The end of 2022 may have just rung in, but the start of 2023 (and any year for that matters) really kicks off with Grant’s Birthday ExtravaGRANTza or ExtravaGAYza…it changes depending upon the activity we are doing. This year’s festivities were being housed in Dallas, Texas, which allowed some new faces to join us! Big thank you right off the bat to Wendy and Latisha for planning, prepping, keeping Grant grounded, and overall making this weekend a huge success!
We are so fortunate to have great friends who are so reliable, contribute, and are so selfless!
At 3 pm, the workday for Grant and me came to an end and the roughly 48-hour birthday bonanza began. Having cut my finger and with a mild case of laryngitis, I was a bit of a mess, but Grant was ready to go. He spends a lot of time prepping for this every year and really wants everyone to have fun. It wasn’t long ago when he was happy with just a meal at Chilies for his birthday. A monster has been created! I think that it was one of the best years ever! No drama, No Debbie Downers or Mr./Mrs. ME ME ME, everything worked itself out, and everyone survived!
Allison, Chris, Emily, Grant, Holly, Kelsey, Lara, Louis, and I all made our way to the San Diego Airport. Even with a few hiccups, everyone made it with plenty of time to spare and everyone packed accordingly. Frontier Airlines has always allowed personal items but was allowing any size backpack to go through. After being fined by the Department of Transport, they began to enforce the size requirements. Having been caught in Vegas with my pants down, I knew that this may be an issue. As we made our way to the gate attendant in Zone 3, each bag was being sized unless a person sizing was holding up the line. In that case, the people behind the slowpoke could go forward without issue. I decided that I would just hold up the line if possible, allowing all our friends to go through. Basically, the “look over here" strategy and it worked. Several poor souls were busted and had to pay an additional $100, which would have been a bit of a downer.
The plane ride was on time and uneventful. When we landed, we did a quick refresh in the bathroom and found Latisha with the 15-person van. She was so lovely in getting this for us and driving us to our first destination – The Rose Room at S4. Since this was the first time some people were meeting Latisha, we did the standard introduction, and then jetted to our destination. My favorite line from that ride was from Latisha who said, “you will be scared by my driving, but you will not die.” A truer statement had never been said! HAHA! We made it in one piece and collected our front-row seats.
Grant is friends with the host of the show, Cassie Nova, and was able to get us reserved seating. By the time I got there after parking with Latisha, the birthday hats were passed out and the drinks were flowing! This hilarious raunchy show started with a comedy routine from the host, then shifted to a song entitled, “I Suck Your D*ck in a Public Place” which was a parody of Rhianna's “We Fell in Love in a Hopeless Place” and ended at least for me with a lap dance from a large and in-charge drag queen named Calexis Davenport. The first of many dances I would later find out! Grant even got to go on stage and was chanted with Happy Birthdays! Such a wonderful place to go for any birthday or celebratory experience.
It was about 1:15 am when the show was slowing down, the booze was settling in, and the stomachs began to grumble. Most restaurants close at 2 am unless you want drunk fast food from What-A-Burger (see night 2), and everyone moseyed their way over to a local pizza place. Their efficiency was rather impressive and even with a long line that wrapped it didn’t take long for everyone to get their slice. After chowing down, everyone got back in the van, and we headed to our swanky hotel near the galleria called Le Meridian. Louis was smart to remind everyone to call letting them know we would be checking in late, so an attendant was ready when we got there! One by one each room’s occupants disappeared and went to bed.
The next morning was planned for a midday start (11:30 am) to adjust for the time change. Wendy and Latisha arrived driving the huge 15-passenger van and we were off to get food. Ida Claire, a Cajun brunch spot, was the original destination, but after lost reservations (thank you for checking Wendy) a pivot was made to Carrabba’s. Somehow, Grant convinced more people to try this place and since we were one of maybe 4 tables occupied he is probably singlehandedly keeping this restaurant alive with referrals. The wait staff in Texas is far better than in California, so everything came out correctly and was paced wonderfully. The only minor annoyance was for Allison who somehow got the smallest coffee mug and constantly needed to be refilled.
What made this dining experience even more special was that Grant’s oldest brother Jake drove from the San Antonio area over to Dallas to see him. After lunch, a few faces dropped off to do some tasks but planned on meeting back up with us afterward.
Eight of us piled into the van and headed for our next scheduled activity—Cartman’s Escape Room TM. This was one of just a handful of locations in the US that had worked with the creators of South Park to craft a room. After signing waivers and meeting our frumpy game helper, we began the room and started strong! There were so many puzzles, and everyone worked harmoniously together.
Well…maybe not Grant who was obsessed with the “fart machine” and played it constantly including during important video clips. Also, Emily did snap a photo that almost caused us to be kicked out of the room (an innocent mistake that anyone would have made). JK! After a few technical glitches (which truthfully should have been handled by our frumpy game helper) we killed Kenny and found our way out of the room with about a minute left! We were the only group as of that week who were able to escape so kudos to us!
After completing the escape room, it was decided that we need to rest our weary muscles with a spa! Spa Castle to be exact. This huge multi-level spa has wet saunas, jacuzzies, outdoor hot tubs, hot saunas, and cold rooms. It was nice because everyone was able to do what they wanted when they wanted. Seth, Latisha, and Wendy joined back up with us, but I think I saw them for maybe 5 minutes. I think I only saw Grant for about 10 minutes in this 3-hour window. I did personally have some great conversations with Kelsey, Holly, and Lara. In the future, we probably should extend the window for relaxation a bit more, but the schedule was tight this year!
All of us left the spa refreshed, 10 years younger (I think we all wish), and hungry! Latisha had decided to get a driver for the rest of the night (Jacob), and it was wonderful not having to worry about who would drive! The plan was to go to Magic Time Machine. A cheesy kid restaurant where the waiters are in character. When we called, we attempted to make reservations but said they would only make them for 20 or more. They said…come on it…no problem we will have space. WRONG! It was a 4-hour wait. Time to regroup. It just so happened to work out that the restaurant next door was Ida Claire (the place we were to go to lunch). The restaurant was packed, but we somehow were able to get two tables outside! The food at this place was delicious and is a place I would want to stop at again on our next time in Dallas.
The table that I was at was occupied by Wendy, Dylan, Holly, Chris, and myself. We all talked before ordering about sharing food. We ordered some yummy stuff, but I think my favorite was the biscuits. Not only did it come out with a side of butter and jam, but a side of bacon gravy. Can’t get any more southern than that and they sure knew how to deliver!
After a few drinks and eating the few leftover crumbs on the table, twelve of us parted ways for the Four Day Weekend Theater housing an improv troop. I don’t think anyone was that overtly excited about this because we have all seen some bad improv. However, coming in with low expectations was the way to go! The cast was hilarious. My favorite skit was when they pulled an older lady from the audience and asked her what she did for a living. “I sell accessories to other companies who sell those accessories.” She was a wholesaler, but her continued nonsensical way of explaining her role at Uttermost was hilarious. The puppet mocking her didn’t hurt either. When asked what her biggest gripe with her job was, she said, “terrible free lunch.” What is a terrible free lunch you might ask? Well, one that has salad without protein according to this woman. This screams Dallas to me, but also served as a funny moment for the audience. Other notable moments were the digital marketer who described how he went from one couch to work and another couch when he was off of work as well as the two Brians who introduced the couple in the front row.
This event was particularly special to Wendy because unbeknownst to her—the funniest cast member of this show went to her high school. So, after the show, they had a little reunion, which was nice.
My hands are tired of typing about all we did for this one day, but we were not done! The last spot was the Tin Room. An interesting establishment with poles. We were given the VIP section and had our private pole. I think with this section I’ll assert the Vegas Rules – whatever happens at the Tin Room stays at the Tin Room. It was a rowdy crowd, a lot of “entertainers,” and everyone seemed to have enjoyed their drinks. Grant said it best, “I don’t even care” as a drink was kicked over and he was laying in it. It was getting late and rowdier, so I was the buzzkill who chose to get everyone out.
All of us were hungry after that experience, and a lot of places were closed. Thankfully, What-A-Burger stays open late and caters to overgrown children who need a bit of sobering up food! Ordering was a bit of a challenge and getting the food we order was an equally challenging experience, but we all ate something! When the car finally parked at the hotel, we all got out at our own pace and made it back to our rooms in one piece! I can’t speak for everyone, but I crashed quickly because we had a late-morning flight to catch in just a few hours.
Grant woke me up as chipper as ever, as if nothing happened the night before. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and we were surprised by Wendy and Latisha bringing delicious donuts! The sugar helped keep the good vibes going! We were dropped off at the airport, made our way through security, and were at the gate in no time. This time around, when asked to size our bags I used my “broken finger” to slow things down. Again, people slipped through, and we all boarded with no issue. Easy on-time flight back with no issues.
Grant and I just want to say thank you to all of those that showed up and joined in any part of the festivities. Grant had a blast and we hoped you had fun as well!
It was a team effort and everyone reaching out ahead of time to suggest ideas for celebrating led to this being so successful. If you couldn’t make it this year that is fine as Grant appreciated the timely birthday wishes! As we get older these experiences are more and more important and we love sharing this time with our friends. Each person contributes to our lives in such a positive and meaningful way, and we could not ask for better friends!