Finally So Cal

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Thanksgiving / 2 Year Anniversary (2007) – Day 3

Saturday, November 24th, 2007:

So, after a short sleep, I was up early again (about 8:30am) for a leisurely breakfast and a stop on the casino floor. All of the buffets were full so we found the Sherwood Forrest Café in the lower level of the Excalibur. We each had a tasty eggy meal and then headed out to find a Texas Hold ‘Em table.

My proudest moment on the trip happened here: Alan put down $50 at a Texas Hold ‘Em table (playing against the dealer, not other people). He lost a few hands, and a few bucks (maybe $25 or so) and in 4 hands, one of which was a fold, I won back not only the $25 he lost but another $45 on top. I know when to quit so we headed to the Cashier and took our winnings with glee. However, when I saw “we took our winnings with glee” I mean “Alan took the money and stuffed it in his wallet”.

We wandered back upstairs in the Excalibur towards the Starbucks off for some coffee and cribbage to pass the time until the Ronn Lucas (a very funny ventriloquist) show at 3 that afternoon at the Luxor. The show was quite entertaining, albeit a bit repetitive after seeing his show at the Calgary Stampede last summer.

After the show we went… drum roll please… back to Margaritaville for some Volcano Nachos and three (each) margarita’s. After paying the tab we got back on The Strip around 6:30 and headed north to the Mirage to see the Volcano show at 7, to be followed by the Bellagio’s renowned fountain show just before 8pm.

**Bragging Moment: On our way to the Bellagio my sister called to tell me that she’d just delivered her first baby, all by herself. The Doctor walked in, asked whether she’d done it before, and when she said no, he said “well, you’re already wearing the sterile gloves, why don’t you give it a shot”. So, she did. A little girl was brought into the world by my sister. I’m still glowing with pride!!! Bragging moment over.**

We saw two Fountain shows – one song I didn’t know the other was the famous “Alleluia” that is typically heard around Christmastime. It was the perfect show to see if we were only going to get to see two. It was so impressive.

We then headed back to the Luxor to meet up with some friends of Alan’s parents (who are now our friends since we’re not just kids anymore) who had flown in from Seattle (by way of Oliver, BC). We did the only thing that was acceptable – we sat down for another margarita with them, this time accompanied by nacho chips and salsa. They’re no Volcano nachos, but they’ll do just fine. Alan managed to sneak in another margarita before we were in the last cab of the weekend, headed back to the airport for a rather long wait for our flight home. Naturally we arrived at the airport (which arguably should be called and air plane port) early to avoid line ups and rush check-ins only to discover that the majority of travelers were going to leave on Sunday. We were through security and on our way to our gate within 5 minutes. Oh, and for those of you who are worried that you’re bringing too many liquids on your flight – forget about it. They don’t even check for liquids at the Las Vegas airport.

We landed safe and sound 5 minutes to one on Sunday morning (20 minutes early thank you very much) and crashed at home by 2am. Many thanks to Trevor who was kind enough to not only drop us off at the airport early on the first day of his Thanksgiving vacation, but who also picked us up in the wee hours of the morning on our way back from our vacation. We slept until noon and spent the rest of our Sabbath watching football, shows we’d recorded over the past week, and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Here we are at Thursday and we still can’t believe everything we saw and did… and I think I’m still exhausted.

Thanksgiving / 2 Year Anniversary (2007) – Day 2

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Wow the beds are awful at The Luxor. I was up by 8am (though tossing and turning since 6:30). I got up and showered and was ready to go by 9:15 or so. We were at the car rental place by 10:15ish… I’m likely off on my morning schedule but you get the point. We were up and on our way really early considering a) it was Vegas and b) we were on vacation.

Anyway, we had to stop in at an outlet mall (ON BLACK FRIDAY!!!) to buy a coat each as the weather was pretty chilly and windy. **Side note: Black Friday is the American equivalent of Boxing Day. The malls are RIDICULOUS. End side note.** We were in and out in 20 minutes and on our way to the Hoover Dam. Almost 2 hours later we arrived. There was a 6 car melee on the road just 8 miles north of the dam that took an hour and a bit to clear.

We went, we saw, we conquered… We took a tour which included at least 3, if not 4 elevator rides with approximately 30 other people in the same elevator, bought the obligatory shot glass and were on our way back to the hotel by 3:30. Alan won’t forgive me if I don’t mention the (approximately) 100 photos we took of the dam in an effort to share the wonder with my father, an engineer who would marvel at the marvel (ah, such wit!) of The Dam. Many of the photos are blurry which would suggest we were already feeling a booze deficiency but mostly it was windy, we were cold, and it’s hard to take pictures with the sun in your eyes. At least that’s my excuse.

We were back in our hotel room by 5pm and I was asleep by 6. Alan watched a movie or two and then he, too, was lights out by 9pm. We were both up by 11:15 when Alan woke up to take out his contacts at which point I decided that “Hey, we’re in Vegas, baby!” so we headed out to party on the strip. Destination: Margaritaville. I LOVE this place. We stayed from midnight (took about 45 minutes to walk there what with dodging the drunk 20-somethings and the pimps with their abundance of cards promising undying affection, or perhaps affectation) until about 2:30am. From there we headed up to Mandalay Bay, The Venetian and Treasure Island; pardon me “T-I”, formerly known as Treasure Island. We discovered a few things along the way:

a) Margarita’s go through Meaghan at the speed of... well, at the speed of liquid, I guess

(I saw a bathroom in each of the mentioned hotels)
b) The Pirate show at “TI” is not showing until December
c) We have to come back to Vegas to see the Pirate show

By 4am we had found a cab and headed back to the hotel for another restless nights’ sleep. On the way, we stopped for a much needed food fest (the McDonald’s in The Excalibur) and then dragged our butts back up to bed. By 5am we were in bed for a brief nap...

Thanksgiving / 2 Year Anniversary (2007) – Day 1

For our two year anniversary (which was November 14th), Alan and I decided we would splurge and take a trip to Vegas, the (second) city that never sleeps, where sex is a commodity to be bought at all hours, for all costs, and where the booze flows freely enough to encourage the purchase of aforementioned “commodity”. Here is a brief run down of what we did, saw, ate, imbibed, etc. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007:

Naturally we arrived at the airport (which arguably should be called and air plane port) early to avoid line ups and rush check-ins only to discover that the majority of travelers left on Wednesday. We were through security and on our way to our gate within 5 minutes. Oh, and for those of you who are worried that you’re bringing too many liquids on your flight – forget about it. Some woman in Alan’s security line had two HUGE bags full of liquids. Not a problem. By the way, these pictures are us before our holiday, looking bright and chipper and nothing short of excited.

Thank goodness for Alan’s foresight to bring the cribbage board. We landed in Vegas around 1 pm after a 1 hour flight and a 2 ½ hour wait at the airport. We took our bags as carry-on so we were able to just grab a cab and hit the hotel (The Luxor). We got a room on the 24th floor which gave us a pretty cool view (albeit nauseating) of the hotel lobby. We dropped our bags in the room (which was still in the process of being made up) and headed out to see The Strip, but not without first stopping for our first drink of the weekend at the bar in the Luxor lobby: Aurora. I ordered a Screw-Up (which I had to explain to the bartender as he looked rather confused) and Alan had his first of many “margaritas on the rocks, no salt”.

We wandered our way north to The Strip through The Excalibur towards Caesar’s Palace stopping in at Paris, The Bellagio and a few other places along the way which have since left my memory. On our way back, already footsore after only 2 hours of wandering, we stopped in for a margarita at the appropriately named hotspot “Margaritaville”. This was about to become my favorite place on the strip. By the time we got back to the hotel it was only 5pm. Time has a way of slowing down when in Vegas. If only we could apply this phenomenon to most other vacations we’ve had.

We cleaned up a bit and headed out for some grub as we hadn’t really eaten since we woke up… and even then I think we shared a banana and each had a “tall” coffee from Starbucks. We had dinner at “Fusia”, a Japanese fusion restaurant and then headed off to see “KA” at The MGM Grand. All in all, a fabulous show where we sipped one more drink for the evening – 6 oz. of sugary boozy sweetness mixed in with another liter of fruity fizzy enjoyment! We were in bed by midnight with Alan apologizing profusely that he was sorry he had to crap out so early. Little did he know I was more than ready for bed myself.

Time to face the awfulness that are the beds at The Luxor.

Alan’s 27th Birthday

I’ve been lying to my boyfriend, Alan, for the last 5 or 6 weeks (well, I was; his birthday is now over so this is past tense). No, it’s not that I’ve been cheating on him, or wishing he would change… I’ve been lying to him about his birthday. I’ve been playing dumb, skirting the issue, and flat out lying that there was to be a party, gifts, or anything of the sort. On Friday, finally, all the weight was lifted.
Behind his back I planned a Poker Tournament / Birthday party, inviting his close friends from pool, curling and work. They all arrived at the house by 6:15 on Friday night. However, while they were arriving at our apartment, I was out at Alan's office "stalling" him (no, it's not what you think... dirty buggers...)

I stalled Alan by taking him out for a “beer” (Alan actually ordered a very fruity margarita) and we were home by 7pm. The house was dark and when I opened the door it took a while before anyone said anything. Then, from the black room – “Surprise”. Alan was, from what I could tell, nothing short of stunned. When we turned on the light he was surprised to see so many people, not only there for his birthday, but crammed into our tiny little one bedroom apartment.

Brian, a guy from our curling team, cooked dinner for us – meatballs, sausages, pasta and salad. It was a big hit. It also left a ton of dishes, but that’s all part of it, I guess. Every single one of my dish towels was used in the arrangement of the meal, and my decorative one is stained but it’s all for a good cause, right?

The poker was a huge hit. 11 people played in all. I’m proud to say that yet again, I was in the top 4. I went all in with Owen (or rather he and I both went all in at the same time) and we both lost. So, we came in 3rd place together, but on a technicality (he had more chip value than I did) he was third place and I was a measly 4th. But, I can’t complain, I still beat the birthday boy! Ha ha…

The rest of the weekend was rather relaxing. We did some furniture shopping on Saturday and found a table and chair set that we love from Jerome’s. We found a 3 seater sofa too but we’ll wait to get that until after Christmas, perhaps. On Sunday we went to U-Haul and rented a 4x5x4’ storage space for all the stuff that’s cluttering up our closet. It’s only $20 a month so I can hardly complain. If it’ll give me more space in my closet rather than tripping over everything (and chipping a day old pedicure… grumble grumble grumble…)

So, a big thanks to everyone who came out for Alan’s party. Enjoy the photos! A big thanks to Kathy who took the photos of the big night (she’s not in any photos… she was on the wrong side of the camera!)

As of today, only 11 more sleeps until MY happy birthday! Woot woot!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Mom and Dad's Visit: Sunday

Well, now that we've had our day of rest a day early, we decided to kick the fun up and notch and get to the "Wild Animal Park" (Sundays' adventure) by the time it opens, which is 9am on Sundays. We were at breakfast at Mom and Dad's hotel by 7:30 which means I got out of bed at 6:45 to get ready for the day. Some vacation, eh?

Breakfast naturally started with our mandatory coffee dosage for the day, but also included french toast, bacon, eggs, toast, the gamut. It's a good thing we had to walk for the majority of the day to work off all the calories we took in during that first meal.

When we arrived at the park we enjoyed a nice morning walk in the sunshine... for about 3 minutes. Then it started to rain. And rain, and rain, and rain. We took the tram tour first thing in the morning and saw deer of just about every sort, cows, goats, sheep, rhino, and even wild horses. Our driver had the driest sense of humor ever and by the end of the tour dad was ready to pay him to shut up. It was a hoot! But, here I am, all ready to go out animal seeing in my Safari hat from Gillian and Brad's visit (you and also see a bit of Alan's pith helmet).

Once we got off the tram the rain really started to come down. It spared us a good soaking while we were on a covered tram but now that we were sheltered by only out hats and thin rain jackets it was time to really let us have it. But, being Fishers (actually I'm pretty sure our heritage had nothing to do with it, but it sounds fun) we pressed on and enjoyed the day despite the rain. Our next stop after the tram ride was Lorikeet Landing where we could feed the birds for $2 a person. It's not quite like feeding a whale or a walrus where it's you, some trainers, and one or two whales. It's like you, your family, a hundred birds and you are the bird perch. Oh,

and birds don't hold their pooh until they're off you. Nope, they just pooh right on you. Nice, eh? So mum and I were covered in birds. On our hands, our shoulders, our arms, and yes, on our heads too! And their tongues have a little brush on the end. Feels so cool if they lick your hand.

By this point mum was all 'birded up' so it was time to go see the aviary show. She was in heaven. An owl landed on a perch about 4' from her head. We saw some hawks, and some other gigantic birds that I couldn't name now. The kicker with this bird show was that the seats were so wet from the rain we had to stand to watch the show. But it was worth it!

Then we tried to feed the giraffe's but they were on the other side of the compound so we decided it was time to see the Elephants. They were super cool. Did some tricks, showed us how mobile and balanced they really are. An elephant can put all it's weight on a 4x4" beam, balanced on 2 feet. It's amazing. I don't think I've ever seen an elephant fall, come to think of it.

By this time, however, dad had had enough of the rain and was looking for the second most important liquid of the day: bee-ah! So, off we went to Gordon Biersch for some lunch and some drier seating. By the time we were done lunch the sun was shining and the rain was all but gone. However, that doesn't mean that the crazies were off the road. In today's lesson, we learned that even the cops can be the "crazies" on San Diego freeways. However, before I get to this I should also mention that we took a drive down to Coronado Island to show Mum and Dad the Coronado Hotel where Royalty always stays when they visit. Even the chandeliers in the hotel are shaped like crowns. SO swanky!

As I may have mentioned before the speed limit on most of the freeways here in San Diego is 65 mph. Which means everyone drives 80. So we're driving 80mph (that's 130km/hr) in relatively busy traffic when low and behold a cop comes flying off an on-ramp and starts WEAVING BACK AND FORTH IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC! Apparently this is common practice for San Diego's finest when one is trying to remove debris off the freeway but I'd never seen it before. It worked great. It took about 2 miles to get everyone to stop and then she just jumped out of her car, grabbed the palm tree detritus, threw it off the freeway, jumped back in her car and was off again like she hadn't just backed up 2 miles of traffic. Go figure!

Games night ensued shortly after we arrived home around 3:30. We played cribbage (I actually got to teach my dad a card game) followed by Scattergories. It was a pretty wicked night, despite taking the parentals home early, again.

Mondays adventures coming soon...

Poppin' Popcorn Part Deux

As per Alan's blog it has been left to me to tell you about "Month 2" of the Popcorn of the Month Club which was our Christmas gift from our friend Ted and James. The first month was great but the second month... wow... popcorn from Hawaii is AMAZING! We received the following six flavors, not four, which comes with it's own disappointment: smaller bags. But, without any further unnecessary ado:

1) White Cheddar Cheese Corn (an oldie but a goodie)
2) Cheddar Cheese Popcorn (which begs the question: what's the difference between popcorn and just "corn"?)
3) Buttery Popcorn (seems a bit traditional but who's gonna argue with more popcorn?)
4) Honey Butter Krunch (M'oh my god, good!)
5) Caramel Macadamia Nut Popcorn (need I say more), and
6) Tropical Fruit Popcorn (the creme de la creme)

I'd have to say that while the first month provided the most interesting flavors of popcorn I'd seen in a long time, the flavors this month were drool-worthy. The Tropical Fruit popcorn only last a day and a half. The Macadamia nut is the favorite this month so we're savoring it!

Thanks again boys!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Who?

Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Jason Bateman

Who's" Your 80's Heartthrob?

Destined to be Green!

Your Leprechaun Name Is:

Greenie Ettercap

What's" Your Leprechaun Name?

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Mom and Dad's Visit: Saturday

Ah Saturday, a day without any stringent plans which may or may not have required tickets, passes, line ups and/or ridiculously over-priced food. A day to enjoy the sunshine and bask in the glow that is California. First thing to do: go to Starbucks. And not just any Starbucks; the Starbucks at Fashion Valley which can be accessed via Nordstroms and any other over-priced department store. So that's just what we did: we went to Starbucks by way of Nordstroms.

And did I say "no line ups"? I did, I'm sorry. There is always a line up at the Starbucks in Fashion Valley. All the little Valley girls who were out partying the night before are in line on their cell phones revelling in their sexual conquests of the night before, at full volume, while waiting in like for their 4-shot espresso, no fat. In front of my father. I could hardly look at him. My fear was that he was listening to bits and pieces of the not-so-delicate conversation in front of us and thinking "Has my daughter had conversations like this"? When did the genteel woman die and the sex-crazed lunatic take over in women? It's insane.

So, about twenty minutes later we had our coffees; dad was just juicing up for a day of shopping so he had his dark Verona coffee, black. Mum had her green tea and Al and I our white chocolate mocha's with peppermint. We also shared a couple of Cinnabon's. Then it was shopping time. Yeah baby! So, the two non-shoppers (that would be Dad and Al) went off to do their manly thing and mom and I made a bee line for Bath and Body Works to get Gillian her body lotion she remembered from her visit down here two months earlier. We did all the girly shops including a visit to Tiffany's, which no woman should ever miss if she has the opportunity to shop at Fashion Valley. We met up with the men an hour and a half later only to discover that Dad was scared (sorry, not interested) in Victoria's Secret but really loved The Discovery Channel store.

From here we headed off to Sea Port Village for some wandering and some sight seeing. That day a statue was erected next to The Midway (a big battle cruiser) of the famous photo of the soldier kissing a nurse after returning from war. It's huge. I don't even come up to the top of her shoe. The actual nurse who was in the photo was there for the unveiling of the statue; she's so tiny. But she showed up in her uniform and little roses and nurse caps were given out to all women in attendance. Sadly we showed up just as things were shutting down but I'm glad it's something that mum and dad got to see.

The wind started to pick up just as we were heading away from the port so we decided to head to Ralph's' (our grocery store) to get the fixing's for a good old fashioned fondue. Mum wanted to see what an American grocery store looked like so she now has first hand knowledge. Unfortunately nothing incredibly exciting ensued at the grocery store but we were headed home for an exciting meal, none the less.

Dinner was nothing short of fabulous. We had shrimp and chicken and beef and scallops and about 7 different dipping sauces, including one which Alan had picked up the day before at Sea World - a Budweiser product, believe it or not. See, Sea World really is the happiest place on earth. Animals, animals, animals and beer. Does it get better than this?

I don't remember what happened after dinner. I do know that our guests weren't with us long; it was another exhausting day and the beds called. An early night for another early tomorrow. Sundays adventure: San Diego's Wild Animal Park.

Monday, March 12, 2007

"I ALMOST DIED!!!"

Recently Alan and I took up boogie boarding. It's something he's been trying to get me into since the last time he tried to drown me at it about 4 years ago. So, last weekend I gave it another shot after he bought me my very own wet suit. We headed out to Pacific Beach to enjoy the warm weather and some waves which were good, but intermittent. We both agreed it was a good time and we should do it again, so we did. Yesterday. However, yesterdays' story is one of a different sort...

At about 12:30 we decided to check out the surf report (http://www.surfline.com) for Pacific Beach. The report read that the waves were waist to chest high and rated "poor to fair" due to all the white water. We figured we'd give it a shot anyway because I can go quite a ways out at Pacific Beach due to the shallowness of the water. What the surf report neglected to mention (though I suppose it's common knowledge or something) was that with the frequency of the waves the bottom of the ocean was a bit stirred up and there were really deep pockets if one wasn't paying attention. So I'd be walking along with the water at waist level and then I'd be up to my shoulders. It's a bit unnerving. However, we continued forward and got some great waves. The biggest problem with the water yesterday was the waves were SO frequent that one wave would catch up to the next and die out. But, we had some great fun. After about an hour of crashing around we decided to head in to get some water (fresh water; we had plenty of salt water to dry us out) and take a stroll down the beach. By now it was about 30C. The wet suits were mighty warm out there on the beach so we decided to take a second kick at the can.

Here's where the trouble begins. The waves are starting to get a bit bigger and I'm starting to feel a bit braver. So I head out deeper with Alan and catch a HUGE wave. By "huge" I mean it's about 4' over the level of the water (so 8' high 'cuz I'm standing in about 4' of water). However, I got ahead of the wave and got rolled. I did a somersault underwater, propelled by a big wave. Water straight up the nose, in my mouth, even sand in my eyes because I neglected to close my eyes. By some miracle I manged to keep both my contacts in. I decided a I needed a break so I headed in towards shore a bit, to a point where I could touch bottom and actually stand up the constant barrage of the waves.

After a few minutes of spitting like a baseball player and relaxing in the shallower water I decided to give it one more try. I now know that if I'm tired "one more try" is a really REALLY bad idea. First thing that happened when I got out there was a wave came in and pulled my feet out from under me. I didn't go under because I was holding on to the board but I could no longer touch the bottom. For me, despite being a strong swimmer, this is where panic sets in. I start flailing about trying to get towards shore and end up getting pulled out farther into the ocean. Now I'm really nervous. I had to call Alan out to come get me. I was sure I was going to drift out to sea and end up in the belly of a whale like some better known fictional characters of our time. However, Alan managed to push me in to a point where I could reach the bottom. Then it happened.

Alan is calling it a 10' wave. Which means for all intents and purposes I had a 5' wall of water above my head. I decided to risk it and try to catch the wave. So far so good, I'm on top "OH MY GOD!!!!" The wave pushed me forward and then crashed on top of me. It folded me in half, but not the right way. My feet went up over my head, backwards, so my bum was practically touching the back of my head. Then my face (MY FACE!!!) slammed into the ocean floor at a billion miles an hour. Thankfully this time I had the foresight to close my eyes so I didn't actually see it coming. All I could think was "you'll find the surface eventually". Apparently my board popped up straight out of the water and then two or three seconds alter I surfaced - screaming!

Some of you are thinking "Bah, two or three seconds, no big deal". Well, lemme tell ya! When you've just been rocked by a 10' wave, 2 or 3 seconds is a helluva a long time. And the screaming... it was a panicked reaction. I thought my nose was broken.

So here's the damage toll: 1 fat bottom lip with "sand burn" on the underside of my lip, 1 fat top lip, one swollen nose, one front tooth which felt like it was going to fall out, and a "sand burned" chin. The fat lips were pretty much back to normal by the time we got home an hour and half later. It looked worse because of the scuffed lower lip. My tooth ended up being fine but I think it tried to dig its way out of my mouth via my lower lip; it's a bit cut up inside. My chin is still relatively pink, as is my nose, which really got the brunt of everything. Somehow I came out of this without any black eyes but my nose is killing me! It's still swollen on the right side; I look like I have my grandfathers nose right now. And the worst part is that it hurts to blow my nose.

As for my back - well, we'll see in a day or so. It's really tight; I'm walking like an old lady with a stick up her "you know what". I'm having a very hard time sitting still. All in all, though, my boogie boarding days aren't over. I have a new found respect for mother nature and her ability to dole out the hurt when she feels it necessary but I also feel I have a bit of a vendetta to settle with the waves out at Pacific Beach. I've not been beat; only been given a strong desire to conquer the waves. Until next time, tire side down, green side up, and keep your damn face off the bottom of the ocean!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Cool this is, I think!

While I'm sure James has already seen this I thought I should post it for Ted in case he wants one for his birthday.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/817c/

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Who'da thought? I look so bad in green!

Your results:
You are Hulk

Hulk		90%
Superman		65%
Spider-Man		65%
Robin		60%
Green Lantern		60%
Batman		55%
The Flash		55%
Wonder Woman		53%
Supergirl		48%
Catwoman		40%
Iron Man		40%

You are a wanderer with
amazing strength.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Growing up for the majority of my life in Calgary, AB, Canada gives one the opportunity to experience some pretty cold weather. Needless to say, I was tired of it. So I packed up everything and headed south... 5 years after my first visit to California. So... Finally So Cal...

Name: Meg

Location: San Diego, California, United States

View my complete profile