So we did it. Barry Manilow in Vegas – and yes, Karena cried through the whole show (with a small reprieve during “American Bandstand” and “Copa”).

I wasn’t sure we were going to make the show because our dinner ran a little long at Le Cirque, which was great, but not THAT great – not a Michelin great – but we might be spoiled by the best restaurant in the whole world right here in Portland… Sel Gris….yum – anyway, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it since the crowds were mob-style in Vegas. We caught a cab (the driver asking us if we were “family” then showing us a picture of her girlfriend – B-utch-est woman I’ve seen in many years – saying that she is “her first girlfriend” er, really?) and squeaked in.

The crowd was mixed – some hands-above-the-head-when-dancing-late-40s-moms + a really overweight , older woman who yelled at the guy in front of her when he stood up + lots of getting-lucky-husbands. Shocked there weren’t more gays, but they probably saw him earlier in the run.

He sung all the hits – even doing a duet with himself on a huge video monitor performing “Mandy” (my favorite) in 1975. Amazing. A-maz-ING!

To sum up, this is how Karena and I celebrated our engagement – twenty-three years after we first met: Broke even at the roulette table, enjoyed The Bellagio bathtub’s jet stream heaven, drank champagne, and watched Barry attempt a little jig, despite the bad hip.