The Vegas Wedding

My sister's wedding in Las Vegas has now come and gone, but the memories are still all to fresh. I was impressed with all the lights, buildings, and construction of the city. Vegas is truly a world in itself, and I now know why it's called 'sin city.'

Hannah and Colby wed in the outdoor chapel adjacent to the Howard Johnson in what many called 'old Vegas.' It was a bit more modest setting from the places we stayed. My parents and I stayed at Bally's right next to the Paris hotel, which I thought was quite impressive. The wedding party stayed at Treasure Island, and my sister and Colby stayed at the Venician, probably the most impressive resort of them all.

I found that Vegas was a both pretty and trashy city all in one. It's definitely more beautiful at night than it is during the day. At night the lights and casinos rule the landscape. However, in the day you can see trash, construction, and pollution. Nonetheless, I thought it was a very interesting place to visit, but not one where I would want to live.

Originally, I was going to depart on Sunday with my folks and drive down to Vegas with them. But complications made a sudden last minute change in plans, and I ended up flying down Monday night. It allowed me to get in some more hours at work, and cut the travel time down to hardly anything by flying out of PDX. When I arrived in Vegas I felt miserable. I had swollen up from the flight and my medication had fallen behind. I was exhausted and in pain. I was even doubting if I should have gone. Thankfully, by morning I was rested up and ready to go. My parents were nice enough to push me around via wheelchair most of the time I was down there. Believe me, it saved my foot!

I played some slots and did terrible. If I would$160, but that soon faded away. Meh, go figure... I kind of get the impression the casinos don't make their money by giving it away -- I dunno, just a thought?

Wednesday was wedding day. I awoke to my parents who had ordered room service for breakfast. That was pretty cool!

We then arrived at the Venician to meet up with my sister and the bridesmaids shortly before the wedding. Naturally we had a photo-op beforehand. They insisted I get a picture with my sister and mom (pictured). I remember standing in pain long enough so I wouldn't have to be in a wheelchair in the wedding pictures.

The girls were pretty fired up (if you know what I mean), by the time we arrived. Liza, Jill, and Shonda (my sister's bridesmaids) were already having a pretty good time.

At about 5:30 that night we traveled over to the wedding chapel. It was a very small wedding, the smallest I have ever attended. But I think it is the way I would want my wedding to be. Just close friends and family kept this wedding comfortable and fun.




Shortly after the wedding we headed to Caesar's Palace where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory and everyone had a good time.

As the night wrapped up I fell like a tree in the woods and quickly went to sleep. That night I had a horrible nightmare.

I woke up as I was on a plane and it was crashing. The memory was so vivid and scared me to death! And guess what... I was flying back to Portland that morning! Thankfully, my parents calmed me down a bit and I got on the plane anyway. But what an awful nightmare to have! Originally I was going to leave on Friday with my folks, but since plans changed, I left Thursday even earlier than normal so I could make a doctor's appointment at OHSU in Portland. Unfortunatly, I still have some swelling in an unpleasant place and I'm trying to get it resolved.

The plane ride back to Portland was no fun even though I made it once peice. Somehow I got one of like five seats on the plane that had a permanent arm rest on both sides. As a bigger guy, you can imagine my difficulty. I couldn't feel my butt by the time we got to Portland, let me tell you! Additionally, this was the first plane I had ever been on that didn't have vents above you so you could stay cool. Oh no, of course not, it was hot, turbulent, and miserable. I must say my flight down to Vegas was fairly pleasant. So this is how I would rate it: US Airways is in between Southwest and Frontier Airlines -- the two other airlines I've flown. Southwest being the worst of the bunch with their hot uncomfortable "u-pick" seating, to Frontier's high-back, plush, first-class like seating with air vents above, and DirecTV on the back of everyone's seat. Plus they served Mountain Dew! I would have flown Frontier, but it would have meant a layover in their hub of Denver. So, I would say US Airways was right in the middle of the two airlines.

It was an exciting week, and I am glad I went for the experience. Oh yeah, my sister got married too...

-LB

(enjoy the pictures below)