SoCal & Vegas Flashback

Are you freakin' kidding me!?!? 8" of effing snow on October 30!?!? The night before the last Amherst Flea Market of the year, October 29,  we were greeted with 8" of heavy, wet crap, downed branches & tress, & massive power outages. To say this felt like Deja Vu is an understatement. Needless to say, Amherst was cancelled, which cost me a lot of money & now I had to worry about leaving my family with no power, as I was scheduled to fly to Vegas at 7:00. Fortunately, we're on the same grid as the police station, so we got our power back quickly. I finished packing & headed out to meet my buddy, Dave, at Logan Airport. Boston didn't get the snow, so our flight was on time. We had dinner at Johnny Rocket's & boarded the plane for Vegas. We arrived in Vegas, just after 11:00 & grabbed a midnight snack at Del Taco, (Bad idea!), headed for the Orleans & hit the sack. If you've never stayed at The Orleans, you're missing one of Vegas' best kept secrets. It's off the strip, but a great hotel at a great value. The Orleans has many restaurants & bars, a movie theater, live entertainment, a bowling alley & an arena that is home to the Las Vegas Wranglers minor league hockey team. It also, now host to the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly weekend. I always rent a car, so being off the strip is no big deal to me.

Car Club Christmas Party

I know, I know, this blog is a chronological mess. Well, it's going to continue to be 'til I get caught up. I promise to be on real time by the end of the summer. Now, about this post.

 Me & Karan

 Bernie & Paula

 Pete & Francine

 Mauna Kai Lounge

 Galaxy Diner

On Saturday night, December 17, I hosted our car club's First Annual Christmas party. Usually, when we get together, it's strictly us guys, (the dames just get in the way), but seeing as I was in a holiday mood, I included them in this gala event. I decorated the Galaxy Diner & Mauna Kai Lounge in vintage festiveness, re-stocked the bar & planned the food for the evening. When the night arrived we chowed on calzones from DiPetrillo's Bakery, as well as, a smorgasbord of dips, cheeses, etc. You know, the usual holiday party fare. When it came to beverages, it wasn't the usual spiked punch. No, no, not for us Tiki-Loving guys. We partook of flaming volcano Scorpion Bowls. We had a great time & I was sorry when it was time for everyone to go. this really was the highlight of my holiday season & I'm looking forward to a bigger & better 2nd Annual bash.

Thee Swank Bastards

Wednesday, June 27 2012 Headed to The Spot, in Providence, RI, to see Las Vegas Surf Band, Thee Swank Bastards. I've been hearing about these guys on Tiki Central for years & was stoked to finally get the chance to see them live. The show itself was great. The Wednesday night crowd was small, but the boys were in good form, mixing killer surf riffs with their repertoire of "blue" jokes. haha! The Spot is a very cool, "Bohemian" atmosphere bar that I would readily go back to.