5/17/09 - Laguna Hills

Another trip comes to a close. Now comes the fun part of going through our pictures, typing up my notes, and making an album. It's great having a Mac!

We left Zion at about 2pm Utah time, putting us in Vegas at about 4:30pm Nevada time. Dealing with these time zones was a bit tedious, especially because the distances we were traveling were relatively short -- it's not like we were flying around the world or anything. Stupid daylight savings time didn't help either -- is it Arizona that throws a wrench in everything because even though it's Mountain time it doesn't follow daylight savings, so that half the year it's on the same time as California and the other half it isn't? Ashlee had the brilliant idea that the whole world should just switch to one 24-hour clock: no more time zones or am/pm to deal with. It sure would make sojourning a lot easier...

The drive to Vegas went fine, except for the terrible gravel road we had to drive on for miles just outside Rockville, Utah. Ashlee also had a difficult time at certain parts keeping Hamish going with the flow of traffic. The speed limit for much of the way was 75mph and most people were going over 80. With the hills and the crosswind, poor Hamish was getting the speed wobbles after 65mph. Hyundai!

After our peaceful week communing with nature in Zion and the Grand Canyon, it was a bit of a shock crossing the Nevada state border and being bombarded with mile after mile of casinos, adult erotica shops, firework stands, rude drivers, and billboards advertising fully automatic rifles for sale. Makes you glad to be alive, huh?

After hitting a nasty patch of traffic just outside of the Strip, we made it to Gen and Joe's apartment in Henderson. About 15 miles from downtown Vegas, Henderson is a flourishing suburban town, complete with its own PF Chang's and Cheesecake Factory. Gen and Joe rent a wonderful little condo right in the middle of town complete with the greatest cat in the world: a 14-year-old basketball-sized furball named Sassy with a bit of a squished face and the prissiest walk you have ever seen. After dinner at Applebee's (hey Dad, we finally got the 2 for $20 deal!) we called it a night.

After a lazy Saturday morning lounging around and catching up, Gen and Joe drove us into Vegas to meet up with Scott and Edie, who came out to Vegas for the weekend. We caught lunch at Caesar's Palace, then a caffeine jolt at the MGM Grand, and then we headed back to the Trump Tower, where the in-laws were staying.

Hmm, so what can I say about Vegas? Well, on the one hand, it is a great place to spend a weekend: there are nice places to stay, great restaurants to eat at, awesome (but expensive!) shows to watch, and absolutely tons of people to watch -- Ashlee and I are great at passing judgment on all sorts of people. I know, I know -- it's hard being perfect. On the other hand, however, it's also an incredibly vice-filled place (Sin City, duh) that can really bring out the bad side in people. Let's just say that if a hostile alien race ever comes to Earth to study human beings to see if we are worth saving, I sincerely hope that they don't conduct a case study in Las Vegas. Sorry, I watched Star Trek recently.

In the early evening we headed to the Venetian to catch dinner and a show -- Scott and Edie got us all tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, something that I have been really looking forward to. Since we spent part of our honeymoon in Venice, it was real fun to explore the Venetian a bit. While they got much of the outside architecture spot-on (the Campanile, Doge's Palace, and Rialto Bridge), the cheese-factor for the Grand Canal and gondola rides was off the charts. Like a complete snob, I kept thinking that everyone oohing and aahing at the canal needed to get to the real Venice -- you know, the one in Italy -- as fast as possible.

Cheesy canals aside, the food at the restaurant we ate at was certainly no joke. My pasta (linguine with sea food in a garlic white wine sauce) was amazing. It's always a great feeling ordering the perfect dish! Right after dinner, we had to hustle across the casino to catch our show. It was awesome! Brilliant music, great acting, and intricate sets -- a superb show. Thanks, Scott and Edie, for getting us tickets!

Sunday morning we made the short-drive from Henderson to Vegas one more time, except this time we tackled the Strip with Hamish. We met up with everyone for brunch at the Mirage. On a buffet scale, the place was a 9. Delicious!

With swollen bellies, we said our goodbyes & safe travels and loaded back into Hamish for the drive home.

All in all, it was a terrific vacation and we had a wonderful time. Now that we are back, however, it is becoming more and more real that we are leaving for Mongolia is less than a month. Wow...