We flew to Las Vegas, waited two hours at the airport (having fun playing slots) and caught a plane to Arizona. I had never been on a plane so that was quite an exciting experience! John met us at the airport in his truck. We put the luggage in the back, and piled into the front seat. The three of us arrived at a nearby bowling alley where Judy, his wife, was supposed to meet us. Judy never showed up, and I have no idea why. We did enjoy meeting another couple, Debbie and John. They were very welcoming and friendly. We didn't stay long because Tricia was so tired.
The first day in Arizona was rather uneventful. We marveled at all the cactus and stark snow tipped mountains. That morning, Tricia and I went for a walk in the huge retirement trailer park where John lives. Naturally we got lost, and only accidentally found our way back. Carolyn, Judy's sister, arrived in her van from Texas. I loaded software on both our host and hostess's computers, fixed Judy's sound, and defragged her machine. I love tinkering with computers, so that was fun.
John had planned a short trip of three 1/2 to four hours to Chino, Ca. from Tucson to meet some other cancer chat folks. His agenda was to stay at a lady named YaYa's house to rest overnite then go to a "cancer chat" luncheon at Oceanside, Ca. (another hr and a half away) It's kinda strange to me that everybody we met out west defines distance by hours instead of miles. Then we were going to Laughlin (which was described to us as a cheaper version of Las Vegas about 5 hrs away.)
Neither Tricia nor I had ever conversed with or met YaYa before as she was a friend of John's. YaYa had expressed an interest in traveling with us to Las Vegas to meet her soon-to-be daughter in law. She could fly home on a special one way rate of $34. without the bother of her own car and save money. None of us except John knew about the extra passenger until the last minute. John, thinking that Carolyn had a three seater van, invited her to ride with us. When it was discovered that the van only had two seats, we knew that it was going to be a bit crowded. Tricia and I were told to "pack light" and leave our big luggage behind. We packed one duffel bag for both of us with one change of clothes each to free up some space.
The only thing Tricia really specifically asked to do was to show me Las Vegas so we intended to travel on to Vegas for a day then back to Tucson. Sounded like a fair amount of traveling which my sister does not do easily with bone, brain and lung cancer. After about 4 hrs, she starts to feel pain, nausea, and aches from the jarring but it sounded like there would be plenty of rest stops in a comfortable van driven by her friend's sister, Carolyn. Besides it was all already planned.
A side incidental is that Carolyn smokes as do Tricia and I. John and Judy do not. Judy had invited Tricia anyway aware that we had these differences. We had been bundling up and going outside on the porch in the unexpected Arizona cold spell to smoke as a consideration to their wishes. But for the trip, John told us that it did not bother him, and we would sit in the back away from Judy so we could smoke if we rolled down the windows a bit. Sounded fine to us!
We left at mid-morning in Tucson, and nine hours and 15 minutes later with four short pit stops, we arrived in Chino, Ca. Somebody goofed on the time estimate. I know now after researching that it is 463 miles by the most DIRECT ROUTE. My sister was in pain for the last four hours holding a plastic bag in her hands in case she got sick. We pulled up to YaYa's very elegant house and unloaded. Judy and Carolyn ranted and raved about how rich she must be. Tricia walked stiff-legged and obviously hurting inside, too tired to eat ... She just wanted to go to bed. I too was tired with a headache, and sleep sounded great. I was a tad dismayed to see YaYa's cat because Tricia is allergic to cat hair, but we figured that we could avoid closeness to her pet without causing a fuss. We crawled into bed. John, Judy, and Carolyn stayed up laughing and talking with YaYa while they ate delivered pizza.
The next morning, we drank coffee, loaded back in the van with an additional three pieces of YaYa's luggage plus a large gaily wrapped gift. Guess nobody told her to pack light. Judy gave up her front seat to YaYa, and squeezed into the cargo area with all the luggage. Tricia and I were wedged on either side of John, who is a very large man. It was squashy! Immediately we were informed that the new plan was no smoking! John said we'd make frequent stops. Certainly not as comfortable for either Tricia or me, but we politely kept silent and uncomplaining.
We never stopped. I saw my very first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, but we did not stop there either. The luncheon was at a restaurant called Jolly Roger. Stayed outside a bit, smoking while other cancer chat friends arrived. I particularly liked Duckman and his beautiful wife. Several people took group pictures. We went inside to eat. All restaurants in California are non-smoking. After the meal was over, John approached Tricia to inform us of another revision in the trip plan. We were to ride with P.B. and Larry because P.B. also smoked and they would make frequent stops. I felt a bit like we were pawned off, and asked about getting our duffel bag. I was told that P.B. and Larry's car was small, and besides we would all be meeting in Laughlin. We liked our new escorts, and laughed quite a bit during the six hours to Laughlin. Tricia, of course, was again quite fatigued by the time we arrived well after nightfall.
We were dropped off at the front door of our hotel-casino, and finally found the check-in area amidst all the slot machines and gamblers. We were told that John, Judy and Carolyn had already arrived and paid their portion of the bill. We paid ours, and headed for the room. It was a huge place so we got turned around quite a bit, and found the room some twenty minutes later. Tricia again wanted only to go to bed, but we had no sleeping clothes nor did she have the cold cream that she uses to remove her eye makeup. We called the front desk, and while they would not release any room numbers, they did ring our friend's room several times. No answer. We waited approximately 45 minutes in the room thinking surely they would seek us out. Finally, we went downstairs to search for John, Judy or Carolyn. I was fascinated by all the bright lights, noise, people and "ching, ching, ching" of machines pouring out coins... but we doggedly went up and down row after row rather than playing.
Two hours later we called it quits. Went to the front desk to have John and Judy paged. I never heard the page, but then the noise level was unbelievable. I doubt an ambulance siren would have been noticed. We asked the lone girl at check-out about eating....I was starved since we'd only had lunch that day. We were told that only the gift shop was open with snacks. We found it, but potato chips or candy bars did not sound like an appetizing meal so we gave up! Went upstairs and resigned ourselves to sleeping naked. The phone rang. It was John. He had our duffel bag. Tricia put back on her jeans to meet him at the door. She was not a happy camper, feeling like we had been rudely abandoned.
I did not sleep well because Tricia cried most of the night. The next morning, John called at 8:30 a.m. to say they were all having breakfast at 9:00. We learned they had all had a nice dinner together, wandered around to several casinos and had fun gambling. We waited in the lobby for them. Breakfast was a huge buffet with plentiful choices. John and Judy were ahead of us, and seated by the time we got thru the line. We found them. After the meal, I asked a waiter if we could smoke here, and was told it was a "non-smoking" section so I invited Tricia and P.B. to go over to "smoking" to finish our coffee with a cigarette or two.
Judy threw down her napkin, and muttered "This is BULLSHIT! Sitting in non-smoking is the only smart thing we've done on this whole trip".
Needless to say, it hurt Tricia's feelings. I felt pretty helpless to defend or protect my sister without having an unwanted confrontation so we said nothing.
Afterwards, we went upstairs to pack back up. I was disappointed that there had been no time allotted to see anything. So far the whole trip had been riding and sleeping... sporadically eating. All eating expenses had been either meticulously calculated separately or paid individually so we would not be a financial burden. Tricia had even offered and given Carolyn a token payment on gas. I got the distinct impression that Tricia and I were ruining our host's family vacation by the very fact of her being ill.
In the South, when you have guests, it's an obligation of hospitality to assure they enjoy themselves. I truly hope that I never make any of my company feel so unwanted.
Tricia talked to John telling him that she could not handle much more of the traveling. It was just too painful and uncomfortable. They went inside to make reservations for us to stay at Las Vegas rather than travel back to Tucson with them. While I waited outside in the hotel entrance with John's suitcase and our duffel bag, Carolyn walked up rapidly grabbing John's luggage.
Carolyn said loudly and sarcastically, "I'm not waiting all day for everybody to be ready". Silently, I followed with our duffel bag, placing it in the back. John and Tricia showed up just minutes afterward. Shortly, YaYa arrived. Nobody said anything about her being late. I guess she slept in during breakfast.
We loaded back in the van. We did not smoke. We stopped once during the several hours to Las Vegas. There seemed to be a lot of tension in the vehicle, and I said very little.
Tricia and I checked into Circus Circus Hotel. We met with another cancer chat friend, Peanuts, who was very nice. The three of us set in a booth next to the others, and enjoyed a very delicious meal. I accompanied Tricia upstairs to rest, and went back down alone to say goodbye to everybody. I told John that the whole trip had been much too stressful, and we'd have to figure out a way to get our luggage. We had no clean underwear or socks even if we managed to wear the same clothes again. I was considering renting a car to drive back to Tucson after a few days rest. Our plane tickets were scheduled to depart from Tucson. We were told that Tucson was a 5 hour drive from Las Vegas... you guessed it! Even by the most DIRECT ROUTE, it was another estimate goof!
Nobody seemed to have any reasonable solutions, or feel at all responsible for our plight.
At this point, YaYa interrupted our conversation saying "Trouble just overestimated what she was capable of.... It was Trouble that insisted on making this whole trip to meet everybody!"
I am sure my mouth dropped open! I was astounded! There is a world of difference in a proposed 4 hr. ride and a 9 hr. ride in one day for a cancer patient. NOT only were we entirely unfamiliar with the area, distances, and times involved. NOT only did we not plan any of the trip. NOT only were the rules changed several times in midstream. NOT only were we inconvenienced by lack of luggage and an additional passenger. But Tricia had considered these folks to be friends who cared and understood about her limited physical condition. I said as much tho its doubtful anybody listened or cared.
YaYa insisted that the trip from Phoenix (not Tucson where we left) should have been just four hours. I'm thinking, "Who cares?? It was NOT!" Is proving your point more important than a friend's health?
Judy piped up with "We offered to turn around several times and go back if the trip was too much on Tricia." Pardon Me??? I was there. I never heard any such comment!
We talked awhile. Judy said her feelings were hurt after she tried so hard, but did not elaborate on particulars of why or in what ways she tried. She went on to claim that we were never told that we could smoke, and she insisted she had to watch out for her own lungs since she had quit smoking herself several years ago. Being against smoking does not give one the right to be rude. Nothing like a reformed smoker! (Grin)
She demanded "Who told you that you could smoke?"
I said "Your husband, John"
Judy glared at John, and spat out "Did YOU tell them they could smoke?"
John answered, "Well, yeeeeaaaah...... but its Carolyn's van so it's really her choice not mine."
With no apology, Judy concluded, "Carolyn just does not smoke as much as you two".
Hmmmm... earlier I had heard Carolyn admit that she smoked like a freight train.... and now she sets the standard of quota that we somehow abused??
Personally I was relieved to part company regardless of the additional costs and inconveniences that I could ill afford. We spent several hours on the phone trying to negotiate with the airlines, but ultimately tickets home from a different airport were going to cost us another $400. but maybe we'd be lucky enough to get a partial reimbursement on the original plane tickets. Just one on the many phone calls charged on our room bill was $13.00 for three minutes, while local, collect and 800 numbers are billed at 75 cents each.
After a good night's sleep, Tricia and I got up, and ate a buffet breakfast. We called John's house, but got no answer. Later in the morning, we did reach John. He had gotten sick on their route home, so they had returned to Laughlin for him to rest while Judy and Carolyn gambled. According to John, they won several hundred dollars which lifted their spirits. John was still too weak to take our luggage to the airport but he promised to do so as soon as possible.
We never talked to Judy or Carolyn again. I am puzzled over what we did wrong or how we offended our fellow travelers. We tried very hard to be considerate and polite. Maybe I will never know. Was it just a lot of little misunderstandings?
We took off to walk the strip. We stopped at a Walgreen's to buy aspirin, underwear, socks, deoderant, and toothpaste. Cigarettes were $4.75 a pack. Whooooa! We checked out several beautiful hotel-casinos with unbelievable decorating and fantastic themes. I put a nickle in a slot machine, and won $25. We found the trolley to get back to Circus Circus when Tricia got tired. The trolley driver was a hoot, and had us all laughing.
After lunch and another rest, we rode the bus to Fremont Street to see the lights and music show. It's a huge arcade with animated movies showing on the outdoor ceiling amidst the big huge flashing neon signs. We went in several casinos. We were not big gamblers, but we had fun playing nickel, dime and quarter slot machines. We talked a lot about silly things, family, and serious topics. I never felt closer to my sister. Our one whole day and night alone in Vegas was wonderful. Maybe it was worth the whole rest of the trip.
Got up at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday to be ready for hotel shuttle to airport. It was $4.00 exact change only. Even the Las Vegas airport had a multitude of slot machines. Amazing to a girl from Tennessee where all gambling is illegal. The plane ride was uneventful. We talked with a very pleasant fellow traveler, and time passed quickly. My boyfriend, Radar, met us at the Nashville airport. We drove Tricia home. She was a bit upset because her prescription of Vioux (which helps her have mobility) was packed in her suitcase still in Tucson. Insurance would not pay for any extra, so it meant more days of discomfort for her. Luckily, she had extra of her seizure and sleeping medication.
Luggage arrived at airport cargo bay two days after we returned home marking an official end to our vacation to Las Vegas! I hope someday to go back again! It is a most unusual city!
