Nevada

First time: Fall, 1997
Last time: Spring, 2014

When I think of Nevada, I think of Las Vegas. I've been to Vegas five times now.

The first was in 1997, when a co-worker and I attended Comdex. Comdex was a major electronics show that used to take place in Vegas (the last one was in 2003). I had a pretty amazing time there.

The second time I was in Vegas was in 2004 for our wedding anniversary. Susan and I flew out to Vegas and spent the weekend there. We had an awesome room in the New York, New York casino, right next to the roller coaster. We spent a lot of time walking around the strip during that trip. Here's a picture of me at the M&M store in 2004. It hasn't changed much since then.



In 2007 I spent 11 days in Vegas, which is too many. I attended back to back conferences, with the Classic Gaming Expo (CGE) being the first weekend and Defcon being the following weekend. I spent most of that trip at the Stratosphere. My dad flew out and spent the week between the two expos with me in Vegas. It's the only time he has ever been.



In 2011, Susan, the kids and I took a westward vacation and ended up in Las Vegas. I think we've ended up in the M&M store every single time we've gone to Vegas.



Although we have only attended a few shows in Vegas, in 2004 I got to meet Penn and Teller after seeing their show, and in 2011 Susan, the kids and I got to meet David Copperfield backstage.





In November of 2012, Susan and I, along with our friends Tim and Dawn, flew out to Vegas to see Guns and Roses peform. We also had "meet and greet passes" and got to meet the band before the show. We also got to see Pawn Stars, Rick's Restorations, and several other cool locations. You can read more about that trip starting here.

In the Spring of 2014, I attended a Microsoft Boot Camp for work in Las Vegas. I stayed at La Quinta at the airport so we only made it down to the strip once or twice. And when I mean "at the airport," this was right outside our classroom:



Ellston, Lee and I did manage to make it down to Margaritaville once.



The training paid off. I got my Microsoft MCSA and MCSE during that boot camp.

Last edited: Spring, 2014