The Vegas Trip, Part 1

So it turns out that rooting for the 49ers all season backfired on me. For more than 10 years, Anthony and a bunch of his friends have gone to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. No, the Super Bowl isn't held in Vegas, it's just (apparently) a good place to watch sports. (And strippers. Ugh.) Before we were married, I was pretty much OK with him going. After we were married, I started to get a little huffy about it. The February after Katie was born (2011), I was glad that Anthony volunteered to skip it, because I would have had to put my foot down and that probably would have gotten ugly.

But he went last year, much to my dismay. As always, he came back utterly exhausted. We'd finally gotten Katie to sleep through the night at that point but we ourselves still weren't sleeping well. Let's just say going to Vegas and staying in a hotel room with 3 other guys, drinking, gambling and staying out till all hours of the night didn't help his sleeping problem at all. So this year after Christmas I asked him whether he'd be going to Vegas in 2013, and he said "nah."

And then the Niners pulled off a spectacular finish to their season, thanks to the on-field antics of Colin Kaepernick, who is a "double threat" with his arm and his ability to rush. Before we knew it, the Niners were going to the Super Bowl! As the clock ran out on the NFC Championship game, I looked at Anthony and said, "You want to go to Vegas, don't you?" Sigh. I couldn't say no - Anthony loves the Niners as much as I love the Dodgers, maybe even more. And the Niners haven't had a prayer of going to the Super Bowl for a really long time. And I knew Anthony would rather watch the game in a sports bar surrounded by his friends than on the couch with me and Katie - me asking inane questions about penalties and Katie climbing all over him during critical plays.

So we decided he'd go. He booked a ridiculously priced last-minute full-fare ticket to Vegas. I didn't even ask him how much it cost - I don't want to know. And then, two nights ago, he dropped another bombshell. His brother is flying his Cessna to Vegas and asked Anthony if he wanted to come along. OMG.

Anthony's brother is a fun guy. He's a bit of a daredevil - drives fast cars and all that. Eight or so years ago, he had a Mooney. I won't mince words here - he crashed it, simple as that. Ironically, he was on his way back from a flight training course in which they learned how to safely evacuate the aircraft in the event of a crash. Came in handy that day! He walked away unharmed, but the memory of the charred interior of the plane is still etched in my mind.

However, my dad is a private pilot and I've flown with him umpteen times. I know that flying a small plane really isn't that dangerous - it just seems like it because there's a lot of media coverage when something goes wrong. But the difference between flying with my dad and flying with Anthony' brother is...well, my dad's been flying for over 50 years. He's meticulous about safety and flight planning. He pays close attention to weather, makes sure not to exceed baggage weight limits, and spends what seems like an inordinate amount of time on his pre-flight check. My dad won't fly into certain airports if the runway isn't long enough. (I can't remember why, but this is important when landing a twin-engine plane.) Once when we were flying to Mammoth Mountain to ski, I noticed a thin trail of oil leaking from one engine. My dad turned the plane right around and we went back home. It turned out to be something minor that wouldn't have affected our flight, but he just doesn't take chances.

Anthony's brother, on the other hand...well, I've never flown with him so I don't know if he's meticulous. But nothing else about his personality screams "safety first." And then there's that crash! Officially it was ruled to be not his fault, but Mooneys have a reputation for being "too much plane" for their owners. They're often bought by inexperienced pilots because they're flashy and very fast. Too fast, for some. So I'm glad that today Anthony is flying in a Cessna. My dad has owned several over the years, and they've been very reliable.

Anyway - I just got a text, they landed safely! YAY! Come to think of it, Anthony is a brilliant tactician. I'm so relieved that he's OK that I don't even care about the strip clubs awaiting him! Smart man! LOL.

GO 49ERS!!!