It's a Wrap

FINA11Y:  Truth be told, Edgar Martinez is there reason Christian and I are in Las Vegas this weekend.

You see, months ago, when the 2019 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductees were announced, and Seattle Mariners' slugger Edgar Martinez was (finally!) on that list, eldest son Rick and his wife Rachel decided to go to Cooperstown, New York, for the induction ceremony.  That meant their Dobermans would need dog sitting, and I volunteered. 

Originally, it was going to be a whole family trip, with CJ and Annabelle along, but when those two got the opportunity to attend private pilot ground school, that plan changed. So Christian and I flew down here solo, leaving Kennedy to play Mr. Mom to the kids for a few days. 

Come Sunday morning, Rick and Rachel were in the crowd at Cooperstown, we were on their couch in Vegas, and Kennedy and the kids were at the Mariners' stadium, at a viewing party.

Sad but true fact: The Mariners are so terrible this year, the kids didn't really stick around for the actual game. They watched an inning or so before heading home to get more studying done.

STUDY HALL: Edgar excitement aside, most of the kids' weekend was spent studying for their final ground school exam, to be taken Monday morning. 

They studied upstairs, they studied downstairs. 

They studied at a school while Kennedy ran the track. 

They studied at a stadium and they studied lakeside.

They studied under the watchful eyes of Bexley.

They even studied via speaker phone, as I had ordered their same textbook to be shipped to Vegas so Christian and I could quiz the kids remotely. 

They're taking their test as I type this, and however it turns out, I do believe they studied as much and as well as they could. 

VIVA, LAS VEGAS: I know, I know, when you go to Vegas, you're "supposed" to play the slots, throw some dice, see some shows, all of that. Yeah, well, that's not how Christian and I experienced "Sin City." 

Instead, we did what we enjoy doing any ol' where - hit some thrift shops, hardware stories, and some local brew pubs.

One destination was an indoor "swap meet." We were actually pretty excited to go - neither one of us has been to a real live swap meet in years.

Yeah, well, that record still stands, unfortunately. The place bills itself 'Fantastk," - perhaps too tall an order to live up to. 

My goodness, it was just aisle after aisle of imported crap, much of it bedazzled with rhinestones and the like because we *are* in Vegas, after all. Not an antique treasure to be seen, that's for sure.

At least the building itself was a bit funky and worth checking out for our $1 admission fee.

Actual bargain-hunting wise, we much preferred the Savers (Value Village if you're from the Northwest) we hit a bit later.

Later that afternoon, we wound up at a Wisconsin bar north of town. 

It had decent Packers and Badgers collections, but the food and beer were nothing special, at least to this Seattleite's palate. 

We also hit a total of five hardware or home improvement stores on our trip, I do believe. This Home Depot is in the westward shadow of the famous Vegas Strip.

We're packing up this afternoon. I will miss this view - the one I've had every morning upon waking up.  His (heavy!) head is on my stomach, by the way. Pretzel prefers a human pillow.

It will be weird not having to share my bed with a pair of 100 pound Dobermans tonight!