Friday, October 17, 2008

Charli's Wedding Part 1 of Many!

Okay, left Nv for the Mid-West a couple days before my daughters wedding.

Left work at 3p for Vegas. Drove through the "High Desert" for about six hours, pulling Pearl on the trailer.....Arrived in Beatty, Nv.

Had dinner with my boss and one of the Fire Specialists from Battle Mt. What a ball.......

Arrived in Vegas at about 1am, flight is at 7:40 am.....

I needed a few toiletries (sp) so I stopped at a Super Wal-Mart....(One of about 50, no lie, in the Vegas area)....Got what I needed, and left for the Motel 6 on Dean Martin Blvd.......

Checked in at the desk, and confirmed with the counter person that I could leave Pearl and my truck there till I came back.....She said I was good to go, and I went back to the truck.....

I figured that I would get a couple hours of sleep in the Rodeo until it was time to go to the airport........HA!

First, there were the sirens from the police cars, then the sirens from the ambulances and fire engines (which of course I do not mind!)..The drunks yelling, the couples fighting.......Then, the hookers!!!!

They were coming and going and making so much noise, I do not think I slept at all......

So, I get up, go to the counter and ask the employee if she had a number for a cab......She said yes, wrote it down for me and I left.........Now, there was a cab there a few minutes before, but between the loudmouth ass that got into it and the hooker screaming at him, I missed the phone number.....

So....I call......The dispatcher says there is one of her cabs there already...I told her he left....She said, no he is their....I told her to call him to come back....She hung up.....AHHHH!

So, I pack my guns into the "TSP Approved" aircraft carry case, pack the ammunition......Do a walk around of the trailer, making sure Pearl is locked down, and I find an empty box of rubbers.......Got to love Vegas!

Okay, the cab comes back......The loudmouth gets out, and screams at the hooker that is getting into the cab. She then gets out, and points at me.....Now, I have not said a word to her.........The driver hollers "you call for a cab", I say yes, and the next adventure begins....

So, I load up into the cab.....We start towards the airport.....The driver asks me if I noticed the hooker. Duh! He said he took her "John" to MGM......the "John" asked him to wait.....He came back out with a "guy", and they do a "Coke" deal in the back of the cab......Its about this time I realize that I left my Day Runner along with my tickets in the truck......A quick u-turn in front of Excalibur, and we are on our way back.......The driver is telling me that he does not mind that they did the "deal" in the back of the cab, but the "John" decided he was only gonna give the driver a 50 cent tip....He said he "jewed" up to $5.......I was just shaking my head......

So, I get to LAS (Airport Code for the Airport in Vegas).......I head to the Southwest counter.....The idiot at the line asked if I had to check bags.....Now, I am pulling a suitcase on wheels, with another bag on top of it, and carrying a backpack......DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He then asks if I have already checked in online....I said yes....He said to go to the counter.....Remember, this is at 5am........

The girl at the counter asks if I had signed in on the computer behind me....I said no, the "Doorman" said to come straight here.....She said I needed to sign in on the computer......I smiled, and said, no problem......

So I did.....As my name popped up on her computer, she called my name....REMARKABLE....

So, I throw the big bag on the holder, and announce to her that I have weapons that need to be checked......Without blinking an eye, she says okay! We do the TSP paperwork, I show her my unloaded guns, gives me my paperwork and 10 minutes after TSP inspects my bags with the guns, I am on my way to the gate! I love Nevada!

I would like to thank the "Towel Heads" that flew the planes into the Pentagon/World Trade Center and Pennsylvania for the high food and drink prices in the airports! $8.79 + tax for a breakfast meal at Burger King!!!!!!!!!!!!! The same meal at your regular BK is $2.89 + tax......Hmmmmmm

The flight to Chicago was uneventful, cause I slept the whole way, and listened to my 24.5 hours of music on my Ipod.....

So, (Becky will like this) when we take off from Chicago, we cross the lake, then fly over some land....When I sit by the window, I really like to try and identify land features (oh, and I love to watch the planes that cross over and under us while we fly....(You would be so suprised if you knew how close other aircraft are when you are flying.....Lets just say, most of the time you can read the names on the side of the aircraft.)

As we pass over land, I see we are along the Indiana Turnpike.....I know this, cause there next it is Notre Dame Stadium.......

then we pass over Lake Erie.....I see Toledo, Perry Nuc plant and other stuff as we get closer to Cleveland....As we approach "The Mistake on the Lake" as so many of my "non-Ohio" friends call it, I notice that there seems to be a lot more condos along Rt 2 than when I lived here....Hmm..

Since I was a kid, and we lived in Elyria/Lorain/Sheffield Lake and Avon, I knew the traffic patterns of aircraft going into and out of Hopkins........So as we travel over Brook Park and Parma (I love that name, Parma!), I notice the familure looking houses that all look the same, and the empty Ford/Chevy/Dodge plant parking lots........Boy, times must really be tough in C-Town, but I will write more on that later.....

As we land, I see the HUGE NASA hanger at Hopkins and I now know, I am home......!!!

Now to baggage claim.....I was really impressed at how quickly our luggage was onto the belts...My guns arrived with me, so off to explore NE Ohio........

After scaring the rental car attendent to death when I pulled out my Glock 23 and loaded it,
I travel quickly via I-480 past all the familure landmarks of my youth....Cranking WMMS as I go......I stop at Southeast Harley for a quick look around, then I do my normal drive through Northfield/Macedonia......My, each time I go back, I just shake my head.....

So, a few weeks before my trip, I get the catalog from a cycle accessory dealer in NE Ohio.....They are near Burton.....I forgot about the Amish.....For my friends and family from PA, they are like the Menonites, but different......That is all I am gonna say....So I traveled through Amish country and stopped at a couple of Amish Farms....

But wait, I am a little hungry, so I stop at a Giant/Eagle......The sign said they had a deli.......Well, the deli was not what I wanted, but when I turned around, there it was! Standing there all proud, displaying her wares in my face like the hooker in Vegas! THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY TAILGATE PARTY STAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started humming the fight song, declaring to the sales lady "I have died and gone to heaven!!"

I purchase my OSU Chips, shot glasses, red plastic cups with the OSU logo and leave...I had forgot that I was hungry!

So, I stop at a Subway, get a sandwhich and start on my long journey to MD!

So I am taking back roads until I get to PA......I figure I would get on the PA turnpike after I cross over.......So, I am cruising along, minding my own business, and I approach a toll both......As I continue to find change to through into the basket, I hear this drill sgt like voice scream out "HEY, DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING?" I look, and in the lane next to me, is a PA State Police officer....Dumbfounded, I say, no, why? "YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING! SLOW DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION!!!" I said, "okay", and he sped away....

Welcome back to the east!

I finally arrived at my sweeties house in Pasadena, Md, in the rain (something I had not seen since the snow in May)........I am going to bed, so the stories will continue later........