Vegas... then get me home to my own bed, PLEASE!!!!

By the time we were leaving the Sequoias late Saturday afternoon we were shot! So Barstow, California was our next pitstop for the night and would set out for Vegas the next day. There's no need to talk about it, we were in the middle of nowhere, again! Sunday morning we set out for Vegas. At this point we were both tired and pretty irritable but excited to get to civilization. Driving the Mojave desert is pretty surreal. There's absolutely nothing for seemingly endless miles and the landscape is just so different from anything I've encountered. Then the most bizare thing happens after driving through nothing for hours... Vegas just pops up in all of it's lit up, grandiose tacky glory!

As with most things in life we were late. Our plan was to stay at the Hard Rock and go to Rehab that Sunday to meet up with a few of my NY friends but arriving in Vegas at 3pm rendered that plan useless. So the Hilton it was, not too shabby, and it was cheap. Finally we got to relax poolside with a cocktail this made us both happy especially because we weren't getting along very well. That night we ate Thai food and went our seperate ways. Jessica decided to do a little gambling at our hotel and I went to drink with my NY friends. Monday morning rolled around quick as did the reality of how far we were from Orlando and that I had a flight to catch early Friday morning. Next stop was the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon then we had to get a move on! Luckily the Hoover Dam is en route to the Grand Canyon so we drove right over it and the canyon was another 9 hour drive after that.

The after the Hoover dam had become really monotonous, we were tired and were ready to go home. We arrived there in time to watch the sun go down it was absolutely amazing. That gaping hole in the ground is a site to see, I'd recomend it to anyone! As for the rest of the week... It was Orlando bound! I drove through the night that Monday, we switched around 5am because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. We almost broke down around 6:30am in Northern Texas. My short nap was disturbed by pulling over to the side of the road and Jessica telling me the car wont move when she puts her foot on the gas... AWESOME! We spent about a half hour sitting there clueless as to what we should do. When we started the car it went though, so we drove to Enterprise to see what they could do for us. Enterprise told us to go to Firestone where we spent 4 hours playing hurry up and wait. After sleeping for an hour and brushing my teeth in a tire/mechanic bathroom I was a little cranky. The guys there told us we probably just had some bad fuel and that we'd be alright. By then it was around noon on Tuesday we decided to drive as far as we possibly could. Oklahoma was next, we drove straight through into Arkansas were it was decided a shower and bed was needed. The hotel we stayed at in Little Rock was by far the worst! Once we put our bags down in the room we actually checked the box springs for drugs and or dead bodies. The room had the an undescribable smell but we were so tired we didn't care. Back on the road early next morning

into Tennessee... we drove by Graceland but opted to not pay the 40 dollars to go in. Mississippi had good barbaque and I finally tasted sweet tea, it's no wonder the obesity rate down south is what it is. The rest of the day and night was spent driving. I'm not a fan of Florida but when I passed the state line around 1am I celebrated! Our arrival to Jessica's apartment was around 7am Thursday morning. After a brief nap we cleaned the rental car that just had over 8,000 miles on it and returned it. As per usual it was time to eat and drink. Happy hour,sushi and reflexion of the journey we'd just finished. I think we fell asleep that night by 8pm. Never in my life have I been so happy to get  on a plane the way I was that Friday morning... Home :)
This trip was a check off the bucket list that Jessica and I both agreed had to be done. We laughed, cried, faught, saw amazing things, and had an adventure we'll talk about when we're 80! I think everyone should see what our own country has to offer there's a whole lot to see.

Florida Spring Break - The Sequel

            A year after our epic road trip to Florida we wanted to take a trip back, but this time fly and rent a car while staying in a hotel when we weren’t sleeping at my aunt’s.  We upgraded one friend of last year’s trip, replacing him with another, the legendary EPMG.  Another friend of the original four bailed last minute because his girlfriend wasn’t happy about the trip.  I will never forgive him for the last minute bailout.  This left us with a group of three.

            Before this binder we were trying to come up with a plan that would make this spring break even better than the last.  A week before we left an adult shop was closing right by my friend Mike’s house.  He stopped in and then later surprised us with a dumb theme that became crazier and crazier as the days went on.  He paid about 20 dollars and made out with a bag of 10 men’s undergarments that male strippers would wear.  There was a little bit of everything ranging from gross thongs, speedos, short shorts, and good old fashioned banana hammocks. 

            A few days into the trip we were hanging out by South Beach and decided to test the terribly corny outfits on.  We were hanging out around the Miami U area by neighboring dorms with some girls that had cheerleading experience.  That’s when the idea hit us.  We would choreograph a funny dance with their help and perform it alongside other street performers on the boardwalk in Key West.

            We ended up actually registering as street performers and had a tip bucket and a sign that displayed our dance group’s name as well as (incase it was nesecary) our sexual orientation incase you couldn’t already tell from EPMG yelling at groups of girls watching.  It read “Bikini Party: We accept tips from everyone but phone numbers from girls only!”  As it came time to get to our dancing location we were all thinking “Why? What are we thinking?” but EPMG pulled us together and we took some shots as liquid courage.

            The boardwalk was intimidating.  It was also hilarious and obvious we weren’t really dancers about 5 seconds in when we broke out moves like the “bus driver” and “the sprinkler”.  The crowds we drew in were comprised of hundreds of people.  Everyone was laughing except for the street performer’s coordinator.  We told him it would only be a break dancing routine.  He was probably fuming the instant we took our pants off.  After about eight minutes we got kicked off and left to an applause but very little tip money.  That night we were recognized at most places we went by our adorning fans.

            Though Bikini Party was relatively successful we still had a lot more to do on our trip.  My friend Mike and I rented a fishing boat in the Everglades.  We immediately took it out of the regulated fishing area and a few minutes into the real portion of our voyage we stopped the boat to look around.  We quickly heard a thud on the hull of the little boat and saw the top of a giant alligator.  I grabbed the oar and jumped up yelling “Go Go Go!” as Mike struggled to start the little electric motor.  We spent that day driving around and throwing food at alligators and joked that we should catch one and leave it in the trunk of the rental car that was becoming more trashed every minute we spent in it. 

            For the last leg of the trip we bought tickets to Wreslemania, which just happened to be in Florida while we just happened to be on Spring Break- we couldn’t say no.  We picked up a fourth member to our group for the event, a friend of ours who also just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  For the sake of trashing our rental car a little more we gave him a French Fry Party after we picked him up.  This is where we went to Mc Donald’s and ordered twenty one- dollar fries.  As if that didn’t seem weird enough, we started talking about all the “parties” we have been having.  We then mentioned how we were expanding our horizons to new parties including a (you guessed it) French Fry Party.  We immediately threw all of our fries through the car while directing them at our new group member.  He was covered in salt for the rest of that day, but at least he wasn’t in as bad shape as our rental car was.

-Brian

High Five

Everglades Voyage (note the pink whistle on Mike)

trashed rental car

Wrestlemania fireworks

The birth of Bikini Party

Rio de Janeiro

One place I can’t wait to visit is Brazil. I think just about everyone has heard the song “The Girl from Ipanema.” Well, every time I hear that song come on all I can think about is, me, sitting on a plane that’s landing and over-looking all of the beautiful beaches… kind of like the beginning of a cheesy movie. I’ve actually found a bunch of free applications and podcasts on my phone that teach Brazilian Portuguese. I’m only fluent in English so it’s a little hard to catch on but the more I listen the more words and sentences I can put together.

My new fascination began just a few weeks ago when I took my nephew to go see that new movie Rio. I know it’s just a cartoon but it looked so real and showcased some of Brazil’s well-known landmarks including the Christ of Redeemer statue, the beach of Ipanema and Carnival.

Of course, one of the first things that I do while researching a vacation is go to TripAdvisor.com. I type in Rio de Janeiro and see what pops up. Well the first thing that I saw was this picture:

picture from tripadvisor.com --- user: samba-angi

After I stared for awhile I clicked into the top-rated hotels and attractions. I was sold after the first 10 minutes.I definitely plan on going within the next few years. However, I want to be able to understand and speak Portuguese so I can really absorb in as much as I can.

Below are a few pictures of Rio:



 picture from http://traveltorio.blogspot.com/

 

picture from planetware.com

 

picture from allposters.com






-Katie

Cali and Beyond Part Duex...

So by the time we were done being chubby and eating 2 donuts each (I should now let you know I gained almost 10 pounds on this little escapade) we returned back to the sweet L.A. traffic and it was around 6PM. Our next destination was Sequioa National Park so we could hug a red wood.  We had set up shop at a Starbucks in seedy Hollywood earlier to map out the route and find a place to sleep. It was late in the day and Bakersfield was only 2 hours away so we decided to stay there for the night so we could actually get some sleep. I honestly can't remember where we stayed there... But the next morning we took off towards the giant forrest. The trip there would take about 3 hours maybe a little more. This area in California was pretty flat, dry and hot so the ride was kind of boring. Then we came across farm after farm of oranges, and a few vinyards. We got pretty lucky stopping at one vineyard in the middle of nowhere. It was a quaint little barn with all kinds of cheeses, and dried fruits along with obviously wine, SCORE!  Clearly we were driving so we just tasted a few and bought a few bottles along with some delicious cheese and crackers.

Our arrival to the mountains was pretty late in the afternoon, and of course we hadn't found anywhere to sleep.... but we were so excited to go into the park that we figured we'd just drive through a little then grab dinner and figure out the hotel situation.
bakersfield, CA.

Once in the park it's pretty amazing, the mountains are pretty huge and there was still snow on the tops of them. The highest altitude we reached while there was just under 8,000 feet which is more than enough to make you keep a slow pace, or get altitude sickness. In true female form neither of us had accessed the fuel situation, or even realized that you actually needed gas to make a car operate. So once we payed to get into the park the gas light pops on. Yet again like true females we figure we have enough to either A. get to a gas station in the park (that according to the map is on the other side of the mountain, where ever that is) or B. we can make it to the big trees and then back to one we saw in a town we'd past through no less then 15 minutes ago. So we keep going staring at the scenery on this narrow windy little road in the middle of a mountain with snow on it. Just as we make it to the sign that says "Entering Giant Forest" some type of light bulb goes off in our collective brain that says we have to turn back, so we do. I was driving, shocking (did I mention I drove almost the entire time) and had to put the car in nuetral to coast down the mountain. We did however make it to the gas station with barely a fume of gasoline to spare.

After the gas disaster we decided to grab dinner and figure out the sleeping arrangements. Of course there was no place within the little town that had vacancy so we ended up going back to a place we'd passed earlier. The town was a small place called Tulare, the hotel was quite nice though and Chilis was within walking distance. Two for one margaritas were calling our name so we headed out for a bit. Let me tell you that by now coming in contact with other humans aside from eachother was some treat! Eating, sleeping, driving, talking and spending every waking hour with eachother was getting to be a bit much. So whenever we came in contact with the outside world those pour people were stuck getting there ear chewed off. These random patrons of Chilis were no exception, oh and on the walk back I almost stepped on the biggest cockroach I've ever seen!!!!! Note to anyone: other states have strange bugs! Back to the mountain we went the next morning, it was awesome! We hiked a few trails in the giant forest and then hiked down to see General Sherman, the largest tree in the world. Like I mentioned earlier the air is really thin when you're that high, you walk to fast and it feels like your hearts going to come right out of your chest.To see the pretty things we saw that day made the rest of the nonsense of the trip well worth it.

Next Stop Vegas.... then time to haul it home I've got a flight to catch!

Lauren

Best/ Worst Road Trip Ever . . . The Finale

We spent early Friday AM driving the Focus around looking for a parking lot to sleep in.  We had just enough money to eat a few meals and drink a lot on Saturday night.  The Focus Resort was collecting labels of the various bottles we drank and its floors were collecting cans of beer and along with the cracked windshield and plethora of dead bugs on the hood, our ride/ hotel had quickly become an eye sore. 

            We caught up with our fourth missing friend the next day and took time recovering on the beach and we all had matching sunburns from the downtime on the beaches.  We were all in heavy amounts of pain for various reasons but we were determined to make our last night in Key West the best one of the trip.

            We started off on Club Ford and every one was pumped and ready for our last night out.  We even invited a few others on to our exclusive bar top. This night was going to be the best.  Our group of four were already rowdy and up to shenanigans that made us stand out among the rest of the loud Duval Street crowd.  Things were going great until we noticed that the tail end of our group, our friend Seth, somehow jumped then landed awkwardly and took out a garbage can, breaking his knee in the process.  Everyone else was bummed out almost as equally as Seth because this was the damper of all dampers on the trip.  The sudden stop to our rampage down Duval Street lead to an awkward emotional moment between two members of our group.  Yes, man tears were shed but ill spare them that story. 

            Luckily there just happened to be a fire truck and ambulance on the packed street as this was happening: unluckily they were tending to a heart attack victim and a drunk guy’s broken knee was the least of their worries.  We found a taxi and got our friend to the hospital.  Flash forward a few hours into the hospital stay and the booze had clearly not worn off yet.  One of my friends over heard workers at the hospital talking and the cops were on the way for us.  Thanks to some quick thinking we put the hurt member of our group in a wheelchair grabbed him crutches and took off- outrunning the hospital staff. 

            Now we had to plan the rest of the trip around our injured friend.  He had money wired for a hotel room for the night but some of us still wanted to salvage the rest of the night out.  The two of us who went out spent the night in the Focus Resort and this made for an awkward morning.  We woke up in the mess of a car and we happened to park in front of a church and it just happened to be Easter Sunday.  There were crowds of people standing around our car as we woke up from our stooper.  We got up to move the car out of respect and tons of beer cans fell out while we were doing this so we left our parking spot as quickly and awkwardly as possible. 

            We drove up to Ft. Lauderdale, beaten and battered, to get the rest of the stuff we left at my aunts.  We spent Easter Sunday at a restaurant/ bar with my aunt and found a ridiculous location where they were having a girl’s hot body contest . . . on Easter Sunday!  By this point of the trip we were so beat up that we showed up at this awesome pool party and said no, “No way we are done and going home.” 

Two of the four of us were going to fly home using Free Fly Buddy Passes- which left me and my newly broke friend Mike to drive the Focus all the way North within 24 hours so I could make a math test Monday night.  I drove the first eight hours then figured I could take a Nyquil and have a deep sleep for 8 hours while my friend Mike drove and then I would wake up refreshed and ready to go.  This was a good plan except Mike could not handle his shift after I had already taken the Nyquil.  He was falling asleep while driving and drifting off the road.  He even almost went up a highway ramp the wrong way.  Time was limited and the Nyquil started kicking in for me.  I then made a decision to take some No Doze stay awake pills.  This put me in a No Doze/ Nyquil induced zombie- like state, but was good enough to get me through another 8 hour shift.  I wasn’t falling asleep anytime during this period but I felt like death the whole time.  I made it home just before the test and barely passed it.  Although this was one of the craziest and nerve racking experiences of my life I would never regret going and the memories of this trip are some of the best in my personal hall of fame of great times.       

pics coming soon

Atlantic City

Hooray for an Atlantic City blog post! AC is so close that it makes the perfect weekend getaway. It’s almost like a mini Vegas… I’m going in a few weeks to meet some friends and I’m super excited. The last time I was there was back in October for Halloween. And on Halloween it’s definitely the place to be. Just about everyone is dressed up in costumes, and playing the part. One of the most memorable, simple costumes that I saw was the “I like turtles” kid from that viral video. I've never laughed so hard!

But anyway, I’m going in May. I’ve always stayed at Harrah’s Resort but the last few times I’ve stayed there I’ve had nothing but problems. The rooms are always SO dirty and my boyfriend and I had a major credit card issue last time at check out. The only thing I’m going to miss is the pool there. It feels like you’re sitting in Miami.

This time I’m staying at the Borgata. It’s a lot nicer there and they have two nightclubs that the majority of people flock to at night. I don’t think I can go a day without saying, “I can’t wait.”

-Katie

The Golden State and Beyond...

Let me just start out by saying California is awesome! It has everything from city life to country life, to laid back beaches, vineyards, and everything in between... The only other state that is comparable is New York in my own personal opinion. I left off 2 weeks ago in San Diego, we stayed 2 nights and about 3 days there. As previously stated it's a nice layed back place. While I was hoping for some beach and tanning time I was mistaken. Apparently the month of June in San Diego is predominantly overcast with temperatures in the low to high 70's. "June Gloom" as the locals refer to it kind of rained on my parade but we made the best of it, and got to catch up with an old high school friend which made it even better... But we had to get this show on the road, so next stop was Los Angeles...

 It was just a few hours away so we made it to L.A in the early afternoon... First we had driven through Compton (just because we felt it necessary) then Rodeo Drive, and Beverly Hills.  Aside from the fact that we were in Beverly Hills there wasn't too much going on. We were on a road trip which was already costing an arm and a leg so we couldn't shop, but we did see some paparrazzi, amazing homes, and window shopping was pretty fab! The hotel we booked for the night via hotels.com was right by LAX and was one of the nicesest we'd stay at the entire trip. After dinner at a great Thai place around the block from our hotel we decided to get a good night sleep so we could tackle Hollywood and head towards Sequoia National Park the next day.

Hollywood was a lot smaller then I had imagined it, and a lot more seedy and dingy then I had pictured. All in all it was pretty cool though. The Hollywood walk of fame, and Chinese Theatre are definitley a sight to see, as well as the Hollywood sign, other then that we had to keep it moving. But before we left we had to go to famous Randy's donuts. Now let me just take a time out and let you know that L.A traffic is worse then anyone claims, it took about 2.5 hours to make it 15 miles for a donut... this was an absurd idea but the donuts were good, and it made for a cool photo op... so here it is...