Impromptu Reunion

Two of R's cousins were in LA for the Rams-49ers game at the beginning of October, so our family caught up with them (plus a few more California ʻohana) for dinner that weekend. When they said that their dad (Uncle R to us) wanted to go to Vegas the weekend before Thanksgiving and that we were more than welcome to join, of course we were all in! I booked rooms for us at Main Street Station as soon as we got home. Good thing, because both Main Street and the Cal were all sold out not long after since the UNLV-Hawaiʻi rivalry game was that same weekend, too.

Unbelievable!

R checked all of the ticket apps first thing this morning and found seats at our price point, so we decided to go ahead and nab them. After reserving a spot in the Mandalay Bay parking garage using SpotHero, we were all set for the Bears-Raiders game this afternoon at Allegiant Stadium! Yay!

Before leaving for the game, we stopped to play one of the slot machines that was good to R during his March Madness trip earlier this year. Sure enough - I put $20 in and hit a small jackpot on my very first spin! 

Fiesta Loca!

Northern Exposure

As we were getting ready to check out of our room at the Denali Lakeview Inn this morning, we watched a moose stroll across the yard.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat..."

Suburbia

Hanging out with our friends RH and C at the Cubs game on Tuesday wasn't enough, so we also spent the day with them yesterday, too! We met them for lunch at Barnaby's in Northbrook. I guess it used to be a big Midwestern pizza chain, because both R and RH remembered going to Barnaby's (different locations) with their families as kids growing up in Chicago. Now there are only a few left...

Barnaby's is known for their crispy, thin crust pizza

Pressing Our Luck

Our good friends from college, RH and C, are also back here in Illinois. After some discussion in our group text, we decided to see the Cubs-Dodgers game together. However, rather than get seats in advance, we opted to park in the remote lot (free), take the shuttle to the ballpark (also free), and walk-up to the ticket window at Wrigley Field (no service fees). This way if the weather was bad or there were no good tickets left, we could just find a sports bar nearby to watch the game without having to commit any money ahead of time.

Yep, we got tickets!

Sing the Song

When R and I watched the Cubs beat the Padres in San Diego last April, we finally broke our streak of attending losing games. Then the boys joined us for a night game at Wrigley in September which had a more typical ending (Pirates 5 - Cubs 0), bringing our collective record to (drumroll, please...) 1-8. 😩

For today's Cubs-Diamondbacks game, we got tickets with four of our longtime friends. Like we did for the game in September, R and I parked in the remote lot off Irving Park Rd. and rode the shuttle over to meet up with them.

A Good Friday

Since R's cousin's wedding wasn't until later today, R and I went out to Alexander's Breakfast and Lunch in Skokie for breakfast. Or are chilaquiles considered lunch? 🤔 Either way, both dishes were really good!

Chilakillers and Tres Leches French toast

Resilience and Beauty

We started the long drive back home around 8:00AM this morning. By 9:30AM, we reached the Mono Lake Vista Point and hopped out of the car to take some photos.

In a Pickle

Friday, August 30

Nice leg room for R!

Our flight from LAX to ORD was not without some drama this morning. When we boarded the plane, we found out that the seats we originally booked were changed to accommodate a family with children. So instead of the four of us sitting together in Row 36, R was assigned to an exit row in the front of the plane, and the boys and I were given seats in Row 35, also an exit/bulkhead row. However, the gate agent did not notify us or the people originally assigned to Row 35 about the changes.  

Ordinarily, exit rows would be viewed as better seats. But we are used to having our backpacks and water bottles easily accessible to us, so this wasn't really an upgrade in our eyes. 

Things got worse when one of the original passengers boarded with a screenshot of her old boarding pass rather than using the United app, so she didn't understand why her seat was taken. It probably didn't help that she and rest of the party traveling with her only spoke Italian. Her son (I presume) was using Google Translate to communicate that he purchased the upgrade for his mother, and both of them were getting increasingly agitated.

#10

It's been 30 years since our first-ever Las Vegas family reunion, and the 10th one is now officially in the books. A great time was had by all, as usual!

March 1994

July 2024

Check out these other blog posts for more group photos from reunions #2-7, #8, and #9!

Slam Diego

Last year I traveled to Orlando for a conference, and as a bonus, I got to see alligators and manatees at Canaveral National Seashore. This year's conference was a little closer to home, so rather than suffer in traffic on the 5, my colleagues and I took the Pacific Surfliner train to San Diego on Saturday instead. Amtrak business class is totally the way to go!

After arriving at the Santa Fe Depot downtown, we took the Green Line trolley ($2.50 in the Pronto app) to the Seaport Village stop near our hotel. Then we headed across the street to grab lunch at Kansas City Barbeque, which was used as the location for the "sleazy bar scene" from Top Gun.

Maybe this pic will ring a bell...

It's the Great Pumpkin

Besides visiting the grandparents, there were two other reasons for the timing of this trip back to Illinois... my hometown's annual Pumpkin Festival and my high school class reunion. 

57th Annual!

If you've ever used Libby's Pumpkin for any recipes, chances are pretty high that it was grown and harvested from fields in Central Illinois and canned at the Nestlé plant in Morton. The "Pumpkin Capital of the World" has held an annual 4-day celebration of everything pumpkin each September since 1967. Imagine a stereotypical small town fair (carnival rides, competitions, entertainment, food, parade, etc.) but on steroids - the Chamber of Commerce and its army of volunteers does an excellent job! However, the bigger draw for me is the chance to catch up with old friends since many people come back to see friends/family who are still in town.

As a bonus for my parents, my brother G and niece C also decided to visit when they heard we would be there (my sister-in-law couldn't come due to work 😢), so they had all of their grandkids together for the first time since before the pandemic.  

Out of Luck

Saturday, July 8

We grabbed breakfast this morning from Aloha Specialties, where SPAM and Portuguese sausage rule! On our way to UNLV for the second day of games, we stopped by Leilani's Attic to see if they carried the yummy cornflake cookies that we had on Kauaʻi in 2021. No dice.

After going thru security, we headed straight over to Cox Pavilion for the Miami-Boston game. M and J were sporting their UCLA gear since their fellow Bruin, Jaime Jaquez, Jr., was drafted by the Heat a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, after we sat down, we quickly figured out that Jaime wasn't going to play at all because he wasn't even dressed during warmups. Bummer. 

Disappointed Bruins

Generational Talent

Even though M and J are now officially adults, it's nice to know that they still are up for going places with us. Guess it helps that Mom and Dad are picking up the tab for the hotel room, meals, and tickets to watch two days of NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas. Ha! But since both of them are gainfully employed this summer, they can play in the casino with their own hard-earned cash.

Because M needed to work remotely this morning, we picked up the boys in LA yesterday evening and started the drive to Vegas from there, stopping in Victorville for dinner at Freddy's and arriving at our hotel close to midnight. However, the late hour was not a deterrent for J, who was eager to make his donation to the house coffers since he wasn't old enough yet to gamble the last time we were here. M and R went with, but this tired driver kept her money and went to bed.

The Power of Water

To get to Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park from West Orange, the iPhone sent us there via small local roads instead of the Garden State Parkway. I'm usually happy to avoid traffic and tolls, but the problem with blindly following directions on this alternate route was that we didn't see the usual signage directing us to the park as we got closer.  On top of that, the streets of Paterson were super congested with kids getting out of school nearby, so we had a little trouble figuring out exactly where we were supposed to park the car. But after an extra trip around the block, we managed to find a spot in the lot next to Overlook Park.

25 miles

Switching Sides

After the game last night, we came back to the Cal for a late dinner at Market Street Cafe. Since they start serving their oxtail soup after 9:00PM, folks were already lined up around the corner into the casino. By the time we got seated, it was almost 10:30PM, but R's oxtail soup and my chili rice came to the table pretty fast. Needless to say, neither one of us was hungry this morning. 

So we skipped breakfast, checked out, and hit the road back to California. But instead of going home, we headed straight for the big rivalry game between #7 USC and #16 UCLA at the Rose Bowl, with a quick stop at Freddy's in Victorville for lunch.

We're Loyal to You, Illinois

Because the first game of the Continental Tire Main Event at T-Mobile Arena didn't tip off until late in the afternoon, we took it easy this morning. After sharing a small breakfast across the bridge at Aloha Specialities, we both had some luck at the blackjack tables. Yay!

Having pre-paid for event parking at Park MGM, we decided to take advantage of it and drive down to the arena a bit early. We took the tram over to The Shops at Crystals and walked the rest of the way to the Cosmopolitan for a late lunch. Since we didn't have time (or reservations) for Momofuku, we opted for its walk-up cousin, Bāng Bar, instead. Yum!

Flatbread fold-ups with spicy pork and teriyaki chicken

Da Bulls

Starting with the 2nd family reunion in 1998, we have traditionally ended the weekend with Sunday brunch at the Garden Court Buffet at Main Street Station. Since there are limited venues where our big family can easily gather in one place, this is always a nice way to say our goodbyes until next time. 

Afterwards, we checked R's dad out of his room, then drove him and R's cousin B to the airport for their flight back to Chicago. From there, the four of us went straight over to UNLV for a whole day of NBA Summer League games. Because we nearly froze to death in the arena last year, we came prepared with jackets and hoodies this time.

Generations

Because Main Street Station had removed their tournament slot machines, our usual Saturday morning activity was changed to a family blackjack tournament at the Cal instead.

Since we only had three dealers, the participants were split between two rounds. Everyone received a stack of chips, and each table was dealt a set number of hands. The players with highest chip totals at the end of either round would split the pot of entry fees.

Even though my streak of bad luck continued, I liked the change. This was much more fun than mindlessly pushing a button for 20 minutes!

Family Fun

The Friday of a reunion weekend means bowling. For our previous reunions, we've been to the lanes at Sam's Town, Sunset Station, Orleans, and Gold Coast. This year's event was back at the Orleans.

Since I was ready to join the ranks of the spectators, I didn't sign up to participate. But I ended up bowling anyway, having been drafted to replace an injured cousin. Oof.

We were a smaller group this year, but it was still fun to have another opportunity to be together and catch up with the family!