The next day we awoke at the crack of dawn and were treated to a bit of Eddy's culinary expertise before heading out. Minutes later the three of us were on the road. From this point on Eddy would accompany us along our journey clear through to the LA Staples Center show. Heading North East across the bay from Redwood City to the Oakland airport (OAK) we crossed the bay via the San Mateo Bridge. Along the way a warning light in our rental car's dashboard pinged a reminder that our fuel was dangerously low. Stopping to refill somewhere near San Leandro we merged back onto the Northbound 880 Interstate Highway where we promptly missed the off ramp to the airport. Consulting our maps for the last time we retraced our path and exited the highway at Hegenberger Road. Throughout the morning a thin veil of fog drifted off the water and onto the shore.

Morning fog along the bay.

I really enjoyed my stay out here. I looked forward to returning again someday.

At the airport we turned in our trusty vehicle, checked our bags and readied ourselves for our flight back to Las Vegas and the MGM Grand performance that evening. At the terminal we ran into yet another fellow Rush fan by the name of Jaime (JRT4E) who mentioned to us he was also in the middle of his own road trip following Rush across the West Coast. In our conversation with him Jaime mentioned that along his travels he and a buddy ran into Alex Lifeson one day at a McDonalds restaurant of all places. He showed us proof in the form of an autographed Vapor Trails CD. Nice. Jaime was departing for Las Vegas on an earlier flight than ours so before we parted ways we made sure to invite him to a Rush fan party being held at the Mirage hotel later that day. Exchanging cell phone numbers we looked forward to seeing him again in Vegas.

Returning our vehicle at the Oakland airport.

We experienced a touch of anxiety prior to our departure after we were informed that our flight would be delayed an hour. It appeared the light fog in the area wasn't quite so light in neighboring flight paths entering the Oakland airport. Making the best of our hurry up and wait time, we grabbed a bite to eat at the 360° Gourmet Burritos concession stand in the terminal area and before long we were in the air and on on our way back to Nevada.

During our flight we had the misfortune of sitting directly in front of a screaming three year old girl experiencing difficulty adjusting to the air pressure on the plane. On a positive note - she did have one healthy set of lungs! Taking advantage of the situation we thought it would be funny to document the moment with a picture of us suffering the consequences of our rotten luck.

"WWHHAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"

That's Judy selling earplugs for five bucks (ever the entrepreneur).

Rush billboard in downtown Las Vegas.

In Vegas we were met by Judy's Mom Cathy. Cathy - a big fan of percussion would be joining us that night to get an eye and earful of Neil Peart's drumming. This would be her first Rush concert and I'm happy to say she truly enjoyed herself - especially during the standout drum solo! Take a bow Neil!

In addition to Judy's Mom, Jane, Judy's friend (the one that dropped us off at the Las Vegas airport at the beginning of our trip) also accompanied us to the concert. Time was of the essences as we readied ourselves for the big event. We all grabbed a quick shower and flew to ground zero. I even dressed the part in a dress shirt, slacks and a "Winnie the Pooh" tie.

"I was kinda' like a one man force eh? Like Charlton Heston in Omega Man - Did you see it? It's a beauty!" - Bob McKenzie

Before arriving at the venue, we made a stop at the Mirage Hotel where a Counterparts Vegas party was already in full swing in a thirtieth floor luxury suite. Go figure. Rumor has it that someone close to the band had generously donated the use of the suite for our gathering. How 'bout that eh? Ken and Julie of the Counterparts message board website were our hosts for the party once again.

Ken - our gracious host.

Counterpeeps.

While there we mingled with Rush fans who had come to see the show in Vegas from far and wide. Attendees that day included Matt (ProectAtlantis), Leonard (DarthLen), Elise (Open Secret) Jaime (JRT4E) - He made it! and Paul (bytor11) among others too many to list here. A few brews later we made for the exit and jetted over to the MGM Grand via taxi cab where we found a nice place to have a snack and more drinks! Out of nowhere we happened across another good friend of ours named Teresa (ALXSPC) who had brought along her own Mom to catch the show as well!

When you stop to think about it - how cool is that? Bringing your own Mom to a Rush concert and having her dig it. One thing's for sure - my Mom would never buy it! She has trouble even saying "Rush" - her accent makes it sound more like "Rutch!" Heh, heh. She cracks me up. Born and raised in Mexico she never took to polishing her english all too seriously. Still... she manages to get her point across. Mom's. You gotta' love 'em. ;)

All day I was taking pictures with a new disposable camera when I realized I wouldn't have time to take it back to our car before the concert.

I had taken some decent pictures with that camera so I didn't want to risk losing them at the arena entrance. I was in quite a pickle up until Cathy suggested she stash the camera away in her purse. WOW! Why didn't I think of that? Nobody would ever suspect Judy's Mom of being my camera smuggling accomplice right? Right! Sure enough it worked like a charm. "Lady luck is golden..." Once inside we made our way to our seats and enjoyed one of the greatest performances of the tour. Rush was on fire that night. Here are some pics taken of the show (oh, and I'll thank you not to tell anyone I took these eh? Beauty.)

Rush at the MGM Grand.

Endlessly rocking.

Alex during his Las Vegas rant - "Cough! - Cough!... Anybody wanna' lick this mic?"

Geddy - "We hope to see you again sometime. Goodnight!"

OBSERVATIONAL NOTE: Sitting further back from our customary third to fifth row seats (yeah I know... we're spoiled) we found the stage lighting and effects easier on the eye to observe and absorb. Alex had been suffering from a cold on this part of the tour. Fortunately being under the weather didn't stop him from lamenting over the fact that he sounded an awful lot like Michael Jackson then performed an impromptu moon walk during his rant. Good stuff!

After the show we headed back to the Mirage Hotel top floor post party celebration. We had a great time once again. We partied on 'til clear past 2:00 a.m. The view from the room was spectacular that evening. With the effects of one of the longest days of our road trip finally catching up with us we said good day to our Rush buddies and called it a night.