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Day: 26
Miles Travelled: 4,999
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
LD started our 3rd day in Vegas by hitting the gym and the spa while I recovered from last night. Then we hit the strip to take in as many of the hotels as we could. We visited a lot of places with the highlights being The Wynn (where Vince is a masseuse)
The Bellagio
The Venitian
and Ceasar's
While we were at Ceasar's there was a $10 craps table open and LD wanted to learn how to play so we threw down some cash and got after it. The table was decent for a while and then went totally nuts. A lady who LD designated as our good luck charm got the dice and went on an insane roll. NOTE: If you don't know craps this part will be boring but if you do you will fully understand our excitement. The Good Luck Charm only made a few points but she rolled for 20-30 minutes and was hitting numbers like it was her job, especially the 6 and 8 which we had covered with $30 each.
After her roll the dice made it around the table to LD. To this point we had been making our bets together but for Laura's roll we made seperate $10 pass line bets. She was making points and numbers left and right so we started pressing our bets. The highlight of her roll was making consecutive points on 4 and 10 with full odds on each and the hardway on each. When we left the table we colored up $1,400 which translated into a $1,200 win. In a totally amateur move we could not help taking a picture of the $1,000 chip.
Thanks to Vince's genorosity and LD's dice skills we left Las Vegas after an entire Memorial Day weekend with a lot more money than we arrived with.
Click here for the full Las Vegas - Day 3 photo album
Day: 25
Miles Travelled: 4,999
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Today I did some work while LD went to the pool. I joined her later for lunch and then I went to Vince's house to work with him to on his business. We all met up back at the hotel for drinks before heading out.
We went to a club called Rain at The Palms and Vince's friend Shaheim got us in for free. As proof that it is a small world, Shaheim's friend Reza was in from out of town and it turns out he graduated in Laura's high school class. In this pic Reza is on the left and Shaheim is on the right.
And here is Laura and I going in to the club...
After Rain LD and I took a cab back to the hotel and played roulette for a while. We started off hot and ended up breaking even. Laura is not usually known for staying up late so we took this picture when we got home as proof that we stayed out until the sun came up.
Day: 24
Miles Travelled: 4,999
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
We left Los Angeles late morning and headed for Las Vegas to meet up with an old friend, Vince Cuomo. We met at his house and then hung out with him while he took care of some things for his new food / catering business, DeVivo's. He even made dinner for us before we headed into the city. Those of you that know Vince might be surprised to hear that he is an amazing cook. We had lasagna, sausage, meatballs and chicken parm and everything was 5 stars.
After dinner we went downtown and checked into our room at the Rio which Vince hooked up for the entire Memorial Day weekend for free. Vince and his friend Michelle (below) came down and we hit the casino for some drinks, gambling and to catch up on old times.
Day: 23
Miles Travelled: 4,720
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
To start LA Day 3 we went to breakfast in Glen Cove with Jerry and Terry. In a pretty interesting coincidence we went to a place called the Beachcomber which happens to be the name of our favorite bar in St. Augustine.
JB ordered pumpkin pancakes for the table to share which turned out to be the best food call of the trip so far. They were out of this world. I ordered Filet Mignion Chilaquiles which were also great. Since we were headed to Beverly Hills later in the day I also had a few bloody mary's in the spirit of living the high life.
From there we headed into Beverly Hills. Not sure if it was only in my head but I felt we stuck out like sore thumbs. We started by looking around at a few shops on Rodeo Drive.
At the first store we went into, I am quite certain the clerk did not expect me to purchase the $2,000 windbreaker jacket I was pretending to look at. The whole area is amazing. It is one high-end designer store after another. The way the buildings, streets and landscaping are laid out make it look like the set of a movie.
There are insane cars and homes everywhere you look so I will only include the details for the most out of control, over the top thing that we witnessed. while in Beverly Hills we saw a Bugatti. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group makes a handful of these cars each year. Their limited availability starts U.S prices at $1.4 million before you add any extras. However, Richard noted that since so few are available in this country, they actually trade in the secondary market for between $2 and $2.5 million dollars. So this is what $2 million of automobile looks like.
My Aunt Susan has been avidly following this blog so she was excited about making an appearance while her brother Bill has not so here she is with my Uncle Gerry.
We met up with them and my second cousin Brianna at the Pelican Hill restaurant and they treated us to an incredible dinner. Not only was the food fantastic, the view was breath taking. It was the nicest dinner Laura and I have had together. We had plenty of time to catch up, especially since we kept ordering desserts and passing them around the table to share.
After dinner it was back to the hotel to pack up for the next part of the trip, Las Vegas. We had a great time in LA and got to see a lot of the sights as well as catch up with family. JB went out of his way to take us around and squeeze in as much as possible.
Click here for the full Los Angeles, CA - Day 2 photo album
Day: 22
Miles Travelled: 4,720
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
Jerry hooked us up with access to his gym so we started LA Day 2 with a workout. The gym was totally out of control. 5 stories, basketball, tennis, squash and raquetball courts, pools, spas, saunas, tracks, weights, machines, stores, sushi bar, etc. I have travelled a lot and been in a lot of gyms but this one was by far the most impressive. Even though we have been hiking a fair amount, it was nice to get a real workout in.
After the gym we went down to Newport Beach and walked along the coast to see some of the homes there. Even the smallest, tiny homes there start at around $5,000,000 due to the location. The neighborhood was beautiful and immaculately clean. Unfortunately we did not have the camera with us since we came from the gym.
Then we went down to Laguana Beach which was almost as nice. We had lunch on a roof top deck overlooking the beach and ocean. Again, no camera.
We went back to the hotel to clean up and for dinner we met up with Jerry's partner Richard, better known as Big Steele. Richard was kind enough to have us join him for dinner and to watch the Lakers game at Pelican Hill Golf Club. We had a great time and even got to see the Lakers lose. Richard is in the middle of this picture. His girlfriend Lauren is on his left and my cousin Jerry is on the end.
This is me and Laura soaking up the good life after a long three weeks on the road.
Day: 21
Miles Travelled: 4,720
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
We left Big Sur around 10:30 am and headed south along the Pacific Coast Highway. We stopped at several scenic overlooks which provided some amazing views of the Pacific Ocean. The two main differences between here and the east coast are (1) the color of the water and (2) the straightness of the coast. The high elevation, combined with less curves on the shoreline allow you to see for miles in each direction.
A couple hours into the trip LD spotted a few seals on the beach. As we drove past we noticed a lot of cars and campers parked by the road. We figured it was worth a shot and pulled over to park. We were glad we did because we got to see our best animal encounter yet. This particular beach is a mating ground for elephant seals. Unfortunately, this is not the time of the year for the males (up to 5,000 pounds each) to be battling on the beach but we did get to see the beach full of females (up to 1,800 pounds each) and juveniles.
There was a built in boardwalk along the beach that protected the animals but also gave you some up close access.
At one point we were lucky enough to see two seals sparring with each other. It was very interesting and would definitely make a return trip worth it to see the full grown males go at it.
Click here for the full Big Sur to Los Angeles photo album
After we left the elephant seals we switched off of the PCH and onto the highway to make better time into LA. We ended up catching the end of rush hour traffic. It was bad but not a total nightmare. When we got to LA we met up with my cousin Jerry and Aunt Susan and Uncle Gerry. We hung out for a while and then checked into our hotel in Newport Beach.
Day: 20
Miles Travelled: Written down but in the car
Miles Hiked: 73.7
Current Location: Big Sur State Park, CA
In the morning we drove down the coast from San Francisco to Big Sur State Park. Dan found a great campsite which is located in the middle of a redwood forest. Here is where we set up camp for the night.
Once we got set up we went for a short hike to a small waterfall called Peiffer Falls. It was a cool place but it was kind of hard to get excited over it having just come from Yosemite. Here is LD and I by a redwood tree on our way to the falls.
After the falls we set out to find Peiffer Beach. It was hard to find because the road down is somewhat hidden. We drove up and down the coast a few times to find it which gave us an opportunity to see some beautiful coastal scenery.
During our search for the beach we stopped to have a beer. While we were there I took this picture of the sunlight reflecting off of my beer. You can see the word Guiness reflected in the foam on the beer.
It was worth the search for the beach. The beach features a couple of different rock formations in the water and the waves are quite powerful. Several people have drowned at the beach (just from wading or going in up to their knees). It was freezing so we did not stay long but we did have time to take some pretty good pictures.
After the beach we went back to the campsite and Dan and LD prepared a 5 star dinner with steak, mushrooms, onions and asparagus. We spent the rest of the night relaxing in front of the campfire and making some s'mores.
Click here for the full Big Sur photo album
Day: 19
Miles Travelled: Written down but in the car
Miles Hiked: 71.2
Current Location: San Francisco, CA
Our next stop was San Francisco to visit my friend Dan. We got into town around noon and immediately headed for Oakland where we took in an A's game. It was an inter-league game vs. the San Francisco Giants (cross town rivals) so there was a really good crowd and our seats were great. The A's won 1-0 in a very fast game.
After the game we picked up some Mexican food and went back to Dan's place to hang out. That night we went out for the best dinner of the trip so far. We had sushi in a local neighborhood place and tried two things we had never had before at a sushi place. The first was scallop and the second was toro which is the primest part of the belly of a tuna fish. It was a great dinner but unfortunately we did not get any other pictures.
Day: 18
Miles Travelled: 4,034
Miles Hiked: 71.2
Current Location: Merced, CA
I would not say we have been totally roughing it on this trip. After all we stayed with friends and family two nights, stayed at two different nice hotels and I think 4 or 5 nights in hotels off the highway. However, we have driven more than 4,000 miles and hiked more than 70 so I was not surprised at what we looked like when we woke up this morning. We are still in great spirits but we are worn down and probably on the edge of getting sick so we opted to spend another day at this hotel to get some rest.
Tomorrow we will head out early to go to San Francisco, CA. We are going to an Oakland A's game in the afternoon and probably a nice dinner after that (well deserved since we have eaten trail mix, cold cuts and canned corn for the last four days).
Those who have been out west will understand the greatness of this update. We just went out and picked up some In and Out Burger for dinner. Might be the best burger ever.
At 1:46 AM EST on May 21st we hit the 4,000 mile mark for the trip.
