As the world rights itself and borders, venues and people are adapting after the year-long pandemic, we find ourselves thinking and planning for future travel itinieraries once again. Our plan for now is to stay stateside. Our next international trip is on the books for April 2023 at this time.

Karen’s hotel is offering the employee rates and experiences so we plan to take as much advantage of that as we can.

First stop – West Palm Beach

It’s time to meet up with more friends in one the many places Karen has worked and we have lived. We plan to drive down and stay 2 nights at the newly refurbished Four Seasons hotel. I’ve already invited a friend to join us for lunch and the afternoon so we can catch up. It’s been about a year since we’ve seen each other. It will be a treat for her – and us as well to enjoy this great hotel! This hotel loved my baked goods offerings so I plan to make a batch of cookies to take for them to enjoy and as a surprise.

Next idea – Laurel, Mississippi/Alabama Road Trip

We watch HGTV’s Home Town show and have decided that we would love to see this quaint beautiful town. There is a fabulous B&B that we plan to stay at for a couple of days while we check it all out. Ben and Erin, Hometown hosts, have also worked revitalizing another small town in Wetumpka, Alabama that we may check out while ‘in the neighborhood’. We plan to fly into Alabama then rent a car. Karen’s best friend from Las Vegas days lives there and we will visit her and family for a couple of days before starting the rest of the road trip.

High School 50th Reunion

That brings us into October, I believe. So next up is my 50th high school reunion. This will be a blast from the past as I haven’t seen many of my former classmates since school days or the couple of early reunions that I attended while still living in Rochester. Make no mistake, going home for a reunion is a costly weekend. There’s flights, airport parking, car rental, hotel, food and assorted reunion costs such as clothing and ticket. Due to COVID, this reunion had to be rescheduled. Our gala night will be Friday, Thursday is a casual get-together at a local country bar and Saturday we revisit the halls of the ‘new’ high school where we were the first class to complete our senior education, 10-12 grades. This wil be a quick and busy weekend where we will also try to visit Ed’s sisters and their families while there.

Next up – our Christmas trip

Every year we plan to do something special for Christmas. This year we plan to head to Georgia for a wonderful olde world type Christkindlmarkt in Helen, a town reminiscent of Bavaria. It is said to be one of the best for miles around. We plan to fly to Atlanta, stay a night or two at the Four Seasons there, then drive to Helen and stay within walking distance of the venue for a couple more nights before driving back to fly home from Atlanta. We plan to go with friends from Karen’s work here in Orlando. It shouldn’t be as cold as a market in Europe – fingers crossed at least!

That takes us to the end of 2021. More road trips will be planned for 2022. We haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on the list!

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Well, it finally happened! We made it back home to Las Vegas for a short trip – our first in well over a year. The trip was filled with memories, friends and great food – oh and a little gambling as well! Speaking of the gambling – once again I would like to say that I do not like the new huge, bright slot machines. Give me my good old Planet Moola desk model or similar. And also once again, the machines were not very kind to me. But then, I didn’t expect them to be nor did I spend much time playing. We were too busy socially!

Our trip started with a 3-day notice that Karen had the week off. We scrambled to make plans for our limited time and many friends. We arrived by 11AM and as expected, our room was not ready. Ok, let’s eat! Easier said than done. Vegas is still maintaining many Covid closures and our hotel – The Cosmopolitan – was no different. Looking for a lighter lunch, we checked out the open restaurants and struck out. There was a 2-hour wait at The Henry. Nope! That wasn’t going to work for us. We were very hungry and wanted food now! A quick call to the pool area restaurant – Overlook Grill – netted us an immediate table. We soon ordered and enjoyed our meal – breakfast for Karen; lunch for me. Our server was great, wanting us to be 100% pleased with our choices.

But, I get ahead of myself. Let’s discuss our flight experience in almost 2 years. We chose Southwest because they had a non-stop itinerary. The Orlando airport was packed! Karen and I ended up getting separated going through security. We both always have pre-check but the wheelchair valet – I always get gate-to-gate assistance – had other ideas as he was taking care of me and another passenger who did not have pre-check clearance. So Karen went through pre-check with all the bags and my rollator walker and I went through the regular line with nothing. Not my phone or purse. Just my ID and boarding pass. When we got through the line and came out the other side, we did not see Karen. No big deal. She knew our gate and I knew she’d find me there. So off we went to catch the shuttle. Karen caught up with us and we all traveled to the gate together. Whew! I really don’t want that experience again!

Our room at the Cosmopolitan was on the 53rd floor overlooking the Bellagio fountains and the LV Strip. Our friend had arranged for VIP check-in and they called us when our room was ready. The room was very nice and the view was great! Soon, it was time to meet Karen’s friend and his friend from Rochester for dinner at Blue Ribbon. We shared many Rochester memories. It turned out that he worked in the same building at Kodak as my late husband, but did not remember him. What a dinner! We dined on an assortment of menu items family style so we could taste a bit of everything. Our server was great and took excellent care of us.

As the week progressed, we shared many meals with local friends from breakfasts to lunches to dinners. All our food from the Cosmopolitan restaurants was very good. Our offsite lunch was a treat but an offsite breakfast and dinner were rather disappointing food quality-wise. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to re-visit favorite old restaurants as food and management changes over the years. Still, for the entire week we did not go hungry!

One of our traditions when visiting Vegas is to visit the memorial area Karen and I created for Ed on Mt. Charleston. Of course, what’s a visit to Mt. Charleston without a little drama?! Yes, we are talking about me again! This trip was made with a ‘boot’ on my foot and a bandaged toe. Not the most comfortable of all things to vacation or trek a mountainside with! In spite of it all, with the assistance of my wonderful, helpful and encouraging daughter, I made it to and from the memorial none the worse for wear but exhausted from my efforts. It was a bit disappointing to see that the perennial and cactus seeds we planted on our last visit didn’t not survive. We talked about future visits and perhaps what we could do instead. It seems the area is now well used as there were a couple camp fire rings close by.They looked well placed but a spark is possible and another fire on Mt. Charleston would be devastating.

Too soon it was time for our return flight. There were empty seats on this flight so thankfully Karen and I did not have anyone else seated between us. Not sure why, but the cabin was freezing cold! And of course the captain does not like turning off the seat belt sign! We both caught some type of ‘crud’ from this trip and many days later are still trying to get over the coughing part.

To our friends who came out to see us and dine with us, you all know who you are and we thank you for arranging your day so you could spend some time with us. Not sure when we will return, but now that travel is opening up again, it may be sooner than we all thought! Until next time…

UPDATE: I just realized that his blog post was never published. After our return and for many days, I endured a dry, hacking cough that I couldn’t shake. Off to the doctors with me! He quickly sent me to the hospital to be checked out further. After a total of 29 days – between 2 visits – I finally came home with new-to-me illnesses, life changes and a mini pharmacy. As time moves on, I am doing better and the 2 major specialists for my care are pleased with my progress. My daughter, Karen, is part of the progress as she has supported me emotionally and physically during the past couple of months. I lost the month of June. July has been spent visiting doctors and labs on a weekly basis. August is here with a breath of fresh air as I continue to improve and my on-site doctor visits have decreased. I will say that I never want to experience 29 days in any hospital ever again! Value your health – you never know!

The scene is worth the journey.

–Unknown