I didn’t have anything sports related to post after my trip to Vegas so I figured I would at least recap the great weekend.

As some of you know, I was in Las Vegas last weekend for my Oma’s (German for Grandma) wake/memorial to celebrate her life. Since I didn’t have anything sports related to post today I thought I’d at least give you a quick recap of the great weekend in Vegas – to the best of my recollection.

Thursday June 23d:

We flew out of Boise around 3:00 in the afternoon, had drinks on the plane (which always seems like a good idea), arrived safely in Vegas and then took a cab to our hotel at the Luxor. Once at the Luxor, we waited at least an hour to get checked-in to our room and then met-up with my aunt and uncle to have dinner at the hotel. After dinner, Jake (my brother), wasn’t feeling well so we went back to the room to nap before going out. The nap didn’t do the trick for Jake but I was ready to go so I met up with Dad and we played Roulette for an hour or so before deciding it was probably best to get some rest and save our money.

Friday June 24th:

Woke up around 10:00, grabbed some McDonalds breakfast with Jake and then headed to our cabana at the pool for the day. Aside from watching a little bit of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon match against Ivan Ljubicic, the day was spent sipping on drinks and lounging in the pool.

Jake & Tara at the pool

After spending the day at the cabana everyone went back to the rooms to rest up and get ready for the night. My uncle Jim that lives in Vegas got us great tickets (Row H) to the KA Cirque du Soleil show which was unbelievable. Almost as unbelievable was my cousin Kelly sleeping through the entire show after having too many drinks on his flight – which I’m sure seemed like a good idea at the time.  Fortunately for Jake, Jim not only has connections in Vegas but he’s also a doctor and brought him some medication that literally had him feeling better in a couple hours. After the KA show Dad, Jake, Kelly and I played Craps at Excalibur until three in the morning with Jake the only one of us winning money.   From there it was back to the hotel for some sleep before the big day.

Saturday June 25th:

After getting woken-up twice by the maids trying to clean the room I finally made it out of bed and met up with everyone down at the pool around eleven. We didn’t have a cabana Saturday but we made up for it by drinking more in preparation for Oma’s wake later in the afternoon. Jim had the party bus pick the out-of-towners up at the hotel to take us where her ashes were spread at a nice little park. Everyone had a chance to say something to her before we went to eat at her favorite “Spanish” (Mexican) restaurant.

A picture of Oma (Jeanne L. Christensen) at the Memorial Rose Garden

At dinner we started with shots of Patron, ordered drinks with dinner and finished up with another shot of Patron – tequila was Oma’s favorite drink. (Side note – the U.S.-Mexico Gold Cup Final was on at the restaurant. I was delighted to see the U.S. score two goals 23 mins into the match against the heavily favored Mexicans.  I also caught Pablo Barrera’s first goal – and great play from Chicharito who didn’t play the ball in the offside position – before we left. Based on the texts I got from friends and updates on my phone – we left at a good time since the U.S. blew the two goal lead losing 4-2.) After dinner we got back on the party bus and headed to Fremont Street to gamble and have a good time. Upon arriving at Fremont St we got a round of drinks and went directly to a casino to play Craps. Oma gave $100 to all the grand kids with strict instructions that the money HAD to be used for gambling unless of course they weren’t old enough.  I’ve only played Craps a dozen-or-so times but this was far and away the best time and highest yield I’ve experienced at the table.  I’m not sure how long we played for but everyone in the group took one turn rolling before we decided we better take our money and run. From there we proceeded to wander Fremont Street stopping throughout for drink refills and spontaneous dancing often drawing the attention of other patrons and even inspiring some of them to join the fun.  I literally have no idea how long we were down there having started drinking that morning but it was a great time.

Sunday June 26th:

The 8 AM wake-up call was rough, especially after finding out we didn’t need to be ready until 9:30. We caught our cab to the airport where I saw Russell Westbrook on our way to the terminal.  Once we were at the airport, the lack of sleep and large amounts of alcohol consumed during the weekend began to catch up – I wasn’t feeling so hot. We boarded the 1 hr 27 minute flight back to Boise – of course it was a full flight – and I could tell it was going to be a struggle. Not only did I check to make sure I had a barf bag in the seat pocket but I also wanted to make sure the material was suitable to hold warm vomit. I think I made it about 40 minutes – which seemed like hours – when I got really hot and started sweating. Next was a couple little burps and the feeling of puke climbing my esophagus. I tried my best to think about something else but it was too late, I had to scramble for the barf bag. I barely got the damn thing opened in time to catch the mixture of who knows what kinds of alcohol and the Popeyes I tried eating at the airport. I glance over at Jake in the seat next to me (I was in the middle seat) thinking I might need his barf bag too and he has a look of terror and bewilderment on his face doing his best not to look at my puke or catch the smell but with a hint of concern that I was ok.

Dad – sitting a row behind us and across the isle – realized what was happening and alerted the flight attendants who brought me Alka-Seltzer, Dramamine, Ginger Ale, Water, a stack of napkins, a trash bag and an ice pack to put on my neck.  Not only did I not make a mess but to my surprise, the sleeping passenger next to me didn’t wake up through the entire ordeal.  Needless to say, I was feeling MUCH better after puking.

Final Thoughts:

The puking fiasco on the flight home was the cherry on top for one of the most fun and best trips I’ve ever had to Vegas. I got to hang out with family, had a great time, broke even at the tables and most importantly celebrated Oma’s life. Can’t wait until next time!