Kansas City --> Las Vegas

Tuesday

I got my early morning workout in at the gym, and then came home and walked the dogs with my mom.  Trying to get her some last minute "Terri Time" in before I leave today.  Well, that and I just like to get outside whenever I can.  Even if it is gray and foggy.

I was pretty well all packed up and ready to go on my 3.5 week trip, so the plan for the morning was just to go through the insurance book of all our lost items (from the fire) and make some progress on the 1,200 front/back pages we have to get through.  

That was until Tony called and said he and his family were trying to figure out how to get downtown for the Royals World Series parade...

They tried to get on the free shuttle fromm Olathe to Crown Center, but said there were litrally thousands of people waiting there...in a line that wrapped around a block.  So that clearly wasn't happening.  (Later found out that thousands of people who were waiting on those free shuttles all over the KC area didn't make it to the parade...)  

Enter me to the resccue.  I offered to drive them down and drop them off as close as I could get.  I started checking different routes and traffic reports....and it was a whole lot of dark red (ie not moving) on all the major roads.  

Christa said she had faith in me, and knew I would do whatever it took to get them there - even if that meant driving over curbs.  That was all the incentive I needed.  Off we went -- along with 800,000 other Kansas Citians -- to Crown Center.

   ^^ They were all wondering at this point if they should even be attempting to go...

I have honestly  never seen so many people in one spot all wearing blue in my whole life.  Even from miles away.  We took 75th down to Troost -- I knew most of Johnson Country would not take that route -- and then snaked our way back over.  Tony said I had an hour and a half to get as close as I could and then they would just walk.  He only wanted to get within a couple of miles...

Well, I'm proud to say that in right about an hour I got them not within a few miles, but about two blocks away from Crown Center.  I drove right up to the polic blockade and pulled over for them to hop out.  I was just as shocked as they were that we actually made it that close in that little time.  All by avoiding the main routes.  

Look at the masses of people walking:

It was so easy going the opposite direction.  Not one car was going that way, but the people filled the sidewalks for miles.  Literally, miles.  

In fact, I later found out that people just abandoned their cars on the interstate because traffic wasn't moving and there weren't any more parking spots.  They left their cars on the highway and just walked!

I made it home in no time, changed clothes, grabbed lunch at Panera with a friend, and then took off for the airport.  Didn't miss a beat of the parade.  It was on every tv and radio station anywhere  you went, airport incuded:

They estimated that over 800,000 people crowded around Crown Center to see the team.  That is a LOT of people - all in blue.  Such a cool site!

 

My flight to LAX took off on time, and I passed most of the flight updating this blog.

I hardly had any time in LA before taking off for Vegas - a quick and easy flight.

The airport was dead, and I was the only one on the little train to baggage claim.  (Yeah, I had to actually check a bag for this trip.  3 weeks in different climates and a wedding was too much to fit in a carry-on.)

^^ Not used to seeing Vegas like this, but I guess it was a Tuesday evening.

While the airpot was dead, the strip was still business as usual.  People on every sidewalk and taxis jammed on the Las Vegas Boulevard.

First things first.  I had to eat.  It was late there, and even later in my world (central time).  My all-time favorite meal is the Chilean Sea Bass at Tao in The Venetian.  

Scott agreed to try it out, and with no reservations, we were forced to squeeze in to the corner of the bar.  But it worked.  And I got the best sea bass ever.  For real.  Makes my mouth water just to look at this picture:

Scott hadn't ever really spent much time on the strip, so we walked down to see the fountains at Bellagio -- another favorite of mine, and took in a few other sites along the way.

It was so late and I was so tired by that point.  We left the bright and busy strip for a quieter place to park the van for the night:  a Wal-Mart parking, per the usual. 

^^ Found this one right across from the airport!  Might be a loud night.

More Vegas adventures tomorrow -- but of a different kind (ie not on the strip).