Bash 2002 Report and Photo Archive

IronOnline reports, page 5—Len Romano

Our history of what the week was like in Las Vegas!

I will put this in dated perspective to keep time travel in perspective.

Wednesday, October 16th
Jamie and I arrived in LV at 1130 hours. After our unbelievable flights without flaws (DELTA), we were transported to our hotel and the Tropicana, the place where most everyone stayed (except Sam and Stingo at first). Well, when we arrived there, we went to check in they said that our room would be ready at 1500 hours. So, at 1230 we went and had our first brunch in the Island Buffet.

It was a good, plenty of pancakes, French toast, omelets cooked to your liking, bacon, sausages, eggs - scrambled, two salad bars, citrus fruit bowls, buns, breads, bagels, coffee, tea, water, bananas, apples, oranges, and sugar free pies.

Well, after we had our lunch (no we didn't eat all of that stuff) we went and sat at the poolside. We looked pretty silly in our street clothes though, as we tried to get some sun on our bums. We were pretty tired from having to get up a 0300 to get to the plane by 0730. Whoeeeeee, tired, tired, tired and hungry.

1530 and we're finally in our room, over looking the pool and the garden area. Nice view of the sunbathers, strolling couples, and loungers. We took a few minutes and transferred the clothes from luggage to drawers. We went to go back to the pool where we sat for a while (but this time in out bathing suits). Well it is now getting to the point when the sun is lower than the treetops.

We decided to take a walk through hotels and streets and venture on to the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Here we are going to see the Steve Reeves Movie Night by 2100, now showing on the big screen "HERCULES!" We only stayed for an hour or so as our eyes are a little drooping and red.

2200 and Dinner time, forget it! We settled in to watch TV, wow couch potatoes in Las Vegas! Goodnight Jamie.

Thursday, October 17
We slept in until around 0830. Jamie had to have her Cup of Joe, so she went down to the Java-Java Hut and picked me up a coffee and she had a latte.

Ed Urbanski and his wife along with a couple of other IOLr's were supposed to be here, so I called Ed's room and left a message. We then went down to the Island Buffet again and had a great breakfast. After breakfast we ventured off to the Mandalay Bay for the Olympians and their Press Conference at 1100.

We left our hotel at 1000 to get there early and get good seats only to find out that they put the wrong signs out for folks to follow to the conference. A lot of people went to the same place as the movies last night and to the place where the Olympians were going after our press conference. A lot of walking took place this morning and a couple of hundred people walked in to the meeting 15 - 30 minutes late. Thankfully the conference was starting late; I think because the realized they put out the wrong signs and this gave people a chance to get there.

Well this broke up around 1230 and Jamie and I started to walk around again, this time we had a brief encounter with Henrik and Bill Luttrell on the escalators, we were going in opposite directions. After this we went for a walk around to look at the hotel and what it had to offer.

Well we couldn't wait any longer, off to our pool and to stretch out in the hot Nevada sunshine. Later on Jamie tried to get our computer working on the house phone line, but it didn't go through.

At 1630 we went to see who the folks were that gathered at Gold's Gym for our first visit. We had a good 90 minute workout. We got to see some really large people, but I didn't recognize any of them. Some really huge guy had a belt that said "Palumbo" on it but I only knew "Joe Palumbo the SWAT COP" and this wasn't him. He had a couple of guys with him and the chatted and worked out from machine to machine. At one point they went to a lateral raise machine and set the pin at the max (250#'s?) and did one arm raises and then one arm kneeling rows. Whoa!

Jamie called the cab at 1800 and we sat and waited for it to show up, 45 minutes later. We ended up sharing the cab with a couple that stayed at the MGM and we finally got back to the Trop at 1930. We went upstairs and again settled in and no messages from anyone on the phone either. We watched TV again and I went down for a scrambled egg sandwich around 2100. Good night Jamie.

Friday, October 18
We again had breakfast at the Island Buffet at 0830. Afterwards we walked around and met Lon Baldridge from Rapid City, S Dakota and Randy Crist and his daughter from Ontario, Ca in the lobby while we were going out.

We went to Mandalay Bay at 1000 for the Expo Showing of the muscle-heads and their ware. We walked and talked and tried the products and skipped lunch. There was too much stuff there that was kind of interesting but not our bag. Speaking of bags, we carted out two of them full of magazines, pictures, and product samples.

We met up with Henrik, Vickie, and Bill and we walked and talked and went out to Muscle Beach for some after show viewing. We split up after about an hour and Jamie and I went into the other wing of the show. We had also passed up Dorian Yates; he's really a short but wide load kind of guy. A lot of the Olympians were in our path but they all seemed in a hurry to get somewhere.

We got our pictures taken with Frank Sepe at Met-Rx's booth. We tried to get a picture with Big Lou, but to no avail. No money, no pictures! I tried to get some with our camera and he wouldn't even look up knowing what I was trying to do. I did get a shot off but it isn't real good. I did get one of Monica Brandt and another of Aaron Mandron. We met Frank Zane and Dave at Frank's booth and I chatted for a few minutes with the guy next to them who sells "Power Hooks". I bought a pair for my home gym. You can see them at Powerhooks.com.

Tired of all of the hours of chit-chat and bumping into folks we don't know, Jamie and I decided to go back to our POOL.

At 2000, we were off to Gold's Gym in another cab, were we met up with Bill Luttrell, Stingo alias Chop Chop, Ed Urbanski, Hans, and others (sorry I can't remember) to do some bench presses and incline presses. We also tried out my new Powerhooks with a couple of really big locals who seemed to like the way they worked. They reduce the strain of heaving them up into position or rolling back for D/B presses, or to have your spotter having to lift the D/B's up for you each time.

After about an hour, 2100, Dave and Laree showed up along with a few others that sat out in the lobby and chatted about things. We had shakes and drinks and massages by Kevin Smith. It was the first full meeting of the IOLr's minds face to face. TOO COOL

After about another hour we split up and Delores Keyes gave Jamie and me, Bill K, Sam, and Cory a lift back in his truck. Real cool, we sat out back and it was a bit chilly out at 2200 hours. Good night, Jamie.

Saturday, October 19
At 0730 with our driver Randy, Vicki, Corey, Stella, Hans, Sam, and I packed into Randy's Camry and we ventured off to Gold's Gym, again. Gluttons for punishment some say. No, we go into the realm of personal objectives, not having to flounder around in life, having a purpose with which to work.

We had arrived at the gym and without delay headed for the locker-room and got ourselves ready to grow. Claude Shutte, the GM for Gold's East in Las Vegas, was very accommodating. As a matter of fact, Thursday night when Jamie and I came in, and last night he let us in for the same $10 fee that was agreed upon for the IOL Group to use on Friday Nights outing each time we came in. By the way he didn't even charge us for Friday Night, even when I mentioned it to them, so I had another Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein Shake!

It was decided that today would be lower body workout day. Corey, Stella, and Sam attacked the Rack. They pounded out some warm-up sets and then planned their approach with rubber bands and 45 pounders. They worked well together, the three of them, going and growing. Cory was at a bit of disadvantage as he is about a head taller than Stella and he had to scrunch to get under the bar. One thing about all of their work, to which I was envious, they had really good form.

Corey looked as though he was going to throw the lion out of the arena in a Hercules movie. Ya know he did resemble Steve quite a bit!!! Hey Steve, I mean Corey; would you post your pics?

I worked with Hans for a bit on the Squat rack. I still have to be very careful as I cannot perform them very good due to the back injury I sustained last year. It is funny though, I remember reading about someone saying that they healed in three days! We also did some wrist curls on a machine that I have never seen before. I am used to my rope, wood dowel rod, and weights tied to them.

After about thirty minutes I had strolled over to Randy C. to see him doing shrugs and upright rows with what I think was like 300 pounds. I could be wrong, but it was a lot of plates on the bar. Oh to be younger! He finished some sets here and moved on to other things and then the treadmill. He was up there with Bill for a little while, kind of like two bulls on the track!

I went on to do some 45 degree sled work and some leg extensions and curls. After this I went to do five sets each on the Abs machines; crunches, lower abs, torso twists, hyperextensions, and side extensions. The scenery was real good over hear, with the hustle and bustle of the athletes coming into or leaving the floor.

Well, we all finished up pretty much the same time and jumped back into cars and trucks and what ever way we could get back in time for the show.

YA KNOW WHAT? Today is the "IOL BASH '02 PICNIC"!

After showering and getting ready we gathered in the lobby and Cajun John Baron and his wife Dorothy drove us to Paradise Park. We arrived at 1100, just as others were coming in. I started to walk around and greet strangers that I had never met before (except for seeing their posts online).

Lets see now; Al and Emma Carse of England, really a nice couple; Jerry and Barbara DeLuca of Boston, MA; Bill Frazee of Chicago, IL; Jon and Patty Howell of Santa Cruz, CA; Jonathan and Sherry Kennedy of Ca; Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Lee of Canada; Guy Miller (with goatee) and his brother; Andy Webb and his wife from England; Al? and his guest from England; and a lot more. If I missed your name, sorry.

I had chatted with again; Hans Avemaria, Leon Bach, Lon Baldridge, Really Huge Richard and Alice Christianson, Really Huge Randy Crist and family, Dave and Laree of course, Stingo, Art and Diane Hanson, Stella Juarez, Rockin Ken and Jean Kalinsky, Bill and Delores Keyes; Bill and Nancy Luttrell; Vicki Masterson; Henrik Nielsen; Dr Corey Pavitt; Kevin Smith; Sam; Ed and Barbara Urbanski; and Frank and Christine Zane (who btw I'm pretty sure they will celebrate thirty-five years of marriage around Christmas).

Dave and Frank went on the air around 1115, and talked and talked and talked! They are both very informative in their opinions of how and what we need to be doing, whether you are a younger person getting started or some old f*rts getting into the aches and pains of aging. These two have somewhat the same yet a bit different attitudes on training.

The questions came from a lot of folks and covered a broad array of topics. I sat on the outer realms of their conversations, taking in the scope of thoughts as well as taking pictures while my batteries lasted. Thanks to a strange guy and his wife (Tony the TUNA, no not the mob boss) being ever so kind as to let me have a fresh set of batteries so I could continue me picture taking. I finished the week with around 125 photos so it will take me some time to sort and edit those smiling faces. I'll leave it up to Laree to post them in the Bash '02 Picture Group; she gets to see them before everyone else.

Now let it be said that the conversations were very interesting and the people were great, but, the food prepared by Virgil's Backyard Barbecue is done and it is time for all of those hungry lifters to chow down.

The BBQ tri-tip, BBQ turkey, Texas rice, BBQ beans, Potatoes au gratin, Mixed vegetables, Green salad, Potato salad, Corn muffins, Rolls, Relish trays (raw vegetables, etc.), Fruit trays (watermelon, strawberries, etc.), Snapple teas, lemonade, juices, and water.

OH yeah, and the Fresh Alaskan Salmon brought in by Corey, was set up when we arrived and brewing, stewing, boiling, broiling, and simmering as we conversed. The smoke and smell lingered into the conversations under the gazebo tempting our taste buds creating the mouth to drool while each one of us tried to hide the temptation of getting up in the middle of the seminar and going to get a bite to eat. I know Dave and Frank where getting hungry because the wind was blowing in their direction.

It is about 1330 and Dave and Frank finished their talks and now salivation, and salvation will soon harmonize.

Frank and Christine took off to another gig while the rest of us started to dig into the "FREE BASH PICNIC" presented by none other than the "INFAMOUS Mr.& Mrs. DAVE DRAPER."

The conversations and chewing were symbiotic for a while. People chewed the food and the fat for almost an hour and a half and they continued to chew the fat for a few hours after the food cravings stopped. It was all too good to believe! Dave and Laree are not just a pair of classy folks, they are the greatest friends that any of us could have!

One thing that I needed to prove to myself though was who was bigger, Randy Crist or Richard Christianson. It was close, check out some of the pics later on! About thirty pounds between them and they both carry it very well.

OK so I went a bit long on the typing! You are reading about this from all of us that attended and are probably getting tired of reading about it. Well this is my second bash and I hope that the one that Laree and I have planned for '03 is going to be just as memorable. It is great to put faces to the keystrokes.

If you want to share your adventures with us, write them down, send a picture or two, or just kick back and read what the rest of the IOLr's are and will be doing. Me. I'm going back to work and lurk for awhile. Laree will post the Bash '03 events as we put it together.

Jamie and I have four more days in Las Vegas and the thing is we don't drink or gamble.

Len & Jamie
WEST MARINE PRODUCTS

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