I just arrived home (yesterday) on a red eye from spending the weekend in Vegas. Yeah, I’m a little tired but I’m more than invigorated by the connections I made over the weekend. I arrived Friday morning. The airport was bustling with people at 9 am. The excitement was building as I traveled to my hotel. I dropped my things off and then asked for directions to Harrah’s. It seemed close so I began walking, figuring I could find my way. Rather than forge through the casinos and risk getting turned around, I kept the Nevada sky in my view. This didn’t prove to be any more fruitful. After 15 minutes and S shaped walk I arrived at the severely crowded Harrah’s lobby. The line at my hotel was much shorter and I was glad that I wasn’t overwhelmed by heat or the excess of people. Off in the distance on the pool deck I could see the friendly waves of Sarah, Determined in Dakotas and Rick M. Minutes into meeting half of the clan, it was obvious that the friendships that had been built on EX were something special. There was an immediate family-sense amongst the EXers. There was no awkwardness, it was a natural progression to the interactions we had shared here on the community. I met much of the rest of the group on a 550 ferris wheel, the High Roller, later in the evening. The sun was setting as we boarded our pod and though we couldn’t see the mountains clearly, we had a pretty amazing sunset.
Saturday morning we got together in Strudel’s room with the whole group to share some memories, highlight the journeys, showcase some fantastic writing and acknowledge the achievements of the members on the trip. We ended the morning time together in song with michwoman, jonescarp and Giulia via Skype. There were touching moments where I felt my eyes start to well up. The milestones that had been reached on account of support from others in the room was remarkable and emotional. It would be difficult to capture in words the magic in the room. Before I knew it, more than an hour had passed and the room was cleared. The rest of Saturday was filled with conversations about the EX Community and any other topic that came to mind until we headed off to dinner along the walking-only street.
Sunday morning we got in our rental cars and headed to Boulder City to enjoy a paddle boat brunch cruise to the Hoover Dam on Lake Mead. It topped out at 104 degrees F but the periodic dry winds made it bearable. Several people joined us virtually on the boat via Skype. The 90 minutes cruise went too fast and before we knew it we were on our way back to Las Vegas. I had to say some "See you later's" at that point as some were scheduled to depart. It was difficult after having spent less than 48 hours with many of the EXers and their family members.
Some of us then detoured to Fremont Street to go on the zip lines. It was exhilarating (and maybe even a bit terrifying) to fly stories above people walking below. A near weightlessness feeling I didn't want to end. The weekend also ended too quickly as most departed shortly thereafter.
I’m already looking forward to next year and look forward to a larger, more diverse, group of EXers. If you’re on the fence, there are months to mull it over and pennies to pinch. If you love planning events, then there is an opportunity for you to get in on contributing to next year’s plans as well.
Can’t wait to see you again!
Mark
EX Community Manager
