The Trip

(read the Big 4-0 post first...thanks!)

We arrive at Dulles half asleep only to find out the ticket counter doesn't open til 4:30...so much for having to be there 2 hours early (Janine, we should have listened to you!). Wait for the counter to open to check our bag and the baggage guy blurts out "so are you going to win a million or lose a million?" VEGAS! I now know where we are going. Keith was a bit annoyed as he was trying to keep it secret as long as possible. I say "what are we doing in Vegas?" Neither of us are huge gamblers so Vegas was not my first thought of possible locations. His answer "to see a show" Okay...there are only like 3,000 shows in Vegas. I spend the next six hours trying to figure out what show we might be seeing. Blue Man Group? Cher? Elton John? Another Cirque show? A musical?? It isn't until we pull up in front of our hotel and I spy the HUGE billboard on the side of the Flamingo....Donny and Marie!!!! Many of you know that I LOVE Donny Osmond. New album comes out it is on my mp3 player or Keith stops on his way home and buys me the CD. I have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat on tape. Best of Donny and Marie on CD. You get the picture. I have tried in the past to see him in concert but it never worked out. The last time he was in this area, about six years ago was on Fathers Day and I just couldn't do that to my husband.

The concert was AMAZING. Keith got us seats about 4 seats away from the stage. We were so close that you could see the sweat fly. Man does Donny Osmond sweat! There was a lady who sat three seats down from me that was the poster girl for Donny groupies.....she was worth some entertainment value on her own. I have to admit that the audience was geared a bit older.....but it was perfect for a just turned 40 year old...I felt so young :-) For two 50 year olds (ok...I don't think Marie is 50 yet..but she has to be close) and Donny being a GRANDFATHER they put on a hell of a show. Very intimate with the audience, lots of the banter that I remember from their tv show. Sang lots of their tunes and did some other songs too. They both have quite the musical range, not just the bubblegum they are famous for. He did sing a few lines of Puppy Love though.... Show lasted just about 2 hours. They both admitted to being out of breath at times and being old. I couldn't dance that way at 20 let alone 5o. Okay Keith don't read this next line....Donny is still HOT! Marie looks great too...I think Keith had his own eye candy to look at ;-)

After the concert we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower in "paris" (amazing views of Vegas) and then had pizza in our room and watched the Election news. When people ask me where I was when Barack Obama was announced as the 44th president I can happily say "at a Donny and Marie concert".

It was the best birthday present ever. The thing that made it the most special was that Keith planned everything on his own and he planned things that he knew would be special for me and we got to share them together. He is a terrible secret keeper, I'm surprised he kept this one! I'm even more surprised that none of my friends that knew didn't tell me either. Some of them are terrible secret keepers too ;-) Yeah...you know who you are.

Oh...and I won $4 playing video poker. I ROCK!!