I know what you're thinking... "How could you two remain so calm when all the other passengers on the plane were screaming?"

My wife had to take a business trip to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago so our oldest daughter (22) and I decided to accompany her. An airline ticket to Vegas is only $79 right now and she already had a hotel room. We were only gone from Thursday through Sunday but I'm still paying the price at work. That's part of the reason why it's been so hard to find time to update this site but I really needed a break.

We spent much of the time poolside, soaking up the sunshine and sipping on strange bubbling concoctions with lots of fruit and umbrellas sticking out of them.

This one was worthy of a picture and cost us about one fourth of our return ticket home but it was pretty tasty. I'm starting to like fru-fru drinks in my old age - a scary thought. Now, if I can just come up with a use for those umbrellas I brought home :)

There's always something happening in Vegas. We unfortunately had to leave before we could see Joe Satriani or Imogen Heap :(

I may have to actually PLAN a trip to Vegas sometime to take in a concert. It seems like I'm always a day late and a dollar short whenever I end up there. I'm also about $20 short every time I leave!

I have a self-imposed gambling limit of $20. South Dakota is a gambling state, so there are video lottery machines everywhere but I never play them. I always lose and I can't stand seeing money disappear without some kind of return. When you put a dollar in a machine and it disappears - you're left with nothing but the memory. If I put that dollar into my car, I can get enjoyment from it for a long time (unless I spend it on gas - in that case it's a short time ;)

We rented a car (that's a story in itself) and drove out into the desert for a day. When we saw the "Watch for wild asses" sign, we just had to stop to snap a picture.

Judging by the foot prints in the dirt around the sign, I'm guessing we weren't the only foreigners intrigued by it.

The mountains in the background were beautiful but the terrain under foot is reminiscent of something we have back here in South Dakota. We call them gravel parking lots. I don't think I could live there.

As for the car... I was going through old photos and it looks like I'm just about finished with the articles leading up to the 2004 SEMA show. The rest that follow will cover things we did after the show, like the new DFI system, engine tuning, the stereo and other odds and ends, including what I've been working on lately - finishing the trunk and interior.

The trunk is ready for leather and carpet, but I've been waiting for Kelvin to finish the new retractable license plate unit. He completely redesigned it into a cool little modular unit and plans to sell them on a limited basis when he's finished with this one.

The unit is much more universal now, retracts quicker, has a license plate light and enables the motor to be mounted on either side of the unit. I think he has a winner!

Once it's installed, I'll finish the trunk and the area behind the seats. I've purposely left out writing about the panels behind the seats since they were temporary units from the start, but I may touch on them a little in the upcoming articles covering the new panels that will take their place. I also plan to re-carpet the car, so I'll be covering that also. I have some interesting ideas on how I'd like to carpet the floor, that will allow easy access to the master cylinder as well as provide durability, wear resistance, easy cleaning and look neat.

If you can make it to Sioux Falls on June 21st, don't miss the 2nd annual Automainia in old downtown! Last year there were some awesome cars there, including Foose's Riddler Award winning `35 Chevy and Larry Erickson's '32 Chevy. This year sounds like it will be even better and (from what I hear) may even include a visit from Chip himself. Project33 is already entered so I hope to see you there! It's free to the public and free to the participants - now THAT's my kind of event!