Last year, because of the pandemic, we didn’t take our annual New Jersey vacation to see our daughter, Tammy, and her family.

This year our story begins with Diane and I being driven by our grandson, Hunter, to the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. The terminals look like mini casinos with banks of slot machines in each waiting area.

We actually began our day with our garage door slipping off the mechanism that raises and lowers it with a remote-control device. We didn’t have time to fiddle with it at the time since we were on our way to the airport. At least it was in the shut position.

Our arrival at the airport was some two hours ahead of the posted boarding time of 3:35 p.m. We always try to make sure we have time for making arrangements for my wheelchair service, purchasing snacks for eating on the plane and last-minute restroom stops. After checking in, we went to the designated area for getting a wheelchair. Two people were ahead of us, and they were taken to their designated gates. We patiently waited for about a half hour for another attendant. Finally, I saw an attendant coming up the escalator. The man approached us, and we told him about our dilemma. He said he was a supervisor, and he apologized for the delay.

“I’ll get someone here right away,” said.

Another 10 minutes passed before a person showed up. I was about to spill out my story to her when she got me in the wheelchair and quickly loaded our carry-ons in a space underneath the seat portion of the wheelchair. We got through security in no time and the young woman told me about their shortage of staff.

“We’re very short on people. Two quit this morning. One was on the job for less than a week, and the other it was her first day,” she explained.

“I like this job. I like talking to people and I don’t mind the walking which can average six to ten miles each day.”

She had a great personality and got us to the boarding gate just as they were about to close the doors. I asked her how long she had been doing this job. She told me that this was her second week.

The United Airlines staff took good care of us once on board.

Arriving in Newark, we had a wheelchair and an attendant waiting for us when we left the plane. She helped Diane collect the luggage and stayed with us all the way to our daughter’s car in the parking garage.

All four of our grandkids came to the airport to give us a hug greeting along with their mom, Tammy.

The four grandkids are all doing well in school despite having all of their classes online last year. Brandon is 13 and waiting on tables at his uncle’s Appian Way restaurant for the summer. He plans to go out for the middle school football team. I found I lost my throwing arm with age when I sent him long and the ball only went a third of the distance I used to be able to throw. My body spun around, and I fell down, skinning my knee.

Diane yelled at me, “That’s it. No more football! Do I have to remind you, you are 74 and have Parkinson’s?”

The other three grandkids would play Uno and LCR with Diane and me each night after dinner. They are Brody, who turns 12 in October, Brylee, who is 10 going on 20 and Brielle, who is seven and played pool and worked out with me in the basement each afternoon.

The kids got used to having meals prepared for them all day in “Grandma’s Kitchen.” It seemed like she was making scrambled eggs, Taylor ham and pancakes all day long.

The kids have matured a lot since our last visit.

Diane is indeed amazing. She doesn’t stop working and is on the go from the time she gets up at 6:30 a.m. to have coffee with Tammy before she went to work at a nearby Chase Bank. Tammy is about halfway toward getting her MBA. Tammy is just like her mother. They in turn are like the Energizer bunny. They just keep on ticking. And I would hear them talking in the kitchen after the kids went to bed. It was after mid-night most nights.

Tammy’s husband, Brandon, manages a hedge fund and works from home.

He drove us all into New York City on the Sunday before we left. I had mentioned I had not seen the Freedom Tower and the 9-11 memorial where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

It is worth seeing. We all entered an elevator that took us to the 102nd floor observation deck of the tallest building in the western hemisphere. The ascent took just 47 seconds, and you watch a slide show on the way up. When the door opens to the glass-enclosed observation deck, it gives people an overview of the New York skyline. You can walk around at your own pace. You are given an iPad upon entrance to the observation deck that is programmed to identify all the buildings that you point the screen in that direction. We ate lunch in the café one level up from the observation deck. It had a good menu of tasty items, but it was a bit expensive. But then again ... How often do you get to New York City?

Also on our vacation, we took the whole family to the Millburn Diner (I love diner food, and this is a good one.)

Another day, we took a ride in daughter Dani’s boyfriend’s pontoon boat around Lake Hopatcong, where they live. It’s about a 30-minute drive between West Orange and Dani’s lakeside home. It’s a scenic lake surrounded by big trees, beautiful homes and busy restaurants.

Another highlight of our trip was a week-long stay at our original timeshare. The facilities at the Seaview Marriot Resort near Atlantic City were outstanding. Our youngest daughter, Toni, and her family from Las Vegas joined us that week. I got a big kick out of eating at Fred and Ethel’s Restaurant down the street from the resort’s entry. I am a big “I Love Lucy” fan but I couldn’t see any connection between the old TV series and the restaurant. The food was good.

Among our disappointments was the closing of our favorite deli Irving’s, in Livingston because of all the problems associated with the pandemic crisis. They had the best mile-high pastrami sandwiches and beef brisket. Another restaurant we liked, Houlihan’s, also closed, and we guess it was because of the same reason. Jose Tejas is now only open for dinner.

The remains of Hurricane Elsa came in right over us about 3:45 one morning. The winds had died down to 35 miles an hour, but it did bring us a lot of rain – 4 inches in one day after it hit.

Well, it was finally time to go home. Our flight out of Newark was anything but enjoyable. We were scheduled to depart on a 4:05 flight. Ten delays and four gate changes totaling 6-½ hours got us out of there at 10:30 p.m. It was something out of that movie “Airplane” where the passengers kept running back and forth between gates.

Finally, we were airborne only to have the pilot tell us this could be a bumpy flight. It was. To add to the discomfort of being on the flight, we had a screaming child two rows in front of us.

We finally arrived in Las Vegas around 12:30 a.m. We landed during a thunderstorm which only made our landing even bumpier. Our grandson, Hunter, told us when he picked us up it had been raining most of the day. That’s most unusual for Las Vegas. I guess the monsoon season does exist here too.