The Westward Ho was the first hotel I ever stayed at in Las Vegas – must have been nearly 45 years ago. It closed 15 years ago. I thought of it this morning as we boarded our Alaska flight to Seattle, apparently the only way to get from Tampa to Oakland. We did enjoy the convenience of walking directly from our Marriott room to the gates along with TSA-Pre boarding. Since construction surrounded the hotel, I used the fitness center to get my quick early morning mile in, extending The Streak to 4,554 consecutive days. It’s the first time I’ve run on a treadmill in years, but sometimes the only option when you’re traveling. There was one other person in the gym at 4:30a. This blog is my other daily discipline that I’m in the process of completing while waiting to board at 6:30a.

It will be a long day of sitting on planes during the ten-hour duration. I’ll pass the time reading the book Fracture, although it’s a two-volume story that I partially already ruined by mistakenly starting on the sequel called Vengeance before realizing the error. My seat naturally is next to two large people with little maneuvering room. It’s only 5 hours of claustrophobia to contend with, while my wife is comfortably across the aisle with an empty middle seat. The joy of flying! 

I hope to meet up with a college friend once we finally reach our final destination of Oakland. My wife will be spending time with her daughter while her husband works from home. After a couple of beers, the four of us will then get together for dinner at their new home. I’m looking forward to uneventful flights. A nap or two would be nice. Wheels up – Westward Ho!