That was a big week in The Life of Phil. \u00a0That’s not necessarily a good thing either; \u00a0I don’t like “big.” \u00a0I like “consistent,” thank you very much. \u00a0Well, things happen. \u00a0I went to a conference in Las Vegas all week, and it was a bit overwhelming. \u00a0Too many people, too hot, and, at the end of the day, it was work. \u00a0They can host those things wherever they want, try as hard as they want to make them fun, but it’s\u00a0still work. \u00a0And by “hot,” I mean 110+. \u00a0BRUTAL hot. \u00a0You could hardly breathe outside the hotel. \u00a0This is not to say I didn’t have any fun. \u00a0One of my friends attended with me, and then our wives showed up mid-week. \u00a0Once the conference (mercifully) ended, we had one big party day too. \u00a0We got all fancy and rented a cabana down at the hotel pool, and that made for a great afternoon of relaxation. \u00a0That’s the way to go, I’ll say that. \u00a0No laying out in the sun on blistering hot plastic\u00a0chairs for these high-rollers. \u00a0After that we met up with one of my college buddies who has lived out there since… \u00a0Well, since we got out of college. \u00a0He (again, mercifully) took us off the strip for a while, and was it ever good to get away from that mess. \u00a0We hit the new tiki bar in town first. \u00a0Ever heard of a tiki bar? \u00a0I surely hadn’t, but then I’m old and uncool. \u00a0After that he took us to a Thai food place, which was a wonderful change from the hotels, both in terms of taste and price. \u00a0Oh, and I’m sure everyone wants to know the results of our\u00a0time at the tables. \u00a0Well, I don’t gamble, so I took all my money home. \u00a0Donette was the gambler of the group. \u00a0She dropped a ten-spot in the penny slots. \u00a0Gave it one pull, doubled her money, and cashed out. \u00a0I guess that makes her the top gambler in the group.<\/p>\n
That was an exhausting week, but we still had “obligations” when we got back home. \u00a0Saturday was our friend Jana’s annual birthday party. \u00a0We’ve been three years in a row now, and it’s always a blast. \u00a0They’ve got an incredible back yard, pretty much made for such events. \u00a0I went over around noon and threw a bunch of ribs on, then Donette joined me later in the afternoon and we proceeded to enjoy the pool until way-too-late. \u00a0Good times. \u00a0The ribs came out OK too, much to my relief. \u00a0I hate cooking for large groups of strangers… \u00a0Too much pressure.<\/p>\n
We rounded things out with a trip to some of the local wineries. \u00a0It occurred to us we hadn’t been wine tasting in quite some time. \u00a0The weather was reasonably nice, and our friends had a new car to squire us about, so we hit\u00a0the tasting circuit. \u00a0We hit several favorites, and tried one new place. \u00a0Sunday Funday, indeed.<\/p>\n
I’ve got an awful lot of pics from my trip, and the weekend. \u00a0I’d split them up into multiple posts, but I always forget. \u00a0So, here they are.<\/p>\n\n\t\t