Day one:
What would a trip to Africa be without a private coach trip down to Tulalip for one last "kick at the can" in the Casino in case Lady Luck decided to pay for the trip!  So there we were, 22 of us (5 decided they'd forego Lady Luck), headed for the border and ready for bear (bare?)!
This is my first trip with these group of travellers and I'm getting to know them fast.
There's Donna who loves babies so much, she almost confiscated a little cutie on the group's last trip to Tuscany!  There are Gino and Susan who apparently still act like newlyweds after 37 years of marriage ( but they're sitting across the aisle from each other, so I'm confused).  And there's Brian and Sylvia who have only been dating for 8 months (and THEY are sitting across the aisle from each other, so it must be a space thing).
The border was a new experience for me...on a coach trip, that is.  Beat the line up.  Yay!  Head for the "bus" check-in area. Gather up all your belongings.  Get off ( thx, Sylvia!).  Go through customs with your passport and place your luggage on a conveyor belt just like at the airport. Then exit out the door on the other side, get back on the bus and voila, you're on the road again!  All in the space of a little private building and in about 10 minutes flat!
Tulalip is a beautiful resort and we took it by storm!  Armed with our $20 Casino vouchers (courtesy of our tour package), we spread out and hit the machines looking for the ones that would pay us back.  Well, I think you know the drill.  A few made it out fairly unscathed.   Others didn't know what hit them.  And some just gave up and hit the outlet mall for final supplies before the big trip!
Ok, hitting the airport for our 14 hour trip to Dubai!
Stay tuned...........JT