Watch out Tucson, here I come! Oh wait…this plane is going to Reno.

So, here’s the scoop: I had an unused ticket on Southwest that I needed to use by May. Since I couldn’t take any extra days off of work, I needed to go somewhere for the weekend that was close yet fun. And what could be more fun than visiting friends from high school that I haven’t seen since my wedding? How long ago was that anyway? Two years?? Three??? Well, whatever.

Jack and Jeff were more than happy to have me visit. They had just gotten a new puppy they wanted to show off anyway. As it turns out, Christine was planning on visiting the twins too. So we coordinated to have her fly out from Cali around the same time. I hadn’t seen that girl since high school and I know for sure that was almost eight years ago! Gah, I feel old. *cries*

Originally, my thought was to hop on a plane right after work on Friday night and fly home Sunday evening. Alas, plane schedules don’t always match up with my immaculate plans. DARN THEM TO PERDITION! *quivering with scarcely concealed indignation* So I hauled my butt out of bed at an ungodly hour Saturday morning and caught a plane out to Reno at 6am. Or something like that. My mind is remarkable in its ability to block out painful experiences.

I was STARVING by the time I got picked up by Jeff and Christine. (Sadly, Jack was stuck at work.) After coming to the realization that Jeff had no idea where to find breakfast in all of Reno, we ended up at a sports bar. It is truly mind-boggling the amazing things you can discover in the most unlikely places. Bully’s has the most heavenly garlic fries in the entire universe, guaranteed to leave you with breath that could annihilate a vampire. *happily wallowing in garlic stink* Ok, so that’s my own personal opinion seeing as though they make no such guarantee. Unless I missed that part of the menu…

Following a brief unscheduled nap at the house with Soju, the newest addition to the Violette household, we set out for the mall. Unexpectedly, hunger pangs nearly crippled us around 5pm. Either that or it may have had something to do with the miles and miles we traversed at the mall. Not to mislead you into thinking that the mall was in any way large. But we did manage to wander around it for quite some time. Well, maybe an hour or two. Regardless! It felt like forever!!

Jeff was a saint and took us to an all-you-can-eat sushi joint. Yum! I believe it was called Sushi Pier. Lovely place, really, although the wait can get pretty insane. We were lucky though and got three seats up at the sushi bar in no time at all. I had only been sushi at places like Wasabi Bistro where you order off of a menu or places like I Sushi were you snag what you want off the conveyor belt. But this was something else. A flat fee to order whatever you want, however much you want?!? I LIKE IT! The King Kong Roll and the Mountain Roll were my favorites but everything else was good too. Oh, and the mussels! Mmmm.

Next on the agenda: bowling. I was so stuffed I could have rolled myself down the lane. *picturing myself looking something like Humpty Dumpty* Jack was finally off work and Arlene, another friend from SAHS, showed up with her older sister April. Apparently they are all really into bowling and belong to a bowling league. Arlene, April, Jack and Jeff have their own shoes, bowling balls and neat little roller bags to carry everything in. Maybe I should join a league too! It was fun to sit around and catch up with them. Sometimes it feels like no time has passed since the last time we saw each other. I, of course, had to whip out my camera to blind everyone since the camera likes to flash multiple times. I think I may have caused the people in the other lane to bowl a little worse than they might have otherwise. *evil chuckle*

Afterward, we all headed out to a casino. I can’t remember which one it was other than to say it housed Rum Bullions Island Bar. I had never been to a place with dueling pianists. It was fantastic! The pianists were extraordinarily entertaining. I couldn’t believe how many songs they knew off the top of their heads. It was so much fun watching people tip the other pianist to cut off the one who was playing, everybody hollering along with the songs that they knew, hapless individuals or couples who were hauled up on stage in celebration of a birthday or an anniversary…it was NON-STOP!

Arlene and April headed home once we left. But the night was not over yet! The boys had been itching to take me and Christine to the strip club. So off we went to Fantasy Girls with stacks of ones bulging in our back pockets. It was hysterical. Jeff and Jack managed to get us each a lap dance before Jack went home. He had to get up early the next morning to go to work again. I think the funniest part was when the Mexican guy next to me kept sliding money onto the bar in front of me to try and get the strippers to molest me. So I would try to sneak it in front of Christine, to share the wealth so to speak. *laughs* At one point, that guy’s friend was throwing money at us from across the way. And then he ended up buying each of us a lap dance! We didn’t get home until well past 3am.