Day 1 - Travel to Vegas....
January 4, 2005
Yesterday was a hard day. I took the kids to meet up with their Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. I’m excited about the trip but can hardly get over leaving them behind. Hannah was so sad the night before – it finally hit her that we’re leaving. I went to her room and she was crying saying I’m going to miss my Daddy! What a heart breaker! It is good for them to learn a bit of independence but it is sooo tough to watch. She made Daddy a little note to take with him saying how much she loves him. Sweet. I put a few in their bags to find later in the week. Jessica doesn’t seem to totally understand that we will be gone for a week – she is just excited to go to the farm and see her cousins and all the animals. Drove up to Davidson, the half way point between our two locations and met Rob’s sister and brother in law for lunch. The cousins all sat at one table and the grown ups had our own, when did they all grow up? After lunch all the kids went into the truck and after loading all their gear I gave them a big kiss and hug and jumped into the van before I burst into tears…. Better for them not to see their Mommy all upset. Do you ever get over saying good bye to your kids?
Got back to Regina went and picked up Rob from work. It was so strange to come home to an empty house. Even Rob missed the noise! So after a nervous night it was time for bed. Took me a bit to fall asleep and then I was out like a light – drained from the emotions earlier in the day. However Rob had a bit more difficulty falling asleep and maybe got three hours compared to my five. Morning came quickly as the alarm rang at 4:14 am – went to wake Rob who had finally fallen asleep on the couch. He sprang into action like a super hero – he was transforming into ‘Vegas Bobby’. “What is the real time?” he asked me. 4:15 I replied. Up he rose with the speed of The Flash he was ready, even had time for a cup of coffee before we left for the plane. It was 5:10 am when we left for the airport – the roads were blanketed with fog putting visibility at around 25 meters. He checked in and was ready to go through security so I was off to finish off some minor details at work… Best time to be there when everyone else is gone. Started watching the Airport Web Cam – very exciting. Didn’t see a thing! Silly camera is just set up at one gate…
Back at home I finished off my emails and tried to get some sleep – no luck with that, too many phone calls etc. What else does a girl do before a trip when she can’t sleep? I went shopping! Picked up a few last minute items for the trip. Called my friend Shelly, we went for lunch then she drove me to the airport. Arrived at the airport at 1:20pm – my flight didn’t leave until 3:10 pm for some reason I thought it left half an hour early. I was excited to have some time to write before the trip. A very helpful young man (man I’m getting old) helped me print my ticket and check my two bags. From there I went to the duty free shop – bought some gum, mints and Vodka Citron – thought we would give that a try this trip. The lady at duty free was a tough cookie but I warmed her up, feeling all happy I made my way to security…
Good Afternoon the nice young lady said, since you’re flying to the United States you’ve been selected for a random security check. GREAT! We will need to go through all you’re carry on luggage. Fine I thought…. So I make my way through the metal detector with a little beep – which checks out fine. Then head over to the lady who asks me to sit on the cold metal chair and remove my shoes. Which they scan as well as the bottoms of my feet. She then asks me if I would prefer to go into the back room for the upper torso pat down – I like the public quick and dirty so we do it there. Then the nice gent goes through my electronics (lap top, mp3 player, camera…) and the female officer goes through my bag. Am I ever glad that I came nice and early. Once I made it through security I had lots of time to sit and write. I love writing but rarely get time to do it.
Met up with my husband’s co-worker and were then called to the gate to board. Waited for duty free – she forgot mine – ahhhh yes just my luck. So they let me board and then brought my liquor just before take off. I had a great seat, right behind first class in a row all by myself. EXCELLENT…. The flight went smooth and landed in Minneapolis on time. The jet way wouldn’t level off so a mechanic had to be called; I think we waited on the plane for at least 20 minutes. Got off went through US Customs and then to the Split Rock for a bite to eat. Made some phone calls to see where everyone was at. My husband was in Vegas and had just finished his meal at Bally’s. SHF – where was he? Ignoring me? Hmmm – oh well left him a message he sounded pretty hot and has the same name of a guy I went to elementary school. Weird! I walked to the gate since my feet were sore and my backpack heavy. There was a huge group of people mixed with CES “geeks” and AVN “porn” types. Interesting mix. Rob’s co-worker Lisa noted that a few people were there from last year. We joked that given my past luck they would end up sitting beside me. Things worked out great – I had a window seat and was seated by a nice French guy from Montreal and an American living in Europe. We were pretty rowdy on the plane and I’m sure we pissed a few people off with our occasional laughter on the 3 hour flight. It was great!!! Arrival in Vegas went smooth – my luggage was always last and so Lisa checked out the taxi line a THREE HOUR wait! And this was at midnight. So the shuttle seemed like a better option with an hour wait. Off we went maybe took 20 min and we were on the shuttle. I get to the Flamingo and off to my room 26062. Rob who had arrived earlier was no where to be found – I called and called but he didn’t have his phone set to vibrate and couldn’t hear it over the casino noise. So I sat and waited outside the room watching a movie. I saw the line downstairs and didn’t want to go through that. Finally he came – got my message. Ushered me into the room with a beautiful view! SWEET!!!! Enjoyed the view for a bit – checked out Rob’s very red eyes and then headed out to find some food. Ended up at Burger King for some grub. So picture this: Rob is pretty juiced and the cashier is mentally challenged – their conversation was hilarious. I had to step in – too funny. Back to the room and off to sleep – ahhh Vegas. Oh and we learned not to close the blinds so we actually wake up in the morning!!!
Yesterday was a hard day. I took the kids to meet up with their Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. I’m excited about the trip but can hardly get over leaving them behind. Hannah was so sad the night before – it finally hit her that we’re leaving. I went to her room and she was crying saying I’m going to miss my Daddy! What a heart breaker! It is good for them to learn a bit of independence but it is sooo tough to watch. She made Daddy a little note to take with him saying how much she loves him. Sweet. I put a few in their bags to find later in the week. Jessica doesn’t seem to totally understand that we will be gone for a week – she is just excited to go to the farm and see her cousins and all the animals. Drove up to Davidson, the half way point between our two locations and met Rob’s sister and brother in law for lunch. The cousins all sat at one table and the grown ups had our own, when did they all grow up? After lunch all the kids went into the truck and after loading all their gear I gave them a big kiss and hug and jumped into the van before I burst into tears…. Better for them not to see their Mommy all upset. Do you ever get over saying good bye to your kids?
Got back to Regina went and picked up Rob from work. It was so strange to come home to an empty house. Even Rob missed the noise! So after a nervous night it was time for bed. Took me a bit to fall asleep and then I was out like a light – drained from the emotions earlier in the day. However Rob had a bit more difficulty falling asleep and maybe got three hours compared to my five. Morning came quickly as the alarm rang at 4:14 am – went to wake Rob who had finally fallen asleep on the couch. He sprang into action like a super hero – he was transforming into ‘Vegas Bobby’. “What is the real time?” he asked me. 4:15 I replied. Up he rose with the speed of The Flash he was ready, even had time for a cup of coffee before we left for the plane. It was 5:10 am when we left for the airport – the roads were blanketed with fog putting visibility at around 25 meters. He checked in and was ready to go through security so I was off to finish off some minor details at work… Best time to be there when everyone else is gone. Started watching the Airport Web Cam – very exciting. Didn’t see a thing! Silly camera is just set up at one gate…
Back at home I finished off my emails and tried to get some sleep – no luck with that, too many phone calls etc. What else does a girl do before a trip when she can’t sleep? I went shopping! Picked up a few last minute items for the trip. Called my friend Shelly, we went for lunch then she drove me to the airport. Arrived at the airport at 1:20pm – my flight didn’t leave until 3:10 pm for some reason I thought it left half an hour early. I was excited to have some time to write before the trip. A very helpful young man (man I’m getting old) helped me print my ticket and check my two bags. From there I went to the duty free shop – bought some gum, mints and Vodka Citron – thought we would give that a try this trip. The lady at duty free was a tough cookie but I warmed her up, feeling all happy I made my way to security…
Good Afternoon the nice young lady said, since you’re flying to the United States you’ve been selected for a random security check. GREAT! We will need to go through all you’re carry on luggage. Fine I thought…. So I make my way through the metal detector with a little beep – which checks out fine. Then head over to the lady who asks me to sit on the cold metal chair and remove my shoes. Which they scan as well as the bottoms of my feet. She then asks me if I would prefer to go into the back room for the upper torso pat down – I like the public quick and dirty so we do it there. Then the nice gent goes through my electronics (lap top, mp3 player, camera…) and the female officer goes through my bag. Am I ever glad that I came nice and early. Once I made it through security I had lots of time to sit and write. I love writing but rarely get time to do it.
Met up with my husband’s co-worker and were then called to the gate to board. Waited for duty free – she forgot mine – ahhhh yes just my luck. So they let me board and then brought my liquor just before take off. I had a great seat, right behind first class in a row all by myself. EXCELLENT…. The flight went smooth and landed in Minneapolis on time. The jet way wouldn’t level off so a mechanic had to be called; I think we waited on the plane for at least 20 minutes. Got off went through US Customs and then to the Split Rock for a bite to eat. Made some phone calls to see where everyone was at. My husband was in Vegas and had just finished his meal at Bally’s. SHF – where was he? Ignoring me? Hmmm – oh well left him a message he sounded pretty hot and has the same name of a guy I went to elementary school. Weird! I walked to the gate since my feet were sore and my backpack heavy. There was a huge group of people mixed with CES “geeks” and AVN “porn” types. Interesting mix. Rob’s co-worker Lisa noted that a few people were there from last year. We joked that given my past luck they would end up sitting beside me. Things worked out great – I had a window seat and was seated by a nice French guy from Montreal and an American living in Europe. We were pretty rowdy on the plane and I’m sure we pissed a few people off with our occasional laughter on the 3 hour flight. It was great!!! Arrival in Vegas went smooth – my luggage was always last and so Lisa checked out the taxi line a THREE HOUR wait! And this was at midnight. So the shuttle seemed like a better option with an hour wait. Off we went maybe took 20 min and we were on the shuttle. I get to the Flamingo and off to my room 26062. Rob who had arrived earlier was no where to be found – I called and called but he didn’t have his phone set to vibrate and couldn’t hear it over the casino noise. So I sat and waited outside the room watching a movie. I saw the line downstairs and didn’t want to go through that. Finally he came – got my message. Ushered me into the room with a beautiful view! SWEET!!!! Enjoyed the view for a bit – checked out Rob’s very red eyes and then headed out to find some food. Ended up at Burger King for some grub. So picture this: Rob is pretty juiced and the cashier is mentally challenged – their conversation was hilarious. I had to step in – too funny. Back to the room and off to sleep – ahhh Vegas. Oh and we learned not to close the blinds so we actually wake up in the morning!!!
posted by Weezy at 7:35 PM
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