This past weekend we had the opportunity to spend time with family in Las Vegas to celebrate Easter with a big family gathering. We started our trip early on Friday, with a morning flight that got us to Vegas nice and early so that we could have the majority of the day to hang out and do fun things.

The plane ride was mostly uneventful, although there was some nasty turbulence on the landing. We had a few moments where the plane did those sudden drops that makes your stomach churn. The landing was otherwise smooth and once we finally made our way to the terminal and to our rental car the flight was a distant memory. Because we needed to haul a bunch of people around we ended up with a 7 passenger rental car, an Infinity QX80. This beast of a vehicle made us feel like we were escorting some famous rap star. I haven’t driven this large of a vehicle in a while and it was an interesting weekend remembering how to look for larger parking spaces.

One of the funnier moments of the trip was shortly after we picked up the vehicle. We were leaving the airport and heading to where we were staying, however the previous destination was still programmed into the car’s nav system. The computerized voice of the car kept complaining that we were going the wrong way and demanding that we make a u-turn. At first it was funny, but soon became so annoying that my wife was pressing any buttons she could find to shut the stupid thing off. She ended up finding the button that silenced the voice, despite the route still displaying on the screen.

Once we were safely into the small apartment where we were staying out in Henderson, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon of visiting. I hit the local village market and got some amazing local beer (Joseph James Citra Rye Ale), which I enjoyed out on the patio in the setting sun of the desert. The next day was going to be full of activities, so I made sure to get in some nice relaxation before the deluge of being busy. We had a fun dinner at a local Mexican place, watching the birds begging for food, while also trying to lure each other with funny mating dances.

As the evening cooled into the mid 50s I was reminded about just how warm it was going to be here this weekend, and made plans to pick up some flip flops (since I forgot my sandals at home). Soon it was time to head to bed to try and sleep through the two hour time difference and get ready for the next day.