathroom within walking distance of the bed, and HEAT!

We ventured out and got a day pass for the monorail in Las Vegas. It was really convenient. We wanted to try to meet up with some other teachers who were also in Vegas for Friday.

Tracy and I rode the monorail to the end and started walking. We ate lunch at a Harley Davidson restaurant. It's like a Hard Rock Cafe for Harleys. Quite interesting.

I called Jim and he was going to try to round up the other teachers and meet us. As we left the Harley place, he called and we met up about half a block away. We had Tracy and I, Jim from New York, Naomi from Massachusetts, Skip from New Hampshire, and a grad student from Georgia. They ate at a French restaurant and I just listened.

We then headed to one of the casinos with a beautiful flower exhibit. It was pretty spectacular and the flowers were real. They also had a butterfly garden.

We tried our hand in the casino and almost immediately, Naomi won $60! What fun!

We wondered around to some other places and two of the guys had to get to the airport to catch their planes. Jim and Naomi decided to go to a comedy show. Tracy didn't want to go, so we went back to the Hilton. I checked through the Manilow store, but didn't buy anything. I really wanted to come back with less than I took with me. I did pretty well, too. I left my pillow, blanket (a free one I got in Pittsburgh for signing up for a credit card that I'll cancel as soon as the information comes), flip flops ($1 at K-Mart), hat ($3 at WalMart), and my towels (old and raggedy).

We went to the casino at the Hilton and I settled with a poker video game that occupied my time for almost two hours until I finally lost my $5. In the end, I think I broke even with the gambling.

We got up Saturday and packed up to head to the airport. The cab driver was really nice. His mother was a teacher and he told us about going on field trips with her to Washington, D.C. Our flight was uneventful. It was nice to have a direct flight home. We got into Pittsburgh at about 8:00 Saturday night. By the time we got the car at the Microtel, we were on our way to West Virginia by 9:00 with all of our luggage. Yeah!

Tracy's husband met us in Nestorville, so I didn't have to take her the whole ways to her home. I got home at about 11:30 Saturday night.

I learned a lot scientifically last week and met some fantastic teachers from around the country.

My roommate was adorable. She was lots of fun.

My roommate, Danielle

I enjoyed the time in Las Vegas. It was a clean and beautiful city. I was surprised at the flowers and greenery that was there. We certainly didn't see that at Zzyzx!

The next Spaceward Bound is scheduled for Antarctica. Don't think I'll be applying for that one. If I froze in the California desert, I don't think I'd ever thaw out there!