Day 1: Plaaaanes(plaaanes)PLAAANES

I've decided to write my vacation recap in smaller chunks as I get the photos ready. Most of the linked text will point to Wikipedia articles for those interested.

Day 1, which was also December 1, was fairly uneventful. It began like any other Saturday, at Jim's Coffeehouse, but I didn't dally long since I still had a few important vacation purchases to make (namely, Twizzlers, Triscuits, and pretzels).

My plane reservation said I would get a "snack," despite it being a 6:20 flight, so the three of us had a small meal at the airport.

Since I just said "the three of us," I should probably explain for those who aren't aware: Last week I spent a week in Las Vegas with my friends Stu and Laurie, and their 20-month-old, Chloe. We all cashed in credit card reward points for the flights, and spent most of the week lodged at Stu's parents' house in North Las Vegas. Now then, back to the story:

It was a direct flight, and took about four and a half hours. As it turned out, there was a small meal served, featuring one of those plastic-wrapped imitation cheeseburgers. At least, that's what us poor slobs in economy got; the Landeses cashed in additional points for first class (good idea with the baby), and not only got real silverware -- mind you, that means their food actually required silverware -- but ice cream sundaes as well.

After we arrived at McCarran International Airport and picked up our luggage, Stu's dad and I took a few suitcases home while the rest of them got the rental minivan. I had my first glimpse of the Las Vegas Strip as we drove up I-15 to their house.

I just sort of puttered around and got used to it being three hours earlier, then we were all pretty tired and went to bed. There was no point in unpacking, since the next morning we would be loading up the truck and moving to Beverlyyyy.

And by that I mean, loading up the minivan and driving to Anaheim.