I made it back to the 'real world' of Vegas earlier today, safe and sound, and now I'm just chillin' here in front of the Monday Night Football game and I thought I'd get started with a report of my weekend's activities.
Long story short--I had an absolute blast! It was great to see everyone and it felt wonderful to get away from the casino and the poker tables for a few days.
Work was pretty slow on Friday--we only had one game going, and besides me and the eight-o'clock dealer, we had another one coming in at ten, plus three more at eleven. So I told the floorman that I was willing to bail out as soon as possible, and he was kind enough to cut me loose at 9:30 in the morning.
I hurried home, changed clothes, grabbed my stuff, and was on the 215 heading for Boulder City by 10:20, well ahead of schedule. Traffic was fairly light, and I made it to Hoover Dam in less than a half hour. Once I got out of Black Canyon, I opened up the truck to stretch her legs, and kept the speedometer somewhere north of 80 mph all the way to Kingman. Usually, I stop in Kingman to top off the gas tank, but I must've had a tailwind because I still had more than 3/4 of a tank. Besides, I wanted to avoid as much of the hideous traffic in Phoenix as possible, so I was in a hurry. I elected to just keep on going.
Once I got out of Kingman, heading east on I-40, I was rewarded with a late-summer desert rainstorm. It was dumping so hard that I had to slow down to a crawl, along with everyone else, and the windshield wipers could barely keep up. It lasted about a half an hour, but by the time it ended, I was enjoying the scenery along Hwy 93 as it cuts through northwestern Arizona. Instead of listening to The Joshua Tree, as is the usual ritual on that stretch of road, I had created a 'road trip' playlist on my iPod that included stuff like Ghost Riders in the Sky, Ramblin' Man, Eastbound and Down, Interstate, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Gypsy Road, etc. It helped pass the time, and it was a fun soundtrack.
Before long, I made it past Wickenburg, Lake Pleasant, and all the way to where the Carefree Highway meets I-17. I was tempted to turn left and go just five minutes to Ed W's house, but no, my destination was actually clear on the other side of the fourth-largest city in America, and I had another sixty miles of traffic and road construction to contend with. My original plan was to just stay there on that side of town at Ed W's house, but when I found out that I'd have three days off and could extend my stay, plus the fact that Eddie B's wife was out of town, well, it was bachelor weekend time! (Besides, Ed W and his wife have a brand-new baby, so even though they generously offered use of their guest room, I thought it would be best to go stay with Eddie B this time)
So I kept going...
I finally pulled in to Eddie B's house in Chandler almost exactly five hours after I pulled out of my driveway in Henderson, and I made it on one tank of gas. According to the odometer, it's 316 miles door to door, and I actually squeezed 19.5 mpg out of the old girl, and that was doing about 15 mph over the speed limit almost the entire way.
After sitting in one spot for five hours straight, I was one stiff and tired bandito, but Eddie was kind enough to provide me with a frosty cold Heineken Light to help me wash down a handful of ibuprofen as soon as I shuffled my way indoors.
I freshened up and changed clothes, and Eddie and I spent the balance of the afternoon catching up, drinking beer, and watching the Ryder Cup.
For dinner, the plan was to meet George and Marlisha (Big Stogie and Big Tips) at the Grimaldi's down there in Chandler for dinner. They were already waiting for us in the dining room when we got there, and we had a nice leisurely dinner together. We somehow managed to run the tab up to about $175 between the four of us, which is a neat trick at a pizza joint. Grimaldi's does charge a bit of a premium for their fine pies, but most of the damage was because of the extensive bar tab. We started with draft Peronis all around, but with dinner, we dove deep into the wine list and complemented our fine food with some excellent vino.
After dinner, we drove over to their place and hung out in the back yard for cigars and more cocktails. George and Marlisha seriously need to feature their house on 'Cribs'. Not only is the kitchen the kind of kitchen I'd like to have, but the dining room is more of a game room, the living room is a pimped out media room, and the back yard is a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and the the grotto at the Playboy mansion.
George turned on some music and the misters to cool things off, we lit up a few fine cigars and sipped on some top-shelf booze, and within a half an hour or so, my tired ass was passed out cold in the lawn furniture. Luckily I was smoking a good cigar where the ashes didn't fall off, otherwise I probably would've lit my shirt on fire. Apparently, everyone else had a really nice visit while I snoozed. At least that's what they told me.
But the combination of a long day on the road, a big meal, and too many drinks had taken their toll on me. Eddie drove home while I dozed in the passenger's seat.
When we got back to his house, I made my way up to the guest room and was out like a light about ten seconds after my head hit the pillow.
I woke up briefly around 4 am when Nemo, Eddie's pet Huskie, came upstairs to let us know that he was ready to go outside and take a piss. The power of suggestion is an amazing thing, and I opted to do the same. Well, instead of using the yard, I hit the guest bathroom. Then I went back to bed for a couple of hours.
I woke up around seven or so, took a shower, and got dressed. Eddie was already up and kicking around the house, and had put on a pot of coffee. We didn't have any creamer, so I volunteered to run down to the grocery store on the corner and pick up a couple of bottles of the flavored stuff (I've got Eddie drinking Don Francisco now, after his 2-week stay at my place in Vegas last year). Anyhow, in addition to coffee creamer, I picked up a 12-pack of Michelob Light, then headed back to the house.
We spent most of the morning switching back and forth between Game Day and the Ryder Cup, and at one point Eddie cooked us up a nice breakfast of eggs, toast, and turkey sausage.
We then loaded up Nemo's cage in the back of my truck, and took him over to Eddie's parents place. Nemo is too damn big to fit through the chihuahua's doggie door, and it's too hot to leave him outside all day, so Eddie talked his parents into keeping him overnight since we were gonna be gone for most of the day and night.
Another bonus from taking the dog over there was that I'd get to see my kitty again. I used to have this beautiful black cat several years ago, and when I sold my condo and moved in with Derek at the 'frat house', Eddie took the cat. That worked out well until he got married, and his wife was allergic to her. So his parents adopted her. And I haven't seen her since I moved away from Phoenix five years ago.
Anyhow, when we got over there, I got to see her again, but clearly, I was more excited about our reunion than she was. She wasn't too interested in me because I didn't have any treats to give her...
Me and my 18-lb. bundle of bad luck.
Eddie and Nemo.
Anyhow, once we dropped off the dog, played with the cat, and visited with Eddie's parents for a bit, we hit the road for that long drive up to Anthem. Our destination for the day was Ed W's place, as he was hosting a home tailgate party and invited everyone over to watch the Georgia/ASU game.
We got there about an hour later, the first ones to arrive at the party. We mixed up some cocktails, hit the relish tray, and the three of us sat around shooting the shiat just like old times. It had been far too long since all three of us were in the same place at the same time so we took advantage of it, laughing it up like we used to. Ed's wife Michelle even snapped a picture or two:
The three amigos.
Before long, everyone else started showing up, and the party was ON! My old roommate Tammie came up with her husband--I hadn't seen her in almost five years. The funniest person I know, Eddie's buddy Wade, also made an appearance, and George and Marlisha came up too, and they were packing a cooler full of smoked meat. They provided a shiatload of brisket, pork butt, and baby-back ribs, all done in their smoker. Holy shiat was it ever tasty! Marlisha even went so far as to make a jug of home-made Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce.
Between all that, the sub sandwiches, the little smokies, the relish trays, the chips and dip, the mixable booze, and the keg out in the garage, nobody went hungry at all. It was a great party, but the game was a laugher, and not in a good way, either. Georgia just kicked the crap out of Arizona State, so by the time the third quarter rolled around, half of the party moved out to the back yard where we did more drinking and cigar smoking.
Eventually, a few of us made it out to the hot-tub, and that's where the party ended. We almost had Ed convinced to re-stage the infamous R2-D2 photo, but he was much too sober for that. But while we were out there, we made some firm plans to get together again soon, once in Vegas, once in California.
Once we finally called it a night, Eddie and I hit the road for that long drive back to Chandler. We paid attention to the odometer this time around, just to make sure of the distance, and we were more than a little surprised to find out that Ed W and Eddie B live 65 frickin' miles apart. No wonder they never see each other unless I'm in town. Holy shiat!
It was really late, sometime well after midnight, by the time we got back to Eddie's house, so we both went straight to bed. Well, we tried to watch a little SportsCenter, but we didn't make it to the first commercial break.
Sunday morning started much the same way Saturday did--a pot of coffee and the Ryder Cup. Besides a quick trip to Jack-in-the-Box for some breakfast burritos, we didn't really get off the couch all day except to fetch the occasional beer from the fridge. We were still wiped out from the day before, so we spent the day being world-class couch potatoes. Ed's dad showed up for the afternoon game--they're both big Steelers fans, so that was the afternoon activity. His mom showed up a few hours later with a big bucket of The Colonel, so dinner was taken care of. Then it was more football as we remained on the couch watching the Cowboys/Packers game, then all of the wrap-up programming on ESPN.
I remember taking a shower and shaving at one point, but after the football games, all we did was play with the dog out in the back yard for awhile. Overall, it was a pretty mellow day, but it was just what I needed. We both turned in early--I think I was in bed by 10:30 or so on Sunday night.
I got a good nine hours of sleep, and once I got up and showered, I packed my things, ready to head back to Phoenix. Eddie had been up for over an hour, working, and had a pot of coffee on. I sat there in his office with him for awhile drinking coffee and just watching him do his thing (he gave up the brokerage business over a year ago and earns his living as a self-employed day-trader now). It was quite interesting and he made a few profitable trades while I was sitting there watching all the lights and charts. It made me realize just how much knowledge I've lost since I left the trading desk at Schwab--I've forgotten so much stuff that I'm surprised I know anything about the market anymore. But it was fun to see Eddie in action.
I couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, and finally had to say goodbye to Eddie and hit the road. I stopped to fill up my gas tank and check my Powerball tickets before jumping on the freeway. No, I didn't win the 160 million, but at least I won four bucks. That paid for an energy bar and a bottle of Gatorade, and I was on my way. I also won a three-team parlay this weekend that put $140 back in my pocket, so besides everything else, it was a great weekend.
Anyhow, I said goodbye to Phoenix until next time, and I was kind of sad to leave. It's funny, but nowadays, I'm not so excited when I make that drive to Vegas from Phoenix. Ironically, going back to Vegas is going back to the 'real world' for me, and Phoenix is the destination for a weekend of drunken buffoonery.
I was not blessed with another summer rainstorm to accompany me on the drive home, but I had Brother Jimmy singing to me about all the stuff that makes me happy--sailboats, rum, and sunny places full of shady people. It made the long drive seem a bit shorter, and before I knew it, I found myself parked on top of Hoover Dam, waiting for the tourists to get out of my way. But I had my camera handy, so I snapped a quick picture of the bypass bridge that's under construction. I can't wait until it's finished--it will easily cut another half-hour or more off of the drive to Phoenix. Right now, Hoover Dam and Black Canyon is just a biatch of an obstacle to have to drive through, and the bridge will alleviate all the hassle of winding up and down through the canyon and crossing the dam itself, which is a royal pain in the ass.
That picture was taken from right in the middle of Hoover Dam, 700+ feet above the canyon floor. The bridge deck is another 300 feet or so up above that. Can you say vertigo? That's gonna be an interesting drive once it's finished.
Anyhow, I made it home without incident, and dragged myself and my gear upstairs to my room. I took a quick shower and changed clothes, and just laid down to take a nap when my phone rang. One of my girlie friends I hadn't talked to in a couple of months was calling 'just to say hi', so we chatted a bit. That turned into an invite to come over, so I spent the rest of my afternoon at her place, forgetting about cocktail waitresses.
We eventually had some dinner, but then I decided to come on home. I've got a ton of dirty laundry that needs attention, and I have to work in the morning anyways. So I have to spend the night in my own bed, as much as I'd rather not. But it was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
And now that I'm here, it's nice to be home.
Mikey
No comments:
Post a Comment