CES: Day 1

Can I really count it as day one if I didn't attend anything? Not only that, but Kevin skipped the day's exhibits as well. I did read articles about the show in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. And first thing this morning, Kevin and I did head over to the Venetian to catch the shuttle to the Las Vegas Convention Center where most of the exhibits we want to see are housed. But if I thought the registration lines yesterday were too long, they were nothing compared to the lines for the shuttle. Furthermore, the lines for the shuttle weren't moving. My claustrophobia kicked in, or perhaps its a form of agoraphobia, but I was feeling nauseous in no time at all, and had to get out of there. While I returned to our room to lie down and catch my breath, Kevin headed for the monorail, only to find that the line for that was way too long as well. I mentioned in yesterday's blog that some 140,000 people are supposed to be here for the show, and frankly, that's too many for this kid.

I played hooky all day, staying in the room and reading, and catching up on my writing for yesterday's blog. Breakfast was Cinnabon, lunch was a bad burger at the Imperial Palace, and dinner was a delicious, but way too large, piece of prime rib. And this time, I couldn't take any home to the kids. It wouldn't last.

Nothing more to report, so I'll just share some pics with you. These are shots I took while walking around our part of the strip this evening, just as I was losing any light. Hey, at least you don't have to read a lot of drivel about what I did today--I did nothing, and I'm reporting that.

Lots of street performers here on the strip. I caught four Elvis impersonators at one time, all dressed identically, a fifth Elvis a little way down the road, a Marilyn Monroe, and this guy. I think he's supposed to be Spongebob Square Pants, but he looks more like a hunk of cheddar cheese to me. What do you think?

I would call this next one, Rush Hour on Las Vegas Boulevard, but while the time was right, the traffic seems this heavy most every hour of the day. The city has built pedestrian skywalks that cross above the traffic. That way you don't have to worry about how many seconds you have before the light changes and you get mowed down by a limousine. By the way, I've seen the real Eiffel Tower, and this one just doesn't quite make it.

Caesar's Palace is across the street from us, and it goes on seemingly for ever. There are many beautiful water features in front of the various buildings, but I was especially taken with this one.

Then I backed up and decided to share with you what the whole fountain looked like. I still prefer the single image above, but you get a sense of the amount of water we're playing with here in the desert when you see the whole picture.

All of these pictures were taken between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. as I was getting some air. Note how dark the sky is by this time of day. I did take my camera with me when we walked over to the Venetian this morning. The one notable thing I saw was that they are dismantling the Christmas Tree which stood in front of the casino. On our first evening in town I was able to capture the whole tree, as well as some details of the sculpture, but here it is in the process of being taken down. Gee, it's just like we do it at home. Right!

That's all for today, folks. I do plan on attending some exhibits tomorrow, if the crowds don't render me nauseous again. And remember, you can click on any image and see it in a new window, full screen if you double click.