I pondered for months on how I wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday. We celebrated James’s 50th more than a year earlier, together on a mountain for a weekend of fun with the horses & dog. For myself, I love the social aspect of a massive party with family & friends! But when you combine James’s large family with my own, plus school & work friends, we need a facility to get everyone together! Well, I knew I needed to tone it down! LOL

It IS a special occasion, worth celebrating & remembering… a milestone, so to speak. I read somewhere that turning 50 is the time to separate yourself from what other people expect of you and just do what you love. I contemplated my options, soul searched, & came to the conclusion I wanted a destination celebration with those dearest to my heart… my husband James & my parents, Connie & Gary Keller.

However, there is one other person whom I always think about during my birthday celebration. I met Donna Converse sometime in grade school, where we discovered our birthdays were one day apart. Donna & I have since then created a lifetime of memories. Together as kids in school, we shared slumber parties, played sports together, learned to drive & race cars (my Nova against her Mustang, which I won but lost my driving privileges after getting my first traffic ticket).

We discovered alcohol & music together & grew up in the Purple Rain era! We moved on to graduation, road trips, elk camp, weddings, births, funerals & heartbreaks while never losing touch. We are so blessed to have this relationship, also shared with other close friends near & dear to our hearts. However, when it comes to our birthdays, we have an exceptional connection. I knew in my heart, I needed to share my 50th with Donna!! Click through the slides below to see what I mean:

I reached out to Donna & her husband Ken to ask if they would be interested in celebrating our momentous occasion in Vegas. I explained we could use our timeshare for 8 people, one section for us with my parents & the other for them to share with whomever. To my great happiness, they agreed! Our weekend adventure was booked for Thurs Feb 6th - Sun the 9th. Donna’s mother, Doris Converse, was going to join us along with her close friend Pattie Jensen. Both women had lost their husbands eight years prior & have since become traveling companions. Their husbands Harve Converse & Jim Jensen had been best friends & passed a few months apart from each other. I was so excited to hear Doris & Pattie were joining us.

I laugh at how I have changed over the years. In my youth, a trip to Vegas could have easily turned out like the movie “Hangover,” but these days I was looking forward to slowing down. Now I am content to party with my husband, my bestie & her husband, & the 70-plus-year-olds! Of course, they were the ones who taught us how to really party in the first place.

We all met up Thurs afternoon at The Grandview resort on the south side of Vegas & settled into our rooms. We then Uber’d to Walmart for some grocery & cocktail supplies for the weekend. The two families had an immediate connection which I thought was remarkable considering my parents had never met Pattie before & hadn’t really hung out with Doris since the days of mine & Donna’s high school sports banquets. But the entire weekend ended up fully charged with hugs, love & laughter! By Fri night, we were ready to hit the Strip & start celebrating Donna’s 50th birthday together!

Our escapade began at the MGM Grand on the Strip where we made a beeline for Fat Tuesday’s. We ordered up our to-go drinks then set out to explore. I can’t remember for sure, but I think I was drinking a hurricane with an extra shot of whatever. I really sucked it down & was feeling great when I looked at the drink & realized the extra shot was still in a vile not yet dispersed. OMG, how James laughed at me, accusing me of either pretending to be drunk or what a cheap date I’ve turned into. We all laughed so hard… all I can say is I was high on life at that moment!

Vegas is different for everyone, depending on what floats your boat. Just seeing the lights, hustle & bustle on the Strip is thrilling to me, but it is always fun to experience with someone else when it is their first time. Donna’s mom had never been before, so we all delighted in seeing her responses. I often observed her & Pattie taking it all in together, & it just brought joy to my heart to see their friendship. Couldn’t help but think about my own life long friend Donna, all we have gone through together so far, & what the future may hold for us.

Our entourage literally leapfrogged its way across the sky bridge & over to the New York - New York Casino, where we had dinner reservations at Nine Fine Irishmen. There they served us the best damn Reuben sandwich I have ever eaten & we sang happy birthday to Donna as she tried to blow out her candle. The sun went down & we made our way to the Bellagio Fountains & Gardens… a must-see show we were all looking forward to!

The Fountain Show did not disappoint! We were mesmerized by the lights & music, standing along the fence, outside in the warm Vegas air. It was such a treat getting away from the Seattle rain & the Idaho snow, so we all soaked in the moment! Afterward, we casually made our way into The Gardens, where the theme for 2020 is the Chinese Year of the Rat. Watch our YouTube video at the end of this blog to see some of the beautiful highlights! Thus ended our gut-aching, laughing so hard we cried, night on the Strip & we headed back to home base to rest up for my birthday on Saturday.

We all slept in Saturday morning, relaxed in our rooms & spent time gambling at the South Point Casino next door, as we recovered from our previous night. Eventually, we all partook in a little “hair of the dog” & started feeling good again by the time we made it downtown to the Freemont Street Experience. I love the atmosphere & the people watching on Freemont! The old classic casinos are so full of history & the pace is more kicked back than on the Strip. Of course, the street entertainers are working hard for the tourist money, but they are fun. A couple zeroed right in on my parents within one minute of arriving. If you have never been, it has a must-see canopy with the largest video screen in the world!

We explored together for part of the day then made arrangements to meet back up at 4pm for dinner. James & I hung around Binions playing Blackjack & penny slots. I found a fun Walking Dead slot machine & got a nice little birthday present when I hit an Apocalyptic Win! We aren’t big gamblers, so landing anything over $150 is a jackpot to me!

By 4 o’clock, we had built up an appetite, which was good because Benny’s BBQ & Brews serves up a massive rack of mouthwatering ribs! Our dinner party was fun, drinking beer, comparing stories of everything we saw out on the street, & catching up on who was winning or losing. My 50th birthday was perfect with this exceptional group! Little did I know at that time, my luck had only just begun.

After dinner, our two groups separated again, & we Uber'd my parents back to the resort. James & I walked over to South Point to gamble my winnings. We took turns picking a machine while the other person plays right next to it, as we prefer to hang out together at casinos. We follow along the same thought process once expressed by a hero of mine.

James was bored with the current machine & asked if I wanted to look for another. I said, “Sure, I’ll take one more spin,” & for good measure, I hit max bet taking my wager from 80 cents to 3 or 4 dollars. We watched the screen spin its wheels & then hit a small jackpot! We were up over 150 dollars again! We kept on gambling & I kid you not, that exact same scenario happened two more times! It was unbelievable, & I’m glad James was there to testify that it actually happened. What a run of luck & was just the cherry on top of a perfect weekend. I collected everyone’s photos & videos to create the following vacation video. Click the link below to join us on our Vegas adventure!

Sunday morning was bittersweet as we all hugged out our goodbyes. It was a weekend none of us wanted to end, the joy & laughter had been non-stop. We wiped our tears, loaded up our luggage & returned to our homes… Doris & Pattie in Idaho, Donna & Ken in Eastern WA & our group in Western WA. Now we look back to realize our Vegas getaway happened while the Corinavirus was unknowingly spreading into the United States.

We all won the biggest gambles of all by not catching it ourselves, which included flying on planes, using community slot machines & walking among crowds of people on the edge of a pandemic. It was unfathomable then to think that Vegas would literally shut down just five weeks later. The world is changing quickly & I am so thankful for the memories of my birthday buddy weekend! Please stay safe & healthy so that when the world opens back up, we can all head out on our next adventure and GO DO IT! # JACTventures