AARP Las Vegas@50+

Although it meant a 585 mile back-track, we could not pass up an opportunity to attend the 2009 AARP Convention at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV. Ellyn had heard that they had great speakers and an interesting show floor. So, after attending the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, we headed back to the west through Arizona to Las Vegas. We parked the RV at the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort and headed in to the Expo Center to pick up our literature packages which included the schedule for the 3 days, badge holders, and bags to carry all our swag.

On day one, we got an early start (for us) by getting up at 7:00 and heading in for the 9:30 kick-off meeting. It was in the largest hall in the building and had about 9,000 AARP members in it. After an introduction by the CEO of AARP who spoke about AARP's Health Care Reform requirements, there was a great panel discussion on the Golden Age of Television with Penny and Gary Marshall, John Amos and George Takei. Although most of the questions from the audience were directed at the Marshalls, There were still some interesting anecdotes by George and John. Especially George Takei mentioning that Gene Roddenberry had chosen the name Sulu for his character because it was Asian sounding but not specific to any Asian nation/culture. This was a great start to the convention.

After that, Ellyn and I took off for different sessions. The days were packed with different topics on finances, aging, travel, connecting, and health. They even had some movies they were showing. Geoff opted for a movie called “Certifiably Jonathan”, about Jonathan Winters and his newest endeavor, painting. Although the documentary was definitely tongue-in-cheek, the paintings were wonderful and the cast in the movie was terrific. Later in the afternoon, we both went to another movie called “The Wrecking Crew”, about studio musicians who were behind many Rock and Roll hits of the 60s and 70s. This documentary was created by the son of one of the musicians who passed away in 1994, and is something that anyone who grew up in that era and listened to those records will want to see. The director spoke after the movie and he is still looking for funding for the release which he's planning for early 2010. This movie was definitely a highlight of the event for us and we STRONGLY recommend it to anybody who loves American music of the 60's and early 70's.

Day two started later because there was not as much happening in the morning that we were interested in seeing. The main thing for that day was not until the evening when they were having a dance party in the big hall. It had 4 bands doing different genres of music. First was Duke Ellington Orchestra playing big band music. When we arrived, the place was already pretty full. We had to sit near the back but the dance floor area seemed to be The Zippers     woefully small. Ellyn was a bit disappointed, as there did not seem like enough dance floor space for something billed as the “World’s Largest Dance Party”. The second band to play was a party band - The Zippers. Nice name but great group full of spirit and playing covers from the 50s through the 80s. They really got people up. This made us think that the demographic of the people at this conference was closer to our age or even a little younger. Many more 50s and 60s than 70s. Next up was the  Tito Puente Jr Band. Some great Latin music from this bunch and, although we sat it out from being exhausted from The Zippers, it was a great performance. The Zippers came on for a second set and then Kool and the Gang topped off the night. They were really good. They extended the stage out into the audience more and even had them take down the barrier that was out about 6 feet from the front of the stage so they could “get some lovin’” from the audience during their numbers. They really rocked the joint and were out shaking hands at the edge of the stage afterwards. Their last song of the night was the most memorable..It was totally thrilling to be there dancing live to the group whose song we had danced to at every Bar/Bat Mitzvah and many weddings we have attended..."Celebration!" The evening was an exhilarating 4 hour dance workout!

The third and last day, we slept in again and went to a few things in the afternoon including the movie “Mama Mia” and the introduction of the Chevrolet Volt with a talk by the CEO of General Motors. Ellyn attended an interview of Chef Anthony Amoroso who had, just last week, had beaten Iron Chef Morimoto on Iron Chef America. Ellyn also took in a session with Dr. Susan Love who is a well known expert and activist working towards elimination of breast cancer. Along with Avon, she is driving to get one million women registered as an Army of Women for studies and statistical demographics to determine, not just a cure, but the prevention and elimination of breast cancer. She's a great speaker. If you haven't already done so, please consider registering for the Army of Women. In addition to the speakers, the expo floor was great - we picked up lots of travel brochures from Southern states  we're soon to visit. Geoff got a free harmonica along with a 30 minute group lesson. Ellyn picked up more free junk (swag) than she should have because there's not much room in the RV. We really enjoyed the 3-day event - a great combination of entertainment and learning. It was a very diverse group - perhaps the most diverse event we've ever attended (excepting our sons' high school graduations). We recommend it to any of you who are 50+ and who will be near the annual event. Next year it's in Orlando. And, oh yes - it only cost $25 for the registration so it's a bargain! And now, we have two more days left in Las Vegas. We've been to LV enough in the past that we're not forced to do a lot of sight-seeing. We're still considering what we're going to do - perhaps just lounge around the great looking pool area here at the RV resort - maybe a trip to a casino.

California, Summer/Fall 2009

Our tour of California from Napa to San Diego, September and October, 2009. Hover over any picture on the map to see the name of the location, and click to see a larger version of the picture or more  pictures from the location.