So here I am in Las Vegas again, a short month after the last trip. This time I am here with my buddy Amy from SBMNH for the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show. I know, what is an IT Manager doing at a gift show? Figured what the heck, might be fun to do something different. As a bonus to the trip, Tammy (another good friend) flew in from AZ to surprise Amy who has not seen her in about five years!

So here we all are in Vegas exploring souvenirs. To my surprise, the Fun Expo is also in the same convention center and it is a blast over there. Everything from carnival games, latest video games, bowling, video walls, etc. The highlight of the day was playing this new NASCAR video game where you sit in this roll cage type of car thing and compete with the other players (each has their own car). That was super fun until it caught on fire today. I guess it used too much electrity and caused an electrical fire in the floor of the convention hall, Ooooops!

Tonight we are all going to go see the Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE show at the Mirage. I am really looking forward to the show as I have wanted to see it forever! Then Friday is the long drive back home, another adventure ending.

Tammy, Myself, and Amy - Click to View More

On Labor Day, I decided that BBQ food sounded like a good idea. My buddy Chuck got a new VW Rabbit and wanted to go for a drive so off to San Luis Obispo we went. Drive was easy, parking was a bitch. I totally forgot change and lots of metered parking. Mo’s BBQ was damn good. They must be pretty popular as there are signs everywhere that you must order before grabbing a table. Wonder if there was ever a fight? BBQ fights can get messy I would imagine.

I went for the combo plate to try a bit of everything and that included bbq chicken, pork, and ribs. The ribs were awesome and they have about six different bbq sauces. They also have great cornbread muffins.

The highlight of the whole Mo’s experience has to be their order numbers. You order at the register and then sit down so they can bring you your food. You must see to believe…

Today was hilarious at dinner. My Dad had a gift card for The Olive Garden and he had never been, so we ventured down to Oxnard for an adventure in fine dining. Of course it was Sunday, so we got the excitement of waiting in traffic for about 30 minutes. Once there, we knew we have met our fine dining establishment. Waiting time was only 15 minutes luckily, but each party ahead of us had like 15 people per group. Highlight #1 was when Dad went to sit down in the waiting area and he tried to move the chair. He obviously forgot we were in Oxnard as the chair was bolted down! So, my pops sat at an angle waiting for our table facing some other interesting character that kept grinning at him. Finally it was our time and we were seated. So far so good.

“What will you have to drink?” - The waiter asks.

“I will have a milk please.” - Says Dad.

“Water fo me please.” - Says I.

After about ten minutes our lovely drinks arrive. I get a big boy cup with plenty of water. Dad gets an interesting plastic cup with a bright red lid and interesting cartoon characters on it. I just start laughing cause he just got the kids milk in a somewhat child proof cup! Classic.

Our waiter comes by and just stares at Dad’s cup of milk and says “That just is not right…”, I say “Oh, it is ok…it is hilarious!!!”

Below is a photo to validate this all really happened.

Got invited to go checkout a Dodger game on Friday. Was my first real ball game since I was 8. It was pretty sweet! Forgot how large the stadiums are and all of the visuals are overload (people and tech). Beer is crazy expensive, $10 for a large domestic, good time. I ordered four beers and two hot dogs…$55! Pretty much the same at Nascar too. The Dodger’s won, so that rocked.

Before the game, went to Paradise Cove in Malibu for lunch. They have the best food there and you can sit outside in the sand which is awesome. Drinks are spectacular too…not much better than the combo of all that. At paradise cove we found a lamborghini and naturally the ladies had to pose with it. The douche “owner” also came out after a few…we don’t believe he owned the car. Was too young, wore orange shoes, and had NO CLUE on how to drive the car. Maybe it is his pops or he works at a dealer.

Photo album linked to the image below.

At the Game, Click to View More

Saturday Night, Chuck and I went down to Irwindale for one of our Summer traditions….to check out auto racing at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA. The race agenda for the night included many different classes from super stocks, Pintos, and even some crazy figure 8 racing. On the way down, stopped at Yanni’s in Fillmore, definitely have the best burgers anywhere (you would never guess looking at the joint). The most interesting part of going down to the races is people watching. All sorts come to this event, but mostly those that you usually only see in movies. Lots of interesting hair and personalities. Figure 8 racing was the highlight until there was a gnarly crash that required the driver to be cut out and then taken away to the hospital.

Race Time, Click to View More

I decided it would be a good idea for me to do something different to get my mind off of the week…I took a friend up on an offer and spent the night out in wilderness. The location is somewhere off of Toro Canyon where fire roads exist. The living headquarters are on a dirt road and once you are there, chances of escaping are minimal. On the way there, we passed peacocks and chickens.

There were three main excitements of me being with nature. The first was some kind of drink that had champagne and “live bacteria”. I really tried to drink it…but finally had to pass on it. Things swimming in my drinks really do not do it for me. Second (not so much nature), but I ate these peas out of beans…I forget the name…but the point is I ate something very different from the norm. Now onto the third…this has to be the largest item of the night that I never thought I would do. I used the restroom outside. There is a toilet attached to our headquarters..and it is totally surrounded by nature and trees. I really tried to hold it…but after fighting it for six hours, I gave in. Nature was nice to me and nothing attacked.

I am thankful to still be alive.

I definitely was not feeling like going anywhere after all the pain of sadness, but Jaime convinced me we should go see the Grand Canyon and ended up in Vegas for a few days. The Grand Canyon was pretty amazing and offered me a lot of time to think about life and why life was the way it had to be. A very inspiring moment was when I was deep in thought and this HUGE condor flew right over my head and circled a few times. Almost as if it was a sign that everything was going to be OK in time.  Vegas was overload as always…but not the same kind of trip as I usually take.  Understanding why things happened the way they did is going to take a very long time for me to figure out and I honestly do not know what kind of answer I will come up with.

Meat @ Las Vegas

WoodNymph @ Grand Canyon

Condor @ Grand Canyon