Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Hollywood California, If this was Texas Hold 'Em, I am all in. Fried chicken and waffles is what they do and they do it better then anywhere else, go there , don't worry about the calories and order it. We have been all over LA the past two days, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, you name we have tried it. Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood is a neat place to walk, the Walk of Fame seems to go on forever (make sure to wear comfortable shoes) Grauman's Chinese Theater with hand and foot prints of the stars as far back of the thirty's is neat but realize there is a tremendous amount of freaks, bums (can you still call them bums?) and everything in between when walking around, you will be confronted for money, matches, asked to buy crap and just be accousted by anyone who walks by. As a matter of fact the similar situation occurs when you walk along Venice Beach, Muscle Beach is pretty funny and you will be bombarded with people trying to sell you anything, there is also a million places to see a doctor (forty dollars) to obtain a prescription for medical marijuana (it's pretty funny seeing some twenty year old guy in a white labcoat claim to be a doctor and offer to give you a consultation) it's actually kind of sad that it's such a scam, they should just legalize it at this point, if that is what everybody wants.
Traffic is as bad as the stories you hear, the distance from place to place isn't that far but it does take forever to get anywhere (especially during rush hour, we are planning to leave ridiculously early for the airport tomorrow). All in all it has been everything I expected but even better, The memories and photos will last a lifetime and the funny unexpected situations that arose were priceless. Thanks for coming along for the ride I hope you had as much fun reading as I have writing. Have a great summer, Dean.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hopscotch
I failed to mention going to Haight Ashbury when we visited San Francisco. The center of the cultural revolution in the 60's is still a vibrant community today with the best tee shirt store on the planet located on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. I know it doesn't compare to the past but it sure leaves an impression on you and has some terrific shops that both Zachary and Emily enjoyed. We also visited a great park that oversees the six sisters (six identical Victorian house's constructed by the same builder at the same time for the same family members, better known as the background for the legendary sitcom Full House, yes, Uncle Jesse, Joey and the Olsen twins.) Talk about worlds colliding, Haight Ashbury and Full House just a mile or two apart.
We are finally in LA for the last leg of the trip and have managed to work out most of the disagreements that are bound to occur during the course of a day when spending literally twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for over two weeks with your brother and two children. Actually, the lack of blow ups and knock down drag out battles over any little thing has really been remarkable. We have all learned to pick our battles and realize in the big picture most of the fight have been minor with someone always being able to jump in and defuse any situation. The maturity that Zach and Emily show each and everyday is impressive (I on the other hand have a difficult time remaining an adult all the time, for example today in Santa Monica I decided to not step on any sidewalk crack or roadway crack from the restaurant, shopping, crossing intersections and walking back to the car for the better part of thirty minutes.) I called this activity hopscotch for morons (actually it has a more politically incorrect name) but Zach and Emily were embarrassed as to the amount of people watching me cross intersections and or doing the standard broad jump over the brick portions of the roadway for minutes at a time. In the end they accepted my bizarre behavior and decided to record it for posterity.
They have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the last two days as a result of me coming down with a cold and a cough that resulted in me losing my voice, which I currently still am trying to regain.
We are at a hotel with a spiral staircase with a second bedroom on the second floor where Zach and Emily are staying, watching MTV's Teen Moms (original teen moms only, thank you, I do have standards) always gives us something to talk about, especially back to back to back episodes. I know Carly will appreciate our viewing habits while on vacation. Good night now.
We are finally in LA for the last leg of the trip and have managed to work out most of the disagreements that are bound to occur during the course of a day when spending literally twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for over two weeks with your brother and two children. Actually, the lack of blow ups and knock down drag out battles over any little thing has really been remarkable. We have all learned to pick our battles and realize in the big picture most of the fight have been minor with someone always being able to jump in and defuse any situation. The maturity that Zach and Emily show each and everyday is impressive (I on the other hand have a difficult time remaining an adult all the time, for example today in Santa Monica I decided to not step on any sidewalk crack or roadway crack from the restaurant, shopping, crossing intersections and walking back to the car for the better part of thirty minutes.) I called this activity hopscotch for morons (actually it has a more politically incorrect name) but Zach and Emily were embarrassed as to the amount of people watching me cross intersections and or doing the standard broad jump over the brick portions of the roadway for minutes at a time. In the end they accepted my bizarre behavior and decided to record it for posterity.
They have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the last two days as a result of me coming down with a cold and a cough that resulted in me losing my voice, which I currently still am trying to regain.
We are at a hotel with a spiral staircase with a second bedroom on the second floor where Zach and Emily are staying, watching MTV's Teen Moms (original teen moms only, thank you, I do have standards) always gives us something to talk about, especially back to back to back episodes. I know Carly will appreciate our viewing habits while on vacation. Good night now.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Move Over Great One
There is one thing that remains constant throughout our entire journey as we go from the bright lights and glitz of LA and Las Vegas to the peaceful, laid back quality of northern California, that one constant is great music. My taste in music is about as varied as one can get, ranging from the Grateful Dead to Glee (thanks Sarah) and everything in between. Out here there must be some secret society that programs the radio stations, as well as, being responsible for all the music that is played in every hotel store, restaurant or shop that you enter. My brother and I have both come to the conclusion that they probably do it on purpose so you think there is something magical when traveling out west that doesn't exist back east. I have said to myself on numerous occasions that I need to add that to my itouch or find myself singing along to a song that I haven't heard in longer than I care to admit. My favorite radio station is KFOG 104.5 in San Francisco.
Zachary has been our IT consultant the entire trip with an assist from Emily ( speaking of assists Emily could possibly challenge Wayne Gretzky ( The Great One) in that department, if you aren't aware I have had a man crush on that guy for as long as I can remember and I can argue that he is the greatest player in the history of team sports. Statistically speaking he is the all time scoring leader in hockey and would be the leader even if you took away the over 800 goals he scored and only counted his assists. )
By this time you may all be wondering what does this have to do with the trip and Emily? The simple answer is she is the most helpful, caring, considerate person of others I have ever met in my life and doesn't hesitate to help, not only the ones she knows, but assists anybody she comes in contact with during the course of the day. I bet she has taken more photos of people she doesn't know, as she always is the person that asks as one person is taking a family photo would you like me take a photo of your entire family?
I haven't entered a store asking have you seen a blond girl and have heard in response " You must be Emily's dad, she is in the dressing room and told us to keep an eye out for you and Zachary." Not to mention every twenty something year old guy, from the hotel staff, to a waiter in a restaurant, to the lift operator or the photographers (you get the idea by now) being as courteous and more helpful than they probably ever have been when they meet her. Everywhere we go and the people she comes into contact are left with only a positive impression, this is an ability that you rarely see and one we can all aspire to.
The last day in Lake Tahoe was a lot of fun, we took the gondola to the top of Heavenly Mountain (over 9,000 feet high) and Zach and Emily went tubing. Snow everywhere and 65 degrees are perfect conditions to enjoy the day at that elevation, with the two of them laughing and smiling with every run down the hill made for a great time. ( FYI polarized sun glasses highly recommended and sun tan lotion)
We finally left Tahoe and stopped back at Terry and Paul's house to say goodbye and it turns out that Emily really is The Sheriff. This time we went target shooting with a 22 caliber rifle set up in the back yard (you can do that when your backyard is 5 acres) and added another unexpected activity to the list. They all laughed at me when I told them I wanted to shoot lefty but I wasn't able to because I can't close my right eye by itself and look through my left eye only. They didn't believe when I told them I couldn't do it, so I shot righty , closing my left eye only (which I have no trouble doing by the way) and aiming at the targets and cans. I was impressed with the gun safety Jack, Luke and Grace possess (they are 16, 14 and 12) when target shooting, it was something out of our comfort zone but a lot of fun to do. Emily turned into a great shot in no time and was able to shoot and hit targets that we called out between shots with relative ease. She said it is a good stress reliever, just remember all you guys out there, on top of everything else, she can handle a rifle.
The weekend was spent in my favorite city, San Francisco, there is so much to do and see and I will try to give you a brief run down but I must add how the Zachary and the IT department makes the trip run smooth and safe. I have come to the conclusion that the iphone is the modern day swiss army knife times one million. Remember how much stuff you had to pack when you went on vacation? maps, music, hotel information, games, books, directions, family and friend telephone numbers, the list is endless but all contained in the iphone at the touch of your fingers (if you know what you are doing) I can't tell you how much my brother and I relied on him throughout the trip to get us from one place to the next (as long as he was not plugged in to his Beats (headphones), he is pretty easy to communicate with) . The google maps app (technically not a app I know) is invaluable and has saved us time and stress by allowing us to know how long it takes and the best route to go. We finally went to In -N- Out Burger , California's favorite burger joint, and the IT dept. was happy. Speaking of food we went to House of Nan King in Chinatown while in San Francisco also for another excellent meal, I also helped out making breakfast at Max and Terry's in the heart of the city in an old Victorian home. The fresh fruit and nuts were excellent as we made chocolate chip, banana and pecan pancakes, scrambled eggs and great coffee were the perfect way to start the day. Max is one of the world's best tour guides and I would highly recommend utilizing his services , he took us all over the city to places you probably couldn't get to on your own. We went to the Presidio and the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in Golden Gate Park and were able to take amazing photos of the skyline and bridge (look on Facebook). Did I tell you that California has medical marijuana and apparently everybody in the entire state has a bad back and a doctor willing to give them a prescription and the "patients" are taking their medicine everywhere you look.
The trip is coming down the home stretch as we are leaving northern California ( another FYI, I don't recommend taking the pacific coast highway south from Pebble Beach (take the 17 mile drive) to Hearst Castle in San Simeon at night, The Big Cat is worth his weight in gold (and that's a lot of gold) for driving that leg of the trip. Happy Fourth of July.
Zachary has been our IT consultant the entire trip with an assist from Emily ( speaking of assists Emily could possibly challenge Wayne Gretzky ( The Great One) in that department, if you aren't aware I have had a man crush on that guy for as long as I can remember and I can argue that he is the greatest player in the history of team sports. Statistically speaking he is the all time scoring leader in hockey and would be the leader even if you took away the over 800 goals he scored and only counted his assists. )
By this time you may all be wondering what does this have to do with the trip and Emily? The simple answer is she is the most helpful, caring, considerate person of others I have ever met in my life and doesn't hesitate to help, not only the ones she knows, but assists anybody she comes in contact with during the course of the day. I bet she has taken more photos of people she doesn't know, as she always is the person that asks as one person is taking a family photo would you like me take a photo of your entire family?
I haven't entered a store asking have you seen a blond girl and have heard in response " You must be Emily's dad, she is in the dressing room and told us to keep an eye out for you and Zachary." Not to mention every twenty something year old guy, from the hotel staff, to a waiter in a restaurant, to the lift operator or the photographers (you get the idea by now) being as courteous and more helpful than they probably ever have been when they meet her. Everywhere we go and the people she comes into contact are left with only a positive impression, this is an ability that you rarely see and one we can all aspire to.
The last day in Lake Tahoe was a lot of fun, we took the gondola to the top of Heavenly Mountain (over 9,000 feet high) and Zach and Emily went tubing. Snow everywhere and 65 degrees are perfect conditions to enjoy the day at that elevation, with the two of them laughing and smiling with every run down the hill made for a great time. ( FYI polarized sun glasses highly recommended and sun tan lotion)
We finally left Tahoe and stopped back at Terry and Paul's house to say goodbye and it turns out that Emily really is The Sheriff. This time we went target shooting with a 22 caliber rifle set up in the back yard (you can do that when your backyard is 5 acres) and added another unexpected activity to the list. They all laughed at me when I told them I wanted to shoot lefty but I wasn't able to because I can't close my right eye by itself and look through my left eye only. They didn't believe when I told them I couldn't do it, so I shot righty , closing my left eye only (which I have no trouble doing by the way) and aiming at the targets and cans. I was impressed with the gun safety Jack, Luke and Grace possess (they are 16, 14 and 12) when target shooting, it was something out of our comfort zone but a lot of fun to do. Emily turned into a great shot in no time and was able to shoot and hit targets that we called out between shots with relative ease. She said it is a good stress reliever, just remember all you guys out there, on top of everything else, she can handle a rifle.
The weekend was spent in my favorite city, San Francisco, there is so much to do and see and I will try to give you a brief run down but I must add how the Zachary and the IT department makes the trip run smooth and safe. I have come to the conclusion that the iphone is the modern day swiss army knife times one million. Remember how much stuff you had to pack when you went on vacation? maps, music, hotel information, games, books, directions, family and friend telephone numbers, the list is endless but all contained in the iphone at the touch of your fingers (if you know what you are doing) I can't tell you how much my brother and I relied on him throughout the trip to get us from one place to the next (as long as he was not plugged in to his Beats (headphones), he is pretty easy to communicate with) . The google maps app (technically not a app I know) is invaluable and has saved us time and stress by allowing us to know how long it takes and the best route to go. We finally went to In -N- Out Burger , California's favorite burger joint, and the IT dept. was happy. Speaking of food we went to House of Nan King in Chinatown while in San Francisco also for another excellent meal, I also helped out making breakfast at Max and Terry's in the heart of the city in an old Victorian home. The fresh fruit and nuts were excellent as we made chocolate chip, banana and pecan pancakes, scrambled eggs and great coffee were the perfect way to start the day. Max is one of the world's best tour guides and I would highly recommend utilizing his services , he took us all over the city to places you probably couldn't get to on your own. We went to the Presidio and the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in Golden Gate Park and were able to take amazing photos of the skyline and bridge (look on Facebook). Did I tell you that California has medical marijuana and apparently everybody in the entire state has a bad back and a doctor willing to give them a prescription and the "patients" are taking their medicine everywhere you look.
The trip is coming down the home stretch as we are leaving northern California ( another FYI, I don't recommend taking the pacific coast highway south from Pebble Beach (take the 17 mile drive) to Hearst Castle in San Simeon at night, The Big Cat is worth his weight in gold (and that's a lot of gold) for driving that leg of the trip. Happy Fourth of July.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Kids Are All Right
It snowed last night and tomorrow we are going tubing on Heavenly Mountain in Lake Tahoe California. If I wrote that three days ago nobody would have believed me (I probably wouldn't have believed myself). After leaving Las Vegas we drove north and west and spent the day in June Lake California. I doubt if you could be any further away from Vegas if you landed on the moon. June Lake sits on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada's a little south and east of Yosemite, sorry for the geography lesson but it's free of charge. The closer we got to the lake and the higher up we went, the more and more snow we kept seeing along the drive, I didn't realize what an excellent unexpected site it turned out to be. We stayed in a cabin overlooking the lake with the snow capped mountains in the background ( you can see the photos posted on Emily's Facebook as she is able to post a lot quicker then I can type, I don't anticipae that changing anytime soon). Drive the June Lake Loop (it's thirteen miles long) as I can add this as one of those hidden gems I had no idea existed but glad we stumbled across.
The next day we drove from June Lake to Yosemite Valley on the western side of the Sierra Nevada's. The drive is so spectacular that pictures really can't do it justice. Most people who go to Yosemite enter from the west and never travel the Tioga Pass through the heart of the Sierra Nevada's.
There are a few things I have learned about the Tioga Pass that you should know, first it is about ten thousand feet up at its highest and only opened a few weeks ago because it was still impassable because of the winter snow, second I still don't like heights and had my brother drove the entire time, third my brother will pull off to the side of the road whenever he thinks that Emily should take a picture no matter how close to the edge of a cliff the road is located. Not only did he continuously pull over for photos, he would also lead hiking trips into the wilderness ( I would hope the car was still there when we got back), discovering frozen lakes (this is June isn't it?), rattlesnakes in Yosemite (what can't this guy find?), and make the ride so full of stops and suprises I really can't tell you how long the drive should really take from June Lake to Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite is awesome and the valley contains what everyone is familiar with (El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls and all those sites Ansel Adams took black and white pictures of that are so familiar), but the park itself is much more then the valley and worth the effort to explore as much of it as you can.
We hiked a mile straight uphill to get to Vernal Falls and I must tell you at seven thousand feet hiking at that altitude takes it's toll on you. Thanks to the sheriff (she is always prepared and took snacks with her for the hike) I was offered one hundred dollars for the bag of peanut M&M's that she handed to me when we finally arrived at the falls. I didn't take the offer and even gave the guy some (she must be rubbing off on me).
We debated what to do next and decided to continue north toward Lake Tahoe. After spending every waking moment with three guys it was time for Emily for some female companionship so we drove to visit our very dear friends Terry, Paul and their kids. They live close to Tahoe and it was the perfect place to have dinner, spend the night, catch up with great friends and watch Zach tangle with a dirt bike ( if you are keeping score at home it is dirt bike one and Zachary nothing, I will let him give you details), oh by the way, another shocker, The Big Cat is an amazing dirt bike rider who proceeded to zip around the entire property at breakneck speed. They also have like a mini-zoo with a pig (Rudy, very friendly), chickens ( I had the yellowest scrambled eggs for breakfast ( is yellowest a word?), sheep, an emu (the other one tangled with the fence and lost), dogs, cats and three donkeys. They live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's and it is beautiful country. After it was on to Lake Tahoe where we currently are settled in.
We are staying at the base of Heavenly Mountain with the gondola to the top of the mountain right outside of our room. We are staying in a condo with a full kitchen and a washer and dryer in the unit (shocker The Big Cat is a clean freak who had gets up at the crack of dawn (literally) and does everyones laundry before you wake up, but was not satisfied with the capacity of the in unit washer and dryer and decided to commandeer all of the washers and dryers on the floor in order to speed up the process, apparently nobody complained.)
Today we spent the day in Virginia City, Nevada, where silver was discovered in the eighteen hundreds, the town has remained the same and is a great place to walk around and feel like you are going back in time. Speaking of going back in time that's exactly what we did. There was no way we were leaving Virginia City without having Emily dress up as "The Sheriff" with the three of us along for the ride as her side kicks. The photos are great and I am sure they will be posted (facebook probably) soon. I must give Zachary and Emily all the credit in the world for allowing my brother and I to take them places they normally wouldn't go and do things (ride dirt bikes, dress up in silly period costumes, listen to my bad jokes ( my latest was asking the park ranger at the foot of Lake Tahoe , how do we get to Lake Tahoe? when it was starring us in the face. His reply was priceless when he said with a straight face "let off the brake") and never complain about anything , when I look back and think to myself that they certainly could. I don't know of any children who can spend this much time with their Dad, especialy when he is monoplizing the macbook to blog at such an agonizingly slow pace any never complain. Thanks for everything, Dad.
The next day we drove from June Lake to Yosemite Valley on the western side of the Sierra Nevada's. The drive is so spectacular that pictures really can't do it justice. Most people who go to Yosemite enter from the west and never travel the Tioga Pass through the heart of the Sierra Nevada's.
There are a few things I have learned about the Tioga Pass that you should know, first it is about ten thousand feet up at its highest and only opened a few weeks ago because it was still impassable because of the winter snow, second I still don't like heights and had my brother drove the entire time, third my brother will pull off to the side of the road whenever he thinks that Emily should take a picture no matter how close to the edge of a cliff the road is located. Not only did he continuously pull over for photos, he would also lead hiking trips into the wilderness ( I would hope the car was still there when we got back), discovering frozen lakes (this is June isn't it?), rattlesnakes in Yosemite (what can't this guy find?), and make the ride so full of stops and suprises I really can't tell you how long the drive should really take from June Lake to Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite is awesome and the valley contains what everyone is familiar with (El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls and all those sites Ansel Adams took black and white pictures of that are so familiar), but the park itself is much more then the valley and worth the effort to explore as much of it as you can.
We hiked a mile straight uphill to get to Vernal Falls and I must tell you at seven thousand feet hiking at that altitude takes it's toll on you. Thanks to the sheriff (she is always prepared and took snacks with her for the hike) I was offered one hundred dollars for the bag of peanut M&M's that she handed to me when we finally arrived at the falls. I didn't take the offer and even gave the guy some (she must be rubbing off on me).
We debated what to do next and decided to continue north toward Lake Tahoe. After spending every waking moment with three guys it was time for Emily for some female companionship so we drove to visit our very dear friends Terry, Paul and their kids. They live close to Tahoe and it was the perfect place to have dinner, spend the night, catch up with great friends and watch Zach tangle with a dirt bike ( if you are keeping score at home it is dirt bike one and Zachary nothing, I will let him give you details), oh by the way, another shocker, The Big Cat is an amazing dirt bike rider who proceeded to zip around the entire property at breakneck speed. They also have like a mini-zoo with a pig (Rudy, very friendly), chickens ( I had the yellowest scrambled eggs for breakfast ( is yellowest a word?), sheep, an emu (the other one tangled with the fence and lost), dogs, cats and three donkeys. They live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's and it is beautiful country. After it was on to Lake Tahoe where we currently are settled in.
We are staying at the base of Heavenly Mountain with the gondola to the top of the mountain right outside of our room. We are staying in a condo with a full kitchen and a washer and dryer in the unit (shocker The Big Cat is a clean freak who had gets up at the crack of dawn (literally) and does everyones laundry before you wake up, but was not satisfied with the capacity of the in unit washer and dryer and decided to commandeer all of the washers and dryers on the floor in order to speed up the process, apparently nobody complained.)
Today we spent the day in Virginia City, Nevada, where silver was discovered in the eighteen hundreds, the town has remained the same and is a great place to walk around and feel like you are going back in time. Speaking of going back in time that's exactly what we did. There was no way we were leaving Virginia City without having Emily dress up as "The Sheriff" with the three of us along for the ride as her side kicks. The photos are great and I am sure they will be posted (facebook probably) soon. I must give Zachary and Emily all the credit in the world for allowing my brother and I to take them places they normally wouldn't go and do things (ride dirt bikes, dress up in silly period costumes, listen to my bad jokes ( my latest was asking the park ranger at the foot of Lake Tahoe , how do we get to Lake Tahoe? when it was starring us in the face. His reply was priceless when he said with a straight face "let off the brake") and never complain about anything , when I look back and think to myself that they certainly could. I don't know of any children who can spend this much time with their Dad, especialy when he is monoplizing the macbook to blog at such an agonizingly slow pace any never complain. Thanks for everything, Dad.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sounds Greek To Me
After two days in the mountains we have returned to civilization, including internet access. I think I really need to start where we left off. The last night in Vegas went according to plan, which actually means the unexpected is the norm. We had dinner and then took Emily and Zachary to the Bellagio to see the "O" show. The ride to the Bellagio was one of the highlights of the trip, when I think about it every taxi cab ride we take is funnier then the last. The way we work it is Chris sits upfront and the three of us sit in the back. His ability to strike up a conversation and befriend someone who he just met is impressive. After jumping in the cab he told the driver we were in a hurry and needed to get to the Bellagio in ten minutes, the driver said he can do it in three and wasn't kidding. Chris isn,t shy about telling the drivers the best way to drive and ask them how they pronounce there name and where are they from. He was shocked with the guy named Tom and told him so. Speaking of taxis I didn't realize the only way to get a cab is at a taxi stand at any of the big hotels. The lines on a Friday or Saturday night is fifty to a hundred very intoxicated people waiting to be driven to the next club. The time on line goes pretty quickly when watching the fashion show, the working girls and the guys trying to figure out if the girl being overly friendly is working or not(I am guessing she, hopefully a she, is working). Our last cab ride was the most memorable one of our stay in Sin City ( first use of sin city the entire blog I think, i should be congratulated, didn't use Lost Wages either come to think of it, you all should be impressed). After taking Emily and Zachary to the Bellagio Chris and I went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville located across the street from Caesar's Palace (when anybody says across the street in Vegas don't assume it really means it is close to your current location, give yourself plenty of time to get there). Our cousin Tom (who The Big Cat stays in touch with over the years) was a great host and the place turns into a terrific night club later in the evening(the band was great but that should be no surprise considering where they are playing on a Saturday night). My concern was having the kids meet my cousin after their show ended and getting them now into a packed club with a line outside and police and security at the front door,(by now I hope you have all figured out how that problem was solved without any input from me) As I was leaving to meet the kids Chris said before you go you have to meet some friends of mine (friends? We had only been in the place for two hours) as he introduces me to the head of security and the guy greets me like an old friend and says" he can't wait to meet the kids ,they sound great, make sure you don't wait on the line just come right to the front"
I said to myself, my brother could be the greatest wingman since Goose in Top Gun( FYI, can't go wrong with movie references while blogging). We stayed at the club, listened to the band and The big Cat realizing it was Juniors birthday night disappeared again(guy could be Houdini for all I know by now) comes back with cake and sings happy birthday to Zachary(I didn't even know the place had cake). Finally we left to go to the hotel(Excalibur)by going to the taxi stand at Cesar's, line was long, people watching was great and when we finally got to the front and said where we were going a girl jumps in the back (minivan) and says I am gong there too. She proceeds to tell Emily her life story (she was from southern California and her friends left her, actually I think she left them)at the same time Chris is upfront having a conversation with the driver who was Greek. The Big Cat then to the amazement of everyone speaks to the driver in perfect Greek, the driver fist pumps him turns up the greek music full blast starts signing and laughing and the two of them act like long lost friends. We laughed all the way back to the hotel and asked Chris what he said to the driver. Apparently one of his friends from seventh grade was Greek and taught him a few choice inappropriate words that he is still able to string together when necessary.
The sheriff, true to her nature, helped the taxi cab crasher back to her room and we woke up early the next morning and continued the road trip north to June Lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada's three hundred and fifty miles northwest and fifty degrees colder. I will continue to write from the road, but if I type any slower(thanks for letting me borrow your iPad Terry)we won't be able to do anything else. My next post we hopefully have photos of the snow(yes snow)and lots of it.
I said to myself, my brother could be the greatest wingman since Goose in Top Gun( FYI, can't go wrong with movie references while blogging). We stayed at the club, listened to the band and The big Cat realizing it was Juniors birthday night disappeared again(guy could be Houdini for all I know by now) comes back with cake and sings happy birthday to Zachary(I didn't even know the place had cake). Finally we left to go to the hotel(Excalibur)by going to the taxi stand at Cesar's, line was long, people watching was great and when we finally got to the front and said where we were going a girl jumps in the back (minivan) and says I am gong there too. She proceeds to tell Emily her life story (she was from southern California and her friends left her, actually I think she left them)at the same time Chris is upfront having a conversation with the driver who was Greek. The Big Cat then to the amazement of everyone speaks to the driver in perfect Greek, the driver fist pumps him turns up the greek music full blast starts signing and laughing and the two of them act like long lost friends. We laughed all the way back to the hotel and asked Chris what he said to the driver. Apparently one of his friends from seventh grade was Greek and taught him a few choice inappropriate words that he is still able to string together when necessary.
The sheriff, true to her nature, helped the taxi cab crasher back to her room and we woke up early the next morning and continued the road trip north to June Lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada's three hundred and fifty miles northwest and fifty degrees colder. I will continue to write from the road, but if I type any slower(thanks for letting me borrow your iPad Terry)we won't be able to do anything else. My next post we hopefully have photos of the snow(yes snow)and lots of it.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Big Cat Roars
Traveling nightmares are probably the reason why blogging was invented, no airport, rental car or hotel check-in would be complete without something going wrong that you think is going to ruin your vacation. Flight to LA was on time landed after midnight east coast time and proceeded to rental car agency, won't mention any names but Avis could be the slowest check out of all time. I will say the check in at the hotel in Vegas took less time even though there was about 500 people on line in front of us. I am not exaggerating, this weekend was EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) at Las Vegas Speedway with 250,000 ravers.
At Avis there were 3 people in line in front of me, when I finally got our vehicle the SUV we reserved had the third seats in the rear, which limited space for luggage, so the Big Cat did what he does best and improvised. Unfortunately you are not allowed to leave the seats on the curb out front of the rental car agency and have them "hold on to them until we get back". They were nice enough to give us a free up grade and we are now driving around in an Expedition and enjoying all the extra room. The Big Cat continued to roar when the hotel in LA had reserved a room with only 1 bed for the 4 of us. By this time it was well after 1am west coast time when he said "let's go straight to Vegas" (only 300 miles away through Death Valley in the middle of the night). I must admit the drive was uneventful with me driving the first leg of the journey. The Big Cat took over at a rest stop somewhere around Death Valley (felt like a scene right out of the Twilight Zone) and after a cup of coffee drove the rest of the way to Las Vegas.
Arriving in Vegas at sunrise was awesome but 5 am is not what the hotel had in mind when they advertise 20 dollars for early check-in ( not kidding, I tried ). Big Cat to the rescue again with his next stroke of genius ( Did I just say genius and Big Cat in the same sentence?, this guy never ceases to amaze me and the kids). "Pawn Stars (the pawn shop reality TV show) is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, let's go check it out and then get breakfast and go to the Hoover Dam". At this point the 3 of us just shook our heads in disbelief at his ability to come up with things to do when most people are (or should be) sleeping. Everything worked out perfectly, we saw a girl drive up on a scooter ask if the pawn shop was open (it was) as she was taking her earrings out at the same time in an apparent hope to get some much needed cash. I chipped in with the recommendation to go to the Paris hotel for the breakfast buffet (it's always better to eat if you are not going to sleep) then off to the Hoover Dam.
I must admit I couldn't help myself with using dam in every sentence for the next hour, (Do the 3 of you really want to go on this dam tour? What time does the dam tour start? How much is the dam tour? Do we have to watch the dam video before the dam tour? Are you the dam tour guide? That was a dam good tour). I know the dam horse is beaten to death but I had a dam good time doing it.
We had an excellent time, Lake Meade and the scenery was beautiful and the side trip to the Hoover Dam while in Vegas is well worth it.
Finally got checked into the hotel and took a nap (passed out) before the RUSH concert while Emily, Zachary and their uncle went sightseeing.
The RUSH concert was great, the crowd was excellent, the MGM Grand is a perfect venue, and the band gives you quite the bang for your buck. The concert lasted a little over 3 hours with a quick intermission. I won't bore you with the set list but they did play the entire Moving Picture album in order to open the 2nd set. Emily took one for the team , not being familiar with their music but was nice enough to say they are very talented and loud. She did make out alright considering she is going to "O" by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio tonight.
Finally we made it to sleep last night after a whirlwind of an adventure that took us from Florida to California, Nevada, Arizona and back to Nevada in a little over 24 hours. My favorite line so far is Zach saying "I didn't realize how much you can accomplish if you don't sleep".
Today the Big Cat was at the sports book placing bets on behalf of Zachary for his birthday and winning all day long. Nothing like your uncle handing you a hundred dollar bill and saying "junior take this it's your birthday". We went to Caesars Palace (Emily loved The Forum Shops) , Bellagio, New York New York, Monte Carlo and had a great time. Zachary wanted to go on the roller coaster on the top of New York New York and that is what the 4 of us did (I will never do that again), I shut my eyes the entire time after asking the ride attendant "is this the monorail to Mandalay Bay and that girl really needs to have that mole checked out".
I knew before we left that the unexpected would become the memorable, but underestimated how quickly plans change and how much fun happens when you aren't even trying. That's all for now, I think I hear the Big Cat saying something about this being the first time he was ever rooting for the f**king Red Sox, see what happens when your nephew asks you to place a bet on his favorite baseball team, the unexpected becomes the memorable. Go Sox.
At Avis there were 3 people in line in front of me, when I finally got our vehicle the SUV we reserved had the third seats in the rear, which limited space for luggage, so the Big Cat did what he does best and improvised. Unfortunately you are not allowed to leave the seats on the curb out front of the rental car agency and have them "hold on to them until we get back". They were nice enough to give us a free up grade and we are now driving around in an Expedition and enjoying all the extra room. The Big Cat continued to roar when the hotel in LA had reserved a room with only 1 bed for the 4 of us. By this time it was well after 1am west coast time when he said "let's go straight to Vegas" (only 300 miles away through Death Valley in the middle of the night). I must admit the drive was uneventful with me driving the first leg of the journey. The Big Cat took over at a rest stop somewhere around Death Valley (felt like a scene right out of the Twilight Zone) and after a cup of coffee drove the rest of the way to Las Vegas.
Arriving in Vegas at sunrise was awesome but 5 am is not what the hotel had in mind when they advertise 20 dollars for early check-in ( not kidding, I tried ). Big Cat to the rescue again with his next stroke of genius ( Did I just say genius and Big Cat in the same sentence?, this guy never ceases to amaze me and the kids). "Pawn Stars (the pawn shop reality TV show) is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, let's go check it out and then get breakfast and go to the Hoover Dam". At this point the 3 of us just shook our heads in disbelief at his ability to come up with things to do when most people are (or should be) sleeping. Everything worked out perfectly, we saw a girl drive up on a scooter ask if the pawn shop was open (it was) as she was taking her earrings out at the same time in an apparent hope to get some much needed cash. I chipped in with the recommendation to go to the Paris hotel for the breakfast buffet (it's always better to eat if you are not going to sleep) then off to the Hoover Dam.
I must admit I couldn't help myself with using dam in every sentence for the next hour, (Do the 3 of you really want to go on this dam tour? What time does the dam tour start? How much is the dam tour? Do we have to watch the dam video before the dam tour? Are you the dam tour guide? That was a dam good tour). I know the dam horse is beaten to death but I had a dam good time doing it.
We had an excellent time, Lake Meade and the scenery was beautiful and the side trip to the Hoover Dam while in Vegas is well worth it.
Finally got checked into the hotel and took a nap (passed out) before the RUSH concert while Emily, Zachary and their uncle went sightseeing.
The RUSH concert was great, the crowd was excellent, the MGM Grand is a perfect venue, and the band gives you quite the bang for your buck. The concert lasted a little over 3 hours with a quick intermission. I won't bore you with the set list but they did play the entire Moving Picture album in order to open the 2nd set. Emily took one for the team , not being familiar with their music but was nice enough to say they are very talented and loud. She did make out alright considering she is going to "O" by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio tonight.
Finally we made it to sleep last night after a whirlwind of an adventure that took us from Florida to California, Nevada, Arizona and back to Nevada in a little over 24 hours. My favorite line so far is Zach saying "I didn't realize how much you can accomplish if you don't sleep".
Today the Big Cat was at the sports book placing bets on behalf of Zachary for his birthday and winning all day long. Nothing like your uncle handing you a hundred dollar bill and saying "junior take this it's your birthday". We went to Caesars Palace (Emily loved The Forum Shops) , Bellagio, New York New York, Monte Carlo and had a great time. Zachary wanted to go on the roller coaster on the top of New York New York and that is what the 4 of us did (I will never do that again), I shut my eyes the entire time after asking the ride attendant "is this the monorail to Mandalay Bay and that girl really needs to have that mole checked out".
I knew before we left that the unexpected would become the memorable, but underestimated how quickly plans change and how much fun happens when you aren't even trying. That's all for now, I think I hear the Big Cat saying something about this being the first time he was ever rooting for the f**king Red Sox, see what happens when your nephew asks you to place a bet on his favorite baseball team, the unexpected becomes the memorable. Go Sox.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I Love You Man
I am not going to start this post the same way I did the my last one. The title refers to the movie which formed the basis of this road trip. The movie, I Love You Man, with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel and their relationship (bromance) and love for the rock band RUSH was the motivation for the summer vacation.
Junior's 16th birthday is Saturday and I wanted to do something special for him. We have watched the movie together and we always enjoyed toats magoats, jovin, slappin the bass and rockin out to Rush. I noticed coming home from work, songs like Limelight or Tom Sawyer playing on his computer from itunes and Zach and his friends asking me have I ever listened to the band Rush. I must admit having been a fan ever since my brother Tom brought the 2112 eight track(there I just said it, eight track), not cd, not cassette or album. Man does that make me feel old. Sticking a match book cover in the car's eight track player to keep the music playing was always an easy fix, Frampton Comes Alive and Boston are the two that required the most attention due to over use.
I have been a music fan for as long as I can remember. I have been going to concerts for longer then I care to admit (do you remember the Commack Arena?) but have never been to a RUSH concert. Bands like the Graeful Dead (my kids ask if I was a Deadhead and I tell them no I just went to a lot (50) of shows), The Who, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Yes, Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band (RIP Clarence), CSNY, The Eagles, The Allman Brothers, Elton John, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Journey, The Clash, The Kinks, Robert Plant, are just a few of the bands that I have enjoyed over the years. I must add The Good Rats and Twisted Sister to this list, growing up on Long Island in the 70's was home to two of the greatest bar bands of all time.
When discussing what he wanted to do for his birthday Zach said he wanted to travel to the west coast. It didn't take long for me to sit down at the computer visit some websites and find out that RUSH was playing the night before his birthday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I asked him if he wanted to see RUSH in Las Vegas for his birthday( he wanted to know if I was having a flashback) and our road trip was born. I also wanted him to decide about where and what else he would like to do in addition to the concert. The results are a 15 day adventure, beginning and ending in Los Angeles, that I will continue to blog about for the next few weeks.
Zachary, Happy Birthday, I Love You Man.
Junior's 16th birthday is Saturday and I wanted to do something special for him. We have watched the movie together and we always enjoyed toats magoats, jovin, slappin the bass and rockin out to Rush. I noticed coming home from work, songs like Limelight or Tom Sawyer playing on his computer from itunes and Zach and his friends asking me have I ever listened to the band Rush. I must admit having been a fan ever since my brother Tom brought the 2112 eight track(there I just said it, eight track), not cd, not cassette or album. Man does that make me feel old. Sticking a match book cover in the car's eight track player to keep the music playing was always an easy fix, Frampton Comes Alive and Boston are the two that required the most attention due to over use.
I have been a music fan for as long as I can remember. I have been going to concerts for longer then I care to admit (do you remember the Commack Arena?) but have never been to a RUSH concert. Bands like the Graeful Dead (my kids ask if I was a Deadhead and I tell them no I just went to a lot (50) of shows), The Who, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Yes, Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band (RIP Clarence), CSNY, The Eagles, The Allman Brothers, Elton John, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Journey, The Clash, The Kinks, Robert Plant, are just a few of the bands that I have enjoyed over the years. I must add The Good Rats and Twisted Sister to this list, growing up on Long Island in the 70's was home to two of the greatest bar bands of all time.
When discussing what he wanted to do for his birthday Zach said he wanted to travel to the west coast. It didn't take long for me to sit down at the computer visit some websites and find out that RUSH was playing the night before his birthday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I asked him if he wanted to see RUSH in Las Vegas for his birthday( he wanted to know if I was having a flashback) and our road trip was born. I also wanted him to decide about where and what else he would like to do in addition to the concert. The results are a 15 day adventure, beginning and ending in Los Angeles, that I will continue to blog about for the next few weeks.
Zachary, Happy Birthday, I Love You Man.
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