Travel After Divorce

It was around 2pm when my girlfriend and I boarded “The Deuce” bus on Fremont Street East. The temperature was about 100 degrees, and we snuck on a few canned alcoholic beverages for the trip down the strip. I already opened my can like a dumbass before we got on the bus, so holding the cinch bag with a can, she casually walked onto the bus.

As she tried removing the can, she felt around for damage done from a leaky can of booze and her hand hit into something solid. “A phone charger” is what I quickly said. 

What she didn’t know, is that she just hit her hand into her 3 carrot diamond engagement ring!

The plan I had was simple. Make a reservation for the steakhouse we couldn’t afford in the past. Back then I was living on credit cards and the two of us were still married to other people. I figured I would order dinner and then get on one knee. A week before our trip I thought to myself that a simple dinner was just not good enough.

I had the ring for over 3 weeks and stared at it every night while she was actually FaceTiming me. I was anxious to ask her to be mine forever, and didn’t want to wait too long in the future. I figured the second night of our trip I could ask her with the fireworks show at the Legacy Club in Circa.

After realizing that I would have to walk around Vegas for 2 days without asking her to marry me I knew that it would drive me insane. It had to be on day one of the trip, and it had to be special. I figured I would get a fancy restaurant that first night that overlooks the Bellagio fountain to make it a romantic event.

Even after I booked the restaurant (Lago), I then realized a flaw in my plan. They have a dress code and me asking my girlfriend to get changed into a dress for a fancy dinner might tip her off. I figured It would be just as romantic during the day to get engaged, so I re-booked for a lunch in a slightly less fancy restaurant with no dress code.

After telling her I wanted to eat there for lunch her response was completely perfect. She told me “Why would we sit there for lunch and waste money and time when we can just hit the strip and have fun?”. I know this woman is meant to be mine forever. It was at that point when I realized that I would ask her to marry me on the strip in the middle of the day.

I then had to figure out the songs that play, and the times that they go off. To my excitement the first song of every day is the Star-Spangled Banner followed by Andrea Bocelli’s love song “Con Te Partiro”. The perfect setting was finally made. I then cooked up some crazy story about wanting to see the Star-Spangled Banner at the fountains because I never have (I’ve seen it maybe 20 times in my life but she didn’t know).

Back to the bus…. We were rolling down the strip and seemed to be hitting every light. Looking at my watch every 20 seconds we were talking to a nice guy who was also a Veteran, but in my head, I was going crazy. How the hell can we be going this slow? Then the bus stopped because someone was having a medical issue at one of the stops. It looked like a homeless person tweeting on drugs. I remember thinking to myself in my head “fuck it, just leave him, WE HAVE TO GET TO BELLAGIO BY 3PM!”

I was sweating and nervous, but we finally made it there by 245pm. Briskly walking to a spot by the fountain my then girlfriend said “hey let’s stand over there closer to the center” I originally didn’t want to because other tourists were over there but thank God we moved because they are the reason we got pictures and Videos.

The national anthem started and was beautiful as ever. As the last notes were sung by Whitney Houston there was about a 8 second pause where I could feel my heart beating. I was hoping the Boccelli song would come on, and just like that the fountains again came to life. 

I started telling the story you just read to her, about first wanting the steakhouse and then the two separate restaurants as I pointed across the lake. She was probably thinking to herself “um okay, but why should we care now, we are here”.

At that moment I got on one knee and explained to her how she is the first voice I hear when I wake up, and the last I hear when I go to sleep. I then told her how I would have gotten nowhere without her since my divorce years ago. She continued to cry in total shock as I put the ring on her finger.

The Boccelli song was in full effect as we hugged each other for what seemed to be forever. She was crying on my shoulder as we hugged and then I backed up a bit and asked her “so is that a yes?” We both continued to hug not realizing the song probably ended over a minute ago.

Multiple tourists were taking pictures and videos at the fountain and then turned their lenses on us at the most perfect time. After they approached us the then got our number and sent us pictures AND video of the happiest moment of my life (beside when my kids were born).

I could write another post about our Las Vegas trip, but the city now takes on another meaning for me and for us. I hope that the world is as lucky as I am and that somewhere, somehow you find your soul mates. This is the start and not the end of what of what it really means to “travel after divorce”. With the love of my life….. Forever.