Thunder from Down Under

Yes, I went to Vegas again, but this time, I got to spend a day with 2 of my childhood friends. I moved away from Hawaii when I was 8, but I'd go home to visit almost every summer till college. It's hard to imagine friendships that last though moves, marriage and children.

When I was in Hawaii, I had lunch with Sheila. She likes to go to Vegas almost as much as I do. As we were talking, we realized we'd be in Vegas at the same time for a few days. Before long, our friend Nani found out we'd both be in Vegas and she didn't want to be left out. Since she's married, with 3 children, traveling is a little more difficult for her. But by gosh, she packed up the whole family and met us in the desert.

I have to thank her wonderful husband, Casey, for looking out for us. They ended up staying at the MGM Grand and Casey arranged for a limo to take us to lunch, booked massages (I'd never had one before), booked another limo to take us down to the Craft Beer Fest and even got us surprise tickets for a "surprise". That might have been the funniest part of the evening. We were instructed to pick up an envelope from the bell desk before we left for the Beer Fest. We were also told not to open it till we got downtown.

All we knew, there were tickets inside that envelope. We didn't think much about it, just figured they'd be for a show or something. So we get downtown and open the envelope once we get to the Golden Nugget. Nani's face was priceless as she read the words, "What's Thunder from Down Under?", she asked. Sheila & I could not stop laughing. Once we told her what it was she started laughing too.

Now let me go back a minute. If you knew Casey, you'd know why this was extra funny.

But here's the question you all want answered...how was Thunder from Down Under...

I don't even know how to process this question. Casey got us VIP tickets which means our table was in the front row, in the middle of the stage. I wasn't sure I wanted sweaty, naked Australian's dancing that close to me. The people watching was to die for!!

We went to the 11PM show and I was pretty tired since I flew in that morning and we had a jam packed day, but we ended up having a lot of fun. Now, the dancing wasn't as good as Channing Tatum in "Magic Mike", but the eye candy was pretty sweet.

Sorry, no photos as we were instructed to turn off our cell phones and keep cameras tucked away.

Did I mention it was Bama weekend. They closed the show with a "Sweet Home Alabama" routine. The place went nuts and I stuck my fingers in my ears and put my head on the table. I love my Vols too much to listen to that junk.