Vegas to Phoenix…

Got up around 9am, we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us today to Phoenix plus we had the Phoenix show tonight so had to make good time on the road and didn't really have a lot of time to stop, plus we would also lose an hour as we left Arizona and entered Nevada! If all went to plan we would be at Gail and Joe’s (where we were staying the night) around 3:30pm, we had a Mexican restaurant booked for 5pm with 15 or 16 of us then the show at 8pm!

The drive was pretty uneventful to be honest, i drove all the way and Kami slept in the backseat all the way!

I've done this drive a few times both ways and its just flat dessert land with the odd cactus and the odd gas station every so often. it does get quite scenic as your driving through the mountains though and it was a beautiful day, the sun was out and the was hardly a cloud in the sky.

Cactus!

Miles of nothingness!                          Scenery through the mountains         Kami asleep in the backseat!

   

We got to Phoenix around 3:30 right as planned, Gail and Joe had left Vegas an hour before us but had got a little lost on their way so only arrived 10 minutes ahead of us. We all chilled out at Gail and Joes and got ready for the show, Joe’s brother Tom and his girlfriend arrived ad around 4:30 we headed to downtown Phoenix to the Mexican restaurant.

 

View Full Album

California day 2…

So After a great nights sleep and a small lie in this morning i got up and showered, looked out of the window and it was a beautiful sunny day however it wasn't real hot, the temperature was around 60`

Kami wanted to to go hang out with her friends John and Jill today so i drove her up to Long Beach where they were staying on the Queen Mary ship hotel, i dropped her off and drove back down to my hotel.

Cool car

Nice                                    Building in Long Beach        Close up                             Driving back to my hotel

 

Took me a couple of drives around the block to find a free parking space as the valet parking at the hotel was $24 a night! once parked i walked the couple of blocks through Huntington beach town to the hotel and chilled out in the room for 20 minutes.

I've stayed in Newport Beach, Redondo beach, Santa Monica and a few other beach places but this was the first time in Huntington and i love it here, the beach is right across the street from the hotel and there's lots of stores and restaurants all within a stones throw away!

My hotel                              Hotel to beach                    Street in Huntington Beach     View from the street

     

I walked across the street and found a real nice Mexican Cantina that had some outdoor seating overlooking the beach, i took a seat, ordered a Long Island Iced tea and sat and enjoyed the view.

Long Island Iced tea appetizer                     Tacos!

 

 

After lunch i headed back to the room and chilled out for a few hours, i had a killer headache due to the 9 hours dricing the day before. Then headed up to the show in La about a 45 minute drive north.

Pics from today:

View Full Album

Vegas day 2 (continued)…..

So i drove the car down to the new York New York hotel, parked the car and wandered into the Casino. I was meeting Erin and her family at 3:30, i called Erin and she was just about to get in the Casino. We met up outside the pub where we were having Thanksgiving dinner. 10 minutes later Erin's mom and dad arrive along with her brother, grandma, sister Amy and Alex who were getting married tomorrow and a couple of Erin's cousins. There were 18 of us in total and we all made our way into the pub.

Id met Erin's Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister about 5 or 6 years ago when i went to their house in CT. It was great to see them again and they were all so happy to see me! It was great to meet her grandma too who apparently had her a lot of good things about me!

Dinner was a crab and seafood soup with sweet corn plus a choice of either prime rib or turkey. I chose the turkey and have to see it was excellent. Unfortunately i left my camera at the hotel so wasn't able to take any pictures, however i will post a few when i get some from Erin.

Around 8pm i made my way over to the MGM casino to see Gail, Joe, Ralph and Lori. They had continued out after i left for the dinner and had been seeing the rest of the strip before heading back to their hotel and partying in Ralph and Loris room!  T say it looked like they had had a good time when i knocked on the door and saw them is a HUGE understatement, their room looked like party central! I joined them for a glass of wine before i headed back to my hotel to drop the car off and then come out and party!

I have an ld friend from high school also called Simon whom i haven't seen since the Dark Side shows in Hollywood. He e mailed me a few weeks ago to tell me he was flying into Vegas and would be arriving the day of the show. I got a text from him while i was having Thanksgiving dinner to say he had touched down and would meet up around 8pm tonight. I dropped the car off at my hotel, got changed and headed down to the Planet Hollywood resort where he was staying. We met in the hotel bar and the instant i saw him i knew we were gonna be having a good night! He had been out on the town for the last few hours and was already on his way to having a great night!

We hung out in the bar for a while before heading down to the MGM to meet up with Gail and we went to the Studio 54 nightclub till midnight before heading back to the hotel. Unfortunately i didn't take my camera with me so having got any pics from the day and night out.