Touring Upper New England

I've visited Cape Cod a few times through work for my South Harwich based company, but I always find the most ill-timed weekends to go.  The first two trips were in January, and this time I was going up to attend our Christmas party in December.  I made a weekend out of it, planning one night on the Cape, one night in Boston and then driving back to Connecticut for the next work week.

I've been to most states in the US, but upper New England has eluded me up to this point.  My parents made the trip after I was in college, so I didn't get a chance to see it with them.  I left Connecticut on Friday morning, driving up I-95.  I planned to have lunch somewhere in Rhode Island.  I actually had to turn around because I got through the state so quickly that I wouldn't have actually touched the ground in the state (and made a credit card transaction at Subway for proof).

A few hours later I checked into the Chatham Bars Inn, which was also where our Christmas party was being held.  It was a really nice, old, established hotel.  The rooms were a bit small, but modern and cozy.  The lobby has great views of the water and the service was very good.  And being in the middle of winter, it wasn't very crowded.

Not many consultants make it up to the Christmas party because we are spread out all over the country.  I got a chance to see a lot of people from our home office that I usually only know through email.  They work in billing, deployment, travel, payroll - all of the people that make my job easier.  There was dinner and drinks and a few speeches about the year, then we headed to a local bar to continue after the hotel party shut down.

On Saturday I planned to meet up with friends in Boston, although I wasn't planning to go all out like I did last time.  Until then, I had a whole day to waste.  I had a conversation the night before about a coworker's trip up the Cape to Provincetown at the very tip.  So that's what I decided to do.

Cape Cod Bay with Provincetown in the distance

The town is known for its gay friendly population, stores, bars and vacationers.  Why, I haven't quite figured it out.  It takes sooooo long to drive up the Cape.  I can only imagine the traffic nightmares in the summer.  When I got there, it was cold and windy on the water and there were very few people out.  Not to mention, most of the stores were closed with 'See you next summer' signs on the door.  I found a restaurant that was open and got a hot drink and a lobster roll - crucial for a trip here.

Lobster cage Christmas tree

I browsed around the shops that were open to look for Christmas presents, but only succeeded in finding a surf shop with a sale going on (score!).  I got a few shirts and called it a day.  There were a few monuments to the pilgrims and founders of Massachusetts, so I snapped a few pictures as I tried to stay warm.

After seeing all I could see, I wove my way back down the skinny arm of the Cape and tried to find all of the lighthouses.  I think I missed one or two but here's what I have:

I stopped in a parking lot to see a surfer getting out of the water - it looked frigid, and I've been surfing in water in the mid-50s lately.  The waves were obviously bad from the onshore wind, but he told me that there were good spots if you knew when to come out.  I probably won't get that lucky, or have the thick wetsuit needed to brave the waters.

After that I headed to Boston for dinner and a decently late night on the town.  I knew I had to get up for the long trip back in the morning, and I had this idea forming in my head.  Since New Hampshire was only about 45 minutes from Boston, and Maine was only another hour, why not just make a mad dash to go there?  Then I could cut back across New Hampshire to Vermont and head south back to Connecticut.

I mapped it out on Google and it looked like a 6 hour trip.  Not bad, and I didn't have anything to get back to in Connecticut anyway.  I left Boston at noon just for flurries to start to appear.  I stopped in upper New Hampshire for lunch and snow was sticking to the ground.  Not too long after that, I pulled off the first exit in Maine to buy a candy bar (transaction complete!) and the snow was a good inch or two thick.  This should make the ride back entertaining!

I started to creep as I got stuck behind slow moving trucks on two-lane roads.  You'll notice there are no pictures in this section - I was 100% concentrating on the road.  By the time I got to Vermont I wondered if I was going to make it back.  Traffic was inching along and the snow was really coming down.  I stopped for gas in Brattleboro, a town in the corner of the state, and then got back in the car for the last 1.5 hours (hopefully).

Massachusetts still sat between me and my destination, but luckily the further I moved south, the less it snowed.  Then it turned to mush and finally rain.  By the time I got back to my hotel in Stamford it was clear.  I finished the trip in 7 hours and made it back unscathed.  I Xed off all of my remaining states in New England, bringing my US total to 40/50.  I know it's kind of cheating to make a run like this to cross them off the list.  I'd love to ski Vermont and drive up there to see the leaves change in the fall, and I haven't ruled that out.  But for now, I've been there done that and it's off to the next place!

First Time in Philly

Ding dong

After my trip to Boston last month, the last major city on the east coast to cross off my list was Philadelphia.  I've heard mixed reviews in the past... some people love it, some not so much.  My friend Tag was having his Dirty 30 last weekend there, so it was a perfect time for me to do some sightseeing and have a place to stay.  My project on in Connecticut makes it an easy trip to get pretty much anywhere on the eastern seaboard and it's better than trying to fly there from the west coast.

I got to Philly by taking Amtrak down from Connecticut – it was only about a 3 hour ride.  I’ve gotten used to taking the trains between the major cities like I did on my trips around Belgium and Holland a few years ago.  It’s kind of nice avoiding the traffic and relaxing.  I used to get pretty motion sick but I’ve gotten to the point where I can do a crossword puzzle and light reading on the train.  Tag and Missy, his girlfriend, picked me up from the train station and took me to South Street.  I immediately recognized it from the opening credits of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  The bars were relatively quiet (as it was a Thursday night) so we only had a few drinks at Jon's and went to their apartment.

The next day Tag played tour guide around downtown Philly.  We walked by Betsy Ross’ house, but we didn’t have much interest/time to go inside.  The Liberty Bell was free to see and we only had to wait in a line for about 5 minutes.  It’s funny that I recognized it more from National Treasure than from history class.  We also briefly walked into the massive Masonic Temple which was a place where the founding fathers of lore made plans for our new country.  That looked cool but we really didn't have time for it either.

Creepy Wooden Statues R Us

One of the more random stops we made was at “The Most Unusual Store in Philadelphia.” Tag had never noticed it before, but had probably walked by it a handful of times.  We went inside and were faced with hundreds of wooden carvings, statues, weapons and oddities from Africa.  It was dark and dusty and could have been the setting to a scary movie where the figures come to life when the sun goes down.  (When I started Googling the store for this post, I found out that the owner got busted a few years ago for smuggling carved ivory into the US.)

Later that afternoon we drove by the Philadelphia Museum of Art (made famous from Rocky), but I didn’t get to take a good picture.  They were preparing for the PhiladelphiaMarathon later in the weekend and we had to stay on schedule.  I was meeting my friends David and Carrie for dinner and they lived a little ways outside of the city.  David and I went to grad school together and I hadn’t seen him since he and Carrie had their 3 kids (chaos!!!).  So we got a chance to catch up and have a home cooked meal… I also got a little sneak peak on how parenthood changes everything!

Geno's vs. Pat's

I met back up with Tag and Missy after dinner and we hung out until a few more of his friends came in from out of town.  We went out to 'center city.'  The names escape me now but there was nothing especially noteworthy about them.  And we weren't out to rage all night long since tomorrow was going to be a big day.

We took it easy the next morning and started prepping for everyone to come over.  We got the house in order and then took another stroll around Old City.  Before the party got going we had to take a little car ride to South Philly to sample cheese steaks at Geno’s and Pat’s.  These two Philly cheese steak rivals have been going at it for years, and it's something you have to do when you visit the city.  Just know what you're going to order beforehand so you don't get yelled at.  Tag and Missy were well versed in the lingo and we split up our orders so we could all sample both… I ended up being a Geno’s guy for the bread and cuts of meat although I think everyone else was a bigger fan of Pat’s.  (makes me want a cheese steak right now...)

Musical Chairs Flip Cup

I met a lot of Tag and Missy’s friends at the party and introduced them to Musical Chairs Flip Cup. I figured that they would appreciate it, considering Flip-Flip-Flip-adelphia.  After the party wound down I went with one of their friends to an after party at the Racket Club of Philadelphia.  I’ve never been to a racquet club before, but it seemed like a country club in the city.  Walking in, it felt like a very blue blood, old money place to hang out.  I could see old guys with cigars making some major business deals in that building.  Every wall was covered with black and white pictures of members posing in athletic attire and group shots.  Despite all of that, there were a bunch of young people in tuxedos playing beer pong – pretty random.  It was a very interesting place to end up late night but we didn’t stay long.

After a short night of sleep I caught a taxi in the morning to the bus station.  Instead of taking the train back to Connecticut, Tag recommended that I take the Megabus back to New York.  You could get there for $20 and it took about the same amount of time.  I would still have to cross Manhattan to get to Grand Central for a train back to Stamford, but it was cheaper and easier to do it that way.  I don’t feel like I got a FULL weekend doing things in Philly… seeing the Rocky statue close up, soaking in a little more history, etc. so I’ll have to come back for that.

Finally Visiting Boston

I've flown into the Boston airport a few times on my way out to Cape Cod (where my company, BackOffice Associates, is headquartered) but have never actually seen the city.  A few friends from the company have been inviting me to come up to hang out and I finally found time to make it happen.  After my recent breakup, and the discovery that she was already in another relationship, I really needed a weekend to get my mind off of it and distract myself with something new.

Liberty Hotel lobby and former jail

Instead of flying home to California for the weekend, my client bought me a train ticket to Boston on the Acela (bullet train).  It took about 3 hours and I tried to work on the ride but the internet signal was way too inconsistent to get anything done.  I had never taken a high spreed train and I'll definitely do it again if I'm going to one of the major east coast cities.

I took a subway from the train station to a stop right near the hotel where I'd be staying Thursday night.  My Starwood points got me a free night's stay at The Liberty Hotel. Since the guys from my company worked similar schedules and were traveling in on Thursday night, we all agreed to meet up on Friday afternoon.  I had almost an entire day to myself to explore and sightsee on my own.

I had no idea how cool the hotel would be... it was re-purposed from the Charles Street Jail, built in 1851.  There are placards and videos that tell you about its history.  The hotel is very upscale and I definitely recommend staying there - it's really nice (especially if you can stay for free using points because it is kind of expensive).  I had dinner in one of the hotel restaurants and then wandered around Boston Common after dark since I didn't have anything else to do.

Tour guide in front of Paul Revere's grave

The next morning I retraced my steps to Boston Common for a Freedom Trail Walking Tour (~$15).  It started at a kiosk along the edge of the park and took me all through downtown Boston.  The guide knew a lot about the history of architecture, politics and characters that gave Boston its prestige over the ~2.5 mile, 2 hour time.

A few of the highlights of the tour included a burial ground where John Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere were buried.  Note that Paul Revere's place in history is a lot of good PR!  There were other riders that night but he's the only famous one.  The Old State House was where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time.  The Boston Massacre occurred just a few blocks away.  I hadn't heard about many of the people, places and events since at least US History in high school so it was cool to brush up and see them in person.  It's a cheap and informative tour to take and a MUST DO in Boston.

Rooftop panorama of Southie

After doing a little wandering of my own around the campus of Harvard, I went over to Martyn, Chris, Brian and Mike's condo in Southie to meet up with them.  A few of them had gone to school in Boston and all were from Massachusetts.  Chris and I actually took our first training class with BackOffice together in 2008 and Martyn had been our teacher. We caught up for a while and then went out to some bars that they frequent.  Our first stop was Jillian's right next to Fenway Park.  I honestly don't remember the names of the other places but I do know this... those guys know someone at every bar, whether it be a bouncer, doorman, bartender or waiter.  They're definitely awesome tour guides and have the hookup on cool places and drink deals.

Sailboats with Boston's skyline

The next day was a slow one to get up.  We drove around the city a bit and then took a Boston Duck Tour ($30) in the afternoon which is something a few of the guys had never done.  It was fun to be outside and the driver was entertaining, but I don't think it was worth the cost.  We got cleaned up and dove into some seafood at Legal Seafood.  Chowder, clams, mussels, shrimp, you name it, we got it.  Seafood is definitely another must do in Boston.  After that we hit the bars again... and again, I don't remember the names.  The next time I go back I'll have to note them down.  All I know is that they knew a bartender, 5 of us sat in a bar for a few hours and our tab was $60.  Awesome.

On Sunday morning I linked up with my friend Dana, a former coworker at CNN.com that moved to Boston a few years back.  She invited me to watch the Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River near Harvard's campus.  Dana rowed in college so she could explain all of the rules and strategy as the different classes and teams raced down the river.  The weather was perfect and her friends were tailgating for the race.  It was a nice relaxing end to the weekend.  I'm definitely going to hit the city up again.  The guys were great hosts and really showed me a good time.

Our tailgate spot for the Head of the Charles

Weekend in NYC

After my amazing trip to Yosemite (see posts Parts One and Two) I had to work Tuesday-Friday the following week.  Instead of flying back to LA on Friday night and then flying right back east on Sunday night, I decided to stick around and do a few things in New York that I've been meaning to see.  I tried to get Lindsay to fly in and meet me there, but she had some new carpet being installed in her apartment and had to be there for that.  I've been feeling disconnected from her for the past few weeks and I'm not sure why.  But there was enough for me to do in the city to keep me temporarily distracted.  The three major things I wanted to see were the MOMA, Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Memorial.

Museum of Modern Art
The MOMA was home to my two favorite works of art - The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali and The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh.  Picasso, Miro, Kahlo, Pollock, Warhol, Seurat, the list goes on.  The museum is pretty big but you can get through most of it in about 3 hours.  Here are some of my highlights.

Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Lady Liberty and Ellis Island are very close together, and for $24 you can see them both in about 2 hours. It's a cheap deal and entertaining to do, especially when you are alone like I was.  I usually don't do audio tours, but this one was easy to use and interesting.  The ferries are 'hop-on, hop-off', so you can spend as much time as you like at each site.

9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 Memorial opened just after I visited New York in 2011 during Hurricane Irene.  This was my first chance to see it and almost coincided with the anniversary of the event, which I think made it more packed than it otherwise would have been.  It's free to get in, and the only downside is that the museum is still under construction.  Overall, it is a powerful place and a beautiful remembrance to those who died.  The Freedom Tower is nearing completion, I can't wait to revisit it when all the planned buildings are done and the construction barriers are gone.

Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite Bro-cation Part II

This is a continuation of another post found here.

At this point we had made it to Lower Young Lake and had taken about an hour to rest, swim in the icy cold lake and lay in the sun.  We hiked up to Middle Young Lake and found a good camping spot.  There was no wildlife anywhere... just a few birds, trees and shrubs among the boulders.  In hindsight, we should have gone up one more level to Upper Young Lake, but more on that later.

Ragged Peak at sunset on Lower Young Lake

We walked around the middle lake, took another swim and refilled our water as we waited for the sun to go down.  At an elevation close to 10,000 feet, small inclines could still take your breath away.  Pat started to feel sick from the altitude and turned in early.  That left the rest of us to crack open our small bottles of whiskey and have our dehydrated dinners.  Even though we were much higher than the night before, the evening wasn't as cool as the previous night.  We were exhausted and without a fire to huddle around, we all turned in around 9 pm and got a better nights sleep since it wasn't so cold.

We woke up the next morning and decided to go up to Upper Young Lake. We kicked ourselves for not taking the extra half hour the day before to camp at this lake.  It was wedged right into the slope of the mountains and provided an amazing 360 degree view.

Panorama of Upper Young Lake

We walked around and took some pictures - it was a pretty amazing sight.  We toyed with the idea of climbing up the steep slopes of one of the mountains but with a big day ahead of us to get back to the trailhead, we finally decided against it.

One of the most spectacular views I have ever seen appeared on our descent to the campsite.  You could walk out on the edge of a rock outcropping to look down on the middle lake and see the lower lake below it, with the mountains and forest spread out over the rest of the scene.

Middle and Lower Young Lake from above

We broke down our campsite and made the long hike back toward the car.  Along the way we debated where we would go for our last night.  We could stay somewhere near our first night's site but we all wanted to see something new.  The important thing was that we had flights to catch in San Francisco around midday.  With a 4 hour drive and gear to pack up before we left, that means we'd have to be pretty close to the car so that we could get an early start.  We all agreed that we would just hop in our cars and find a new campsite near a parking lot so we could hop in and leave quickly in the morning.

One of the domes along the trail

The hike out wasn't nearly as strenuous, I think because we had a better idea of the difficulty and the time it would take.  The entire weekend had been perfect - sunny but not so hot that we were guzzling our water.  By the time we reached our cars we were covered in dust from the trail and pretty tired again.  We didn't have a lake for a refreshing swim so we were stuck being dirty, tired an hungry.

Since I was one of the least experienced hikers among us, I threw out a suggestion.  "Do you all want to forget the last night of camping, drive to San Francisco and get a hotel room with my reward points?  We'll be close to the airport and we can even go out in the city for a drink."

The other guys looked at each other and quickly agreed.  Tim and Pat headed back down to toward San Diego since they weren't flying and the other four of us hit the road for San Fran.  We stopped along the way for food at a Burger King and I took a sink bath to get all of the dirt off of my legs and arms.  We were all so grimy and I'm sure it was a sight to see when we rolled up the W Hotel. They always have hip, young crowds down in the hotel bars and restaurants, and here we roll up all dirty with backpacks strapped to our backs.

We checked in and all took showers - one of the best I've ever had.  We got a few drinks at a bar in Union Square but were all so tired that we again turned in early.

A few of the guys hadn't done sightseeing in San Francisco and we had about 4 hours to waste until the first of us flew out.  I took them to my favorite spot (from blog posts past) to hike and see the bridge at Baker's Beach but it was so foggy that you couldn't even see the span even from directly underneath it.  We cruised through the Presidio, Russian Hill and got lunch at a random taco cafe in the middle of the city.  I love doing things like that in the city... if it were warmer with better beaches, I'd probably move there.

With all of our time spent and flights coming up, we got in the car and headed to the airport.  The weekend ended perfectly for me because I'm not as seasoned in camping and 3 nights in a tent would've been a little much (I know that I sound like a diva).

I hadn't seen Jon in about 5 years.  Nick came out to California back in May, but before that it had been 3 or 4 years.  I'm hoping to go on the next trip and that we can all get together again.

Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite Bro-cation

Nick, one of my friends and roommates from college at Kentucky, plans some kind of outdoorsy 'bro-cation' hiking trip every year.  For one reason or another, I have never been able to join him.  About six months ago he started tossing the idea around about a Yosemite National Park trip over Labor Day.  Since I was already in California, I knew that I had to commit.  I invited my friend Tim along since he recently moved to the west coast, which ended up being a fortuitous decision.

The crew at the trailhead

Tim's roommate, Pat, was keen to go and he is a rep for North Face.  We were able to get a 'wilderness pass' to Tuolumne Meadows through his contacts in the industry.  Apparently there is a lottery and no guarantee that you will get a pass to the area you want.  It's how the park limits the amount of traffic and abuse the park receives every year since the tourism demand is so high.

Along with Nick and one of his friends from DC, we also had my old UK club soccer friend Jon on the trip.  Tim and Pat drove up from San Diego County while the rest of us flew into San Francisco.  We stocked up at REI for food and odd items we were going to need for the next 3 days.  I've never used dehydrated meals so I relied on the other guys' advice to get what I needed... GU, Powerbars, etc.

The trip into the park took about 4 hours, starting off on interstates and slowly winding down to small country roads until you get into the park.  I think it was $20 per car (but make sure you save your receipt to prove you paid as you leave!).  We had to pick up our wilderness pass and bear proof food canister at the main ranger station.  That area is packed with people because Half Dome and El Capitan, the two most famous features of the park, are nearby.  It would've been cool to stick around and take some pictures, but we were on a tight schedule.  It was an hour to our trail head and the sun was starting to go down.

I won't get too detailed on the directions for the trail - you can find those here.  So we set off from the Dog Lake Trailhead which was already above 8,000 feet.  It was dark when we got going (see pic above) and starting to get cold.  It took us about an hour to hike the mostly uphill trail to Dog Lake where we decided to camp for the night.  I have done some hiking, but not a lot with a pack on my back.  And doing it all with just a headlamp to guide my feet was a new experience.

We found out that fires were strictly prohibited at 9,600 feet... and although our campsite wasn't that high up, there was a severe forest fire warning and NO fires were allowed in the park that weekend.  So we pitched our tents and I put on all of my clothes that night.  It was still August but the temps dipped below freezing (our water bottles were solid in the morning).  I had an appropriate sleeping bag for the weather thanks to Pat and North Face and had it cinched so only my face was exposed.  Throughout the night my nose would get cold and I would tuck into the bag.  Then it would feel suffocating and I would have to come up for fresh air.  Repeat that all night and it didn't exactly make for a fitful rest.

Dog Lake

The morning was crisp but as soon as the sun came over the trees we were in shorts and on the trail.  Here's the sight we woke up to at Dog Lake.  We went from there up some pretty steep trails.  Within the first mile or so I realized that my cotton socks were starting to give me blisters.  Big mistake.  Luckily, one of the other guys had an extra pair of moisture wicking socks that I could use.

We had a water pump purifier that saved us from having to lug around too much water at one time.  The trail had some pretty steep uphill climbs but they were always followed by sloping downhills and creeks, so we were able to refill our water and rest.  By mid-afternoon we made it to our destination - Young Lakes.  They're a series of three tiered lakes (Upper, Middle and Lower) nestled right into Ragged Peak of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Tim swimming in Lower Young Lake

We were all pretty exhausted and although it wasn't hot we were sweaty and in need of a shower.  Without those kinds of amenities, the next best thing is taking a dip in the lake.  The only problem was that these lakes are filled with snow melt and we guessed around 45 degrees.  Refreshing, but quickly too cold for comfort.  See the next post for details on the rest of the trip.

Hiking the Hollywood Sign

I had always thought that hiking near the Hollywood sign was illegal, but luckily that isn't the case.  I found this website with a really detailed description of how to get up to the sign.  Tim and I decided to make the trek and I used this as my guide.  I won't try to replicate the directions because that site has a lot of detail that I don't have the patience to go into.  I'll just mention that I didn't get a chance to see the Bat Cave that it mentions.

This is a fairly long but not too strenuous hike.  You need to bring along some water as it takes 3 hours round trip, but you don't have to be in peak shape to make it to the top.

Here are some pics...

On the way up the trail

Griffith Observatory in the foreground

Downtown LA

Panorama looking through the sign onto Hollywood and LA

Alcatraz Night Tour

Tim and Rameen decided to fly out to California to celebrate my birthday and take a little vacation for themselves.  They flew directly into San Francisco and planned to spend the weekend there with me, then go to Yosemite when I was working, before meeting me in SoCal for my birthday weekend.

We did a lot of things that I've done on previous trips to San Fran, so I won't rehash them here.  The one new thing for me was Alcatraz, and what made it especially cool is that we did it at night.  The night tour costs $35 and leaves from Fisherman's Wharf.

The ferry ride over was very smooth - no need for motion sickness pills if you get easily sick like me.  There are a lot of good photo ops of the city and bridges as the sun goes down.

When you enter they give you an audio tour and it is really good.  They interviewed prison guards and prisoners that were at Alcatraz so that each section of the prison you're walking through has actual stories from the actual people.  After the sun went down it got a little cold, with the shadows and echos increasing the eeriness.  Most touristy sights are one-and-done for me, but I would do this again in a heartbeat.

Vegas Wedding

The Strip from Matt & Jenny's room

My friend Matt and his fiancée Jenny have been planning their wedding in Las Vegas for quite a while now.  Matt is one of my oldest friends... we met in 3rd grade and hung out all of the way through college until I moved to Atlanta.  I usually see them around the holidays, but my visa issues while in Australia kept me from coming home last year.  I can’t complain about spending Christmas on the beach, but it did keep me from hanging out with them.

I’ve been through Vegas twice – once on a family road trip through the southwest when I was in middle school, the other on a cross country road trip with Amanda.  Both times it was just for a night, so I can’t say I had done a proper weekend there.  Matt and Jenny planned their ceremony at the Wynn on a Monday, so I blocked off Friday through Tuesday to spend in the city.  Four nights in Vegas?  People warned me that any more than two is too many…

Matt and Jenny weren’t getting into the city until Saturday afternoon, so I decided to bring along a date to keep me company.  A few friends were busy and it just so happened that Sheila, a friend from Atlanta that I met this spring in San Francisco, could take the time off of work.  I threw her some frequent flyer miles and we met up at the airport on Friday night.

With the wedding at the Wynn and the wedding party staying at Treasure Island, I decided to use Priceline to see what kind of deal I could get on a hotel.  I had never used it before, so I thought I would give it a shot.  It asked for the general area of town that I wanted to stay, number of stars and a price.  The software chooses your hotel for you – you don’t get to see that until you’ve already paid for it.  We got put in the Stratosphere at the very north end of the strip.  It was a good deal, but not worth the taxi fares we ended up paying all weekend to get to everyone else.  Lesson learned.

Sheila and I met up with my friend Jon on Friday night at Treasure Island.  He, Matt and I were good friends in college but I hadn’t seen him in 4 or 5 years.  We walked around the strip for a while and then went to a ‘locals’ casino a few blocks away called Terrible's.  The blackjack tables were only $5 per hand, while you couldn’t find anything under $10 at the strip casinos.  I’m not big into gambling, so that was enough for me

Unfortunately I had to spend most of my day on Saturday working in my hotel room.  I spent about 10 hours loading data for my client – they were pushing some of their customers into their new software system on Monday morning, so I really didn’t have a choice.  I took a mid-afternoon break to go up to the top of Stratosphere.  We got in for free since we were staying at the hotel – that was the only real perk of staying there.

Jimmy on stage with P&T

I was just finishing up when Matt and Jenny along with our high school friend Jimmy and his girlfriend landed and came to hang out. We all went out to dinner and then walked around for a bit before they all went to bed.  Sheila and I stayed out on the strip for another few hours, playing penny slot machines and bouncing around to different bars.

On Sunday morning I had a few follow-up items for work to take care of before we went out to the pool for a little sun.  We spent the rest of the day with the wedding party and then went to Penn and Teller’s magic show that evening.  Penn is really entertaining – you should check out his show on Showtime called Bullshit!.  Jimmy got taken up on stage for the first trick of the night, which was pretty cool.  They took his cell phone and somehow got it inside of a fish underneath a random person’s seat in the audience.

Happy couple

The wedding was on Monday afternoon so we spent most of the morning getting things ready and hanging out with Matt and his parents.  There were only 20 people at the ceremony and the service was short and sweet.  After taking some pictures we headed over to the famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign for Jenny’s usual Thriller dance (check out her YouTube channel - she does it everywhere).  A rainstorm came out of nowhere and drenched us while we were there; I'm sure we were quite a sight for other tourists.

We had the reception dinner at TI that evening.  I had never given a speech at a wedding although I've been to a lot over the past 6 or 7 years - but I knew exactly what I wanted to say at this one.

That evening Matt and Jenny went to a Cirque du Soleil show, so Sheila and I had another night to ourselves.  We ended up going to a show at our hotel called Bite.  It was a rock and roll vampire show – it sounded kind of lame but he had nothing else going on.  We got 2 for 1 tickets and it was really a waste of time. 

Assortment of signs at the Boneyard

We found out that night that Matt’s mom won ~$1200 on penny slots, hitting jackpots 3 different times.  Sheila and I were determined to do the same since it was our last night there.  We failed miserably... I think Sheila was up $1.34 at one point, but quickly lost it.  I was in even worse shape.

We met back up with Jon, his girlfriend, Matt and Jenny to visit The Neon Sign Boneyard.  It’s a place set up by a non-profit where hotels put some of their old signs.  The tour cost $12 and the guide gave a lot of history behind the different hotels through the years.  Definitely check it out if you ever go to Vegas.  It’s not on the typical list of things that people do there, but it’s unique and cheap.

Sheila and I both had flights around the same time, so we said our goodbyes to the group and went to the airport.  It was definitely a long and somewhat tiring weekend, but I’m really happy that I got to be a part of the new Mr. and Mrs. Hosley’s wedding!