vacation!
edited for those who either already heard about it or just don't care!
the first three days were spent driving almost non-stop. we went from orlando to baton rouge, then baton rouge to middle of nowhere texas, texas to phoenix, and finally phoenix to california. spent the majority of our time looking at unfamiliar sights and keeping ourselves entertained. i was stupidly excited by the change of time zones (since i've never been a well-seasoned traveller) and scenery. we saw mountains, a field full of deer, the mississippi river, some skunks, a ton of disgusting truck stops, some amusing towns, humongous cacti, and many crazy people. we also almost died in a dust storm in the desert and nearly came back since the hurricane was hitting and i was worried about everyone. it's hard to elaborate much since driving is kind of boring and the things that amused us were of the "you had to be there" variety. but, even though our destination was a bit far off it was exciting to wake up each day knowing i was going to see or do something i had never experienced before.
then-california! three days! i was so excited to know we had actually made it there without any major mishaps. the first night was spent relaxing, getting familiar with the area, and making sure all of our friends, loved ones, and animals were safe from the storm. unfortunately, andy did not tell us when he said we could stay with him that he was living in a house undergoing massive renovations. the only room that was completely furnished was the kitchen, so we had to sleep on the floor surrounded by tools for two nights! i wasn't altogether keen on the idea, but in retrospect i realize it was worth it as we saved more money to go out on the town with. also, a kick-ass shower was just what the doctor ordered! andy is such a nice guy (though a little odd!), and his house is super. it will look great when it is finished! anyways, the next day we got up and drove to L.A. to check it out. we spent a few hours just driving around downtown, looking at whatever seemed interesting. then, on the way back for dinner, we got lost and nearly wound up in compton! yikes! i love my boyfriend but i have to say he seemed to have this innate ability the entire trip to wind up directly in the ghetto every time he got lost. luckily that didn't happen too often! after we got back to andy's house we spent the evening with him, had sushi and drinks and watched manny try his hand at drunken skateboarding. it was a pretty easygoing night because manny wanted to spend some time visiting with his cousing and we couldn't do that when we got in because he was in san deigo recording with his band. then saturday we got a hotel in hollywood. went down the walk of fame and took pictures of third-rate stars, checked out some shops, saw the kodak theater, and went to beverly hills. we also went to the absolutely most amazing music store ever, this place called amoeba music. holy shit, that place was huge! they had everything you could ask for...all kinds of music, records, dvd's...manny and i were practically drooling. i got an out of print felt cd and a talking heads live from CBGB LP. i also found out that we were there one day late for an in-store with rilo kiley and would be leaving 2 days before an in-store with PJ harvey. damn! then a rest and then it was out for the night. we went to this amazing place called the beauty bar...a girlie girl's dream come true. it was themed after a salon - sparkly pink walls, bright blue barstools that had the dryer domes on top of them, super-swank seating in the back, and manicures done while you drink. i was very excited to be able to actually have a newcastle and to hear good music since we wound up being there for indie night. after that we got more toasty at another place that was less my speed but had good drinks. then back to the hotel for sleep as it was nearly approaching daylight. i have to say i adored california and would love to have more time there to check it out.
after california it was....vegas, baby! two days of gambling and debauchery on the strip. it was awesome! our hotel was this place called the frontier, it was western themed and had bikini bull-riding as well as mud wrestling. nice but we honestly didn't stay there much. the first night we explored the different casinos, drank some beers, and got our feet wet playing the penny slots at one of the less intimidating and cheaper places. we saw a tina turner and a michael jackson impersonator, some people getting married, and some very cool casinos. the next day we went to caesar's palace and the venetian and saw all the shops and such. i've never seen so many designer shops in my life! then that night we went back out and wound up going a bit crazy. we went to the mirage hotel and wound up winning 100.00 on the slot machines, so we decided to spend that money on alcohol at the nice bars instead of dollar beers. went back to caesar's palace, played slots, drank at a ritzy bar, and then decided to go back to our favorite cheap casino and play blackjack. big mistake because manny got addicted to it and blew more cash than he wanted to! next thing we knew it was 4 am so we went back to the room. i loved vegas but it was also kind of scary. like a big disneyland for adults with gambling. plus, there are far too many people there that try to persuade you to get a hooker.
from vegas we went to the grand canyon, which was amazing. nothing i could say would accurately describe just how huge and beautiful it is so i guess i'll just have to post pictures. but, it was well worth braving my hangover to go. on the way there we took a detour on route 66 because manny was dying to check it out. we took some pictures and ate at a fifties-style diner...nothing special but fun nonetheless!
from the grand canyon we began the trip home. it took forever to get out of arizona and new mexico but once we did we were flying. on the way back through texas manny wound up getting a speeding ticket from this boss hog looking cop. no good! then on the way to florida we got caught in a horrific storm (our punishment for missing the hurricane and probably for saying texas sucked)and had to crash in pensacola. saturday, we made it home and i rejoiced for having my own bed and shower and to see my cats that i missed desperately. and amazingly enough, my fish was still alive too! i had figured with the loss of power (thereby leaving my fish with no filter in his tank) he would have died. but, mel is resilient!
so that is that. now i am home and ready to get back into the swings of things, as they say. this summer has been exhausting. and fall has many exciting things in store for me. bring on the fall!
the first three days were spent driving almost non-stop. we went from orlando to baton rouge, then baton rouge to middle of nowhere texas, texas to phoenix, and finally phoenix to california. spent the majority of our time looking at unfamiliar sights and keeping ourselves entertained. i was stupidly excited by the change of time zones (since i've never been a well-seasoned traveller) and scenery. we saw mountains, a field full of deer, the mississippi river, some skunks, a ton of disgusting truck stops, some amusing towns, humongous cacti, and many crazy people. we also almost died in a dust storm in the desert and nearly came back since the hurricane was hitting and i was worried about everyone. it's hard to elaborate much since driving is kind of boring and the things that amused us were of the "you had to be there" variety. but, even though our destination was a bit far off it was exciting to wake up each day knowing i was going to see or do something i had never experienced before.
then-california! three days! i was so excited to know we had actually made it there without any major mishaps. the first night was spent relaxing, getting familiar with the area, and making sure all of our friends, loved ones, and animals were safe from the storm. unfortunately, andy did not tell us when he said we could stay with him that he was living in a house undergoing massive renovations. the only room that was completely furnished was the kitchen, so we had to sleep on the floor surrounded by tools for two nights! i wasn't altogether keen on the idea, but in retrospect i realize it was worth it as we saved more money to go out on the town with. also, a kick-ass shower was just what the doctor ordered! andy is such a nice guy (though a little odd!), and his house is super. it will look great when it is finished! anyways, the next day we got up and drove to L.A. to check it out. we spent a few hours just driving around downtown, looking at whatever seemed interesting. then, on the way back for dinner, we got lost and nearly wound up in compton! yikes! i love my boyfriend but i have to say he seemed to have this innate ability the entire trip to wind up directly in the ghetto every time he got lost. luckily that didn't happen too often! after we got back to andy's house we spent the evening with him, had sushi and drinks and watched manny try his hand at drunken skateboarding. it was a pretty easygoing night because manny wanted to spend some time visiting with his cousing and we couldn't do that when we got in because he was in san deigo recording with his band. then saturday we got a hotel in hollywood. went down the walk of fame and took pictures of third-rate stars, checked out some shops, saw the kodak theater, and went to beverly hills. we also went to the absolutely most amazing music store ever, this place called amoeba music. holy shit, that place was huge! they had everything you could ask for...all kinds of music, records, dvd's...manny and i were practically drooling. i got an out of print felt cd and a talking heads live from CBGB LP. i also found out that we were there one day late for an in-store with rilo kiley and would be leaving 2 days before an in-store with PJ harvey. damn! then a rest and then it was out for the night. we went to this amazing place called the beauty bar...a girlie girl's dream come true. it was themed after a salon - sparkly pink walls, bright blue barstools that had the dryer domes on top of them, super-swank seating in the back, and manicures done while you drink. i was very excited to be able to actually have a newcastle and to hear good music since we wound up being there for indie night. after that we got more toasty at another place that was less my speed but had good drinks. then back to the hotel for sleep as it was nearly approaching daylight. i have to say i adored california and would love to have more time there to check it out.
after california it was....vegas, baby! two days of gambling and debauchery on the strip. it was awesome! our hotel was this place called the frontier, it was western themed and had bikini bull-riding as well as mud wrestling. nice but we honestly didn't stay there much. the first night we explored the different casinos, drank some beers, and got our feet wet playing the penny slots at one of the less intimidating and cheaper places. we saw a tina turner and a michael jackson impersonator, some people getting married, and some very cool casinos. the next day we went to caesar's palace and the venetian and saw all the shops and such. i've never seen so many designer shops in my life! then that night we went back out and wound up going a bit crazy. we went to the mirage hotel and wound up winning 100.00 on the slot machines, so we decided to spend that money on alcohol at the nice bars instead of dollar beers. went back to caesar's palace, played slots, drank at a ritzy bar, and then decided to go back to our favorite cheap casino and play blackjack. big mistake because manny got addicted to it and blew more cash than he wanted to! next thing we knew it was 4 am so we went back to the room. i loved vegas but it was also kind of scary. like a big disneyland for adults with gambling. plus, there are far too many people there that try to persuade you to get a hooker.
from vegas we went to the grand canyon, which was amazing. nothing i could say would accurately describe just how huge and beautiful it is so i guess i'll just have to post pictures. but, it was well worth braving my hangover to go. on the way there we took a detour on route 66 because manny was dying to check it out. we took some pictures and ate at a fifties-style diner...nothing special but fun nonetheless!
from the grand canyon we began the trip home. it took forever to get out of arizona and new mexico but once we did we were flying. on the way back through texas manny wound up getting a speeding ticket from this boss hog looking cop. no good! then on the way to florida we got caught in a horrific storm (our punishment for missing the hurricane and probably for saying texas sucked)and had to crash in pensacola. saturday, we made it home and i rejoiced for having my own bed and shower and to see my cats that i missed desperately. and amazingly enough, my fish was still alive too! i had figured with the loss of power (thereby leaving my fish with no filter in his tank) he would have died. but, mel is resilient!
so that is that. now i am home and ready to get back into the swings of things, as they say. this summer has been exhausting. and fall has many exciting things in store for me. bring on the fall!