I would have never thought to go to Vegas. I don't gamble, much. I prefer natural scenic vistas to man made. Then Dip told me he was getting married there. Married? Dip? Whoa! This I had to see.

     I've known Joe for close to 20 years and was surprised and delighted that this was happening. His future wife, Dawn, is a real sweet person and they really love each other a lot and are friends as well, so it seemed like a good idea. Oh wow, another trip. What the hell. Life's so short. Marylou and I did a little advance research, decided to stay at the Luxor while in Vegas 'cause we're both into that Egyptian stuff, looked at a map to see what was nearby and tentatively planned a couple of side trips. Figured out how much time we would need for everything, picked a working schedule, and then Marylou started getting things rolling with a Travel Agent.

     Originally we were planning to see both Death Valley National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in California, besides 5 days in Vegas and a couple seeing stuff near Vegas like Hoover Dam and other places yet to be investigated as maybes. So after a couple of months of checking out travel books brought home from the library, looking things up on the net, locations, accommodations, sights to see, things to do and beers to drink (Marylou looked up places to see and stay and I looked up brewpubs.) We tried to make a schedule to see everything and found that although the Death Valley and Sequoia Parks look like they are right next to each other, you can't get there from there. There are a couple of mountain ranges between one and the other. So you have to drive hundreds of miles out of your way. First to the South, then West, then back North and finally East, the only way into Sequoia and Kings Canyon Parks.

     This meant we had to abandon the plan to see the big trees. We'll just have to do it another time. So, we booked a flight to Vegas for the morning March 13th, ought 1, returning the evening of the 22nd. Five nights at various places, five in Vegas. The wedding was on the equinox, the 20th. We had decided on seeing various sites in Death Valley as well as Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Valley Of Fire and  Red Rock Canyon. So after weeks of fine tuning the plans, checking out what to do/see in Vegas, including the best buffet deals there, we were ready to go, almost. A few personal details to take care of, who's watching the house, where to park the car, what about the mail, the paper, you know, the stupid stuff that, nevertheless, had to be handled. Ready now? Yes. Maybe. OK now pack. Oh, Christ, my suit doesn't fit anymore. I look like David Byrne in that video with the big suit, except mine's gray. Call up the son and borrow one. Thank God he has one that fits and looks all right. OK now pack. Good thing too, we're leaving tomorrow.

      Set the alarm for 6:00 AM, sleep fitfully, too excited. Marylou wakes up unaided at 5:45 (like THAT could happen on a work day) and says, "It's quarter to 6." I mumble, get up at 6. We have a quick breakfast. I change the message on the answering machine, water the plants, set the VCR's to tape the shows we don't want to miss ( NYPD Blue, CSI, Lexx and Law & Order, forgot the season premier of Farscape, yotz!) even though we won't be watching for them out west (we're on vacation!), bring the bags to the door and wait for Billy (our ride) to pick us up. Bill arrives just as the rain stops. It had been raining all night and since Bill has a pickup we were ready with trash bags to cover the luggage if needed, but we just used them for underliners in the truck bed. As we drove to the airport, just 20 minutes from our house, we noticed that the closer we got, the foggier it was. We started wondering if we were going anywhere.

     We checked in at US Airways (Allegheny, whatever. Why do they keep changing their name? Bad memories?), 50 minutes before the scheduled takeoff time. After a short wait in a long line. Where to, please? Las Vegas. Have your bags been unattended or out of your sight since you packed, etc., etc., etc.? Nope. OK. Have a nice flight. Got to the gate after a brief delay at the X-ray machines. What's in my carry on bag? Oh, tape player, cassette tapes, CD's. Yes , that's right CD's, I'll be glad to open it for you. What? Pass. OK, pass. Thank you. Waited for about 7 minutes at the gate, they called our rows, and we attempted to board. There was a middle aged woman standing in the way at the ramp. When I asked if she was boarding, she replied, "No, I'm not 15." They were boarding rows 15 through 30. I told her she didn't look a day over 14. She gave me a nervous chuckle, moved out of our way and we boarded, stowed our carry-ons, took our seats and waited for take off still wondering, what about the fog?

     It didn't seem to matter to the pilot. We taxied to the end of a line of about a dozen planes queued to take off. It took about 20 minutes for us to make it to the front of the line but finally...

To be continued.

DipDawn

Bob and Marylou