What Happens in Vegas

Las Vegas - it doesn't really need much of an introduction. Yep we were back in sin city and looking forward to a great time on our last stop before Canada. We arrived around midday and got in our shiny black super stretch limo complete with celebratory champagne headed for our hotel, The Flamingo. The drive down the strip was fun and oh so much better than the constant walking up and down we would experience over the next 4 days!

The only limo company we use in Vegas - fantastic service, fantastic price

W,A,C, me and D ready to partay

It was dry, hot and busy, just as it was 2 years before. The Flamingo although dated in certain rooms and areas was fine for what we paid, and our upgraded GO room was a definite novelty with electric powered drapes, a TV in the bathroom mirror and pink accents throughout. One thing that bothered me more than last time was walking through the smokey casino floor whenever we had to leave the hotel (a trait  of most of the strip hotels) and I think next time we visit (which won't be for a long time) we will go for a slightly smaller less crowded hotel without a casino (K&N stayed at the MGM Grand Signature Suites and they were stunning and seemed like more our vibe now that we're old).

The Flamingo GO Room, so funky

D - Money ain't a thang

With us at the Flamingo were W, A&C - we werent able to check in straight away so left our bags and headed for Maccas for a cheap lunch and free wifi. There are plenty of great things about Vegas but one of the things they do backwards is their internet charges at most hotels - it is about $15 per 24 hours and considering we were on a budget we just walked elsewhere to use it for free which did get frustrating. Vegas is such a spectacle, you see all kinds of people from all walks of life - it is alive 24/7 but this in turn makes it exhausting... especially with the guys and girls flicking their nude girl cards in front of you at every corner. When day breaks the cards litter the street. That night we all met up and walked around the strip watching the free strip shows including my favourite The Bellagio Fountains. Just walking from one hotel to the other is tiring because they are so massive! We decided to call it early and headed back for a restful nights sleep.



D & me at Bellagio fountains - love them could stand there all night

The strip

D didn't want to leave the states without shooting a gun that he wouldn't get the chance to shoot at home so despite my reluctance we were off to the Las Vegas Machine Gun Experience. Along for the ride were W,A&C. The boys had shot guns before however C&I were complete novices. My hands were so sweaty just standing int the lobby in front of a wall packed full of pistols, rifles, semi and fully automatic weapons. It was scary for someone who had never really seen 'A' gun in real life to be suddenly surrounded with the things. Despite my love of America this is one thing I believe they have totally backwards here. Their gun laws are archaic and it's no surprise to the amount of murder victims the country unfortunately churns out. I decided to have a go anyway, seeing as they had pink guns and donated proceeds for the use of those to Breast Cancer research. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the challenge of getting shots in the right place on the target and I was pretty good with the rifle... not so much the handgun though. From memory we were there for about 3 hours, and we had a huge load of guns surrounding us, the boys went all out! It was a lot of fun but I got burned on my boob from a hot shell that flicked down into my bra, I had a blister for days and still have a mark there!



Machine Gun Experience

The wall of guns, I found it very scary

D was a pretty good shot with this sucker!

I was asking for constant instruction - perfectionist

Afterwards we met up with K&N and all jumped on The Deuce (the double decker bus that runs up and down the strip 24 hrs a day) toward Freemont St. Freemont is the place where Vegas began, the bigger hotels start to thin out and a bunch of crappy little wedding chapels appear on the way up there (D&I were remarried at one of them on our last visit there). It's old school and much more daggy and shady looking than the glitz and glamour of the 'new' strip. The street is covered by a huge screen that lights up every hour playing a music and video show, it's probably the coolest free show in Vegas apart from the fountains of Bellagio. Another great thing about downtown is the drink prices. $2 shots, 50 cent beers, you can have a huge night on less than $10, and that's exactly what we did! We walked up and down the street (which was MUCH less busy and long) watching the street entertainers - again the spray painter was a favourite and K&N bought us an artwork to hang on our wall in Canada, and went to see the world's largest golden nuggest (from Australia) before settling into a bar throwing back cheap drinks until the wee hours of the morning. I can't remember much of that night but i know I had a fantastic time. I snuck onto the Deuce home without a ticket as in my drunken state I lost it - a big moment for me as I am not a rule breaker in any way and we got back to the hotel around 4am before eating stale maccas and passing out.

The Freemont Street Experience - Queen OH YEYAH

Freemont was full of creepy creatures for Halloween - and i'm not talking about the devil

Me & D enjoying the show

The boys got up early the next day to go and play golf in Henderson about 1/2 hour away. I felt so sorry for them all going off, most definitely with hangovers to play in the hot desert sun after that huge night we just had. I stayed in bed before C phoned me and came up to my room where we both 'slept it off' for most of the day and had a quick visit to the shops in the afternoon. K did the same at her hotel. By the stage they got back from golf we were well and truly all still buggered but the rest of our extended family had arrived in Vegas that day so we really wanted to try and see them all. We all arranged to meet up at dinner at MGM Grand however on arrival it was too expensive (I understand gratuity but NOT for a freakin buffet where you serve yourself and NOT compulsary!) so unfortunately we only got to say hello and missed out on the dinner. We had made late arrangements for a hypnotist show at Planet Hollywood so grabbed a quick dinner and headed back there. My feet were so blistered and sore from all the walking and I still felt so sick from the night before I just wanted to go to bed but the show turned out pretty good and funny so I'm glad we went afterall. We were in bed around 12pm on our last night in the USA.

On our last morning we got up early and checked out. W,A&C came down to see us off in the taxi - the last time we would see them for at least a year. We made our way to the MGM Signature to see K&N before we left but they were on a Grand Canyon tour that morning so we dumped our bags in their room and headed to get some breakfast in the lobby and a quick dip in the pool. As it turned out their return helicopter left them at the canyon so they were running extremely late and missed lunch and riding the rollercoaster at New York New York with us and the extended family. It was a really fun ride and great to spend a last hour with the crew, I hadn't been on a rollercoaster since our last visit to the states! K&N arrived back and we had about 1/2 hour before we had to leave so we quickly said goodbye and headed for the airport. There were no tears and no fears. Our goal had been realised and we were finally in the moment we had been working towards. No turning back now.

The NYNY Rollercoaster with some of our family members

Welcome to Santa Cruz

My cousin's wedding to a Californian native was the coming weekend in Santa Cruz so we caught a Greyhound bus down which only took about 3-4 hours from San Francisco. I was happy to be leaving the city for a smaller more laid back town and of course to see more of my extended family who had all arrived for the impending nuptuals. The weekend consisted of a hens/bucks night, rehearsal dinner, wedding and post wedding brunch over 4 days so it truly was a whole weekend of events.

We arrived in town around 3pm and none of us had had anything to eat since breakfast so we dropped our bags at the Holiday Inn and headed out looking for some grub. We weren't staying in Santa Cruz but a smaller town called Watsonville where the wedding was also located. It was nice enough but the weather wasn't perticularly good. Meanwhile the time was ticking away and we became worried we would miss the hens/bucks night due to them both being early evening events. Luckily we made it just in time after quickly throwing down dinner and chucking on our clothes for the night. C & I headed to the hens night at a cool little Hawaiian themed restaurant where the food was good and the drinks were better. The boys went off to a pub for the night. The bride's spray tan was booked early so she was whisked away after only an hour so we all headed back to the hotel.

The next day we all rose fairly late and went down for the hotels free breakfast - best free breakfast buffet ever - they had everything you could think of and more. Back in Australia you'd be paying at least $20 per head for it... so stoked. Anyway we didn't have any plans for the day but the rehearsal dinner in the late afternoon so we caught up on some washing, wandered up to the shops for lunch and had a swim in the indoor pool. There was a wheelchair access chair into the pool and we had a pretty good time testing that out, I nearly peed my pants when I sent C in on it!

We all got ready and caught a taxi to the rehearsal dinner together. The driver didn't seem to know the address we were asking for as it was at a private house, so he ended up going the wrong way and had to pull over while I loaded google maps on my phone to show him which way to go. This difficulty with directions was a sign of things to come.... The venue was decorated rustic with sunflowers and yellow tablecloths and there was a freshly made margharita stand and taco cart, so cute and fun - oh and the house it was held at was bloody stunning. Despite the confusion in getting there the rehearsal dinner was really good and it was nice to see all my family yet again - the bride and groom seemed really relaxed and we are always guaranteed a great time with them. As people started to leave we called a taxi and waited out the front for it to arrive. We waited over an hour and a half for it to get there and made 3 calls where they insisted someone was only '10 minutes away' and still no cigar. Most of the guests had left and we were still standing out the front, I was so pissed off. The brides dad kindly offered us a ride back to our hotel when it became clear no one was coming to get us. It was so lovely of him to do that for us but I felt terrible it got to that stage, Watsonville Taxi - zero out of ten!

Directions to the rehearsal dinner - loved the flags!

D, N & A enjoying the free booze

The day of the wedding was cloudy, soggy & cold. When I woke up I hoped so much that it would clear for the ceremony at 4pm but as the day went on it became apparent it wasn't going to change. The property where the wedding was held was supposed to have amazing views of the ocean but the fog was like pea soup so we weren't able to see anything. Again, the event was held at a gorgeous private house located on a hill and was decorated in navy and yellow accents. It was just beautiful. The ceremony was very personal and heartfelt, I did a reading selected by the couple and it was so special to be a part of it all!

My colour coordinated outfit for the wedding -
 the zip on my dress broke just before we had to leave... PANIC! But I fixed it!

The stunning house the wedding was held at - I think we all wanted to move in



D&S - they wrote their own Vows which was lovely

I just loved the decorations, the bride had serious style!

We ate our yummy buffet dinner outside in the elements - it was cold and the fog didn't go away but the sounds of chatting and laughter increased as the night drew closer. On dark the party moved to the garage which was set up with fairy lights and a photo booth and of course the DJ. We danced the night away (partially in fancy dress items taken from the photo booth). Everyone had an amazing time and got very sloshed!

My crazy family who made the trek to the states

The next day we all woke up, most with sore heads and made our way to the Brides parents house for a farewell breakfast. Wouldn't you know it the day was PERFECT and completely opposite to the day before. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky and very warm! The complete opposite of the wedding day! After grabbing some yummy food and a cold drink we decided to take a walk down to the beach through a nearby campground. The beach although nice wasn't as good as the beaches back in Australia... We are truly spoiled there though we did see a pod of dolphins cruising the waves which was amazing!

Directions to the beach - we got lost!

OK - where the hell do we go!?

 After saying our goodbyes and waiting near an hour for another taxi back to the hotel we kind of just lazed about for the rest of the afternoon in anticipation of our direction towards Vegas the next day.

The city by the bay - San Francisco

I was sorry to be leaving Yosemite for San Francisco. I don't think it would have mattered much where we were headed I still would have felt that way. Although I really enjoyed SF last time we came the only reason we were headed there this time around was to spend time with my family as it was their first visit. The biggest things that stuck out in my mind were the cold, the wind and the fog. Well once again SF delivered. We arrived at night driving over the Bay Bridge toward the lit up city before us. It was cold. It was windy. It was foggy. Having just come from 30+ temperatures in Yosemite we all were feeling the chill of the city by the bay.

D&I woke the next morning with the rest of the group already on their tour to Alcatraz, which we did last visit. With nothing planned we decided to walk to Union Square for lunch and some shopping at the always fabulous Ross. We were staying in the SOMA district which I had already read on Tripadvisor had a lot of homeless - it was correct. It wasn't that I didn't feel safe walking the streets but it just felt dirty and hopeless there. I guess it's all part of the experience but in comparison to where we stayed last time, this was down right dodgy. That being said, The Americania hotel was really clean and decorated in a modern 50's theme. By the time we got back it was time to leave for our first MLB Game at AT&T stadium. Giants vs Diamondbacks. Unfortunately Giants lost and we paid like $20 each for a hotdog pretzel and beer but we all had a great time getting into the spirit and watching the neverending fog float past!



AT&T Park was just awesome, right on the water



Lets Go Giants!

C'mon Giants bring the heat we're FREEZING up here!!!

I woke up early the next morning and decided to check our email.... BINGO - there was D's approval into Canada in black and white. I shook him awake and told him the news - we lamely coolly high fived in the dark and giggled at how excited we were that our dreams were unfolding piece by piece before our eyes. Despite my happiness part of me was also sad, as it confirmed that I will not be returning home. Maybe some wine to drown my sorrows?

Ye-yah it was wine tour day! We were off to Sonoma and Napa Valleys. D and I had wanted to go there since watching the movie Bottleshock - yep most of our obsessions originated from movies & TV. We spent the beautiful sunny day driving through these lovely little towns sampling wine from 3 different wineries. Most of the wine was excellent, but I found myself reluctantly pouring a few of them out - I hate wasting free grog! At lunch I ate one of the best chicken sandwiches I think i've ever had from the deli in Yontville - it had grapes and nuts on it, the perfect accompaniment to all the wine I had been drinking.

One of the many wineries in beautiful Sonoma

Me & D - This is where the magic happens!

These grapes, despite not looking fit for human consumption sure made some great tasting wine!

K&N soaking up the atmosphere and the goon

After our tour we decided to go out for dinner and what better place than another movie inspired destination... Bubba Gump Shrimp! What a fun night that was, everything themed from the movie and even a mid dinner quiz on our knowledge - we got every question right - GO TEAM! Oh and the food was pretty damn good too! A great end to a short stop in San Francisco.

D as Forrest

Yosemite - there are never enough words

Our last visit to Yosemite changed our life. It's what inspired us to see the world. It opened our eyes, our minds and our hearts. I was so happy to be back. Yosemite National Park is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in western California and is most famous for its valley surrounded by towering granite cliffs and North America's tallest waterfalls. Unfortunately upon our arrival I was still feeling quite sick and was too tired and drained to expore that afternoon. I decided to have a nanna nap while D went for a short hike.

When dark consumed the valley floor we headed over to the bus shelter to wait for my family to arrive. As the bus pulled in I could just make out the shadows of my brother and his wife - A&C, my sister and her fiance - K&N and my dad - W. I grabbed my camera desperate not to miss a moment of their arrival in my favourite place. As each of them wearily made their way down the stairs I flashed the camera in their face. It was actually quite mean as they had been travelling from LA on a mix of trains and busses for the last 8 hours but we were making memories so it had to be done! We got shared our dinner space with the many Racoons out that night in Curry Village and headed to bed in our rustic but charming canvas tent (complete with bear bin to store all food and toiletries in). I couldn't wait for the sun to rise and reveal the beauty of Yosemite once again to us the next morning.



Curry Village is a great place to stay in Yosemite to experience the great outdoors with some confort



The canvas tents light up like lanterns in the night sky

Every day in Yosemite is a good day. We were constantly surrounded by nature and wildlife including mule deer, squirrels and birds. We decided to take a hike to Vernal Fall which although not strenuous or long was busy and on a steep incline on the way up. The bad thing about this was that I lost my puff fairly quickly but the good thing was seeing the scenery open up in front on me - the higher we went the more we saw... A few of our group decided to go to the top of Vernal Falls but I was happy enough to sit at the bottom and watch.





W,A,N &D on their way to Vernal Falls



K, me and C having a drink on our way up the trail

By fall most of the waterfalls in Yosemite are dry up due to no snow melt however there was still some water at Vernal

After our hike we relaxed around the Merced River for the afternoon (which was bloody cold) before grabbing some drinks and chilling at our canvas tents. I felt so relaxed and at ease that afternoon. Total bliss there is no where else in the world I would rather have been at that moment. What a great day!

D&A - The face of total relaxation in the Merced River.... Ahhhhh thats the stuff

D,A,N,K&C cheers to Yosemite!

The boys woke early the next morning to start the hike up the Glacier Point via the Four Mile Trail - a moderate hike of 7.7km with an elevation change of 1000m leading from the valley floor straight up. It was too much for me so I took the one way bus up to Glacier Point along with K,C&W to meet the boys and do the much easier hike down with them. The bus ride was very scenic and informative and the views from Glacier point were as beautiful as they were scary, as was the hike down to the floor which took about 3 hours. Steep steps, sheer cliffs and drop offs but oh my god I had never seen anything quite so beautiful. It was actually fairly hard walking downhill, K&N both fell on their arses which was pretty funny but freaked us out as there were so many sections where if you slipped you could easily have gone over. By the time we got back to Curry Village we were all buggered but felt as if we had achieved something very special that day. My legs were like jelly but my heart felt so strong. Needless to say we all slept well that night!

The trailhead at Glacier Point

Stunning Yosemite Valley surrounded my towering granite cliffs and Half Dome

Around every corner is something more spectacular than the last... D&I Reverse Tunnel View

Our final day in Yosemite was spent riding the free shuttle to different points on the valley floor exploring the museum as well as several gift shops while taking photos of the wildlife. The valley is only 1 or 2 percent of the park as a whole but boy is it stunning.

We all fell in love with these little guys. We named one that kept hanging around but the name escapes me now....

Isn't she beautiful

D& I were so happy to share the spirit of Yosemite with our family and so glad they enjoyed it as much as we did but mostly we just felt privledged to be in this amazing place again. I feel at peace whenever i'm there - like all my cares and worries just become less important, which is why I will continue to come back for the rest of my life.

Lets Go.... Tahoe!

Our flight into LAX was good but we left a gift purchased in Hawaii for our Californian friends, C&Y on the plane and by the time we realised it was too late. We have a tendency of doing things like that - the biggest thing we have left behind at an airport was a brand new Nikon DSLR camera enroute to New Zealand. You'd think being more experienced with travel we would have things like that all but sorted.... unfortunately not. Obviously the volcano plant from Hawaii wasn't quote as expensive as a new camera but still it was enough to piss us off, especially because we wanted to give it to C&Y as a house warming gift. Grrr...

We arrived in the early hours of the morning so got to see the sun rise over LAX while waiting for a much smaller plane to take us to Fresno. It was already really hot (getting up to mid thirties) by the time we left around 9am but the day was just awesome and clear. I had never been on a very small plane and was pretty nervous about it - the thing was tiny, with only double seats on each side. Despite its size and my nerves it was a really smooth and enjoyable flight. We could see mountains on one side and ocean on the other pretty much the whole way before our descent into Fresno - the duration was only about half an hour. On our arrival into Fresno I was pleasantly surprised that airport was actually one of the nicest I had ever been in - and i've seen quite a few. It was very fresh and clean and there is a great setup of sequoia tree replicas in the terminal, just so cool and for a small airport very unexpected.

C&Y welcomed us into their beautiful new home, which was just huge and amazing! They also indroduced us to their new Siberian Husky puppy who was adorable (though very naughty) and cooked us up a yummy Mexican style breakfast. Before long we were in the car again and - after a short trip to Walmart for some fishing rods - on our way to South Tahoe. The drive took about 5 hours and only really started to get scenic in the last hour or so as we left the highway behind us and wound up into the mountains. The high sierra lake finally came into view and it was breathtaking.



Our first view of Tahoe from the road, just beautiful!

South Tahoe was such a cute town, many log cabins and inns with pine trees galore lining this massive body of bright blue water. It had a small town feel but with all the facilities that we find important (ie McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and our new favourite store for bargain shopping, Ross). Our hotel was a small but quirky and clean motel with a hot tub and I absolutely fell in love with the whole style and feel of the place. I took heaps of photos and made mental notes for when we hopefully have our own place one day.



Y,C&D at Basecamp South Tahoe - checkin' in

Tahoe state of mind - just LOVE this!

The boys were so excited to see each other that they got drunk and walked to the Casino on Stateline, got separated and stumbled home individually before removing all their clothes (minus their undies) and attacking day old Subway while speaking jibberish to Y and I who were in bed trying to yell and act angry about their little escapade but finding it so hard due to the fact they were well and truly 2 very drunk, very stupid but very funny imbeciles. The thing I love about these C&Y is that it's just easy to be around them. We all share the same points of view and sense of humour so the friendship just flows without feeling awkward or forced - most of the time we are in stitches!



Our husbands... how proud we must be

The next day the hangovers husbands woke up and went for an early morning fish while Y&I slept in. When the boys got back we all climbed in the family truckster and headed for the lake for a hike and a swim. The scenery was gorgeous but the water was FREEZING so we didn't spend too long there before heading back.



The always beautiful Y & I hiking Tahoe

After an awesome night including a possibly the best pizza dinner i've ever had we climbed in the car the next morning and were bound for Bishop. Y had family there who kindly offered for us to stay with them for the night and they certainly made us feel very welcome. Bishop is a lovely small town in California's high sierra, mostly famous due to its proximity to the winter wonderland of Mammoth Lakes. Unfortunately we didn't have time on our schedule to go there however we were treated to an authentic Mexican BBQ provided by Y's family who might I add spoke mostly Spanish. It was friggin GOOD! We went for a late walk through the town and drank Coronas and Tequila before hitting the hay.

The next day, after C's run in with a black widow spider crawling on his during his sleep, the boys went fishing before we packed up the car and drove home. D caught his first North American fish - a puny bluegill but he was happy. We chose the scenic and long route home which consisted of going through Yosemite National Park, which was exciting for D & I because it was our favourite place in the world.



D's first fish in North America - what a whopper!

The drive took us right into the night but it was worth it. We wound up through the Sierra passing mono lake and numerous other alpine lakes with stunning green and blue water and saw heaps of wildlife including mule deer. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular and the Giant Sequoias were amazing - these trees are the largest and oldest living things on earth. The biggest we saw was named the Grizzly Giant and was estimated at around 1800 years old.



Grizzly Giant in the background, it was massive

Group Shot at Tunnel View

The next few days were spend at C&Y's home just hanging out, watching TV & Movies and chillaxing. The boys managed a game of golf as well. I began to get sick towards the end of the week so spent a lot of time complaining and sleeping, what a pain I am! I have so many great memories of the week we spent with C&Y. The smell of pine needles in Tahoe, the potato chips popping in Yosemite's high sierra, the mexican feast in Bishop, their sock eating husky and my stomach muscles aching from so much laughter. Thanks to our wonderful friends for a great week!