So much to tell!

Well, it has been a while since the last post and SO MUCH has been going on! As you saw a few weeks ago I got a new job (yay!). My last day in my current position is this Thursday. I have been bustin’ my balls for the last two weeks to get things wrapped up and ready for me to leave. I don’t only have to take care of my regular tasks but also wrap up all the “extras” that I have been working on.

I am really bummed to be leaving SSHL and pretty scared about starting the new job. But I am excited. It is going to be really challenging at first but I know I am going to rock it. It is what I do.

Time to tell about something fun - VEGAS!! This past weekend Sat and I took a small trip to Las Vegas. We have been needing to have some work done on our bathroom that would require us to be out of the apartment for a few days and my parents were planning to be in Vegas this past weekend so we decided to book the repairs and hit the road. We had everything planned and taken careof, including houseing for the cats. Until the last minute. My buddy SB from work offered to take the cats a while ago and then just recently found out she was going to be housing some really young kittens during the time our cats were supposed to be with her. It ends up the kittens hadn’t been vaccinated and came with bugs so Sat and I decided to attempt to find alternate arrangements for our kitties. We couldn’t find anyone until the day before! It was super stressful getting that taken care of but MK from work saved the day!

And so the trip. . . I got off work on Wednesday at noon and the plan was to quickly drop off the kitties in North Park and head out. Well, those silly plans. Of course Sat was running a little late (he was working hard to get things together) and didn’t get to the library until quarter after. We ran quickly to North Park and tried to drop off the kitties as fast as we could. Well, have we ever told you that Roxy gets car sick? Probably not, because we didn’t know until we were on the interstate. So when we got there not only did we need to dro the kitties off and get them comfortable, but we also have to clean out the kitty keeper. Fun times.

We finally got on the road for Vegas around 1:15. Thankfully the ride is a pretty straight shot taking the 15 all the way. Unfortunately, that is not the directions we got from Google maps. And then there was the construction and the missed exit. So it was quite the comedy of errors. Luckily, the day was saved in Baker, CA!! We had planned to stop there for a little geocaching and to see the World’s Largest Thermometer. Well, what we DIDN’T know was that Baker is also home to Mad Greek!! I had seen Mad Greek on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on FoodNetwork and had dreamed of going but quickly forgot about it. Well, I got to go! And I had myself the best gyro in the US - for REAL! It was AWESOME. So it was definitely worth it. We did also get a picture with the World’s Largest Thermometer (see below) and also stopped by Alien Fresh Jerky (fun place!).

We didn’t get to where my parents were staying until close to 7, but it was alright. We had a chance to get settled and get some grub before having to see my parents. It ends up that my parents only got a 1 room place instead of two so we were welcomed by the site of our bed - the couch. Kind of a sad surprise, but it was okay. Or at least I thought it was until I touched the sheets. They were like SANDPAPER. So that made for a few sleepless nights.

On Thursday we spent the day wandering the strip with my mom (dad was in meetings most of the day). It was fun seeing all the hotels/casinos and how elaborately they are decorated. We had lunch at the Bellagio and then did a little gambling while we were there. At first we were all doing pretty well. Mom ended up on top I think, Sat lost it all, and I made $2.50. Sat and I haven’t been in a smokey place for a while (thank you, no smoking indoors in CA!!) so just the smoking got to be a little much for us. We finally left the strip around 6:45. If only we had known that the Bellagio lights go off at 7! So we did just miss the lights, oh darn. After all day on the strip we spent the night chillin and grillin. We had some pork chops, grilled chicken fajitas, and riblets.

On Friday we spent the day at Red Rock Canyon. I may not ever go back to Vegas for the strip, but I would TOTALLY come back for for Red Rock Canyon. It was BEAUTIFUL and had some really great trails and vistas. We had an awesome time just walking around and doing some geocaching. Although we had done some geocaching with my mom on the strip we got to show her what REAL geocaching is like in RRC. Mom did a really good job keeping up, dad only did a few caches with us. I think everyone had a great time. Dad found where he wants to build his retirement home (although he will never be able to build it in RRC). All in all a pretty awesome day.

After running around for a few hours we finally got home around 2 and had lunch and just hung out for the rest of the day. Mom and I rented and watched Brokeback Mountain which I have been wanting to see for a long time. Well, it was not at good as I was hoping it would be. I guess I had just built it up so much. . . and then it was an artsy film, not something I usually like. There were some really cool shots/pictures but other than that I really didn’t like it. Oddly enough, Sat didn’t think it was that bad (he started watching it about an hour in).

Alright, I need to go help get dinner ready. . . but I am SURE that Sat will finish the post for me! There is more - and there will be TONS of pictures on Sat’s Flickr soon too!

~Colleen

Filed under Food, General, Geocaching |