Monday, December 8, 2008

Going out with a bang

Our final race day brought cool weather and overcast skies, resulting in a spectacular sunrise.



It being our final event and final race day, it's also hopefully the last time I have to wake up at 4AM in the near future. The race started off with a bang, as they shot off a full fireworks display at 6AM as the race started. I'm sure it was greatly appreciated by all those who were sleeping in nearby hotels (though who are we kidding, if you've gone to bed by 6AM in Vegas you must have called it an early night).

The race itself was populated with many more characters in costume than normal, including numerous Elvises. Stephen was one of them, and somehow or another he ended up running in a skirt that said "The King" on the back. Along the way, he and his other Elvis friends (specifically the Elite Racing girls) took numerous pictures and even watched a mid-race wedding take place.

This picture of Stephen's is of particular note because it's pretty much just awesome. It wasn't posed, and he didn't have to retake it 20 times to get it right. First try, and this was the result: Bekah flying through the air while rocking out.



After the race I made it a lazy afternoon. I got a few necessary tasks out of the way, including a nap. Then Molly and I went to see Mystere, the Circe du Soleil show playing at Treasure Island. It was excellent. It combined sheer athleticism with grace, beauty, showmanship, humor, and plenty of completely random moments as entertainment between acrobatic sets. For those who haven't seen a show, I highly recommend it. While I had many favorite parts, my favorite had to be early on when a single male gymnast/acrobat/person capable of doing seemingly impossible things pretty much flew around over the audience holding on to a single cable.

After the show, we headed to Mandalay Bay to say goodbye to Stephen. We headed up to miX, a new lounge/bar at the top of The Hotel (Mandalay Bay's newest addition). It's 64 stories up, and provides a stunning view, complete with a balcony area overlooking the strip.



This morning we dropped all the shoes, apparel, and remaining merchandise at the Crocs outlet store storage space in Vegas.



It was a very, very large number of shoes, and the truck I drove today was pretty much empty after the shoes were taken out (all the marketing stuff is in the other truck). This made things interesting in the windy conditions on our way to Albaquerque. Instead of the normal scenario of feeling like you're in a big truck getting blown around by gusts, with less weight in the back I felt like I was in a large truck with a sail attached to it. We drove through a tiny snowstorm, but we're in the clear at the moment for our morning departure from Albaquerque. I'm curious to see what the weather will be driving into Colorado tomorrow.

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