[cleatus12r]

won't stay in Vegas."

As some of you know, my wife and I were invited to attend the SEMA convention to personally meet Bill and Corey. An added bonus was that Jack and his wife Janet (JackandJanet) were going to be there and we'd all get together and have a little "meet and greet". Since the SEMA show was a big "to do" for me since I was young, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to attend.

My wife and I arrived in Las Vegas Tuesday around noon. The first thing that had us floored was the presence of gaming machines IN the airport terminal.....Yep, this is Las Vegas. Our pilots certainly didn't overshoot that airport.

The shuttle bus driver was INSANE. I figured that he had to drive that way to keep from getting in an accident once I realized that EVERYONE drove that way.

Once we stepped off of the bus (shaken, not stirred) in front of the New York New York Hotel and Casino and into the main lobby, our jaws hit the floor as we soon realized that the main lobby of the hotel is larger than the town we call home....and far more populated too.

We couldn't help ourselves but to look around a little bit. Actually we looked around A LOT. The first six hours of the day brought us nothing but walking, taking pictures, and staring in amazement at all of the "no expense spared" architecture and decor.

That evening, Bill returned the phone call I had left him upon my arrival to the hotel (cell phones...). He and Corey came down to my room and we all got to know each other a little bit in a neutral, face-to-face environment. Corey and my wife Jessica absolutely hit it off and while Bill and I talked shop, we couldn't help but notice Corey all but rolling on the floor laughing about a story Jess had just told her.

Shortly thereafter, we made our way to the Casino floor. Bill taught me a little about Black Jack. He made a few bucks, I broke even and cashed out. I'm such a huge gambler . I gave the chips I had to Jess and she and Corey hit the Roulette wheel. Bill and I went to the Craps table. I still don't understand the game of Craps......even after watching him lose the $200 he won the night before. At least Corey didn't lose any (at least that we know of). There was an earlier discussion about the odds of craps vs. roulette..........the odds were on Corey's side I guess since technically she should have lost money.

We hit the arcade, the roller coaster, and had a lot of laughs that night.

The second day (Wednesday), Jess and I went to the SEMA convention. We spent six and a half hours gazing at the latest "bling" and new offerings from the big names in the automotive aftermarket industry. Once we got back to the hotel and rested our feet for a while, we got a call saying that Jack and his wife Janet were there and we should come down to the center bar. What great people they are. We stayed there for a while and talked about things that old friends usually talk about. I felt it was a very comfortable encounter for everyone. At 8:30 that night we all met at Gallagher's [steak house] and had a VERY delicious dinner in the company of some great people.

After dinner, our party of six strolled down to the Bellagio to see the fountain show. Talk about a classy place. "INCREDIBLE" is the first word that comes to mind when seeing what can be done with computers and water nozzles. We watched three performances and decided to call it a night.

Thursday was all about "taking in the exhibits" for Jess and I. We went to the Mandalay Bay to see the aquarium, the Luxor for a slightly disturbing peek into what makes up a human body, and into the Tropicana to waste a bit more time before meeting back up with the Cohrons.

I met Bill at a place called the Bar at Times Square since Corey was getting some much-needed sleep and Jess was also knocked out. We had a great time "air drumming", laughing, and singing along with a show of "Dueling Pianos" entertainment. Jess and Corey joined us shortly thereafter.

Of course, the night had to end and we had to go our separate ways. Jess and I had to wake up at 2:45 the following morning and it was approaching 10 PM.

We had planned to wait for Jack and Janet to return to the hotel, but we were exhausted and needed to hit the sack. Regretfully, we were unable to bid Jack and Janet a kind and safe farewell (SORRY, FOLKS!!! ). Jess and I REALLY enjoyed your company and we will continue to enjoy the memories!! It was a great pleasure to meet you both.


The moral of this story is that Bill and Corey Cohron are incredible people. They are a real couple who enjoy their own company as well as the company of others. It sounds very selfish, but I had the feeling that the three evenings my wife and I spent with those two, we had their undivided personal attention and we had them to ourselves. We felt very comfortable in their presence because they are REAL people.....very genuine, generous, and friendly. We were treated as if we were family. If you EVER have a chance to spend some time with the Cohrons, I urge you to do so. They're good people and each have a great sense of humor.


Oh, and Corey,
Let's keep my demeanor under wraps. We can't have anyone knowing that I actually smile sometimes.

I'll put up pics in my next post.

[cleatus12r]

At dinner Wednesday night. Steak and new friends!



My wife and I took about 300 pictures here. These are some of my favorites and they are a couple of the 10% that actually came out good. My camera is such a piece of garbage.

[soutthpaw]

Glad to hear it went well... yep Vegas is 1 of a kind for sure. We stop there regularly on our trips to see family in CA... Sooner or Later I will get to go to SEMA... so what was the coolest new gizmo at the show????

[88Racing]

Glad to hear you had a GREAT time!
What's that dodge stuff doing in your pix?

Sounds good!
Party's over!
Now get back to work!

Lars

[ChuckD]

Don't your love Janets accent. I melt when I hear it.

[JWBFX4]

Glad you had a great time.

I would have loved to go to sema.

[907DAVE]

WOW.....sounds like you had a great trip, I would love to make it to SEMA some day!!!!!

[phatbak]

yessir, Vegas is a BLAST! my wife & I got married there in '06, we were there for 3 days and didn't have time to gamble a penny, but we did go just about everywhere. By far the best was The Drive at the Sahara, took a H2 on an offroad course, and a Corvette on a tight road course

I made the mistake of drinking the water at the Nascar Cafe on the 2nd day, and that night I was sick

I too have had the pleasure/honor of meeting Bill & Corey at their facility for a custom tune(45 minute drive was WELL worth it). But now that we're moving back to Seattle, I'll have to order a Gryphon online

[JackandJanet]

Cody pretty much summed it up, except for leaving out the fact that he and his Wife Jessica are two of the nicest, down to earth people you'd ever meet. Janet and I feel absolutely privileged to have met both them and Bill and Corey. These are four wonderful people, folks! I just wish we'd met somewhere other than Vegas so that there would have been fewer distractions, and, that our time together had overlapped a bit better. Janet had to see patients, so we couldn't get there till Wednesday. Our time together was much too short!

SEMA was TOO much! I got to spent a bit of time with the people in the Edge booth talking about the new programming platforms they've got coming out - the CS and the CTS. The backup camera that goes with the CTS is really a good one too. Beautiful display and they said the version for F150's is on sale now. Bill said he'd be able to offer custom programs for it also in the not too-distant future.

Here's a few pictures:

What I wish I had for my next camping, off road vehicle. It's mounted on an F550 chassis and has virtually everything anyone would need for back-country camping:


My mid-life crisis car (if I ever have a mid-life crisis):


The color in this picture is a bit misleading. It's a glossy black and satin dark slate grey color. It's absolutely gorgeous!

This is the fountain in front of the Bellagio Hotel that Cody was talking about. Some of the jets of water would shoot at least 20 stories high, I think, in sync with loud passages of music. This picture just shows some of the lower jets:


We didn't come away broke. This was Janet's winning cashout after a session with the penny slots (you can tell we're BIG gamblers):


And, the skyline of the hotel were we all stayed, the NYNY:


But, like always, it's good to be home. Bill and Corey, Cody and Jessica, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you and spend some time with you all.

- Jack (and Janet)

[88Racing]

Sounds good Jack glad to have you back!

Lars