Last Full day in Vegas

Joey and Fred went to the spa which has its own floor in this casino. They worked out, saunaed, steamied and relaxed and when they came back Matt joined us as we traveled back to the Casino Royale and together played craps and roulette. We lost our shirts, but playing with my boys shooting craps was priceless!! I had fun throwing those dice even though we didn't win. They went back to the hotel, and I walked around the forum shops..saw Peter Max gallery and Peter Lik photo exhibit with unvbelievable landscape photos. His favorite place to be is 100 miles from any city...so you can imagine the photos. He is from Melbourne, Australia. Also saw Pete Rose signing autographs at sports memorabilia store there. Then went to Bellagio where Frank Sinatra was singing Luck be a Lady while the fountains were going and I got my usual mango gelato while there. The Gardens there are just beautiful. Got tickets to see George Wallace tonight...Joe loved his sense of humor and I loved that he doesn't use a lot of swear words in his performance. His logo is "I be thinkin'". Joey is going to meet Stacy Matwechi later for dinner and then join us at the show.

Downtown Fremont Experience

Wednesday Matt and Joey entered the Mandalay Poker Tournament for $40 buy-in at 10 am. Ther were about 12 players. Joey lasted halfway through and Matt got third place for $10. The first two split the winnings and each got $150. Fred and I gambled the video poker and blackjack machines. Went back to Red Rock for lunch but Wednesday was senior day so line was long. Matt and Shannon went over to the Rio to check out the World Series of Poker and Fred and I checked out the City Center shops, the Aria hotel, Bellagio and Big Elvis at Bill's casino. Joey rested. We all went to the In and Out burger joint, a classic institution in this part of the country. It was packed. We got the double double animal style which is sort of like out old Manner's Big boy. Complete with fries (not very good sort of like Burger Kings) and a drink, we were in grease heaven. Then we proceeded downtown. I got us lost in not so good neighborhood, but we finally made it. The Freemont Experience was about Queen and the song was we will rock you. Lots of people, lights and bands. Lots of dancers and beads for Fred.

Red Rock Day

Got up and the whole gang headed to Red Rock Canyon for a day of hiking. The boys and Shannon saw rams when they got to the top of the hill, and we could see our hotel from the top of the rock we climbed. Although it was a really hot day, we had a nice cool breeze while we were hiking so it was nice. Then we went to Red Rock Canyon Resort for lunch for only 9.99...Great buffet--good food and great value. Came back and got ready to see Lance Burton the magician at the Monte Carlo. George Steinbrenner died today of a heart attack. Sometimes the boys mannerisms, jokes or what they do or say remind me of their father, which is nice for me to see how they emulate their dad.

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

Finally Got Fred into the pools--both the wave and lazy river. Met up with the Wittrup's and had dinner with them at Pampas, a brazilian dining spot. They bring you meats on skewers and carve off what you want. Then we walked around..saw how girls dance around polls on the main floors of casinos. We saw this at Planet Hollywood. Then we headed to Casino Royale, which is sort of a dive casino--but cheap. I gambled video poker and blackjack; Joey also played craps.

It's Vegas, baby!

To celebrate Matt's masters and to start our family vacations again, the boys wanted to go to Vegas. So Matt, Shannon (Matt's girlfriend), Joey and I along with Uncle Fred are hitting the strip staying at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. It is a suite hotel complete with robes in the closet as well as a separate living area with flat screen tv's in both the bedrooom and living area and a small flat screen in the bathroom. Very "suite"!!!
No problems in arriving and was able to check in as soon as we arrived. Met up with Fred who arrived the previous night and left his luggage with the bell hop till we arrived. Went to Wal Mart to get some things like snacks and water and gatorade and beer??!! Ate at Del Taco since we were so hungry. Watched the world cup final--Spain won in the sports bar.
Temperatures are in the 100's and sunny all week expected. So we went to the pool to check out the 5 pools--3 regular and 1 wave pool and 1 lazy river ride. The boys met up with neighbor from across the street Ryan Wittrup and also met up with Matt Mickas and Bryan Schoeholz at his bachelor party. Shannon, Fred and I walked about half the strip.
However, the highlight was going to the top of our hotel which has a restaurant and lounge on the 64th floor. The views are spectacular of Vegas especially all lit up at night.

Life goes on.

Since I have written the blog from Australia, life went on. I filed federal, state and city taxes with help from some of Joe's friends. Also my cousin Dave helped by doing Joe's estate taxes. It is interesting that when you file the estate taxes in probate court in Cleveland, it is on the opposite end of the hall from the marriage bureau...the beginning and the end. However, domestic relations court is a left turn off of the corridor. Interesting thought to me.

Then I spent my first anniversary without Joe at Bowling Green with an old friend Susan Bobey where they had events for the 100th anniversary of the university. There was a tour of the STroh Center they are building...we went inside with the general contractor to see where things would be. Joe would have loved it. Then went to the Falcon Flames vow renewal ceremony which was nice. There was a reception at the president's house where Sue and I drove byu to see what a beautiful home it is. Also saw changes in the city and walked the campus. Came home and went through old cards Joe sent and saved and then went to the rib burn off and listened to a band playing old tunes.

My birthday was a full day, too. It started with a hike with Lisa in the Metroparks, then a pedicure with Matt, Lisa and Patti followed by a massage with Matt and Shannon. Dinner was with Matt, Shannon, Mary, Lisa, and Ellen at Momocho's a mod mex place with great guacamole and margueritas. Then ended the day with the Cleveland Orchestra and fireworks on public square.

Although life is full, no matter what I do there is always something missing. Nothing everything ever seems finished or complete. I guess that was to paraphrase a line from the Jerry McQuire movie, Joe completed me and without him nothing I do or experience seems complete because he is the missing link.

But I still feel his presence and will try to listen for him in the wind.

Epilogue: I'm back in the USA!

"Welcome Home," were the words spoken to me by the customs officer at LAX. And, indeed, there is no place like home. The US may have its problems, but the rest of the world seems to copy what we are doing. In every city, there was a Westfield Mall, McDonalds, KFC, Subway, Happy Jack's (their name for Burger King), all of the major accounting firms such as Ernst, Deloitte, and Price. They are all suffering the recession. Housing prices are through the roof, and people have much personal debt.

Each working taxpayer was given stimulus money to spend just like us. Unemployment does not seem to be as high there, and their health care is in better shape in the sense that they do not cow tow to pharmacutical or insurance companies...the government dictates what is to be paid.....end of story.

It is great seeing another part of the world, but it would have been even better to have all of my family and friends there to experience the same because no matter how I try to explain in either words or pictures just being there is what makes a diffence in understanding what I am trying to get across.

Thanks to all of you for following along. I appreciated your support. And I really enjoyed the comments which many times made me laugh and feel close to home. Thanks also to my traveling companion Elaine as well as the rest of the tour group who made the trip fun and entertaining.

So as I start unpacking and washing clothes and putting things away, I came to realize that I not only live in the best location in the nation..but the best location in the world. Cleveland has its problems, but it does not appreciate what it has. It has affordable housing, world class medical care, world class orchestra, the "Emerald Necklace" ..our metroparks which links one end of our community to the other, three pro sports teams (although they are not rugby, soccer, or cricket), public education as well as many colleges and universities close by, entertainment venues like Playhouse Square, Blossom, IX center to name a few, Lake Erie (a major fresh water supply), and reasonable costs of food and other products.

As I end this odyssey from down under, I continue on my journey with one foot in front of the other. I think I would do better walking than driving a car...just ask anyone who has driven with me!!! I know Joe wasn't with me physically, but I hope he enjoyed the ride in spirit and will continue on with me.