Last week I took a four-day, five-night jaunt to Las Vegas. My best friend from college joined me for the girls’ getaway. The last time I had visited Vegas, I was about 10 or 11, and it was one of many stops along a cross-country family road trip. Needless to say, I had yet to experience true “Las Vegas.”

After an uneventful flight, we landed, grabbed our bags and a shuttle and headed over to the Wyndham Grand Desert. McCarran International Airport is literally a hop, skip and a jump from the city center — a convenient feature. We were not staying on the Strip, but we were only a few blocks away. Once we settled into our room, we walked up to the Strip to grab some lunch and wander about. That night we took in our first Vegas show, Australia’s male revue, The Thunder from Down Under. The corny Excalibur show was good for a few laughs.

Having checked the weather, we knew our only day of sun would be Thursday, so we decided to take the morning and relax by the pool. We followed up a morning of sun with lunch and a manicure, then we headed over to the Fremont Street Experience. Fremont Street, the “original” Las Vegas strip, has been reinvented as a sort of street fair experience. The world’s largest TV screen, canopied over the several city blocks of the Experience, plays shows every hour on the hour. Spray paint artists and street musicians, as well as other entertainers, line the streets; and casinos, eateries and more abound. We followed up Fremont Street with dinner on the modern-day Strip.

Friday, we began the day with a visit to the Las Vegas sign and then went in search of bingo. No casinos on the Strip offer the game because, as we were instructed, having a bingo room simply takes up too much room. We decided to play bingo at Palace Station casino. Sadly, we lost — both times. For dinner, we headed over to the Venetian, where we enjoyed Italian at Canaletto. After dinner, we took in La Reve, the Wynn’s Cirque du Soleil show. We chose this show based on the glowing recommendations we received from everyone we asked. Even concierges and staff who were not fans of the Cirque series highly recommended La Reve. It did not disappoint, and I would highly recommend it for any of you in the Vegas area. Our Las Vegas night on the town was capped off by cocktails and dancing at Blush, the Wynn’s boutique nightclub.

Saturday was our last full day in Las Vegas. We started off with a delicious brunch buffet at Paris. Despite the long entrance line, the overwhelming selection of food was well worth the wait. We enjoyed afternoon massages at Mandara Spa at the Paris and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the Strip. We wandered around all the major casinos, including Caesar’s Palace; caught the Bellagio’s fountain show; grabbed dinner at Bally’s; checked out the Mirage; admired the lion habitat at the MGM Grand; and played some slots at Planet Hollywood. We wandered a lot and got a good taste of the famed Las Vegas strip.

Thankfully, we were scheduled to fly home Sunday, so we avoided the flight cancellations caused by the big snowstorm that hit the East Coast last weekend. We arrived home on time and ready for the work week — and another snowstorm. There is so much to see and do in Las Vegas; it’s overwhelming, but I think we sampled a bit of what the city is known for — we gambled (a little bit), ate at a buffet, enjoyed shows, relaxed in a spa, explored and much more. Viva Las Vegas!

– Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

New Year’s Day is a college football fan’s dream day. Unfortunately, I am not much of a college football fan. However, since 2008, the NHL has given me something to watch. The Winter Classic is a yearly outdoor NHL hockey game played on the first day of the new year.

The first Classic in 2008 saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres in Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo (home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills). The game drew 71,217 fans, an NHL game attendance record.

The second Classic was held at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Unfortunately, my Blackhawks lost to the Detroit Red Wings. This game drew more than 40,000 and had the highest TV ratings for an NHL game in 33 years.

On Friday, the Philadelphia Flyers will face the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in Boston. This is assured of being another success.

This is such a great event for hockey fans. Watching a hockey game played outdoors is very interesting. Sunlight, wind and temperatures all create situations not found in games indoors. By keeping the event to one game per year, the NHL is keeping it special.

This morning I heard sports talk radio guys saying the Classic would eventually fail. The only real reason they gave was lack of future possible locations. This is a ridiculous argument. The NHL has 30 teams, with only 10 teams in weather warm enough to possibly make the game unplayable (although technology might make it feasible).

Of course, another possibility is playing in a non-NHL city. There are plenty of colder weather cities who would have enough fans to support the Classic. This might even be a good way to market the product in other cities.

The NHL doesn’t need me to help them with the Winter Classic. They are doing a great job all by themselves. In an era of excess and flamboyance, the NHL is enjoying the success by bringing the game back to its outdoor roots.

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

I don’t recall when or why the game we unimaginatively call “The Ornament Game” began, but I suspect it was created to distract our young daughters from grabbing ornaments on our Christmas tree while still encouraging them to enjoy its beauty. It’s basically an “I Spy” sort of game, where the person who is “It” gazes at one particular item on the tree, and the other tries to figure out exactly which ornament that is. Sounds fairly simple, but if you know that our trees for the last dozen or more years have all been 10 to 12 feet tall and that I have a ton of ornaments, then you realize that it can be challenging (at least enough so to occupy two girls who are impatient for Santa to arrive). “It” must never waver from her focus on the chosen ornament and must honestly answer a limited number of questions from the inquisitor: “Is it white?” “Is it an angel?” “Can you see all of it or just a part of it from where you are?” Once the right ornament is identified, the roles are reversed and the game continues until they tire of it.

I enjoy my own perusal of the tree and its decorations in my own way. As my eyes scan over the branches, I pick out first one and then another bauble and recall when and where I found it. It’s a pleasant way to review some of my travels, and I like the fact that my favorite holiday provides such a great way to bring together so many of my favorite memories.

There are a few that survive from my childhood, and others that I purchased back in college when I first had my own tree in my first apartment. Most, however, have come into my life since my marriage and are a chronicle of trips near and far that Harry and I and the girls have shared together or taken separately. The red basket-weave baby carriage came from a trip to Seaside, Oregon, when I was pregnant with Jenny. The wooden moose came from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on a summer family road trip that took us to Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, too. More recent journeys are chronicled as well: a ceramic Celtic knot from Edinburgh, Scotland, and brightly painted tin ornaments from our New Year’s trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, just last year.

There are a few decorations from destinations I have not visited but that family members have contributed. Sarah gave me a fleur-de-lis from her visit to New Orleans with then-fiance (now husband) Dan, and my brother-in-law’s family has sent us a few from their home in Texas. Rounding out the collection are the newest additions from travels this year. Over there is a tiny wooden Pinocchio from Capri, Italy, I picked up during the cruise with my sisters, whose jointed limbs jump and dance when you pull his string. And here is that lovely cloisonne articulated koi that we picked up at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago when we visited the girls just this October.

I look forward to adding to my store of memories and ornaments on my travels in the coming year. I wish you safe and fascinating journeys wherever in the world life takes you in 2010 as well.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Each year in Oregon as families gather around the Thanksgiving Day table, there is one subject which should be avoided if a pleasant and peaceful meal is desired. Politics? Religion? Aunt Sue’s new beau? All potentially volatile subjects, certainly, but none of those match the potential for fireworks that a discussion of the annual “Civil War” football game between the Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks possesses. The two teams first met in 1894, and with the contest usually played on the Saturday after Turkey Day, many a heated discussion of the upcoming game has been held as the mashed potatoes and gravy circle the table.

As with most born-and-bred Oregon families, mine features alums from both schools (along with a select few like me who attended smaller state schools and don’t get too worked up about either one of the others). There is always plenty of good-natured (mostly) ribbing going on, and some creative bets have been wagered over the years. One year my Beaver brother Chris had to stand up at Christmas before the entire family after OSU had been defeated by Oregon that year (and he had lost his bet to Duck sister Julie). Decked out in a bright yellow Oregon t-shirt, he had to loudly and convincingly proclaim, ”I wish I’d gone to Oregon instead of Oregon State.” After another Beaver loss, brother Tim, in deference to losing his bet with brother-in-law Dave, had to wear a shirt bearing Oregon’s rabid-looking “Fighting Duck” to the following year’s Thanksgiving dinner. As he took his place at the table, Tim reached over, grabbed some mashed potatoes and liberally smeared them all over the front of the shirt, obscuring his Beavers’ nemesis. He pointed out that although he was required to wear the shirt, the condition of said shirt had not been specified when the bet was placed. 

Most years, there isn’t much on the line for either team beyond bragging rights over defeating the other, but on occasion a win for one team may ensure a trip to the Rose Bowl (or an invitation to one of those “lesser” bowl games) or may confound the chances of the other getting there. Last year, for example, Oregon played the spoiler when the Ducks beat the Beavers and ended their dreams of a trip to Pasadena. This year, for the first time in this long rivalry, both teams go into this so-called Civil War game with a Rose Bowl berth at stake. Let me tell you, the trash talk has reached new heights, and the anticipation and anxiety are palpable whenever the subject comes up. The game will be played this upcoming Thursday night (certainly T.V. revenues were at play with that scheduling decision!), so we’ve all had a few extra days to revel in the seemingly endless coverage from all the regional media outlets.

It really has been an exciting year in the Pac-10 conference, though, and anyone who saw last week’s double-overtime Oregon win over Arizona experienced a good example of that. My husband (OSU class of ‘73) found himself incongruously cheering on the Ducks, as an Arizona loss would ensure the Beavers’ identical top record with Oregon in league play. Unlike many other leagues, each team plays every other one in the conference. As Oregon coach Chip Kelly pointed out, “When you end up getting the chance to call yourself a champion in this league, you’ve actually earned it because you’ve got to play everybody.”

I’ll be cheering for the Beavers come Thursday, hoping this year will be their turn to spend New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl. If the Ducks win, life will go on (though my husband may be bummed out for a while), and I’ll root happily for an Oregon team against the Buckeyes on January 1 (even though I attended that other OSU as a graduate student for a year — a long time ago). It will be fun to see what kind of bets my siblings have come up with this year, though, and observe the pay-offs in the near future! No matter the outcome, it’s sure to be a great game!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

We all now know that the GT team is made up of avid sports fans who stand behind their hometown teams. I admire anyone who takes pride in the home team — even if the home team happens to be my home team’s rival. A little competition is healthy in my book.

Last night I went to my first NY Rangers game of the season and loved every minute of it! I especially loved each of the minutes when the seven goals were scored against the two weak goals of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I also loved the fact that my brother invited me to go with him. A treat for his little sister that never grows old — even as the gray hairs become more prevalent!

We had dinner before the game at a favorite GT haunt, Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse, with our mom and a few family friends visiting from Tokyo. Most of the evening was spent talking about the Japanese baseball players currently playing in the MLB, but all the Rangers fans around us, proudly sporting their jerseys, kept reminding us of the night’s events.

During the Rangers game, there were whispers of the Phillies win, which takes them one step closer to a repeat World Series championship. I know my colleagues are die-hard Phillies fans, but the whispers around Madison Square Garden last night, including my own, were not in favor of the Phillies. Sorry guys. No matter what sport is capturing your interest at the moment — hockey, football or the imminent World Series — may the best teams win!

– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher