It all started in September of 2011, having a late night 'afterglow' drink after the Seabee Reunion. How it all happened, I'm not exactly sure, but by the end of the evening Dad & Ev and I had agreed to meet Andy & Michelle and Dana & Erin in Las Vegas in March 2012.
So, the plan was hatched for a trip to the desert to begin the celebrating of Dad's 90th.
j C j
After much discussion about whether to drive from Iowa with a stop in Denver, or to drive to Denver and fly on to Las Vegas, in the end it was decided that I would drive to Iowa and Dad & Ev and I would fly out of Des Moines and meet the kids in Las Vegas.
j C j
Andy and Michelle were our hosts since they have the timeshare.
Laila was invited to join us, and it worked out that she could plan to come also.
j C j
Here's how it all turned out....from my viewpoint.
j C j
Our (Dad, Ev & I) flight left Des Moines Monday evening at 8:20pm. Wanting to be sure that we were there with time to spare, we arrived at the airport by about 5pm which gave us over an hour wait until the ticket counter opened.
We had requested wheel chair assistance from the ticket counter to the airplane for both Dad & Ev but because this is such a small airport, I agreed to push one wheelchair if they could supply a pusher for the other, which they did.
We took off towards our gate.
When we got to Security, it was kind of hectic.
Taking off shoes, managing canes, emptying pockets,
we had all that time to wait and still we had not prepared.
Des Moines just recently installed the full body scanners which makes it really quick to get through security for most folks. But it requires you to hold your hands over your head (like the A in YMCA) for 3 seconds.
Ev did fine, I did fine, but once through I was scurrying to grab out items that had gone through the Xray machine and I turned around just in time to see Dad pulling his pants back up.
Because he had on some new jeans that are kind of loose, and he had to send his belt through Xray, when they asked him to raise his hands over his head....well, down went his pants.
We had already told everyone that this trip was to start the celebrating of Dad's 90th birthday.
The Security workers all had a chuckle over Dad losing his pants.
It made me wonder if this was the beginning of the trip, what would happen next?
j C j
The flight went fine.
It was a little confusing that the front row was reserved for handicap, so we had the second row, and then when some last minute boarders showed up and they were allowed to sit there, I was even more confused why the folks were not sitting in that front bulk head row.
It really didn't make too much difference and the guy in front of Dad felt so bad that his seat kept drifting back, that he bought Dad a drink (which he shared with Ev).
The worst part was that the front bathroom was out of order, so during the flight, Dad had to manage his way the entire length of the plane to get to the restroom.
This gave me lots of worry time as the flight was a little bumpy now and then, but as usual, I worried for no reason.
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| Internet photo |
We arrived in Las Vegas on time, caught our shuttle to the Wyndam time share and caught up with the kids.
The kids had already had a long day of travel, shopping and a trip to Hoover Dam, but they came to our room for a night cap, pizza for a very late supper and some had a nap.
I think it was almost 2am Vegas time when we finally went to bed (4am Iowa time!)
The kids had stocked our room with adult refreshments, snacks and breakfast supplies including coffee.
Dad was delighted to see apples, bananas, honey and bread for toast.
We had a nice kitchen so we were all set to make our breakfast the next day.
Laila stayed overnight with us, my room had 2 big beds and the folks had their own Master Suite with bath.
Day One was a big success...all the travel done and everyone safe and sound.
j C j
It was the plan that the kids would do their own thing and we would try to plan to do something together in the evenings,
so Tuesday was a rest up day, with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for lunch.
Laila was our lunch chef.
The plan was for us all to meet up for a Dinner party for Dad's birthday.
Laila was going home on Wednesday so Tuesday night was planned as big party night.
I had asked around about where to go, and we decided to choose Bootleggers for our gathering.
The kids (Dana & Erin, Andy & Michelle) spent their day checking out The Strip.
Laila and I went up to her hotel, The Riviera and retrieved her stuff so she could spend her last night in Vegas with us in the condo, the folks took a nap.
While Laila and I were out and about, we asked the concierge at the time share for advice on how to get 8 of us transported to Bootleggers for our 6:30pm reservation.
As it turned out, we were able to schedule a free complimentary limo ride.
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| Michelle & Andy, Laila, Wanda, Dana & Erin Dad & Ev Waiting in the lobby of the Wyndam for our ride. |
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| Our driver Lee, assisted Ev into the limousine first. |
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| Dad was the last to get in, he had the best seat in the house. |
The fun was in full swing now.
Erin was very entertaining during the limo ride.
There is a video that will remain in the vault (what happens in Vegas....)
but we got a good laugh when she was so surprised that the guy who opened the door to help us out of the limo at our destination was the same guy who had helped us get in.
Hmmm...I guess she didn't know he was also the driver.
$$$
Once we were seated at The Bootlegger Bistro, and started having a little happy hour, the music started.
The entertainment was piano music by legendary jazz musician Gus Mancuso
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| After two trays of Antipasti for appetizer, we each had a delicious meal. |
After dinner, the entertainment added another artist. A singer named Maggie Peterson, who is married to Gus Mancuso, sang several songs. She was delightful.
She has real star quality,
and rightly so as she had a singing and television career which included The Andy Griffith Show.
She finished her songs and was sitting up in the bar with friends, and I boldly went and asked if she would consider singing another song in honor of Dad's birthday.
She graciously agreed and sang "It Had To Be You".
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| Andy & Michelle |
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| Erin and Dana |
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| Dad and Laila |
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| Ev, Dad, Laila (my arm) |
Here a couple of videos from our evening at Bootleggers Bistro
Video 1 - Happy Birthday
Video 2 - It Had To Be You
Our limo driver picked us up when we were done and took us back to the Wyndam.
It was a very fun night, and as usual a little afterglow back at our room.
j C j
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