Its 5 am wheres my shuttle? is going through my mind sitting in the freezing cold parking lot. I was looking forward to my first trip to the southwest corner of the country, to visit my brother in Scottsdale Arizona and was excited to be in warm weather, rather than the snow and cold temperatures of Minnesota. It was shortly after 5 am when the shuttle finally arrived and I passed out in the back. At 6:15 the shuttle arrived at MPLS/St Paul airport so there is still the possibility of making my 7 am flight. I went to scan my ticket and the monitor showed no record available and found out the flight had been moved from Delta to Northwest, so I didnt make the flight but got a different one, and was upgraded to first class for free. This was the first time I had been fortunate enough to sit at the front of the plane. Notre Dame and Ohio State Alumni filled the airplane as they are going to root on their teams at the site of the Fiesta bowl. Three hours later I had landed in the dessert--quite a difference going from the frozen tundra of Minnesota only to look out my window and see mountains, sun and no snow. I met my brother and we headed to the car. As soon as I hit the outside, my sweatshirt hit the backseat. It was 65 degrees and the locals were complaining that it was too cold--what! We drove into the hills to see the mansions of Scottsdale. The houses were amazing and most were seasonal places for the very wealthy. After my jaw was back in normal position we visited a gourmet grocery store. There were fruits and vegetables Ive only seen on television, absolutely no generic brands what so ever. After eating dinner it was time to go out to a local bar with a familiar sounding name; the North Star. The only difference between this and Rochesters version is that I didnt feel like my life was threatened at any time, which was nice. We stayed for a little while, because the next day was New Years Eve. The next day we checked out one of the local skate shops and skatepark. It was satisfying to skate outside in December in just a t-shirt and even skated the mini-ramp. Our next stop was Glendale arena, home of the Phoenix Coyotes. My brother had gotten seats in the luxury boxes and this was my first professional hockey game. Despite the home team losing, it was an excellent game and I even got to see Wayne Gretzky. After the game we thought about going to downtown Tempe where they were having their annual new years eve with a projected 250,000 people but decided to go to Scottsdales block party. At 11 pm we got to the gate, paid the $45 cover and found out the entertainment for the evening was an 80s metal cover band. I then thought to myself oh great I could have stayed in Rochester for something like this. I was wrong though, as METAL HEAD entered the stage, and I was blown away. These guys played everything From Guns and Roses to Judas Priest and somehow the lead singer could match his voice to every singer he covered. I contacted their manager about getting them in the area. They sounded up for it so hopefully soon you will get to experience the show that is METAL HEAD. The next day we took it easy and managed to squeeze a small skate session in as wed be heading to Vegas the next day and it was a five-hour drive. After the scenic drive through the desert and hills of Arizona we were finally in Vegas. This was my first time in Sin City and I was in a state of shock and disbelief that a place like this existed. After checking into New York New York, which was quite the hotel, we saw the inside was a replica of Greenwich Village.