Author’s Note

I’ve been writing guidebooks, apps—and now GPS audio tours—about Hawai‘i for more than 25 years. I was sad when I ran out of Hawaiian islands to write about, until one day I had an epiphany: As every resident of Hawai‘i will tell you, Hawai‘i (made up of eight major islands and many uninhabited atolls, islets and seamounts) has a ninth island.

That island is Las Vegas, the most popular vacation spot for Hawai‘i residents. When you live in a tropical paradise, the last thing you want to do is vacation on another tropical island. You want to hit the casinos (many Hawai‘i residents love to gamble). You want something different. And baby, Vegas is different.

But to leave Hawai‘i and tackle the innumerable options available in Las Vegas, I would need more than my staff—I would also need my highly organized wife, Leona Boyd who has also been the staff photographer for Hawai‘i operations for over a decade.

As readers of our Hawaii Revealed guidebooks know, we review everything personally and anonymously. So we and our staff spent almost a year researching all the things you can see, do, eat or drink in Vegas.

When we got turned loose in Las Vegas, on our first day in the field we found ourselves in a helicopter—not an uncommon experience in our line of work. But from this helicopter I got to shoot a real machine gun at airplane fuselages on the ground in the mountains near Vegas. Later that day I jumped off a 855-foot high building with only a cable to stop my fall at the end. The next day was snow skiing at nearby Lee Canyon.

When you come to Vegas, you can surf at one of the resorts or have a drink in an ice bar where everything—even your cups—are made out of ice. You can drive Lamborghinis, operate a bulldozer for hours, blow up a car, or crush one while driving a tank. You can visit Area 51 (where I lost a drone by the way, though probably not to aliens) or drive a speedboat on the Colorado River—the possibilities for fun go on and on.

Leona and I set out to prove that there is much more to Vegas than just gambling and shows. And we and our team had the time of our lives proving it.