One of the dates in particular was one of the best we've had in our years of marriage. We started out spending and hour or so shopping at an outdoor shopping mall. A snowstorm was starting, so we were pretty much the only people there. Then we headed over to Grimaldi's, or very favorite pizza place. Again, the weather probably contributed, but we were almost the only people there so we got our food quickly. A far cry from the couple-hour wait we had when we went for the first time in New York. Our waiter was impressed at how quickly we polished off a large pizza. And that we had been to the original Grimaldi's. In fact, when we were done we were craving more and we were "this close" to ordering another one. We found out that they oxidize their water to be just like Brooklyn's water, and they use the same ingredients as they do in New York, so the pizza is exactly the same. Heavenly, I tell you.
We had scheduled ourselves quite awhile for dinner, so we had a long time to spare, so we figured we'd wander around the El Dorado casino, before picking up our tickets to the "Buddy Holly" show. They have free valet parking there, so we enjoyed that nice convenience! When we got into the casino we found the sports bar to watch the final minutes of the BYU//Florida game. When we arrived about 40 TV's were tuned to another game, and one lonely TV was tuned to the BYU game. But when the game went to overtime they put the game onto the big screen. G and I figured we were probably the only two BYU fans watching from a bar. But actually quite a few other folks around us were cheering the Cougs on too. The difference was they were drunk off their rears and were clutching worn papers. Presumably their March Madness brackets. So we were the only true* BYU fans/grads there. Unless a whole bunch of folks became drunks since graduation. We also remarked at the irony and awkwardness of the repeated f-bombs we heard all around as as Jimmer missed like ten 3-pointers in a row, and BYU ultimately lost.
*We're not true fans either. This was the only game we anticipated or watched all season. We care enormously when they win but we don't really watch them play. Or watch any sports for that matter.
So after we got over being sad about the loss, we headed for the theater to watch the show. As awkward as the sports bar was, we cannot express how hilariously awkward it was to walk up to the theater only to realize we were at least 40 years younger than the next youngest person there. Apparently Buddy Holly fans are in their 70's or older. Seeing how he was the rage in the late 50's, I guess that would make sense.
This is the worst picture ever, but I wanted you to get a sense of what I mean when I say we stuck out like a sore thumb.
The performance was fabulous, fun, and entertaining. The actor playing Buddy Holly was great, and boy did the folks in the audience get excited about the music. They danced and hollered like a bunch of teenagers. G's parents went a few nights later and said they had a frail 80-pound lady near them that moved the entire time. Ken said that if she had osteoporosis she would have resulted in a pile of dust by the end. The two people on either side of us were toe-tapping, clapping, and singing the entire time. It was so incredibly entertaining to feel the enthusiasm of the crowd.
At one point there was a costume malfunction for one of the guys on stage (his pants came unbuttoned) and the lady next to me about came unglued. Like a teenager if Justin Beiber's pants came unbuttoned on stage. She laughed and blushed and leaned over to me and asked me if I saw what happened. We saw her later after the show in the lobby and she was still laughing and blushing like a little school girl. She flagged me down and asked me yet again (for the 10th time) if I saw it.
When we sat down we noticed there were some extra large seats right behind us. They were special seats for people on oxygen we discovered a few minutes later -- when several people rolled their oxygen tanks in. Not to mention, there was Jazzy parking near the entrance of the theater. I'm not kidding.
To say we had a fabulous time would be a huge understatement. We were so glad we went!
The show ended by 8:30, which is early by our standards and by Reno's. We wanted to make sure the children were good and asleep before we arrived back, so we decided to drive around the strip, then head out for dessert. Unfortunately the snow was really coming down, so a few of the restaurants we looked into were closing early, so we found Applebees and totally overdid it on some appetizers before finally going home.
I mentioned in an earlier post how great it is to be able to go out without paying a babysitter or having to clean up after the babysitter. It was so nice to get out and know the boys were fine (even if the grandparents were a little worse for the wear.)
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