Rather than a big party in town, we made big plans to celebrate reaching my milestone: seeing the Eagles as The Sphere in Las Vegas.  

I really appreciate my beautiful bride, Rachelle, agreeing to embark on this kind of vacation.

With the assistance of travel agent extraordinaire Laura Avital working with our daughter Marisa, we secured excellent flights to and from JFK to Harry Reid Airport, wonderful accommodations at the Elara Hotel and a private tour to the Grand Canyon.  My brother Robby and wife Jen, who live in Portland, Oregon, joined us for the weekend as well (Rob secured our excellent seats -- Thanks youngest bro!)

For me, everything came into play rather well.  Relaxing poolside dinner after flying in Friday. The Eagles in concert at 

The Sphere Saturday.  Watching football on the supersize screen in our hotel suite with Ron. Back to the Sphere to experience the Wizard of Oz at The Sphere.  Grand Canyon on my big day.

The Sphere experience merges sound and imagery in a most satisfying way.  I enjoyed the visuals including a countdown blimp 

just ahead of the Eagles taking the stage.  Awaiting the start of the amazing concert, the "theatre" provided multi-media imagery 

related to the Eagles and their musical heritage.

Check out the setlist:

Hotel California

One of These Nights

Lyin' Eyes (Vince Gill vocal)

Take It to the Limit (Vince Gill vocal)

Witchy Woman

Peaceful Easy Feeling (Jack Tempchin cover) (Deacon Frey vocal)

Tequila Sunrise (Vince Gill vocal)

In the City (Joe Walsh song)

I Can't Tell You Why

New Kid in Town (Vince Gill vocal)

Seven Bridges Road (Steve Young cover)

The End of the Innocence (Don Henley song)

Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)

Already Gone (Jack Tempchin cover) (Deacon Frey vocal)

The Boys of Summer (Don Henley song)

Funk #49 (James Gang cover)

Life in the Fast Lane

Encores:

Take It Easy (Deacon Frey vocal)

Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)

Desperado

Heartache Tonight (Vince Gill vocal)

Shelly’s posted about our Eagles experience on Facebook.

Two brothers hanging together to watch Sunday football was let down by the New Jersey based team still haunted by leaving Shea Stadium.  Just say the hang was more important than the view on the screen

Monday, Marisa, Rachelle and I returned to the Sphere for an afternoon performance of 

I recommend the experience.  The feel the tornado and more.  If you plan to take in a concert at the Sphere, do add this extravaganza.

View Shelly's Wizard of Oz post on Facebook. 

We opted for the afternoon "Wizard" followed by a nice pre-birthday dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in The Paris Hotel knowing our need to rise early the next morning to drive several hours to the Grand Canyon.

Interestingly, our driver and guide Don shared my birthday (though I had a few years on him).

Amazing views follow:

On the drive back to our hotel, we drove over the Hoover Damn that we visited more than a decade ago.

I cherish the memories and the experiences.