Two years ago I got to check off seeing Robbie Williams off my bucket list. Seeing Robbie was a dream come true. Never in a million years, did I think I would see him again this soon and in America!
And then late last year, Robbie announced his Las Vegas residency! I was so excited! And the first person I reached out to was my friend Bryan. Some of you may know him as Bull from 101.1 WJRR. Bryan is a Robbie fan, Bryan’s wife, Alyse is also a Robbie fan. So a plan was formed. We bought our tickets and began planning…
Early in our planning, we decided to spend most of our time in Los Angeles so we can see our friend John and then make the road trip to Las Vegas the day before the show – a road trip I’ve always wanted to do!!
So we started looking up things to do in Los Angeles while we were there… and so begins the Road to Robbie…
We landed in LAX, got our Ford Flex, stopped at In-N-Out Burger and drove to John’s house, freshen up and get ready to head to Scum and Villainy for the recording of Fatman Beyond with Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin. To be completely honest, I’ve never listened to this podcast, but any chance to listen to Kevin speak, I’m there! And he did not disappoint!! It was 3 hours of awesomeness. Because Kevin can talk!
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Then on Tuesday, we started our day at the Santa Monica Pier and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway, drove through Malibu and stopped at Neptune’s Net for lunch. Neptune’s Net – we went for the Fast and the Furious – this is where Dom and Brian made a deal in to business together – but when we got there – I quickly realized I had been there before. Mind you, I’ve never stepped foot into Neptune’s Net but I had been there on the TV. This is where Jax proposed to Brittany on Vanderpump Rules!! And so began our Vandercation!!! I was so excited when I realized that is where Jax proposed!!
After Neptune’s Net, we headed up the PCH and visited John’s mom. After our visit, we headed back to LA for dinner and decided to go to Trejo’s Cantina. Yes, Danny Trejo!! We want to his taco restaurant! At dinner, there was a group of us, Alyse’s cousin Kristen joined us and David Bugenske, who you might remember from XL1067 back in the day. So we were catching up, chatting and next thing you know, the table goes silent and everyone’s attention is turned to something beside me and I look up there is DANNY TREJO!! Danny Trejo is right next to me! He thanks us for coming to restaurant and took a pic with us. It was awesome!!
And I’m still convinced that when we walked into Trejo’s Cantina, I made eye contact with Ryan Hansen from Veronica Mars. He looked just like him and I’m pretty sure it was!!
So after Trejo’s, we walked over to Ameoba’s Records – which I guess Empire Records was based off. I wouldn’t know cause I’ve never seen Empire Records. But it was awesome to go a record shop. And when we walked in we saw we missed Jack White and the Raconteurs performing by a couple of hours!!!
On the ride home, we tried to drive down Hollywood Blvd and see The Chinese Theatre but the road was closed… yea, the world premiere of Spiderman: Far From Home was happening right then!! Not only were some of the Avengers walking that red carpet but so were the Impractical Jokers! I was in LA at the same time as Joe, Sal, Murr and my beloved Q!!!!!
After that, we headed home because we had a big day on Thursday! Edwards Air Force Base to visit NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and then head back to LA to see Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Museum. Alyse hooked up our tour of Armstrong Flight Research Center and I cannot express how awesome that was!
We got to fly real NASA simulators!! Simulators that the current class of NASA Astronauts were flying just the day before!! I got to fly two of the simulators and they were awesome!! We also saw a bunch of NASA planes.
Also, before we even got on base, I had a blast from the past! As Bryan said, if anyone ever thought you were lying about being an Air Force Brat… nope! As I was getting my day pass for the base, i was telling the security guards how I am an Air Force Brat. They put in my information into the machine and my file pulls up my ID card photo from when I was 18 years old! Whoa!!
So after the tour of Armstrong Flight Research Center, we hopped back into the Ford Flex and fought LA traffic to get to the California Science Museum to see Space Shuttle Endeavour. We barely made it, but we did! Bryan has been on quest to see all the orbitors and I think this makes 4 of the 5 he’s now seen, if I remember correctly. It’s amazing to be in the same room as something that has been to space and back!!
After the California Science Museum we drove up the windy roads of the Hollywood Hills to go to the Hollywood signs. Now this is the my third attempt to get a pic of this sign. The first time, the sun had set and couldn’t get any good pics, the second time it was rainy and cloudy and the clouds were so low that is covered the sign. But third time is a charm and I got some amazing pics of the Hollywood sign!!!
Friday was our day to drive to Las Vegas and we planned to take our time and stop at all the cheesy stops along the way. By far the coolest stop was the Bottle Tree Ranch! It was this plot of land with posts that hold bottles and it was awesome!! We drove on historic Route 66 – saw Peggy Sue’s Diner, got kicked out of a ghost town because we got there too late, saw the world’s biggest thermometer – it was 108 degrees, bought some Alien Jerky, saw the Seven Magic Mountains and finally made it to Las Vegas!!! Just as it was dusk, so we drove all the way down the strip to downtown and back to our hotel. We got to see the lights turn on the strip.
Vegas was almost my home. I love it there. Not for the gambling, but because there’s always something going on there! There’s always a show in town, sometimes 3 in the same night! We were in Vegas for 28 hours and it was awesome!
On Saturday, we did a Vegas buffet, went to Main Street Station and showed Bryan and Alyse how it’s pretty much an exact replica of Church Street Station. And now I’m bummed the Church Street Station mural has been painted over. Cause I would love to have the Main Street Station mural and the Church Station mural prints hanging in my house. But alas, it’s gone. We drove to Sam’s Town, well because of the song and Bryan wanted a pic of the sign.
Then it was time to get ready for the show. On the way to the Encore at the Wynn, we stopped at Caesar’s Palace to go to Lisa Vanderpump’s newest restaurant, Vanderpump Gardens. We literally had 35 minutes to run in, wait in line, get a seat at bar, order a drink, make a toast, finish our drink and head back to the car. Let me say, Vanderpump Gardens is stunning! It’s very Lisa Vanderpump, the staff was beautiful, the drinks were amazing, it was decorated beautifully. And as Bryan is trying to see all the orbitors – I’m trying to see all the Vanderpumps! At this point, I’m 2 for 6 – SUR and Vanderpump Gardens.
It’s finally Robbie time!! This really is a dream come true! I’ve always wanted to see a Vegas Residency and for it to be Robbie! Walking into the theatre, it was so Robbie – he is so cheeky, he makes fun of himself and it’s awesome! But it felt like a true Vegas show!
He performs his hits, he performs his swing songs. It was awesome! Such a different show than the stadium show because this venue is much smaller. It was perfect!! He played for two hours and he could have played another two hours if I had my way!! But to hear him play Angels live, is awesome! And if I remember, he threw a dig at Liam Gallagher during the show. If you didn’t like the show, my name is Liam Gallagher! HAHAHA!!
But all things must come to an end, he performed My Way and that was the end of the show.
We hopped back into the Ford Flex and headed back to Los Angeles! We hit some traffic on the way back – there was a road fire and what was supposed to be a 4 hour drive ended up being a 6 hour drive and we got back into town at 4am. Bryan was a champ for making that drive. We took a quick nap, got up and headed headed to brunch at a place where the Kardashians are known to frequent. And wouldn’t you know it, as we pull up, what’s right next to our restaurant… VANDERPUMP DOGS!!!!
Vanderpump Dogs… the place where all the Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy drama from this season Real Housewives started and basically ended Lisa Vanderpump’s time as a Real Housewife. It was so surreal to be in there and see where it all went down!!! And I may have bought a collar for my Brodie Bruce. Oh who am I kidding, of course I did. And I’ve hit 3 of the 6 Vanderpumps!! I’m halfway there – Pump, TomTom and Villa Blanca are left on the list!
So that was the Road to Robbie and back… it was an amazing time… memories were made for sure!