I'm finally back to update this blog. It has been a busy week as Darla and I were in Vegas this past weekend and at the Home Opener for the SF Giants at scenic Pac Bell Park on Monday. I was at work yesterday, but my boss has this silly rule about actually working during the work week, so I acquiesced and spent yesterday getting caught up after being gone the prior two-and-a-half work days.

The trip to Vegas was relaxing in spite of limited sleep and an abundance of over-stimulation for the three-and-a-half days that we spent in Sin City. The weather was oddly cool and we spent no time at the pool. The trip started out in a nerve-wracking fashion as Dad and Shirley were nowhere to be found when our plane touched down. I had checked in with Dad in the morning and they were packing the car and planned to get on the road within a half-hour. The plan was that they would check-in to both condos and have our keys ready when they picked us up at the airport at 5:45 pm. We were right on time and went to pick up our luggage at the baggage claim. Dad was not in evidence and I assumed he was with the car and planned to pick us up at the curb. We waited and waited at the pick up area and no Dad. I tried calling his room and not only had he not checked in at the Polo Towers, but the doofus at the desk couldn't find his reservation. It was odd, simply because Dad prides himself on being prompt and on time. I was worried, but found our reservation intact at the Jockey Club. We waited an hour in case they had the time wrong and finally and reluctantly headed to the que lining up for cabs. We cabbed over to the Jockey and got checked in. Darla was finally able to rouse someone with a modicum of intelligence at Polo Towers and they located Dad's reservation. He had NOT checked in and there was no message. We left a message with our cell phone number and that we were going to dinner.

I tried not to worry, but scenarios were running through my head. Why hadn't he left a message at our hotel and if something happened, why hadn't he paged us at the airport? We walked over to New York, New York and had dinner and finally at 8:30 Dad called on the cell. They had just arrived in Vegas and checked-in. Dad had fallen deathly ill on the trip and ended up in the hospital on IV and they had run numerous tests, including a cat scan. He had been bent over in pain and after five hours in the hospital, the pain had subsided and they released him. The doctor surmised that he might have had a pinched bowel or intestine and the pinched area had unblocked itself. He was tired and had been ill several times over the course of the day and wanted to just rest up. We told him, we'd meet up with him in the morning and to get some sleep. It turns out that they HAD tried to page us at both Sacramento and Vegas and we hadn't heard the pages.

Friday, Dad was his old self with no lingering effects from his ordeal. We went out to get some groceries and then lunch on the strip. We also went over and saw the Antique Car Show at the Imperial Palace. I had tickets for the Catch a Rising Star comedy club at ten that night and we headed back to our rooms about four-thirty to rest and planned to meet for hors de ouevres and cocktails at Dad's condo at six. We then went to Smith and Wollensky's steak house for dinner. S&W is famous for their dry cured steaks and chops. The restaurant had several bachelor parties and other large parties and it was crowded and LOUD. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals, but all questioned whether we would go back. The acoustics were terrible and it was rather pricey, with steaks running about $40 and everything a la carte. The bill for the four of us was close to $200 and Darla and I (dieting) had shared a New York steak and didn't have wine or cocktails.

We went to the comedy club at Excalibur and laughed till our sides hurt. The show was hilarious with two headliners and a musical comedian to warm up the crowd that was very polished and entertaining. We then wandered to the boardwalk and gambled until three a.m.

Dad talked us into sitting through a partial time share presentation at Polo on Saturday and we got tickets to a variety show at the Venetian that night. The show was at six p.m. and was tremendously entertaining with jugglers, magicians, Chinese acrobats, a comedy singer, singers and a daredevil act that worked on ropes above the crowd. We were in the balcony and happy to not have the duo flying over our heads. We went from the show to a wonderful dinner at the Venetian's Grand Lux cafe. The restaurant is run by the Cheesecake Factory chain and it was excellent. We went from there over to Madam Tussaud's wax museum and enjoyed seeing all of the stars and sports celebrities images in wax. It is always amazing and each replica costs about $70,000. There were well over 100 including John Wayne, Mel Gibson, JFK and Princess Diana. There was also a Vegas wing with Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Liberace and the like. It was a great time with Dad and Shirley.

We flew home on Sunday oddly relaxed and tired. We had been on the go for three days and still had the Giants game on Monday. Both Darla and I fell asleep on the couch at home Sunday night by eight thirty. We were exhausted.

San Francisco was great on Monday. Their ace, Jason Schmidt, was on the mound and the temperatures were in the high sixties. Both Darla and I got a little sunburned as we sat for four hours in the blazing sun and watched our team go to 7-0 on the year by hitting five home runs and beating San Diego 7-4. We saw NO war protestors as I had seen none the week before when I had to see agents in SF. The weather was rainy and the war protestors are adamantly opposed to the war as long as the weather is good. If it's raining, somehow their ardor for protesting wains. It's hard to take a group seriously when they stay indoors if the weather turns nasty. Thank God our soldiers will fight in any conditions.

I am thrilled to be home and back to my hot tub. I have really become a spa addict and miss the hot soak on trips away from home. Darla and I are in the spa nightly year round and it really helps loosen my sore muscles and aids in sleep.

Darla and I continue on our diets and in spite of the temptation in Vegas, we have both lost seven pounds to date and I'm down 11 from my high of 204 pounds in December. My goal is 175 pounds, but to get back in the 180's would be great. Darla is on the Atkins diet where she can eat any protein, but has to avoid carbohydrates and can't eat breads, pasta, fruit, caffeine, sugars, milk, starches, etc. She can eat meat, eggs, nuts, cheese, poultry, etc. She eats a big breakfast with eggs and bacon. My diet is Slim Fast, where I eat a shake for lunch. My shake includes fruit (peaches, strawberries, bananas, pineapple or raspberries) and frozen yogurt. It is not on the diet, but I have to be able to gag down the shake for lunch. I've cut out sweets and eat fruit in its place. So far the conflicting diets are working for both of us. I like the Atkins Diet, but I have high cholesterol and all of the bacon and eggs can't be good for me, so I'll stick with Slim Fast.

I hope all is well with all of you. I enjoyed the video images today of the statue of Hussein being pulled down in Baghdad square and then the Iraqis dragging the head of the statue through town. Perhaps this war will be over sooner than later.