Womens National Championship Bowling Tournament at South Point, Las Vegas, 2016

Saturday, 4 June 2016 - continued

South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa (and Movie Theatre, Bowling Center and Equestrian Center)

Thanks to the fact that it was broad daylight - only about 3 pm or so, it was easy to find South Point, which was Gi-normous. (But then, all the casinos in Las Vegas are ginormous.)

For the benefit of folks who use GPS, the name of the Las Vegas Airport is McCarran International Airport.  Your GPS will know where you are (unless the satellites are down for some weird reason, as happened to us. You'll read about our little midnight drive adventure later.)

The street address for South Point Resort is 9777 Las Vegas Blvd South, which again, is quite near the airport.

We arrived at the resort and went to valet. We wanted to make sure we were in good time to check in without having to bring our bowling ball bags down from the car park.

So, we took out our bowling ball bags. I also seized the opportunity to look in my black carry on and found the GPS. That took a load off my mind.  Our games were to start at 7 pm, and we anticipated that we'd be done by 10:30 pm - so we'd be driving to Sam's Town Resort and Casino, where we we were staying, in the dark. 

I knew that as long as I had that GPS, I wouldn't have any trouble getting us to Sam's Town - or anywhere else for that matter, at midnight or at any other time.  (Famous last words as you'll read later.)

The valet drove the car away and I took a photo of my three teammates in front of the Welcome sign for the 2016 Women's Nationals Bowling Tournament.

South Point Welcomes the Women's Bowling National Championships 2016

Checking in to Bowling Tournament

The Women's Nationals Bowling Tournament for 2016 is being held from April 9, 2016 to July 9, 2016. Over the course of the 3 months, over 20,000 women will have takne part in the tournament.
As a consequence of this tournament running 90 days. people who bowl during the earliest part of the schedule have to wait 90 days to find out if they're winners or not. The scores can be checked at Bowl.com which updates them daily. 

Tournament Bowling Plaza

The South Point Bowling Tournament Plaza is practically brand new and will be hosting bowling tournaments in Las Vegas for years to come. Las Vegas Rolls a Strike with 12-Year Deal to Host USBC Championship Events at South Point Hotel and Casino

 I and my two other teammates for our team, Chaotic Chaos, followed our captain Jacque to the Tournament Bowling Plaza (separate and apart from another, 60-lane bowling center at South Point), wheeling or carrying our bowling ball bags. 

As we entered the plaza, we saw lots of signs promoting the next year's tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and several cases featuring exhibits from past editions of the Women's Nationals.

Register today for Women's Nationals 2017 to be held in Baton Rouge, LA

Geaux Bowl sign to the left, USBC Official Shop to the right.

We walked the gauntlet through the USBC shop and pro shop on the left hand side, and apparel from the USBC shop and a souvenir shop on the other side of the hallway, into a larger hall.  To the left was the Squad Room, where all bowlers would gather to get their photos taken in the rear of the room, and chairs for them to sit and wait to march in a group to the bowling lanes after they'd been prepped and, presumably, oiled after the previous round of bowlers had finished.
 

500/600Club

To the right was the check in area, and a table for the 500/600 club. If someone had bowled a 500 or 600 series, they could join this club.( I never did get around to talking to the people womaning the table - not the least because I didn't come close to shooting a 500-series!.)

A woman clad in a  USBC shirt was standing by to answer questions and direct people where to go. There was a hallway that had been converted into a check-in center, with several counter reps.

Bowling in honor of a lost teammate

Checking in

There was a delay getting us checked in because apparently the USBC - or the Women's National Tourney people - or both - had switched over to a new computer system and some information had gotten lost.

We were also substituting a new team member, Laura, for one of our original teammates, Shirley, who had passed away just a couple of weeks previously.

When we had originally signed up for the Women's National Bowling Championship, or just Nationals, as it is called, the team consisted of Jacque, me, Linda, and Shirley.

Shirley started suffering some health issues, and about a month before we were to leave for Las Vegas it was doubtful if she was going to be able to bowl - she'd hurt her arm in a freak accident. Then, she went into the hospital to have a stint put in her leg, the operation went badly, and within three days she had passed away.

Laura agreed to bowl in her place, and we dedicated the tournament to Shirley.

So, Laura and Jacque and the counter clerk had to work together for 10 minutes or so getting that straightened out.

Once we were all set, we tracked down the bowling ball lockers. Tokens for the lockers cost $3 for small ones that would fit a single 3-ball bowling bag, or $5 for larger ones which would fit two such bags.

After stowing away our bowling balls, we returned to the valet, got the car back from the valet, and I drove it into the parking garage, finally ending up on the fourth floor. We decided we'd eat first, before changing into our bowling clothes.

We found the Coronado Cafe in the middle of the casino. 

I ordered the honey barbecue sandwich which came with strips of bacon and onion strings - it was absolutely delicious. Linda ordered a Reuben sandwich, and my two other teammates Jacque and Laura ordered the daily, Saturday special, roast loin of pork with pan gravy, red cabbage and fresh mashed potatoes. 

Honey barbecue chicken with onion strings and bacon. Delish!

Only one of us, Laura, had worn her team bowling shirt and appropriate slacks on the airplane. (Bowlers had to wear slacks - jeans weren't allowed.)

After dinner we returned to the car and dug our team t-shirts out of our suitcases - I also got out my black slacks, as did Linda. We changed, and brought our extra clothing back to the car.

We then returned to the bowling center and browsed around. I purchased a pair of shoe covers from the Pro Shop which were too small...I wish I'd returned them but I didn't.

 

Pepsi Squad Room

We then went into the Squad Room. The rear of the room was set up with a photographic background of Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas. Purchasing at least one print was mandatory, I believe. We had our team photo taken. It's supposed to be a "fun" photo, so funny hats and props are provided. We chose the feathered head-dresses.

We also wore purple Mardi Gras beads that we'd brought ourselves and wore for the entire tournament at South Point and at Sams Town, and purple fingernail polish in honor of Shirley, as purple was her favorite color.

I'm the woman on the left with the yellow feathers. Jacque and I turned our shirts back to front to display our team name, Chaotic Chaos.

Honoring Shirley with purple beads and purple fingernail polish.

We entered into brackets. I was confident at this time so purchased entry - at $5 a piece, for handicap brackets and scratch brackets. I spent $20.

 Then we sat in the chairs provided and waited for 7 pm, our time to go bowl. We had already taken our bowling bags out of our lockers and placed them near the lanes where we were to bowl.

Speakers came at about 6:20 to 6:30 I believe, and introduced some of the bowlers, including one woman who had attended each Nationals for over 20 years. An engaging young African American MC entertained us while we waited for the lanes to be oiled from the previous group of bowlers - in particular he demonstrated the reactions we should have for throwing a strike and a spare.

Finally we followed the team that had been chosen as the Grand Marshals for that time frame onto the bowling center.

 I took a few photos, and then bowling the team event began. 

Linda stalking the pins, Jacque observing the action

I didn't do as well as I had expected to do, frankly.

I started out well, a spare and then a strike, and then it was all downhill from there.

I don't think it was because I was nervous bowling on the "big stage,"  I was just too tentative. And my bete noir of the 7-pin reared its ugly head several times and I don't think I converted it once. I did bowl my average, though - the 137 average that I felt I was better than! 

I bowled 126 in the first game, 134 in the 2nd, and a confidence building 155 in the third game, for a 415 series or an average of 138 per game. I earned no bracket money for this performance!

Brackets information - I was in the Ruby division in Singles

After the three games were over, we placed our bowling bags back in lockers, because we had an 8 am - 8 am! bowling time the next day. 

We'd have to arrive by 7 am, and everyone except me was a breakfast eater so we were going to arrive at 6.  The consensus was that we'd get on the road at 5:30.  I was rooming with Linda and she wanted to get up at 4:30.

Leaving for Sam's Town Resort and Casino

Because we were participating in another bowling tournament - the Primetimers 9-pin No tap - at Sam's Town, which had extremely inexpensive rooms ($39 a night!) - we were staying at Sam's Town for the entire five nights of our stay in Las Vegas.

So we went to the car, and I turned on the GPS. Jacque called Sams Town, and asked for the street address (I had forgotten to look it up, and it was not on their brochure) and I plugged it into the GPS.

It couldn't find a satellite. I figured it was because I was inside a parking garage and assumed that once I got out into the open - dark - air, it would acquire the satellite.

It didn't.

I figured I'd drive for a little ways and then it would acquire the satellite - it didn't. Jacque and Linda tried to access the GPS on their smart phones to no avail.

I drove perhaps another 3 miles on some road - I think it was Las Vegas Boulevard, before pulling into a gas station/convenience store and asking for directions to Sam's Town. The male clerk told us how to get there on the highway, then said, no, it would be better if we kept going on Las Vegas Boulevard - in the other direction - and turning right on Flamingo which would take us right to Sam's Town.

So, I followed his directions and it worked fine, and we got to Sam's Town at 12:30 am. We went ahead and sent the car to valet parking and took our luggage to our rooms.

Jacque had a room to herself, Laura had a room to herself, and as mentioned previously, Linda and I shared a room with two queen beds - Room 763 on the 7th floor.

Laura had disappeared into the restroom while the rest of us checked in. When we checked in there was no line - by the time she arrived there were several people ahead of her. Linda and I went up to our room. Linda was going to take some time to get ready for bed, so I went down to keep Laura company in the line. It was her turn to talk to the clerk just when I arrived, and it was only 5 minutes or less later that she went to her room.

So I bade her goodnight, returned to my room, and logged onto the room's wifi. I looked up directions from Sam's Town back to South Point, and wrote them down preparatory for the next day.

I then changed into my sleeping t-shirt and shorts, ordered a wakeup call for 4:30 and set my phone alarm for the same time, and went to bed.

Right at 4:30, my phone alarm went off and our wake up call came in. 

Linda and I took turns in the bathroom dressing. It was doubles and singles, so I wore my other Chaotic Chaos team shirt, as I'd be bowling with Jacque in doubles. (We'd had different shirts than the mint colored ones when we'd bowled with Shirley and another woman called Kathy on a Wednesday league two years ago.)

We got into the car and headed for South Point. After about five minutes my GPS, which I'd left plugged in, came to life and gave me directions .... which I followed until I realized it was giving me directions to go back to Sam's Town!

I pulled off, entered the correct directions, and we arrived at South Point shortly thereafter.

Journey to Las Vegas and Nationals, 4 June 2016

Prelude
When I was asked to go to Las Vegas for the Nationals, as well as a 9-no-tap tournament called the Primetimers, I had a 137 average. This was in February 2016.  That's the average that I would be bowling under during the two tournaments.
But, after three months of practicing, I was averaging 150 (with a few hiccups thanks to switching to a fingertip grip midway through the fall/winter season) and was feeling pretty confident about bowling well.

Oh, I'll say it - I expected to win in the 0-140 division! Or at least place in the top 10.

That did not come to pass as you will see.

Saturday, 4 June 2016

Cheyenne to Denver via car

I used to love to fly, but I stopped taking planes about 10 years ago. The hassles of going through security was just too annoying. Besides, I've been concentrating on traveling around the US and you see more of the scenery if you drive.

But everyone else wanted to fly - and a flight to Las Vegas is only an hour-and-a-half or so as opposed to a 17-hour drive!

I'm not afraid to fly, but the news for a couple of weeks prior to our departure had been full of the long lines at airports because the TSA (security) didn't have enough people. (And the people they did have were apparently inept - in tests they never found bombs, etc.)

So I wanted to leave as early as possible for the airport.

My friend Jacque, our team captain, has an SUV, and we were taking that down to Denver. Originally she was going to meet our two other teammates at a gas station near her house at 8 am (they'd be dropped off by their husbands), she'd then pick me up as my house is on the way toward Denver, and then we'd just keep on going.

The day before we were to leave, Friday, I took my bowling ball bag and my suitcase to Jacque's house and put them in the back of her SUV. In my bowling ball bag was a Brunswick Mastermind (a reactive ball) and my Viz-a-Ball plastic ball (with a cool image of a skeleton pirate on one side and a treasure map on the other).

This way, when she arrived at my house to pick me up since my house, I wouldn't have to waste time fitting my luggage into the back of her SUV. I was carrying a shoulder bag that I would use as my carry-on, as I was sure there'd be room for that.

Jacque - with teammate Linda driving - arrived about 10 minutes later than the 7:45 am time that I had expected her. They'd had to fiddle wiht all the bowling bags and luggage to get them to fit.

I stuffed my carry-on bag into the back, and we set off.

Long-term parking
One of Cheyenne's marketing schemes is to send out a packet of coupons to all residents. Within this package are coupons for long-term parking at Denver International Airport. (Cheyenne has an airport of its own but flights are more expensive than from DIA).

So when we got close to the airport, we headed for long term parking and chose USA Parking. Because there's occasionally hail here, even in late spring, Jacque elected to pay for under-cover parking. That's the joy of traveling as a team of four and splitting costs - what would have been an exorbitant five-day charge for one person was reasonable when divided among four people.

The shuttle driver who picked us up our parking space gave Jacque a slip identifying the location where she'd parked her car (ESENTIAL IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE IT) and then drove us to the Southwest gate.

Curbside luggage check-in
We took advantage of curbside check in to put our bowling ball bags and large suitcases on the plane, so once we got into the airport itself all we'd have to do was go through security with very light over-the-shoulder bags.

Security Check in, and First time travelers - how easy is it for them?

We were a couple of hours early, just early enough so that there was very little line in the huge section cordoned off for security. We got through in about 20 minutes or less, I think.

I had brought my laptop with me, and knew from previous travel that I had to take it out of its case and put it on the conveyor belt along with my cd player in its fanny pack (which I use instead of an iPod or smartphone for music!) and so on.

I tried to look at signs to see if there were instructions telling people to do this...I don't remember seeing them.

We made it through security.

Linda had printed out boarding passes for me, Jacque and herself the night before. (Laura - a friend of Jacque's and Linda's who was a sub because our original teammate had passed away just a week before - more on that later - had handled her own boarding pass.).

Linda and Laura had somehow received pre-TSA screened boarding passes and Jacque and I had to go through the regular line.

We met on the other side and proceeded to our gate.

Then we took turns watching luggage - purses and my carry-on - while others went to the bathroom, restaurant or explored.

The distinctive "circus tent" roof of Denver airport

The photo above is of the airline check in locations - anyone entering the airport can see this.

I'd been in the Denver airport before, but never in the passenger area, I wandered around taking photos.

Moving walkway toward Southwest's departure gates

Greenery in the airport

Image of the huge blue horse outside DIA, with unnervingly red eyes

Southwest Flight 1800, Denver to Las Vegas

Southwest Airlines

We boarded on time.

There are no first class seats on Southwest, or assigned seats. You board according to your boarding pass number and find a seat you like.

Jacque and I were in the B seating group, so there were plenty of seats when we got on the plane.

Jacque sat on the aisle, I took a window seat, and eventually a 30-ish guy took the middle seat. Laura and Linda sat somewhere in the back of the plane.

I spent the hour-and-a-half trip listening to the soundtrack from The Rock (Hans Zimmer), and taking photos out the window. We were not at 30,000 feet, we were only at 20,000 feet, I think, and I managed to get some interesting shots.

Above the clouds. Clouds casting shadows on land below

Gorge with river

Bright blue water in the corner... what it is I have no idea!

Las Vegas homes near the airport

When we landed in Las Vegas I saw the Sphinx in front of the Luxor but didn't have my phone/camera out in time to take a photo.

Here's a photo of the buildings beside the airport, once I got my phone out and ready, with the High Roller in the distance.

Just under the wing tip is the High Roller - an observation wheel

 Las Vegas McCarran International Airport

We landed on time.

We came out of the Southwest gate and I saw slot machines along the walls of the airport.

The ubiquitous slot machines in Las Vegas airport

We went to baggage claim for our luggage, and hauled it all out to the street where the rental car shuttle buses came to pick up people. We waited about ten minutes or so for our shuttle bus, and then were brought to the Rental Car Center where all the rental car agencies have their offices.

We went to Enterprise and picked up our minivan.

We had all agreed that I was to be the only driver, and would put the car on my credit card. (It would cost several dollars a day for any additional drivers.)

I bought full insurance coverage, we were taken out to the car - a regular-sized SUV - a silver Dodge Journey with a license plate from Utah! - and shown how to start it - there was no key, just a fob, and you pressed a button to start the car.)

I thought I had placed my GPS in my fannypack but it wasn't there. Rather than dig for it in my carry-on, we just asked the Enterprise guy how to find the South Point Resort and Casino - where the Women's Nationals was being held.

It was quite close to the airport, and I found it without trouble.I drove us to South Point, with much-needed backseat driving from Jacque and co-piloting from Linda.


MORE ON SOUTH POINT and our first three games in my next entry.