Well, once again it has been a long time since I blogged. Maybe because since it's been winter, I haven't felt the need to post because winter is boring and nothing has really changed a whole ton for us since? I dunno.
The first week in March, we had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas for a little bit of a vacation. Vegas was hosting "Heli Expo" this year, and Scott and a bunch of his schoolmates all decided to head down and check it out. Heli Expo is basically a yearly get-together of everyone in the business. There is a broad range of things that are at heli expo. There are education courses for pilots, displays of the newest helicopter technology, heli vendors come to sell their helicopters, etc. It's a pretty great way to start putting yourself out there and meeting others in the industry. So we decided it would be good for Scott to go.
Basically I just wanted a little vacation away from the weather. I didn't go to Heli Expo, but since I crave the warmth and sunshine on a daily basis, I was just along for the ride.
We drove down and one of Scott's heli buddies named Clint drove with us. We had booked a hotel at a hotel called The Quad. It was where a few of the other students were planning on staying. It was super cheap so we kinda figured it would be quite the dump. So, we dropped Clint off at his hotel, and got to the Quad at around midnight on Sunday night. We didn't have the best experience there, let's just say. We ended up waiting in the check in line for 45 minutes (at midnight!), we got sent to a room that wasn't ours, and we were told that their pool was not open. Bummer for me. So, by the time we got into our room, we decided that we didn't want to stay there anymore. Clint said that the LVH was nice and the pool was open, and it just happened to be right next to the Convention Center where Heli Expo was at this year. So, we picked up our luggage, and headed over to the Las Vegas Hilton. Yes, we surely did at 2:00 am. Crazy? Yes. But in the end, we were happier. They gave us a great room at a great price for the 4 nights we were there... and it was a much better hotel, and their pool was open, and I had the car to go wherever I wanted while Scott was at the Expo, so obviously I was a happy gal.
Our trip was pretty simple, but it was great at the same time. Scott went to the Expo everyday until around 5 that evening, while I hung out by the pool and soaked up the warm weather, and shopped around at the outlet malls. It was super relaxing for me--I enjoyed it immensely.
Scott has an enjoyable time at the expo, but I could tell he was a little stressed out. The reality of taking the right steps in becoming a helicopter pilot is pretty intense. I'll explain: When Scott finishes his schooling withe Mountain Ridge, he will have 200 hours of flying experience under his belt. The majority of companies will not hire you until you have about 1,000 hours of flying experience. So the part that stresses him out the most is what he is going to do in between those times to get hours. Many pilots are able to become flight instructors (CFI's) at the school they graduated from...but some don't. That's the stressful part. So he really has had to work hard in meeting a lot of people, being social, and putting himself out there. (Yes, even this early in his schooling.) But he seemed to do well from what I saw :) He went to a couple of education classes, talked with some different people in the industry about the routes they took to get where they are today, and he got to see some amazing helicopters (of course). It was time and money well spent.
After Scott would get done with the Expo, we would have the evenings to spend with each other. This usually included meeting up with students/instructors from the school. We got together for pizza and hanging out one night at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino, we all also had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and the Hard Rock Cafe... We walked along the strip a couple of times and watched the show at Treasure Island, and we walked up Freemont Street, which was thoroughly entertaining, and of course we had to check out the Pawn Stars shop.
It was fun to meet a bunch of Scott's classmates, and their wives. It gave me the opportunity to relate to other wives who understand what it's like to have a husband in flight school. It was great to meet them.
All in all, Heli Expo was a success. It was great to get away for a few days and be able to enjoy the Helicopters, and the warmth :)
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