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!

Happy Family

We were supposed to have a family reunion in July 2020, but that didn't happen for obvious reasons. It's been 4 years since the last big gathering, although our family has had several opportunities to see cousins in between. Needless to say, we definitely have been looking forward to a fun weekend in Vegas with our ʻohana!

Since we weren't really comfortable with the idea of R's dad flying alone, we were grateful that R's cousin B could accompany him from Chicago. We hit the road early this morning so that we could pick the two of them up directly from the airport. But we left ourselves enough time for a quick pit stop in Victorville for Steak 'n Shake, of course.

Do-Over

Monday, April 4

After taking R's dad back to his place, we started the trek downstate to see my parents. But first, a stop at Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries for my mom. In Pontiac, we made a second stop at Wally's because we saw Mike Chen feature their brisket sandwich on his YouTube channel. I think Wally's must be the Illinois version of a Buc-ee's travel center/convenience store, although this one was kind of underwhelming, IMO. One day we'll have to road trip somewhere where there are Buc-ee's to compare. 

The Nonagenarian

Saturday, April 2

It's April in Chicago, so that means spring weather, right?

If by "spring weather," you mean cold, wet, and possible snow, then you'd be right!

After we landed at O'Hare, we picked up the rental car and hit the drive-thru at the Steak 'n Shake nearby, since they still don't have dine-in seating. (Note to self: next time we are only going to the Oakton location, since this one has been repeatedly subpar.)

After dumping off our stuff in the hotel room, R and I went to Party City in Niles to pick up some decorations for R's dad's 90th birthday open house. Unfortunately the temperature changes between the store, outside in the car, and back in the hotel room were not kind to the balloons. The ideal gas law, PV = nRT, works in real life because one of them popped. Boo.