the last one...finally...

after long last, the last post, from las vegas, into california and up the pacific coast.  the stops included san diego to see some friends who moved there from arlington a couple of years ago, then to santa barbara to stay the night, followed by a fairly early morning rise and continuing the drive up highway 1 through monterey and into santa cruz.  once we hit santa cruz we turned east, rolled over the mountains and made it to our destination in the bay area.

after we arrived, we had a couple of days to unpack, organize, and try to get set up in the new digs.  i started working essentially the second we hit the ground, though, so casey had some time to herself to drive around and check out the area.  she didn't go too far for fear of getting lost, so on thursday the 31st of january we headed up to san francisco for dinner at scoma's, an apparently well known seafood restaurant on the piers.  great drinks, great dinner, great location, but afterwards we were both wiped out and decided to call it a night and head home.  not much to report for the next day other than the balance of my things finally arriving and more organizing and unpacking.  we tried to take it easy and just enjoy the last night before casey flew out the next day.

i drove her to the airport the next afternoon and got ready to start my new adventure in northern california.

now, i know this post seems rushed and lacking in the details, but there's a specific reason for that: i spent the past couple of hours uploading the 700+ pictures that we took on the whole trip, and i know that pictures speak much more vividly than my words ever could.  so for everyone who was following along since day one or day 10, enjoy the sights, and i'll preface them by advising that they're presented unedited and uncropped, and most of them were taken from a moving car, so apologies for any shaking or uncentered shots.  apparently it's really hard to remain steady at 85mph.  either way, thanks for coming along on this once-in-a-lifetime trip, it was good to have you in spirit, and we look forward to sharing with everyone in the future.

slideshow

az, nv, and vegas

we took a bit of a hiatus from posting to this, and there's a lot to report from the last update until now.  the last time we checked it, we had just arrived in phoenix, well into the mountain time zone.  our plan was to leave phoenix, head to jerome where there are a couple of wineries that i wanted to visit, then head to sedona, where casey had visited a couple of times a few years back and which is, apparently, full of gorgeous views.  unfortunately, this was the scenery almost as soon as we got outside of phoenix:

just beautiful

thanks arizona. we stopped in jerome, a small (SMALL) town of a few hundred that just so happens to be the home of the tasting room for a couple of vineyards that are either partially or wholly owned by the lead singer of my favorite band.  pretty cool stuff.  we stopped for a bite, bought a few bottles of wine, and after a few hours were on our way.  the weather was still pretty nasty; the only question now was whether it was even worth it to shoot for the grand canyon.  after some hand-wringing, we decided that given the weather, and since the whole idea of the grand canyon is to experience the landscape, we decided that the 30 yds of visibility that we had just wouldn't make it for a memorable experience.  decision made, we put the pedal to the floor headed toward our next destination, the city of sin, las vegas.

counting the grand canyon weather disaster, this leg of the trip included 2 of the biggest (perhaps only?) disappointments in terms of things missed.  As we crossed over from arizona to nevada via the hoover dam at nightfall, we had no light to see the sights that i'd seen several times from an airplane, but never as close up as i could have now.  though i suppose that if those are the biggest low points of the trip, then we did alright.

as we drove closer into las vegas, the first thing casey noticed was the lights.  even before we hit the strip, she thought that every single light she saw was it.  one thing that i don't know whether people who've never driven in have ever realized, as i know i didn't, is that las vegas is a sprawling city, with the world famous strip being nothing more than a blip on the map.  a lot of the sprawl to the south and east is pretty crummy and run-down looking, too.  i guess people use all their money gambling, with nothing left to clean up the place.  we could see the lights off the casinos coming from miles away, and it took us longer than we expected, once we got within sight of it, to actually get to our destination, the bellagio hotel.  there was no agenda for the trip other than have a good meal, do a little bit of gambling, and rest up for the next leg, which would take us into our destination state.

almost there...

after parking the car, checking in, and getting to the hotel room (which came fully equipped with an unmade bed, linens strewn about, and the previous occupant's room key on the dresser - yes, we changed rooms), we changed into our civilized clothes (no more sandals, t-shirt and dirty underwear!) and made our way to las vegas boulevard.  we made it outside just in time to get a prime seat for the famous water show.  after that ended, we strolled down the road to kill some time before our reservation at bobby flay's mesa grill in caesar's palace.

we got to see the usual weirdos spouting off about the impending end of the world etc and everyone in their strange, non-sequiter outfits.  mario, luigi, storm troopers, chewbacca, street performers, and even your garden-variety beggars.  it's like any other city only with more lights, more costumes, and less clothes on the women. oh yea, and the nearly full size replicas of the eiffel tower and the statue of liberty are a nice touch, too.  once we got to caesar's we still had some time to kill, so what better time to do the requisite gambling.  for some reason casey just wanted to pull a lever, so we went to the slots so that she could do that.  after it ate our money, the machine sprung to life and invited us to pull the lever, for which casey was more than happy to oblige.  a few button presses, upping the ante, and few pulls later and the money was gone.  pretty funny to see her, a first time gambler, come to the quick realization that the house always wins.  not the most expensive lesson ever taught, though, so no harm, no foul.

we got to bobby flay's a few minutes before we were due, but were still immediately seated and started perusing the menu.  i can't say anything other than wow.  i won't bother describing it, because there's no way my typing can do it justice.  i will say, though, that for the first time since we left, we didn't split the meal between the two of us as we'd done at every other eatery to try to avoid overeating and to prevent having to carry leftovers in the car.  the next time you're in las vegas, that's a place that's certainly worth consideration for a nice dinner.  we got back to the room completely wiped out, and slept like babies, getting ready for the next day, which would be our final state line crossing.