My Journey to the Mosconi Cup!

I have been going to Vegas (my favorite city) every year for 22 years straight.  Sometimes more than once a year!

I have never driven to Vegas, though.  Never really had the time (had to be there at a certain time to play in the BCAPL Nationals) or the trip didn't coincide with being able to take enough time off to play in Vegas AND drive.

Well, this year, for the Mosconi Cup, everything fell into place for me to drive to Vegas for the first time ever!

Usually the Mosconi Cup falls on a weekend, well this year the dates were December 2-5, A Monday through Thursday.  And with Thanksgiving the week before, I already had that date off.  So, the dates and weekends just fell into place for a longer-than-normal trip.

So, my b/f suggested we drive.

Really?

"Sure.  Have you seen the Grand Canyon?"

"Um no," I say with a little sparkle in my eye.

"Well, then we have to drive!  And I'll show you some other cool places, too!"

And the plan was set!  :)

I have to say it was the best road trip ever!  Sure, Vegas was fun and the Mosconi Cup is always a treat, but to drive and see all these cool places I had never been was THE BEST.

Here is my trip in pictures and words:

Day One (Wednesday, Nov 27th):

Drove from Dallas to Amarillo where we ate at the famous steak place, The Big Texan.  Home of the 27 ounce steak.  We were not impressed AT ALL with the steak we tried.  :(  But, I HAD to eat there - it's famous!

Then drove to Albuquerque.

Day Two:

Drove to Lake Powell in Page, Arizona.  OMG that lake is BEAUTIFUL!  And we made a little fire by the lake!

Day Three:

Next day we drove to the Grand Canyon.  when they say you have to see it in person to appreciate it, they ain't lying!  These pics do NOT do it justice.  It was SO cool though because there was snow on the ground, too!

We also made a camp fire there in the campgrounds and even cooked steaks and had a really sweet dinner of beans, steaks and a salad.  Of course, it was in the 20s and we were COLD!  Our steaks had to be reheated b/c they kept cooling off, lol.

Day Four (Saturday, Nov 30th):

Drove to Lake Havasu, Arizona, in Lake Havasu City.

WOW!  It was in the low 70s and we got to walk around easier to see the water, sights, and amazing small city with breathtaking views!

This is also where we played in a little tourney that Sat night. and then later that week heard they looked me up, lol.

Day Five: (Sunday) Drove to Vegas, Baby!

We visited all the pool rooms in Vegas that most everyone frequents:  Pool Sharks, Best Billiards, and the Cue Club.  Mosconi Cup started Monday, so we walked the strip and did a little gambling before settling in.

Days Six- Eight:   Mosconi Cup.

USA didn't fair too well and lost to the Europeans by Day 3 (even tho there is 4 days slated for the tourney) FROWN.  However, it's still an awesome event to witness in person and I dare say a Bucket List item for pool players for sure!

Here are some pics from the event:

Fans getting autographs from the USA players during commercial break, and Jeanette Lee saying hi to Buddy Hall and Nick Varner.

 

 And me, drinking a Mai Tai during my breakfast at the Venetian. Hey, it's Vegas!!

Day Nine:

Drove to Tuscan, Arizona for some pool and spent the night there.

Day Ten:  

Drove to Midland/Odessa, Texas.

Day Eleven (Sunday, December 8):  

Drove back to Dallas/Fort Worth.  HOWEVER - the whole metroplex and 250 miles around it was ICED over.  It took us literally 10 hours to drive from Midland to Fort Worth, normally that would be 5 hours, but we had to drive SUPER slow on all that ice.  Honestly, we shouldn't have drove at all, but it wasn't about to thaw out any time soon so we risked it.  Eeeek!

I know the pictures don't do the trip justice, but I had such a great time seeing the USA like I had never seen it before!