trip anticipation

By taking a trip to Vegas, you always seem to get the added pleasure of the pre-trip anticipation. How this works for me is this:
Step 1 - Making the actual plane and hotel reservations. No matter how far in advance this is done, pleasure is derived from knowing you have something concrete to look forward to.
Step 2 - Perusing Travel2Vegas message boards for info about specific places or things you'll do on your trip. e.g., for me it is reading about North Strip sights and sounds.
Step 3 - Plotting itinerary. I don't know if others do this, but I like to chart out where to go, eat, gamble well in advance. A form of vicarious living. Then I make refinements as time goes on based upon various factors (coupon availability, bus, shuttle, rental car availability, who's going with, etc).
Step 4 - Engage in conversation with the party you will traveling with on the trip itself. Priming each other for what's ahead.
Step 5 - About 2-3 weeks in advance, receive that physchological boost that comes from knowing your time is fast approaching.
Step 6 - Further lift to the spirits when you are under T-7 days. you can almost smell it.
Step 7 - I don't know if I'd consider packing for the trip anticpatory, but perhaps others do.
Step 8 - Walking out the driveway into your vehicle for the drive to the airport. (This is one of the best feelings)
Step 9 - Making the 90-mile drive to Midway, first stopping at Bobak's Polish buffet near airport, for a pre-flight meal and warm-up for the Vegas-type buffets soon to be encountered.
Step 10 - Maybe I'm easy to entertain, but I still get a little thrill of entering airport and making way to boarding gates.
Step 11 - Lifting off the ground for a nice leisurely 3-1/2 hour flight. After having done the same trip so many times, you get a kick out of seeing same sights on the ground.
Step 12 - Coming into view of Vegas and seeing the hotel skyline (Another of the the anticipation highlights)
Step 13 - Getting shuttle or rental car and exiting airport for final leg. You've arrived and it's hard to top that feeling.

[ May 01, 2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: chef ]

 

Heck yeah. For me it includes bugging the people around me by singing/whistling/humming my "Vegas" song - Fly Me to the Moon, being as Sinatra as I can.

 

A big polish buffet right before getting on an airplane. Sounds like the ecstasy followed by the agony!!!

 

Chef
I feel like your twin... separated at birth. We're leaving Tuesday morning from Buffalo airport. Except for the buffet stop along the way(we have to leave our house around 5:00 a.m.) I feel exactly the same way. My husband laughs at me because I start packing a month in advance. We take every chance we can get,to talk with the people we are going with about what we're going to do when we get there. Almost every plan flies out the window with the excitement of finally arriving.
My husband reads all these trip reports. We've only had our computer since we came back from Vegas last may,( and he's still chicken to post), but this is the first time he says he's worried about not having enough time to get everything done that he'd like to do. That's because of all the info he's gotten from this site.
Thanks guys.
Lynne in the Falls

 

AAAHHHH the turn of the calendar. The mad rush to the airport. It dosent feel like vacation till the plane takes off. The first look of the valley as we land...Once your at the airport you can allways tell the "new arrivals" . The gleam in the eyes of people wishing "this will be the trip when...(insert you favorite Mikey story ) !!

T-26

 

Ok!!

So I've reached legendary status, eh?? Well, there will be a lot more 'Mikey Stories' after July...

Who knew that drinking heavily and gambling could make me famous?!?!?

Mikey

 

I have to admit, I am one of those folks that gets excited when I pack for the trip too! I also get giddy as a school girl when we are driving to the airport, once we get to the airport, and especially when we finally board the plane. Now the plane boarding is excitment mixed with a little nervousness. I know flying is actually safer than driving, but still.

The BEST part is when we unboard the plane and make our way through McCarran airport. Someone could tell me I just lost an arm and I wouldn't care at that point!!