Uyilly's Travels

Las Vegas, NV: 1/15/11 - 1/17/11

2011-01-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. I thought I'd try and revive this with a Vegas post.

Sick house DJ at Marquee Nightclub:

Meet and greet with the Jabbawockeez:

This was actually the second time we watched their show at Monte Carlo. We noticed that since last time (October 2010) they made a couple changes, the best of which is that they show their faces at the end now!

Los Angeles, CA: 7/19/10

2010-07-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

1-Year "Headliner" Membership to The GRAMMY Museum: $50 (bought via Groupon on Oct. 20, 2009)
American Express Presale Tickets: $70 ($35/pp)
An Evening With Train: Priceless

To see Pat, Jimmy, and Scott in such an intimate setting was just unreal. The first hour was an interview with the band about music, their career, and so many facets of their journey. Pat Monahan is a riot. In the second hour, they got their 2 other bandmates up and performed:
1) Save Me, San Francisco
2) If It's Love
3) Calling All Angels
4) Hey, Soul Sister
5) Drops Of Jupiter

They are really, really good live. Afterwards, we all got to meet the guys and get our copies of Save Me San Francisco (which were included with the presale tickets) signed. When we were leaving the museum we saw Hector loading up the van and chatted with him a little bit, too. I will definitely be renewing my Grammy Museum membership.

Las Vegas, NV: 6/10/10 - 6/13/10

2010-06-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Venetian invited us to the first event of their new "Grazie Cooking Series," which featured Chef Mario Batali. Batali has three restaurants in The Venetian/Palazzo and numerous others in New York City and Los Angeles. We were treated to an hour long live cooking demonstration with Chef Batali in The Venetian Showroom, given the recipes to take home, and received a complimentary prix-fixe meal of the food we watched him cook.

Even though neither of us are cooks, we found the demo to be very interesting and entertaining as Mario was very personable. My favorite quote from him, which he shared as summarizing his philosophy on food: "At the end of the day, there are only two things you put in someone to pleasure them. One of them is food."

We enjoyed our prix-fixe dinner at Carnevino, which is located in The Palazzo, just inside the doors to the walkway that connects to Wynn. We added on the wine pairing for $35, which featured wines exclusively from Joseph Bastianich, and tea for $6.50.

We also watched The Lion King @ Mandalay Bay this trip. I used TZOO40 (from Travelzoo) to get 40% off side orchestra tickets. It was $69.50 per ticket, which came to a total of $156.75 once all the fees were included. The show was extraordinarily creative and it was one of the best opening acts I've seen. I also felt Mandalay Bay did a great job creating the theatre venue.

Maui, HI: 4/4/10 - 4/7/10

2010-04-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

For Uyen's spring break this year we went to the Hawaiian Island of Maui! We didn't book it until the middle of March when we saw a Pleasant Holidays offer on Travelzoo for 3 nights + air for $500/person. Adding an extra day increased the price by 40% so we stuck with the 3-night itinerary.

Day 1
Our flight on Sunday also didn't leave until 5PM, but that actually worked out well for us as it was Easter. While we were waiting for our flight at LAX we felt the 7.2 Baja California earthquake. Afterwards, we felt we needed to have a $13 margarita at El Cholo to set the vacation mood. Our flight was nonstop to Kahului, Maui on Delta. We arrived just before 8PM Maui time, picked up our rental car from Hertz, and drove directly south to Kihei for dinner at Da Kitchen. For less than $15, we had one of our best meals here. We shared the "Hawaiian Plate," which consisted of Pork Lau Lau, Kalua Pork, Chicken Long Rice and Lomi Salmon. I had read reviews prior, so I knew the portions were big and everything was on the salty side, but I think that's partly what made it so good. We also did drive to Maui Tacos, which was located in the plaza next door, but it was closed by that time and we were plenty full from Da Kitchen. It was about 45 minutes up the west coast of Maui to reach our lodging, the Kaanapali Ocean Inn in Kaanapali. This is pretty much the base hotel in Maui for Pleasant Holidays packages, and as many visitors before have stated, it is definitely a budget hotel. There's no elevator but there's only 3 floors. The walls were thin, the bed was lumpy and soft-ish, and we only used the chairs/sofa for putting stuff on as they all had dark (I'm guessing dirt) stains on them. It was certainly livable, though, the beach was steps away, and the service staff was good.

Day 2
So the next morning we woke up bright and early (by our standards) so we could return to the south side of the island for our reserved Molokini-Lana'i Snorkel tour with Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF). Long story short, we were notified of boat problems shortly prior to our 8:30AM departure time and around 8:50AM the entire tour was cancelled. We did get a full refund, but the tour would have been 7.25 hours so this really jacked up our plans for the day. There are snorkeling tours that leave all over Maui, but because we also didn't want to wake up super early and booked a "later morning" tour, all the other tours had left by this time. There are sometimes afternoon tours, but those were all cancelled because it was already windy at this time and only pick up in the afternoon when the tradewinds really set in. Even given what happened to us, I would still consider PWF in the future as it was the cheapest and only option for these 2 destinations (Molokini AND Lana'i) and PWF is a nonprofit, so all the proceeds support a nonprofit. Of course, being a nonprofit probably explains the shoddy boat, and they do have a reputation for being unreliable. Still, as long as things are always smooth when they do get out in the water, I'll forgive them for not having six sigma reliability.

And this did give us the chance for an impromptu adventure. First, we headed back to Lahaina's Front Street on the waterfront for brunch. We decided on Cheeseburger In Paradise. Frequent Vegas go-ers may recognize the logo as being very similar to Cheeseburger at the OASIS in Planet Hollywood next to the V Theatre. The one in Vegas is a branch of this very same store in Maui, which opened in 1989. As far as the burger went, it was definitely good and we plan to visit the store in Vegas sometime, but, for me, I don't think anywhere is ever going to beat Shake Shack in NYC.

We walked off our brunch by perusing Front Street and eventually walking to the Lahaina Maui Tacos. Despite being full, we figured we had to try Maui Tacos while in Maui so we got a combo and each had a fish taco. It was grilled fish, which is nice, but I realize I like fried fish better in my fish tacos, a la Taco Nazo. I'm definitely glad we tried it, though.

Determined to still do some snorkeling on Maui, we stopped by the Lahaina Cannery Mall and bought snorkels at Longs Drugs and fins at Boss Frog's. We then drove back south and snorkeled off the west coast of Maui at Olowalu. It was about 1PM at this time and, as it turns out, it is quite windy come afternoon on the west coast of Maui. The water was also colder than I imagined (and hoped) it would be. We did see lots of reef and fish and at least satisfied our itch to snorkel.

We then set out to do what we were originally planning to do after our PWF trip: circumnavigate the west lobe of Maui and drive the unpaved road on the Northwest of Maui (possibly breaching our rental car agreement). I rented a SUV expressly for this purpose and for the upcoming, similarly unpaved, "Road Beyond Hana." I followed this Frommer's article, except backwards as we were going from Central Maui to West Maui. Per Frommer's, we first stopped in the Wailuku area to see the Halekii and Pihana Heiaus. Heiaus are ancient places of worship that were generally located in beautiful / spiritual locations. These 2 were located on a hill that overlooked Central Maui and the northern coast.
After the heiaus we were soon on our curvy 20-mile drive along the northwest coast that showcased: "steep ravines, rolling pastoral hills, tumbling waterfalls, exploding blowholes, crashing surf, jagged lava coastlines, and a tiny Hawaiian village straight off a postcard" (Frommer's). The town being referred to is Kahakuloa, which is home to Julia's Best Banana Bread. A small green stand that can't be missed on the drive, I mention Julia's because it actually shows up in Google Maps when you zoom-in and even has a website! Naturally, we had to try it and it was very good, probably the best I've ever had. It was also reasonably priced and very well packaged (pointed out by Uyen). Just before Kahakuloa, we also stopped by Kaukini Gallery, which sells art by local artists.

Nearing the end of our drive, we stopped by the blowhole. There was a very short hike to get to it. What is a "blowhole" you ask? Below is a video of it. Of course right after I stopped recording a huge spurt came, but this captures the gist of it.

By this point in the drive the road had widened and was smooth. Then, after rounding the northernmost point of Maui, we looked for an outlet to Honolua Bay. Our first search brought us to a private residence in the middle of a jungle and me falling into a river.
We decided to head to dinner after that; I had made reservations for the Plantation House Restaurant in Kapalua. Just driving up to the restaurant in its country club/estate atmosphere signaled that we were not dressed appropriately, so we delayed our reservation and headed back to Kaanapali. Unfortunately, this meant we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sunset at the restaurant (which is a big reason why people go to this restaurant), but at least we were clean and I was dry.
Although we couldn't enjoy the sunset at the restaurant, we were still able to enjoy the beautiful Maui sunset from the balcony of our room.

Day 3
This day was dedicated to the Road to Hana. The Hana Highway is a 68-mile long windy, twisty road that follows the coastline of the eastern lobe of Maui. I opted to also do the "Road Beyond Hana", which completes the circumnavigation of Eastern Maui.

We left Kaanapali around 6:30am and arrived at the town of Paia, our first stop, around 7:30am. Here, we filled up our car and picked up a picnic lunch from Hana Picnic Lunch Co. They make your lunch fresh and claim that they have studied the art of sandwich-making to ensure that it will still be in tip-top shape when it's eaten hours later. We also picked up a Hana Audio Tour CD there that the very pleasant worker sold us on (and we're glad she did).

Our major stops were:
1. Waikamoi Ridge Trail, btwn miles 9-10: A short loop nature walk through lush trees, bamboo and ferns that took roughly half an hour.

2. Puahokamoa Falls, btwn miles 10-11: I initially drove past the lower falls and had to backtrack. Located off the ocean-side of the road, there were no signs and the best view of the falls came after crawling through a fence.

3. Keanae Peninsula, turnoff btwn miles 16-17: After the turnoff, it's less than a mile to get right up to the coast. The dark jagged lava rocks and the crashing waves made this a particularly beautiful stop.

4. Keanae Arboretum, btwn miles 16-17: The arboretum houses over 150 varieties of tropical plants and is a great place to see indigenous flowers and painted bark eucalyptus trees.

5. Waikani (Three Bears) Falls, btwn miles 19-20: While the falls were beautiful as viewed from the roadside, the really cool part was climbing under the bridge and taking the short jungle-like path to get an up close view of the falls.

6. Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park, btwn miles 22-23: This is where we ended up having lunch. There are picnic tables and a small waterfall nearby. Our lunch was in great condition and was perfect for our journey, just as advertised.

7. Waianapanapa State Park, mile 32 / Hana / Hamoa Beach, btwn miles 51-50 (the mile markers descend once beyond Hana):

8. Wailua Falls, btwn miles 45-44: What makes Wailua Falls so amazing in my mind is that this 80 ft waterfall is entirely visible just driving along the road.

9. Waimoku Falls / Oheo Gulch (in Haleakala National Park), mile 42: We first did the Pipiwai Trail, a 4 mi roundtrip hike that includes a 650 ft change in elevation, bamboo forests, and Waimoku Falls at the end. The hike was simply incredible. A half mile in was Makahiku Falls, which, at 185 feet, was quite magnificent on its own. Then, about a mile in, began the bamboo forests. At the very end was Waimoku Falls, a gigantic 400 ft waterfall that's the tallest on Maui.

As if Waimoku Falls wasn't enough, the trailhead also splits off to the Kuloa Point Trail, a 0.5 mi loop trail that passes by the ocean and Oheo Gulch, aka the Seven Sacred Pools. Unfortunately, we were notified upon entering the national park that swimming in the Pools was not permitted on this day due to weather conditions and the risk of flash floods. Doing so was high on my list of things to do, but it has to wait 'til a future trip.

We left the park a little after 6pm. We tried to look for Charles Lindbergh's Grave but couldn't find it. It was getting late so we decided to continue on, which turned out to be a good idea as it started to rain heavily just as we connected with the 7 miles of unpaved road on the southeast of Maui, i.e. the Road Beyond Hana. There really is nothing out there, but it was great seeing untouched Maui (aside from the road, of course). Many are concerned with the safety of driving this road. As the last picture demonstrates, this road can be extremely dangerous (and we actually didn't see it until we randomly decided to stop and Uyen had stepped out).

We reached Lahaina around 8:30pm and decided to have dinner on Front Street at Mala Ocean Tavern. We had the seared ahi bruschetta and kobe burger. For dessert, I had the dragon fruit sorbet, which is now my favorite dessert.

Day 4
For our last day we pre-scheduled with Haleakala Bike Company to do a bike tour down Haleakala volcano. Many people do a sunrise tour, but we opted to do the "Summit Deluxe Tour" so we wouldn't have to wake up at an ungodly hour. Our tour started at 9am and met in Haiku, which is just a little bit past Paia along the Hana Highway. We left the Kaanapali Ocean Inn for the last time at 7:45am and arrived in about an hour. After signing waiver forms and such, it was an hour+ van ride to the summit. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of going at this time is that it tends to be when the fog rolls in. We really couldn't see much of the crater at all because of the thick fog. I still got an appreciation for how big the thing is, though. We made 2 stops at the summit area: the visitor center and a site where we got a clear look at some observatories, telescope and missile defense facilities!?

To Be Continued...

Cost Breakdown

$1,018.00 - Package for 2 with roundtrip air via Delta + 3-nights at Kaanapali Ocean Inn from Pleasant Holidays
$191.13 - Rental car from Hertz (using prepay option that gave an extra 10% discount)
$94.80 - Dinner at Plantation House Restaurant
$10.00 - Entrance fee for Haleakala National Park
$71.70 - Dinner at Mala Ocean Tavern
$167.88 ($79.99+$3.95 for optional bike insurance+tax x2) - Haleakala Bike Co.'s "Summit Deluxe" Bike Tour
-------------
$1,553.51

Puerto Rico: 8/9/09 - 8/13/09 & Miami: 8/13/09 - 8/16/09

2010-03-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Edit: Miami is posted, too!

Only 8 months late, Puerto Rico is posted, backdated to the last day of our trip: 8/13/09. Luckily, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Los Angeles, CA: 1/6/10

2010-01-06T23:21:00.000-08:00

In our 2nd game of the Holiday Pack, we witnessed another unbelievable game as the LA Clippers beat the "visiting" LA Lakers at Staples Center! Although the Lakers tied it up a couple times midway in the 4th, the Clips led pretty much the entire way with quite a bit of this (easy buckets from good defense):

While the Lakers didn't have quite enough of this (Bryant-Bynum alley-oop):

Once again we were in the same row as Clipper Darrell (we found out that's his official name; he even has a website):
I'm still shocked by the margin of victory.

Los Angeles, CA: 12/27/09

2009-12-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

So, I've been applying to business school which is why we've been derelict in keeping up with this thing. Hopefully that will be settled soon so we can get back to such matters. =)

Until then (and the wait will be worth it), I have one of the best live NBA game I've gone to courtesy of the LA Clippers at Staples Center! That's right, the forgotten NBA sibling in LA. We bought a 4-game "Holiday Pack" that started with Clippers v Celtics this past Sunday. The remaining 3 games will be against the LA Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Atlanta Hawks. At $300/person for the entire package in section 107, we'd say we already got our moneys worth watching Baron Davis dispose of the Celtics with the final 1.5 second, buzzer-beating play.

Turns out are seats are also in the same row as, who we simply call, "Clippers man" (Clippers version of Jack Nicholson):

Lastly, as if all that wasn't enough, purchasing our package got us an autograph session with Blake Griffin (their #1 draft pick and the overall #1 pick of the 2009 draft).

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Los Angeles, CA: 9/11/09

2009-10-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to score tickets to Lisa Leslie's last season home game at Staples Center. The LA Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx (90-61) and Leslie scored 19 points. Leslie was honored in a pregame tribute by her coach Michael Cooper and teammates, the current teams at Morningside High and USC, Magic Johnson, and her family.

Los Angeles, CA: 8/22/09

2009-09-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

We are still going to post about Puerto Rico, but, until then, we decided we need to knock off some smaller posts in order to prevent an unrecoverable backlog.

I will begin with our daytrip of 2 Los Angeles area museums. First up was the Pacific Asia Museum (PAM), which is located in Old Town Pasadena, right across from the Westin. This museum is one of only four U.S. institutions dedicated exclusively to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. We've been members of this museum for almost a year now, and this membership is what provides us with free admission to museums across the country. We went to PAM on this particular day because they were having a special Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Demo and Tea Tasting event. We had the pleasure of learning what a typical day is like for those living in the Shaolin Temple and got to see a kung fu demo, but, by far, the coolest part was getting to sit with Master Shi Yan Xu in a Shaolin tea ceremony!

We also had the privilege of sampling and learning more about fine teas from tea purveyor Linda Louie:

After PAM, we had lunch at Lawry's Carvery at L.A. Live as they were having a buy one get one free deal when you show any museum stub. Once we were done with lunch, we headed to The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). There are actually 3 MOCA locations in Los Angeles; we went to the one in downtown on Grand Avenue. As far as contemporary art museums go, this was the largest I've been to and, not surprisingly, the exhibits weren't as shocking as others I've seen elsewhere. There was a good collection of Rothko (who I learned of in Houston), Pollock, Warhol, and, of course, weird contemporary art stuff.

Stay tuned for more mini updates! The 2 pictures of the Shaolin tea ceremony and tea tasting are courtesy of the Pacific Asia Museum.

Cost Breakdown

$5.00 - Parking at the corner of Grand Avenue & Kosciuszko Way (weekend flat rate)

Parking is free at the PAM and MOCA is one of the museums we get free admission to for being members of PAM. General admission is usually $9 and $10 for PAM and MOCA, respectively.

Miami, FL: 8/13/09 - 8/16/09

2009-09-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Miami is actually a continuation of our Puerto Rico trip. Our Puerto Rico package only covered travel to/from Fort Lauderdale, so to get to/from Fort Lauderdale/Miami we flew Southwest.

Day 1
Our 4:15PM flight out of PR got us to FLL at 7PM (no time difference btwn the two). We picked up our rental car and arrived at Miami Beach at 8PM to meet a friend and her roomates for dinner. We went to Gotham Steak, which was located in the Fontainebleau Hotel and a short walk down the oceanfront boardwalk. Luckily, we happened to be there during Miami Spice. We both ordered off the Miami Spice Pre Fixe (3 course) Menu. We had the tuna tartare and corn soup for appetizers, grilled skirt steak and braised veal cheeks for entrees, and vanilla cream doughnuts and warm chocolate bread pudding for desserts. We each also had a glass of wine. Summarily, we felt the food was fine but not memorable.

For our 3 nights in Miami we had the pleasure of staying at the place our friend was renting, which was located in Miami Beach right on the beach. It was nothing short of incredible (pictures are below). Thank you for letting us stay! :)

Day 2
Our first stop on our first full day was the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. We didn't really know what it was, except that it seemed like a big deal and the name was enough to pique our interest. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it's the largest freshwater pool in the US. Unfortunately, it's probably also the most expensive as it was a whopping $10.50 for an adult day pass. So we just snapped a couple pictures and left.

Also on the National Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark, we also stopped by the Freedom Tower. During the 1960s, this building was where Cuban immigrants fleeing the communist Castro regime were processed.

We had lunch nearby on Calle Ocho (8th Street), which is the main street that runs through Little Havana. We went to Exquisito Restaurant and took a stroll along the street after lunch, stopping for some coco frio.
After lunch we headed back to enjoy our friend's place, driving back through South Beach to admire the Art Deco District.

For dinner, we chose another restaurant participating in Miami Spice: Casa Casuarina a.k.a. the Versace Mansion. It was both very cool and quite eery eating in Versace's house where he was also shot on the front steps. The mansion has also been converted to a nightclub and hotel, with rooms starting at $1,200/night. I took a picture of the menu so that describes everything we had except the drinks.

As should be expected, Versace lived right where all the action is in South Beach, so after dinner we were able to walk around and enjoy the nightlife. Walking south on Ocean Street brought us to the Clevelander:

Yes, that is a flamenco dancer over the hotel pool. Yes, that is a lady on stilts. And this was when it was only 10PM. Miami is, quite simply, off the hook. It is an older (and less diverse, compared to LA/Vegas) crowd but they really do party 'til 6 in the morning. I have no idea how people hold steady jobs here. Anyway, the rest of our night consisted of similar sights and oysters and champagne at Hotel Ocean, where we also befriended a local businessman.

Day 3
Based on a recommendation from our friend, we went to Tap Tap for lunch on our last full day in Miami. Tap Tap features Haitian food and music, which came up in npr's All Things Considered in the days following the Haitian quake (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123784163). While there, we met a couple that was visiting from Sarasota, FL and checking out the art museums. We ended up sharing a table with them and got to try some of their food!

As we left lunch the rain started to come down. It quickly turned to a downpour that continued for the duration of our hour long drive to Everglades National Park. We waited out the rain at the Main Visitor Center (entering through Homestead) where they had an amazing artist's exhibit. We took advantage of a break in the rain to drive to the Royal Palm Visitor Center and do a short (<2 mi) hike to see alligators. Before we even began the trail we got treated to a vulture sighting in the parking lot.

The Everglades are huge and we barely scraped the surface with this visit so we definitely plan to visit again in the future. I will also remember to try and cover any exposed skin as to not get ravaged by mosquitos again. We had to make a pit stop back at where we were staying to clean ourselves up before heading out for dinner with a friend of ours who lives in downtown Miami. We drove to his place, then walked around and surveyed the numerous food choices and ultimately decide on a french bistro called Provence Grill. We had charcuterie, escargot, and steak tartare. Our friend had short ribs. It was all good. Afterwards, we stopped by an italian market for dessert: coconut flan and cannolis.

Brickell Avenue, the street on which our friend lives, is apparently home to the largest concentration of international banks in the US. We hung out at his place until it was time for all of us to sleep. Here's the view from his balcony, which also overlooked the pool and was accessible from floor-to-ceiling windows:

Day 4
Alas, Sunday had to come. Our flight was at 1:15PM which gave us one more meal. We ended at the same place we started at when this trip began: the Five Guys in Fort Lauderdale. Now, I had liked this place before Obama made it popular and it wouldn't be until after this trip when I would find out that Five Guys has made it to the West Coast!

We had a short 1 hr 5 min stop in Tampa Bay en route to our 6:30PM arrival in Ontario. I just happened to be looking out the window when we were passing over Houston, which I thought was pretty cool. You can see the Toyota Center, Minute Maid Park, and the downtown buildings - Chevron (ex-Enron), Dynegy, etc!

Cost Breakdown

$300.40 - 2 1-stop flights from ONT to FLL on Southwest (we used a free flight award for our flight back)
$118.77 - 1 night at Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Airport-North (for the night before we left for Puerto Rico)
$119.59 - 3 day car rental @ FLL from Hertz, with $10/day discount
$123.00 (includes tip as we can't find the itemized receipt) - Dinner at Gotham Steak in Fontainebleau (2 Miami Spice pre fixe meals + 2 glasses of wine)
$113.36 - Dinner at Casa Casuarina (2 Miami Spice pre fixe meals + 2 drinks, 1 of which was $19.62 by itself)
$64.64 - Dinner at Provence Grill (charcuterie, escargots, steak tartare, 2 glasses of wine)
-----------
$862.64

San Juan / Rio Grande / Fajardo / Arecibo, Puerto Rico: 8/9/09 - 8/13/09

2009-08-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

We bought our package to Puerto Rico from cheapcaribbean.com, which included flight (Ft. Lauderdale to/from San Juan) and hotel for 4 nights. Thanks to the financial crisis, many tourist destinations aggressively stepped-up their marketing and none more so than Puerto Rico (I saw ads on radio, TV, and internet). We also seriously considered Hawaii, Bahamas, and Aruba, but with our package coming in effectively below $900 for both of us, the price couldn't be beat (plus we get the opportunity to hit up Miami).

Day 1
We flew in the night before and stayed at Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale, which offers free airport shuttle service. Once we arrived at the terminal, I was immediately thankful that PR is domestic travel; the line for international travel was out the terminal and wrapped around several times on the sidewalk! We flew Spirit Airlines, which has notoriously low rates for travel all around the Carribean, but is literally a bus in the sky. It was extraordinarily cramped and pretty dirty. This will more than likely be our last time flying them. We were not forced to fly them because we bought a package (we could have flown JetBlue for the same price) but we chose them because they had more flights. However, in the future, I will work around JetBlue's schedule. Thankfully, Spirit did get us there safely and on-time. The flight schedule was to leave at 10:35AM and arrive at 1:10PM, with no time difference.

Our first order of business was to pick up our rental car, which gave us our first experience with "island" service. After getting our car, we drove about a 100 yards to a place we saw on the way to the rental car office from the airport shuttle. To say the least, we were starving. Having no doors and being a local establishment, Bebo's BBQ forced Uyen to quickly brush up on her Spanish to get us our half chicken. It ended up being the best chicken both of us have ever had. The skin was perfectly cripsy and the chicken fell off the bone. It was amazing and a wonderful way to start our trip. And, yes, that is a McDonalds behind me.

After our first meal, we headed to Old San Juan. Parking is horrendous and, after circling around more than a few times, we parked in a questionable spot. We asked a lady if it was okay to park there and she walked us to the police station to ask. The officer told us it depends on if the individual police officer decides to ticket on that day. If he does, we're screwed. If not, we're safe. He also added that since it was Sunday, we were probably safe. Weird, I know. So we just left it in our questionable spot and went to La Bombonera for mallorcas. This place was featured by Rachael Ray and has been around since 1902. After mallorcas and jugo de china (orange juice), we strolled around Old San Juan. We went to the official visitor's center, where we got free rum punch and travel size Bacardis for being the last visitors of the day. We walked around the outskirts of the city, marveling at the fortifications that used to surround it and getting a preview of the forts we'd visit the next day. We also ran into a lot of stray cats.

For dinner we stayed in Old San Juan and ate at Restaurant El Jibarito. We shared a grouper fish plate with fried yucca on the side, which was $13.95. Luckily, we got the last empty table as there was quite a line when we were leaving. After dinner we headed back to our car (no ticket!) and made the roughly 1 hr drive east to our hotel, the Wyndham Rio Mar.

Day 2
We slept in and picked up a quick lunch at a cafe in the hotel, eating outside so we could enjoy the scenery. We then made our way back to Old San Juan to visit the 2 venerable forts: El Morro and San Cristobal. Built by Spain to protect San Juan, which was a key entry-way to America, the forts are UNESCO World Heritage sites. We paid for parking this time, finding a place near El Morro. To get to San Cristobal, we hopped on Old San Juan's free trolley service that took us directly from fort to fort. For each, it takes at least an hour to fully walk around and just peruse the readings on the exhibits. In my opinion, the 2 forts are unique enough where it's worthwhile to visit both. Also, admission is slightly discounted if you purchase both ($5 for both as opposed to $3 each per person). Old San Juan itself has many points of interests in addition to the forts. There are many museums, historical buildings, restaurants and nightclubs. Old San Juan is also where the cruise ships stop when they visit Puerto Rico.

We had dinner nearby at a place a good friend recommended: Cafe Puerto Rico. We had sancocho, an awesome soup that was recommended by the regulars sitting next to us, sausage, and mofongo. We weren't crazy about the exorbitant amount of yucca in the mofongo, but the soup was incredible. The restaurant also offered outdoor seating which allowed us to soak in the ambience.

Day 3
We stayed at the Wyndham Rio Mar, located in the city of Rio Grande. We were extremely satisfied with our room. The resort has its own private beach, two pools (we went swimming just about every night), and iguana feedings every morning! I wanted to make sure we got this into our trip so we took this morning to comprehensively explore our resort and feed some iguanas.

Although we were about an hour away from Old San Juan, we were practically adjacent to and minutes away from El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the US National Forest System. The first decision visitors have to make is whether or not to visit the El Portal Visitors Center. The cost is $3/person and most people say you can skip it as the exhibits aren't very interesting. I don't disagree but we decided to check it out anyway since this is kind of a once in a lifetime experience. There was a short introductory video that was nice (narrated by Benicio Del Toro), and I just considered it a nominal donation fee. There's also a cafe there, but it's not anything special. We heard there were shacks on the drive up and our first objective became finding them and getting lunch. Shortly after El Portal, we passed by a shack that was selling food but decided to keep going as the map indicated a large grouping of food places further down the road. Unfortunately, we would discover that it was pretty deep into the forest and was the same freaking place as the restaurant in the Visitors Center, which was mostly standard fare that could be had anywhere. Except here, the line was long, so getting the food took forever. The food was okay, though, and we did meet a friendly couple that was in PR for their niece's wedding and staying at the same resort as us. But for any fellow shack-lovers: the first food shack near the entrance is the only one! After lunch we took the sub-half hour La Mina Trail to La Mina Falls. The water at the base of the waterfall is deep enough to swim around in, but it was very crowded. We then drove about as far up as you can go by car then began our descent (you come out the way you enter). There are a number of longer trails near the top, one of which goes to the peak. If only we had more time...

On the way out we made it a point to still stop at the food shack, which can be seen in the last of the pictures above with our faithful rental: the red Kia. We had various fried goodies and smoothies. It was well worth the stop and necessary as our day wasn't over yet.

We left El Yunque around 5pm to drive to the city of Fajardo, located in the upper north-east corner of Puerto Rico, for a "Bioluminescent Bay Kayaking Adventure." Fajardo is home to one of a few bioluminescent bays in the world. What this amounts to is a bay where any motion to the water produces a bright blue-greenish neon glow. From what I remember, this is due to micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) in the water whose defense mechanism is to light up in order to attract large fish that will eat whatever it is that eats them. The bay is secluded and requires quite a bit of kayaking through a narrow channel filled with mangroves in order to get to it. Hence, the organized tour groups. We did our tour with Enchanted Island Eco Tours. While not the cheapest available, we chose these guys due to their attention to safety and emphasis on sustainability (and the cost difference was pretty nominal). Our official tour start time was 6:15pm. For the first 45 minutes we received instructions, signed waivers, put on bug repellent, and got suited up. Then we began kayaking (all the kayaks are tandem kayaks). It was about 30-40 minutes each way and shortly after we started the sky was dark. Our entire group tried to keep in a line through the channel but that was definitely easier said than done. It was dark, so we had our fair share of running into the sides and getting whacked by dangling branches. There were also bugs, most notably mosquitos that stung through clothes and didn't seem to mind bug repellent. It also shouldn't come as a surprise that we also stank by the end. The whole experience, however, was amazing as we witnessed a truly unique phenomenon. We were also much better kayakers on the way back than we were going there. The only unfortunate thing is that it was so dark that I couldn't capture any pictures of the bay. There are some on the internet that show the effect, but I'd say this is something that definitely needs to be witnessed and experienced live.

Now, it was time to head home. Since we hadn't really had a formal dinner, we stopped by a collection of food shacks (if it's not obvious by now, we like "shacks" and use it as a term of endearment). As it was 10pm and a weekday, only a couple were open but, luckily for us, one of them was Ceviche Hut. The ceviche totally hit the spot and we had a nice conversation with the owner, pleasantly ending an inspiring day.

Day 4
We reserved our last full day for snorkeling on the SPREAD EAGLE II (it's the name of the catamaran and the company). We made our way back out to Fajardo for a 10AM departure. They first took us (at least 30ish people) out to a small island off the coast to practice in shallow waters. Then we got back on board, had a sandwich buffet lunch, and made our way to a reef somewhere in the ocean. We then snorkeled until all of us were pooped (and it actually also started to rain just as we were wrapping up). Other snacks (apples, cheese, etc.), unlimited rum, punch and pina coladas were provided throughout. We returned back to Fajardo around 3:30pm. There are a lot of companies that do this kind of excursion. We chose this one because of the food (it was good-keeping in mind that it's on a boat-and there was plenty of it; nobody left hungry) and the fact that everyone keeps their snorkel. The latter was the real selling point for us; we figured it was worth an extra couple dollars to ensure an unused snorkel. There were also a couple people that brought their own equipment, fins and all.

After snorkeling we headed back to our hotel so we could finally enjoy our private beach while it was still light out. Before we got all the way back, we stopped by a market/shack right outside our resort to pick up some "coco frio" (chilled coconut). There is no semblance of local food at the resort, which was the only really disappointing aspect of the resort. There are restaurants, but they are Italian and American or something and extraordinarily expensive (and not good per online reviews). There is great stuff just outside, however, as we discovered with the collection where we found Ceviche Hut and this market. The only other bothersome thing about the hotel was the fact that we had to pay for parking. Everything else was pretty awesome. At the beach, chairs and umbrellas and towels were conveniently available. There's also a casino on the premises that is next to the cafe, which was the only place we ever did buy food from while there. The prices here were reasonable and, in fact, we had their large sausage/pepperoni pizza for dinner before turning in for our final night in PR.
Day 5
For our last day we were originally planning on returning to Old San Juan to visit the museums we had missed and so forth, but, from a flyer I picked up at the visitor's center on the first day, I learned that Arecibo Observatory is in PR (to be honest, I had no idea what it was except that it was the radiotelescope from GoldenEye). Before we went to bed on our final night we decided that we should go out to Arecibo even though it was on the other side of the island. Since San Juan is a regular stop for all the Carribean cruises, I figure there's a good chance we'll be back there, and Arecibo is the only place we could see this thing. Also, we figured we could stop by the Camuy Caves, another popular tourist stop. We left our hotel before 7:30AM with the expectation of getting to Arecibo by 9AM, which I thought was conservative given what Google estimated. Unfortunately, I grossly underestimated the rush hour traffic around San Juan. It also didn't help that it's tucked away in the hills in a rather remote region (although it totally makes sense as to why they did that). Long story short, we wouldn't reach the observatory until after 10AM. Thankfully, there was a vendor there that sold hot dogs and chips on the observation deck. Unfortunately, visitors can't get any closer than we are in the pictures. The visitor center had a "day in the life" type video and exhibits on general space science and work that's been done at the observatory. We spent about 2 hrs here before leaving at noon.

Our flight out was at 4:15pm and we knew we wouldn't have enough time to visit the caves so we made our way back to San Juan. I entered the destination into my Navigon GPS and decided to trust it even when it told me to turn onto a dirt road that we had not taken on the way up. I figured it might be a shortcut and the GPS knew about it so I thought it'd be safe (and, yes, I have seen The Office episode where the GPS takes him into a lake). Anyway, we don't know how long we were on it, but it felt like forever. Midway through, I'll never forget thinking to myself that if we get flat or something worse happens to the car, all I'd be able to say is: "um.. we're on a dirt road and between some trees." That's if we're able to get anyone to listen us at all as the cell reception is limited as to not disturb the radiotelescope. Thankfully, our car made it through and we eventually reconnected with pavement. This experience definitely moved Kia up in my book.

We made good time to San Juan so we were able to make one more stop: the Bacardi factory tour. The tour was just OK as many previous visitors have posted, but each person gets three sample drinks and the entire thing is free. An annoying thing was that your have to take a tram from and back to the parking area (even though it's no further than 100 yards, but someone got hit by a car before), which means that everyone on the tour needs to be finished. All in all, we thought it was worth it and a fitting end to our Puerto Rico trip. The location is absolutely beautiful and we never knew there were so many different kinds of Bacardi!

Cost Breakdown

$973.90 - Package from cheapcarribean.com that included nonstop, roundtrip airfare from Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) to San Juan (SJU) on Spirit Airlines, 4 nights hotel at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, and a $100 debit card (which I literally took to an ATM in the Wyndham and withdrew the cash within minutes of checking in)
$204.24 - Rental car for 4 days from Dollar (I made the reservation through Hotwire and was quoted $96.18, or $19.29/day but opted for the full insurance coverage once there, which doubled the price but is worth it imo for the peace of mind)
$32.10 ($16.05/day) - Parking at the Wyndham; I don't know why I was only charged for 2 days but I did not complain
$10.00 - Combo admission for 2 to both El Morro and San Cristobal
$62.37 - Dinner at Cafe Puerto Rico (this total includes tax as we can't find the itemized receipt)
$6.00 - Admission for 2 to El Portal at El Yunque
$117.70 - Cost for 2 to partake in the Bioluminescent Bay Kayaking Adventure with Enchanted Island Eco Tours
$149.80 - Cost for 2 to go snorkeling aboard the Spread Eagle II
$12.00 - Admission for 2 to Arecibo Observatory
-------------
$1,568.11

Las Vegas, NV: 7/24/09 - 7/26/09

2009-08-07T00:16:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Willy's birthday, we returned to our beloved home away from home, the Venetian hotels in Las Vegas.

Day 1
After checking into the Palazzo on Friday, we made a beeline (bags and all) to the box office, all the way in the Venetian, to pick up the Phantom tickets that came with our special room rate (details of this room rate can be found in the unadvertised Las Vegas offers post). Since there were better seats available for Saturday's show, we opted for that one and I was happy that we would have time for a long dinner on our first night. Before going to our room, Willy insisted on going to Canyon Ranch Spa (bags and all, and also in the Venetian) so he could check out treatment options and possibly set an appointment. After Princess Willy did what he needed to, we finally headed back to the Palazzo and to our room. We spent some time unpacking and freshening up, and then headed to dinner.

Zeffirino's is an Italian restaurant located in the Grand Canal Shoppes of the Venetian, right where the gondola rides begin. We had a table on the second level, which overlooked the shops and gondola rides. We each started with a glass of wine and Willy ordered from the prefixe menu while I ordered Taglierini all' Astice (homemade pasta sauteed with lobster, white wine, and baby shrimp in a light tomato sauce). The prefixe meal started off with this amazing carpaccio, and was followed by some ravioli in pesto sauce. The entrée was beef medallions and dessert was a sampler of tiny pieces of tiramisu and cheesecake, and a mini eclair. During dinner, a violinist and guitarist also played a few songs for us.

After dinner, we tried our luck at the slot machines in the Palazzo... and found that we were not so lucky. We then made our way to the hotel's Salute Lounge for drinks and dueling pianos.

Day 2
We woke up and had lunch at San Gennaro, located in the Venetian casino food court. Willy just had to have his bacon cheese fries and we found that this place puts real pieces of bacon on their fries, not just Bac-O Bits! Undisciplined me enjoyed them as well. We gambled while our food digested and then headed to the pools.

Due to the heat, we had plenty of company at the pools. Willy and I swam (yes! I've learned how to swim) for about an hour before Willy had to leave for his spa appointment. I stayed poolside and read for about another hour before I went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We had dinner at Charlie Trotter's restaurant, Restaurant Charlie, in the Palazzo. Trotter's flagship restaurant is located in Chicago and has a months long waiting list. To begin, Restaurant Charlie doesn't just put a bread basket in front of you after you order. We were served different courses of breads throughout our meal; we each had a slice of French bread, a mini loaf of raisin bread, and a Spanish chorizo roll. The servers work as a team and even synchronize serving dishes. We also ordered from personalized menus that wished Willy a "Happy Birthday."

The restaurant has quite an extensive wine list and the half bottle of German Riesling we shared was amazing. Willy ordered the tasting menu and I had ocean trout with eagle rock oysters and ginger broth, which was poured on once the dish reached the table. It was a dish recommended by the server and was fresh, rich, and flavor packed. Willy's tasting menu consisted of eight courses, including two dessert dishes:
1. Geoduck, Manila Clams & Periwinkles with Lemon & Chervil
2. Australian Blue Fin Tuna Tartare with Hijiki Seafood & Daikon
3. Diver Sea Scallop with Shishito Pepper & Hearts of Palm
4. Four Story Hills Sweetbreads with Chanterelles & Mustard
5. Muscovy Duck with Thai Basil & Yuba
6. Dry- Aged Ribeye with Pearl Onions and Parmesan
7. Basil Semifreddo with Strawberries & Olive Oil Ice Cream
8. Dark Chocolate with Banana & Roasted Hazelnut

In addition to what we ordered, we also had a scallop dish before our meal, a palate cleanser (melon sorbet and prociutto) after our savory dishes, and a plate of chocolate confections after dessert, compliments of the chef.

After spending more than two hours at dinner, we rushed off to Phantom at the Venetian. We were only eight rows from the stage and I enjoyed every moment of this musical. I am still in awe of the staging and special effects.

Following the show, we gambled and then headed to Lavo for complimentary drinks, a gift that came with our Phantom tickets. We ended our night with a couple of drinks each ( I picked up another pair of tickets from the floor of the theater) and being amused by very drunk people flirting with each other at the bar (or at least I was).

Day 3
We packed up and reluctantly closed the door to Suite 41-837 one last time. We had lunch at Cafe Santa Lucia, in the same food court as the day before, checked out, and, since we couldn't say goodbye just yet, headed to the pools. We swam for about an hour, sat in the jacuzzi for about another 15, and then set out for home.

Cost Breakdown

$400.96 ($179+tax/per night) - 2 nights at The Venetian (inclusive of the Phantom tickets and other special offers)
$92.48 - Dinner at Zeffirino's with 20% discount on my pasta plate
$230.00 - 80 min Deep Tissue Massage at Canyon Ranch Spa with $50 discount
$229.82 - Dinner at Restaurant Charlie with 20% discount
-----------
$953.26

Laguna Beach, CA: 7/18/09

2009-07-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Laguna Art Museum is located right along the ocean, on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). The most astonishing thing about the museum, though, has to be the visiting exhibit... Warcraft! The official name is WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon, and it runs until October 4, 2009. It encompasses 2 floors (ground floor and basement) and is dedicated to the art of Warcraft (official Blizzard stuff and fan art). It is surreal. I love Warcraft and all, but never did I imagine that I have the makings of an art exhibit right in my own closet (I mean, I own every game between the original and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne). Here are some pictures (these were taken with my phone, so please excuse the lower quality):

The Laguna Art Museum also has its permanent collection, where the art is by local artists or has the local area as the subject. These occupy the 2nd/top floor of the museum, which is not all that big.

Also, within walking distance of the museum is a fantastic gelato place (Tutto Amore Gelato @ 247 Broadway Street), which also has interesting flavors such as flower of milk and habanero chocolate.

The reason we were even down in the OC was because we were visiting a friend in Emerald Bay (a secluded, private community located along PCH just north of downtown Laguna Beach). We arrived at Emerald Bay in time to catch the sunset and were immediately reminded of how beautiful it is there. I didn't take any pictures this time, but here are some I took last July:

Cost Breakdown

$3.00 - Metered parking right outside the museum on Cliff Drive @ $2/hr

The museum was free for us because it's another one of the reciprocal museums (and our membership expires soon). Regular admission is usually quite steep at $15 per person. The museum is not very big but is in a prime location.

Addendum to Denver, CO, USA: 7/10/09 - 7/12/09

2009-07-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing from Uyen's Denver post...

After dropping Uyen off on Sunday, my home for the following 2 days was Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center (my company likes to use Hyatt Place hotels, too, for their economical pricing). Anyway, the whole reason I even felt the need to have this addendum is to highlight the dinner I had on Monday. Right across from the hotel (they share the same parking lot, in fact) was Yia Yia's Eurobistro. The rightmost picture is a shot of the restaurant from my room. I stopped by for dinner at 6pm and was seated on the patio, which overlooked a small park. I started with the house soup, which, on this night, was shrimp bisque with truffle (from Italy, my waitress told me). To my delight, there was also complimentary bread that came with a heavenly hummus/olive oil dipping sauce. My main entree was seared sea scallops, which was paired with a glass of Jordan Chardonnay. Here's Yia Yia's menu. The company will be picking up the tab on this one, but it is definitely a place I would go back to on my own without hesitation. It was 1 of the 10 best (and maybe even in the top 5) meals I've had in my life.

Since I'm here, I'd also like to include some of the art we saw at the Denver Art Museum (mouse over the images for descriptions):

Lastly, a general note: rental cars are usually more expensive in Denver for some reason. When I was looking on my own, prices for a compact were around $50/day, so I was excited that our corporate rate could get me a midsize for around the same price. The other cool thing was that we ended up with a Pontiac (Torrent) crossover. I felt kinda nostalgiac driving a car whose brand doesn't exist anymore. And, here's a shot of it in front of the Hyatt Place we stayed at for the first 2 days of our trip:

Denver, CO, USA: 7/10/09 - 7/12/09

2009-07-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Why Denver? Willy's company was sending him for a training on Monday and Tuesday so we decided to fly in the Friday before and make a weekend out of it.

Day 1
We flew out of LAX at 5:50PM and, due to some storms over Denver International and having to fly to Alburquerque for more fuel, arrived in Denver a little after midnight. We picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel, Hyatt Place Denver South/Park Meadows. This was when we first noticed there were quite a bit of abandoned cars on Denver's freeways and highways. Anyone know why?

Day 2
We woke up just in time for our hotel's daily complimentary continental breakfast (a feature of every Hyatt Place). For those who prefer a hot breakfast, you can order from the kitchen. After breakfast,we drove to Molly Brown House Museum in Denver. Most people know her for surviving Titanic. She was also a strong advocate for women's rights. In the Hollywood movie, Kathy Bates (not so accurately) depicted Molly, whose actual name is Margaret. Margaret came from a poor Irish family and became rich when her husband, J.J. Brown, discovered how to mine gold, in Leadville, CO, in 1893. They moved to Denver soon afterwards, to the very mansion we visited. Historic Denver has preserved her home since 1970 and gives tours Tuesday-Sunday.

After the tour, we went to the 16th Street Mall for lunch. It is an outdoor mall that I.M. Pei & Partners designed and stretches over a mile. I was really looking forward to eating gourmet hot dogs from Biker Jim, but, sadly, Biker Jim doesn't set up his stand on weekends. But, not to fret, we were at 16th Street Mall with plenty of options. To get a better idea of what the mall was like and what was available, we decided to hop on the mall's amazingly clean and free shuttle system, which stops on every block, and head to the two must-sees "in" the mall.

Just a short ride later, we got off on Wazoo and headed to Rockmount Ranchwear. The CEO, Jack A. Weil, started his business in 1946 by introducing America to the first western shirt with snaps. Fans (past and present) include Elvis, Bruce Springstein, Nicholas Cage, and Keifer Sutherland. On the second level of the store is a museum where you can read about the history of the business and see the different styles of western shirts. This is where I read articles about Mr. Weil being the oldest CEO. He went to work daily, up until his passing last year, at the age of 107.

After Rockmount, our stomachs growled and demanded that we eat lunch. We had to save the second must-see for later. For lunch, we hopped back on the shuttle and headed back a few blocks to a street corner stand. The stand was cute and we were hoping the food would taste as good as it smelled (or I was really, really hoping because I had already messed up lunch plans). Thankfully, Boney's Smokehouse was great. We shared a hot link (a real hot link, the spiciest one I've ever had), potato salad, and cole slaw. Willy also had a rib.

We headed back to our car after lunch to head to our next destination. Although the car was parked only about three blocks away, we took advantage of the shuttle service. On the way to the shuttle stop, Willy ran ahead of me and got a picture of the 16th Street Mall and the surrounding landscape:
Things to note in the picture: 1) D&F Clock Tower: built in 1910 and is Denver's first skyscraper. 2) Fabulous and dependable shuttle: courtesy of Regional Transportation Department and, again, completely free to riders. 3) Spot me?

When we got to our car, we drove southeast to the Civic Center Cultural Complex to visit the Denver Public Library and the Denver Art Museum. Please keep in mind that everything we did on this day is in close proximity to each other. The shuttle service alone allows you to shop, eat, visit museums, arcitectural wonders, and government buildings (including the Capitol and U.S. Mint) all in one trip. We didn't take the shuttle to the complex but we did use it to get back to the opposite side for dinner.

Denver Public Library was designed by architect Michael Graves, who also designed Walt Disney Corporate Headquarters in Burbank, CA. Denver Public Library is the largest library between Los Angeles and Chicago and over a million people visit each year. While walking from the library to the art museum, the clouds moved in and it started to rain! It was strange. One moment, it was sunny and we were enjoying lunch outdoors, and, the next, we were running for cover. Willy later found out that this weather was pretty normal for Denver.

Since the Denver Art Museum closed at five, we only had about an hour and a half. We had to decide if that would be enough time to get through everything. Focus on just a few exhibits? Nah! We opted for breadth over depth. Thus, this began "DAM Tour: Turbo Style." We took stairs instead of elevators and used placards at the beginning of the gallery to help us focus on a few works each exhibit. The museum is very big; it is two buildings that are connected by a bridge. If you are a lover of the arts and visit the Denver Art Museum, do know it will be worthwhile and that you can spend the whole day (or multiple days, even) there.

Here is a shot of the Capitol from the highest floor:

Even though the Denver Art Museum closed at five, we were not finished with museums at five. We walked about three blocks to the 16th Street Mall shuttle and took it to the other end (Union Station) to get to the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. When planning, I was very happy to find that this museum stayed open later than the DAM. This museum is small (downright miniscule compared to DAM) and only two floors were open as the rest of the museum was inbetween exhibits. Still, good Damien Hirst stuff in this one (inclusive of many broken butterfly wings and a full on bull preserved in formaldehyde).

WARNING: What you are about to read may change your perception of me, or us. Please feel free to skip to the following paragraph. For those who've decided to read through, please do know that we do not enjoy taking pictures of strangers nor do we want to pursue careers as paparazzi. However, we do have this picture: Do we know the two people hugging? No. Do we know at least one of the two? No. Do we know anything about these two? YES! As I was walking across this bridge, after we had left MCA Denver, I walked by this couple, who was sitting on that wooden bench, and I witnessed the guy drop to his knee and propose! It was too sweet, and I couldn't resist. I promise I didn't stare too much and I wasn't too close to them when I took this picture (just kinda). Huzzah to the happy couple!

Okay, time to walk to our second must-see at the outdoor mall. The Tattered Cover Bookstore is the biggest non-chain bookstore I have visited. You can get lost in that store and in those books for hours. They have plenty of vintage, somewhat "tattered," chairs and couches for you to relax and read in. We chose to buy A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, which Willy couldn't wait to get home to read (see picture).

It was about dinner time and we headed on over after the bookstore. The restaurant I planned to eat at was only a block away. Gumbo's specializes in creole food and great service. Creole may not be the first cuisine that comes to mind when thinking about Denver, but this place is great and is definitely going to be a staple in future Denver trips. Our waiter, Eloy, from New Orleans, was confident and honest when recommending good dishes. We each started with a cocktail and then shared a bowl of crabmeat gumbo and crawfish étouffée. We finished off the meal with caramel custard. The bill was just a shade under $50, so this meal will not show up in the cost breakdown.

Day 3
We ate breakfast, packed up, checked out of our hotel, and headed to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. Before planning this trip, I knew nothing about this amphitheatre. Now, I look forward to planning a trip revolved around a concert at this venue (sadly, there were no events scheduled this particular weekend, seemingly the only empty weekend in 2009). A great place to start your visit is at the visitor's center. There is a Performers Hall of Fame display, listing all the events that have been at Red Rocks, and a theater that shows a documentary of the venue's history and covers the legends that have played there. You can also read about the geologic and music history of Red Rocks on interactive educational displays. If you get hungry, there is an on-site restaurant. Just outside the visitor's center is the amphitheatre itself. Besides watching concerts and movies at the amphitheatre, many locals also work out there.

From the amphitheatre, we got into our car and drove a couple of minutes to a trail head. Red Rocks in Denver was originally envisioned to be a driving park, so it doesn't have the extensive trail system of its Red Rock counterpart in Vegas. Our trail started at the Trading Post and looped around to be a little over a mile total. Along the way, we saw the biggest dandelion ever, Willy befriended a deer, and a storm was slowly moving in. Yes, that strange Denver summer weather was catching up to us and we could see lightning in the, not so distant, sky during our hike. Luckily, we made it back before the storm came in.

After the hike, we headed off to Golden, CO, where Coors Brewing Company was born. The brewery offers free self-guided tours with free beer samples at the end. We parked our car at the visitors parking lot, had lunch in downtown Golden, and hopped on a shuttle for a five minute ride to the brewery. At the brewery, we received hand-held devices that led us through the brewery and the brewing and packaging process. When you reach the "hospitality lounge" at the end of the tour, you can sample three servings of beers. Two things I learned: 1) When pouring beer into a cup, you should create a head of foam about two fingers high for peak flavor. 2) Non-alcoholic beer is really, really bad.

The rain started up again when we were walking back to the shuttle but, thankfully, had stopped by the time we reached the visitors parking lot. We had some time before my flight so we were able to catch a light dinner and some ice cream. The airport was about half an hour away and Willy dropped me off with enough time to catch my flight (and find out there was a delay).

Cost Breakdown

$189.20 - 1 Roundtrip flight from LAX to DEN on Southwest (Willy flew courtesy of his company)
$121.94 ($72/$36+tax) - 2 nights at Hyatt Place Denver South/Park Meadows using offer code SUMFAM, which discounts the second night 50% at participating Hyatt Place hotels
$103.97 - Rental car for 2 days from Hertz (the actual rental period was through Tuesday, so this is half of the total)
$16.00 ($8 x2) - Admission and guided tour of Molly Brown House Museum
$4.50 - Metered street parking at 16th Street Mall ($1 an hour and free after 6pm)
$20.00 ($10 x2) - Admission to Denver Art Museum
-----------
$455.61

Notes:
- We received free admission to MCA Denver because we are members of another museum that is a North American Reciprocal Museum.

2nd Retroactive Post Completed! (Palm Springs, CA, USA: 2/21/09 - 2/22/09)

2009-07-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I just completed a retroactive post for our Palm Springs trip this past February. Just like Willy's retroactive post for our spring break Vegas trip, this has been timestamped for the last day of the actual vacation.

We're off to Denver!

Unadvertised Las Vegas Offers: Venetian/Palazzo, Tropicana, Cirque du Soleil

2009-07-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

If you're looking to book a trip out to Vegas in the near future to take advantage of the summer, there are a number of deals available.

Here are some great lodging deals, which are not publicly advertised, that everyone can take advantage of:

From $129 on weekdays and $179 on weekends, The Palazzo is offering 2 tickets to Phantom with a 2 night minimum stay. The following is also included in this offer:
- 20% off bill at Zeffirino
- 20% off bill at Restaurant Charlie
- 2-for-1 drinks at Salute Lounge
- $50 off any spa service 80 minutes or longer
- $25 in slot credits
You won't find this deal publicly advertised on The Palazzo website, so book online here or mention offer code EPXPOTO when calling-in (calling-in adds $10 to the price per night, so I recommend booking online). See the website for available dates, and rooms must be booked by July 13 to take advantage of this offer.
If you're just looking for a room and don't want any extras, rooms in the Venezia tower at The Venetian are available at $109 on weekdays and $159 on weekends. Rooms in the main Venetian tower and The Palazzo are also available at slightly higher prices. You must call-in to 888-868-0282 and mention promotion code CAIAVC to get these rates, which were negotiated with a local asian television channel in Los Angeles. These promo rates may expire at anytime, and a 2 night minimum stay is required.
If, on the other hand, you're just looking for a room and want the cheapest rates on The Strip, rooms at the classic Tropicana are available for as low as $29.95 on weekdays and $59.95 on weekends; just call Tropicana at 800-545-4989 and mention code DBFF709. This offer is valid July 1 through September 30, 2009.

And, if you are going to Vegas and want to catch a show, the quintessential Vegas show is Cirque du Soleil, with 6 shows permanently playing in Vegas. The following offer is advertised, but, in case anyone wasn't aware, Cirque du Soleil is offering a buy-one-get-one-for-$25 ticket sale for all 6 of their Vegas shows to celebrate their 25th anniversary. This kind of offer is unprecedented for Cirque tickets and can't even be matched by the half price ticket outlets (as Cirque tickets are never fully discounted the full 50%). Visit Cirque du Soleil's promotions page for more information on buying tickets and other promotions.

For even more information and ideas about what to do in Vegas, be sure to visit our other Vegas travel guide blog posts.

1st Retroactive Post Completed! (Las Vegas, NV, USA: 4/12/09 - 4/16/09)

2009-07-03T16:40:00.001-07:00

I just finished our first retroactive post, which details our spring break Vegas trip! To keep the chronology in tact, the post has been timestamped for the last day of the actual vacation.

Also, if anyone's lucky enough to be going to Vegas next week, Carmen Electra will be guest-starring in Crazy Horse Paris from July 8 - 13.

Visit all our Vegas travel guide blog posts for more information on Crazy Horse Paris and other Vegas sites and attractions.

West Hollywood, CA, USA: 6/19/09

2009-06-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Two Fridays ago, Willy and I set out for RH Restaurant & Bar in Hyatt's new Andaz West Hollywood hotel, which opened Jan. '09 on the Sunset Strip. For being a Hyatt Gold Passport member, Willy received a mailer that offered a "complimentary entrée when dining with another guest" (fancy talk for BOGO free).

Due to LAPD sobriety checks in Echo Park, our drive took longer than expected. RH offers valet parking but, even with validation, it's still $7, so we found a spot on the street. We parked by Cabo Cantina (where the meter was $1/hr) and headed two blocks west to the hotel, passing Miyagi's and Saddle Ranch.

To get to the restaurant, make a right once you enter the hotel. Before you will be this:
Everything is really open. There is no real entrance, no formal host/hostess stand, and you can see the chefs in the kitchen, the produce in the refridgerators, and all the wines along the wall (as seen in the left side of the above picture). RH is known for only serving the freshest market products. In addition to the usual bread and butter, we received fresh vegetables and dip. For an appetizer, we ordered oysters, which came with a delicious sausage. Ever since our trip to Seattle, Willy has turned into an oyster fanatic. If you have any oyster recommendations, please do share.
I followed the oysters up with a hanger steak. I ordered from a cool "market list" menu that listed the fresh market products of the day. With a pencil, you mark what you want (kind of like American dim sum) and it goes straight to the chef. With the hanger steak, I had asparagus, spinach, mushroom, and garlic and peppercorn sauce on the side. Willy had the market fresh fish, which on this day was sea bass off the coast of Santa Barbara. We also ordered "triple fried" french fries on the side, hopeful that it was somehow less unhealthy given the unmistakeable healthy theme of the restaurant. Willy also had a glass of Alondra Chardonnay and I finished with a cup of joe. To say the least, we were "unbutton your pants" full and left happy.

Cost Breakdown

$2.00 - Metered street parking on Sunset Blvd. for two hours
$69.90 - Dinner with 1 appetizer, 1 entrée (sea bass was complimentary), 1 side, 1 glass of wine, and 1 cup of coffee
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$71.90

Notes:
- RH Restaurant is on OpenTable.com
- For the full menu and prices, click here

Las Vegas, NV, USA: 6/12/09 - 6/14/09

2009-06-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

This was actually our 3rd time to Vegas this year and 4th in the last 6 months, so our primary goal this trip was to give me (Willy) some much needed R&R following the CFA exam the weekend prior.

Outside of gambling and taking it easy, we did do 2 new things: we watched The Price is Right LIVE! show at Bally's and had a nice dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio, located in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian.

Day 1
If anyone from LA is wondering, we got on the 210 @ Santa Anita at 3:50PM and were able to reach Primm at exactly 7PM. We had dinner at the Primm Outlets at Cafe Koraku, a regular stop of ours and a place I highly recommend if you're looking for cheap and good asian food, specifically ramen & fried rice. For this trip, we stayed at the Venezia tower at the Venetian, for which I received a mailer for $79/night through June 30th. N.B. The Venezia has a separate check-in area on the 10th floor, but, if there's a backup there, I'd recommend checking in downstairs as there were only 1-2 awfully slow attendants available on the 10th, even on a Friday.

Day 2
After having a quick breakfast at San Gennaro Grill (located in the Venetian food court adjacent to the casino), we went to the Tix 4 Tonight half price show tickets booth just north of the Wynn to see what they had. We had been tracking prices for The Price is Right LIVE! show ($55+tax at the box office, $39+tax at bestofvegas.com) so we were excited when we saw it for $32+tax at Tix 4 Tonight. The show started at 2:30PM and, while there were a lot of people, it wasn't full. Our host for the day was the guy who did Supermarket Sweep. There were 5 bidding contests to get on the stage, 1 big wheel spinoff, and 1 showcase showdown. Uyen and I didn't get called down for any of the games, sadly, but the guy sitting right in front of me got called down for the first event, bid exactly correct and got $100, and got on stage (didn't win anything up there, but cool nonetheless)! One thing different from the show was that for each event, brand new people were called down, so they cycle through a lot more people. So, it was always 4 new people bidding, and the showcase and big wheel contestants weren't drawn from the people who had already gotten on stage. There was a car (Nissan Versa) available to be won in the showcase showdown, but a contestant had to come within 100 dollars of the actual price of the showcase to win everything. Otherwise, the contestant with the closest bid without going over won a Mexico cruise (one of the items in the showcase). Both contestants overbid on the day we were there, so nobody won anything in the showcase. All in all, a very enjoyable show (even though we didn't get called up); we learned quite a bit about the history of the show, our audience was very into it, and it was a good deal IMO for the 2 of us at $70. That said, it's not something the 2 of us would feel the need to do again unless it was with a large, interested group.

After the show, we had a quick snack at the Venetian food court (in the Canal Shoppes, where you can't charge to the suite btw, in case anyone is after resort loyalty points, like me) and then hung out at the Venezia pool deck (lots of kids this weekend - bleck!) until dinner, which was at Wolfgang's Postrio. We actually received a 25% off coupon to Pastrio in our suite on both nights, but the expiration date was 3/31/09. I called the concierge about this and got a rude woman who stated that it would not be accepted and the coupons shouldn't have been placed out in the first place. Undeterred, and definitely not pleased, we stopped by Postrio before heading out in the morning and was very pleasantly assured our discount would be honored. And it was, without a hitch. We had a bowl of the split pea soup with dungeness crab, crab/lobster cakes, 2 glasses of Malbec, the ribeye steak, and homemade mixed berry sorbet for dessert. Postrio also serves this awesome complimentary pita bread with hummus and some sort of olive oil/vinegar reduction w/ finely chopped olives. The steak was $48, which they split for us, but when we saw it we were worried that they might have misunderstood and had given us 2 separate orders - it was big! Each "half" was 10-12 ounces. Granted, we don't eat a lot, but, if one is so inclined to get the steak, I'd seriously recommend sharing to leave room to sample the other things on the menu, as well as the pita bread.

OK, so we've all seen those crane games where you can win a stuffed animal. While we were in Bally's, I ran across this: If you win, your prize gets cooked for free!
Day 3
On our last day we just chilled in our suite, bringing back brunch from San Gennaro and the neighboring Rialto Deli. We left Vegas just before 4PM, had dinner at Peggy Sue's in Yermo (salad never tasted so good), and arrived home a little after 10PM.

Cost Breakdown

$172.22 ($79+tax/per night) - 2 nights at The Venetian (also included $25 gambling credit) via Club Grazie mailer
$70.02 - Tickets to The Price Is Right LIVE! from Tix 4 Tonight (visit link for a "$2 off service charge" coupon)
$86.47 - Dinner at Postrio, with 25% discount
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$328.71

Just one note about our gambling on this trip, as I believe it fitting: we discovered a new machine this trip to add to our repertoire of everything Monopoly: The Price is Right! "Always remember to spay and neuter your pets."

Seattle, WA, USA: 05/23/09 - 05/25/09

2009-06-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

We decided to inaugaurate our travel blog with our Seattle trip, taken over Memorial Day weekend.

Day 1
We flew Virgin America nonstop from LAX at 7:40AM. Upon arriving in Seattle a little before our scheduled arrival time of 10:25AM, we made a B line for Seattle's waterfront for Argosy's Harbour cruise, where we would also purchase our CityPasses. At $54 each, they provided us with just about everything we did in Seattle (see cost breakdown below for details). Prior to arriving, we learned our first lesson about Seattle: parking is hell-ish, reminiscent of SF. After sucking it up and paying for parking, we had a quick lunch at Ivar's seafood for some clam chowder (touted to be Seattle's best) and fish & chips; then we boarded the 12:15 cruise. The cruise lasted roughly 1 hour and went around Elliott Bay, giving a good introduction of the skyline and some of the surrounding features.

After the cruise, a couple piers north, was the Seattle Aquarium. Not one of the larger ones I've been to, but still packed with octopuses, jelly fish, sea otters, seals, and the largest puffer fish I've ever seen. Afterwards, we did a little shopping and then made our way south to Tacoma.

We arrived in Tacoma around 4PM (where, on the way, I had the pleasure of discovering that cops in WA use K band), making it in time for the Museum of Glass, perhaps better known to some as the "Chihuly Museum." Aside from live glass blowing demonstrations, the niftiest thing was an outdoor exhibit by Chihuly that resides on a freeway overpass. This just flabbergasted me. In LA, we're happy if there's no graffiti on an overpass, let alone having an unattended art exhibit up there of glass. Here are some pictures to prove it:

After the museum, we made our way to Gig Harbor to meet up with an ex-Edison employee (and 1 of 2 people who originally persuaded me to pursue the CFA). Driving to Gig Harbor, I had an unexpected surprise when I realized I'd be driving over the infamous Tacoma Narrows Bridge! You know, this was that bridge that famously collapsed under high winds and has gone down as one of the biggest engineering gaffes in history. Anyway, so I don't lose my audience, I'll continue.. We had dinner w/ Elliott at a neighborhood restaurant/bar that sat right on the harbor. Afterwards, we had the pleasure of meeting the family and seeing their gorgeous home.To get home, Elliott suggested we take the car ferry across the Sound, so we said our farewells, and just in time, as we barely made the ferry (those things leave on time!). Our home for these 2 nights was the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. After the ferry ride, which took about an hour (both Uyen and I fell asleep) and dropped us back off in Seattle, it was about another 15 minutes due East.

Day 2
To start our day, we had a lox bagel platter, with a Bellini and coffee, for breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel. Our first attraction was the Woodland Park Zoo, located north of Seattle. Parking was still hell, but we actually ended up finding free parking a block away on a residential street. We really enjoyed this zoo, as we spent over 4 hours there, including lunch. We saw bears, goats, eagles, komodo dragons, lions, kangaroos, elephants, leopards, tigers, gorillas, red pandas, bats, a whole bunch of animals that I don't remember what they're called, and penguins. yes, penguins. The zoo did leave me with one lingering question though, which I'm hoping someone can answer for me. I thought cows couldn't bend their knees??
After the zoo we headed back to downtown Seattle for the Seattle Center. This is where the Space Needle and several other attractions reside. Included in the CityPass were the Pacific Science Center (with an IMAX film!) and 2 trips to the Needle within a 24 hour window. So, the rest of the afternoon was spent at the science center until it closed at 5pm before meeting up with Lynne, one of our UCLA friends, for dinner. Lynne found a great New American place called Crow, located 2 blocks north of Seattle Center. The ladies had lamb, I had salmon, and we had the first raw oysters I actually enjoyed. I also had a dry rosé (Castello di Ama Rosato, '07, Italy) that complemented my salmon wonderfully.

After dinner Lynne dropped us off and we went to the Space Needle. It's not the tallest building in Seattle, but it's away from downtown so the great views are unobstructed. We also did some shopping there as the prices weren't too bad; the Space Needle Lego set was actually cheaper than it was at the science center! This concluded our second day.

Day 3
Sadly, it was time to check out of our Seattle home, but we were both very excited to be heading to Pike Place for a Savor Seattle food tour, to which our CityPass also gave us 5 dollars off! We had a little trouble finding parking (we refused to pay parking since it was a holiday and all the meters were free), but after searching for over 10 minutes I was just about to give up when we got a perfect spot a block away from where we were meeting: the newest Starbucks in Seattle. So, our food tour went as follows:
1) it all began in Starbucks with caramel fraps. this is also where we met up with our awesome guide. Each of us, about 12 in all, received an earpiece/receiver that allowed us to always hear her.
2) We made our way across to the street to the entrance of the market. Along the way we received tidbits of history and the guide's experiences, which were generally very entertaining. Our 2nd stop was a crowded donut stand (but our guide always got to bypass the lines and had food waiting for our group).
3) Then, we were introduced to MarketSpice tea and spices. Everything in Pike Place is local as no chains are allowed to be there unless it originated from there, e.g. Starbucks.
4) After that, was the seafood stand. We got free samples of unbelievable salmon and were treated to a display of fish throwing utilizing one of our own group members (see 3rd picture below).
5) Then, we had some local fruits @ Frank's Produce Co.,
6) and amazing clam & seafood chowder @ Pike Place Chowder (this place has just gone on to open another store).
7) Next came some cherries/chocolate from Chukar Cherries,
8) Beecher's handmade cheese and the best mac & cheese,
9) Russian piroshky from Piroshky, Piroshky (which has been featured on Jeopardy!),
10) a visit to the original Starbucks, and, lastly...
11) crab cakes from Etta's, a Tom Douglas restaurant.

Needless to say, we were stuffed. After reluctantly leaving the group, we did head back to the seafood market to pick up salmon strips and a half-pound of salmon, intended for dinner on the plane. We eventually made our way back to the Needle to see the daytime views. I got a great shot of the neighboring Frank Gehry designed Experience Music Project museum (also available in the CityPass as an option). It also just so happened that the Northwest Folklife festival was occuring this weekend at Seattle Center. There were concerts, booths, rides and plenty of people. It was wrapping up when we were finishing up the day before, but we also spent some time perusing the booths this day. But not too long cause we had one final attraction left in the CityPass..

which was the Museum of Flight, conveniently located on the way back to SEA airport. We gave ourselves an hour but saw less than half the museum. We saw what we could, including the SR-71 Blackbird, Concorde, and an original Air Force One. Turns out an hour for the museum was still too long, as we ended up missing our flight and had a rather unpleasant experience involving the security there. N.B. Even though the car rentals are located right in the airport, it still takes a while to get to. The experience did reaffirm our love for Southwest, however, as we ended up leaving an hour later than scheduled and had a short stopover in San Jose, but ended up getting back into LA at roughly about when we were originally scheduled to land. Also, the extra time at the airport allowed us to enjoy our Pike Place salmon:

Cost Breakdown

$159.20 ($59+tax x2) - Nonstop flight from LAX to SEA on Virgin America
$182.40 ($65+tax x2) - 1-stop flight from SEA to LAX on Southwest
$295.16 ($139/$119+tax) - 2 nights at Hyatt Regency Bellevue (parking is free on the weekends) and using code PCNW5K, valid through 6/30, gave us 5000 Gold Passport points, enough for a free night
$55.83 - 3 day car rental from Alamo ($10/day promotion, since expired)
$10.00 - Parking on day 1 at Seattle waterfront
$108.00 ($54 x2) - Seattle CityPass, which includes admission to the Argosy cruise, Seattle Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, Pacific Science Center w/ IMAX film, 2 visits to the Space Needle, and choice of Experience Music Project or Museum of Flight
$5.00 - Parking at Museum of Glass (admission was free for us because we're friends of a sister museum, but admission normally ranges from $8-10/pp and is free on Sundays)
$14.45 - Ferry from Bremerton to Seattle
$78.10 - Dinner at Crow (Uyen had a 3 course prix fixe for $30, my salmon was $25, and we each had a glass of wine)
$72.00 ($37.65+tax x2) - Savor Seattle's Pike Place Market Classics Tour (price reflects $5 CityPass coupon)
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$980.14

A few additional notes about Seattle:
- The state of WA has no income tax, so sales tax is relatively high.
- Being situated further north than where we normally live, we were surprised when we realized the sun was still out past 9PM. Therefore, I'd definitely recommend Seattle as a place to visit in the spring/summer when daylight hours are long (whereas in the winter, the days are short).

Please feel free to comment if you have any general questions or comments, would like to see more pictures (we have lots), or have suggestions on how to make this site better. This is our first post, so all commentary that helps us develop for the future will be very much appreciated. Thanks for visiting!

Las Vegas, NV, USA: 4/12/09 - 4/16/09

2009-04-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

I'll never forget that first letter from The Venetian offering me free nights. Maybe I just really like The Venetian, Vegas, gambling, and getting free stuff, but it felt like I had achieved a rite of passage. I was offered 2 to 4 nights (on midweek dates) for as often as I'd like between February 15, 2009 and April 30, 2009. Constantly reminding myself that I need to keep my job (and to study for the CFA), I resignedly booked only 1 trip for the 4 days that coincided with Uyen's spring break. Given the rather long duration for a Vegas trip, our goal was to see as much of the non-casino sites that we could.

Day 1
So, our 5 day/4 night stay in Sin City began on Easter; but, don't worry, we only left after Uyen attended church. Our first stop of this trip, even before Vegas, was Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, just east of Barstow. Like everyone else who's made the drive between LA and Vegas, we had passed by the signs countless times and finally decided to check it out. Turns out Calico has been under the auspices of Knott's Berry Farm and, therefore, remains well maintained. Calico's heyday was during the turn of the 20th century when silver was being mined there. Around the town now, there are antique buildings/artifacts on display, a couple museums, shops, a short hiking trail, and a train tour that's available. It was similar to other ghost towns I've been to, but this place did remind me that there are Chinatowns everywhere (see the top sign on the signpost and all pictures can be clicked on to view the full-size image).

Day 2
Each day we chose one excursion to go on, returning at night to The Strip to eat, lounge by the pool, and gamble. Our first outing was to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is directly west of The Strip by about 35 minutes when driving. There's a free self-guided audio tour available at the visitor's center, which we did until we got too hungry and had to head back out to Bonnie Springs, the nearest city with food and about 10 minutes away. In case this wasn't clear, there is no food for sale at Red Rock, but Bonnie Springs is more than adequate in case one forgot or didn't know (like us). Bonnie Springs is a quaint little city/attraction that is dedicated to the preservation of "old Nevada" and is founded by/named after a once Las Vegas dancer. The people running the place are extraordinarily polite and the food (classic American fare) isn't bad, especially when starving. We even made some new friends.

Once we were refueled (and had a chance to study the various hikes), we headed back to Red Rock, which basically consists of one 13 mile driving loop with various points of interests/trailheads along the way. There are 19 hiking trails, ranging from 0.75 mi to 6 mi. We decided on the Keystone Thrust trail, which was supposed to be a moderate 3 mi hike to see the "most significant geologic feature" of Red Rock. Long story short, when we got to the end (or basically as far as we could go before dropping off a sheer cliff), we (and other hikers who were there) didn't know what we were looking for! I felt like Rachel in that Friends episode when she couldn't see her baby in the sonogram. I kept on looking for something in the distance to no avail, but, upon coming home and googling, I found out that it was a fault that we were basically walking on/along (reference 1, reference 2). I just want to say: a placard at the destination would have really helped. At any rate, despite our naïveté, the hike itself was great and Red Rock is definitely a place we will return to in the future (after remembering to eat first at Bonnie Springs).

Before even heading to Red Rocks in the morning, we had first stopped at Tix 4 Tonight and picked up tickets for the 10:30PM showing of MGM Grand's Crazy Horse Paris. For the uninitiated, Crazy Horse Paris is MGM Grand's adult show offering and, relative to the others we've seen (Fantasy @ Luxor, X Burlesque @ Flamingo, Folies Bergère @ Tropicana, and Zumanity @ NYNY), Crazy Horse was the hands-down overall favorite for both Uyen and me, plus everyone gets a free souvenir program. Fantasy and X Burlesque were more juvenile (and filled with juveniles, which certainly didn't add to the experience) as was represented by what I'll call the "side-acts," for which both had very crude and borderline offensive comedians. Being Cirque du Soleil, Zumanity is great, but for the price, your money is much better spent seeing one of the classic Cirques (especially "O" and KÀ). A very close second to Crazy Horse was Folies Bergère, which had a skilled and funny magician as its side-act. Sadly, Folies ended its run at the Tropicana in March of this year, just months before its 50th anniversary. It was truly a classic. But, Crazy Horse faithfully carries on the tradition in an avant-garde fashion with terrific side-acts: a popping dance duo and (I'm still not really sure how they did it) a human puppet show featuring "Micro Jackson" (RIP). It's just one of those things you've got to see to understand.

Day 3
Next up was Nevada's first State Park, the Valley of Fire. It is located an hour northeast of The Strip, off the I-15. Once again, there was no food for sale in this park, so remember to eat beforehand! Also just like Red Rock, this park derives its namesake from the red sandstone formations, which resulted from the erosion of huge sand dunes over 150 million years ago. Pretty much all of the sights in Valley of Fire are accessible by driving. There are 2 official hiking trails, both of which are short and easy. The longer one, White Dome trail, is a great 1.25 mi loop, where along the way there are remains of an old movie set ("The Professionals") and a slot canyon to walk through. The shorter trail, Petroglyph Canyon / Mouse's Tank, is a 0.5 mi round-trip hike where various petroglyphs can be seen along the hike. At the end of this one is a natural "tank" in the rocks where rainwater would collect. All in all, this is one of the best parks I've been to that would be educational and fun for all ages.

For dinner this night we had made plans for Thomas Keller's Bouchon, located in the Venezia tower at The Venetian. We made reservations on OpenTable.com before we even left for Vegas, so we were pleasantly delighted when we discovered a 15% off coupon to Bouchon in our suite after the first night. We started with a soup and a charcuterie w/ 4 types of meat (that came out on a cutting board) and our main course was mussels and fries. We also had a half bottle of wine to complement our meal and crème caramel to finish it off. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of our food as we didn't know we'd be starting a travel blog at that time and, quite frankly, we didn't want to look like dorks (but don't worry, we've gotten over that!). We also ate/drank so much that we were both somewhat disoriented after the meal, to the point where we fell asleep, unintentionally, upon returning to our suite and woke up at 2AM to do some gambling. There were still plenty of people down there to join us, though; that's good ol' Vegas.

Day 4
Our last full day in Vegas was dedicated to the Hoover Dam. Working for a company that partly owns Hoover Dam, I was able to pre-schedule a visit (thanks Dennis!). Thankfully, there was also food available here, so we finally didn't have to worry about that and were able to have a pleasant lunch before beginning our tour. We participated in the generator tour, which was about an hour and took us down to see the generators and penstocks. After our tour, we walked along the dam, took some pictures, and visited the museum where the old visitor's center used to be. The picture below of the semi-completed bridge is of the alernative route that will finally alleviate the congestion across the dam (those of you who've been know what I'm talking about). It's good to see it's on its way to completion. Also, I've been to the dam before, but everytime, I'm still awed by how ginormously BIG the whole thing is.

Since it was tax day, we went to McCormick and Schmick's on Flamingo Road (just off the strip) for dinner to partake in their tax day promotion: $10.40 entrées and a $10.40 dinner certificate for a future visit.

Day 5
Alas, the time came to bid farewell to our home for the last 4 nights. We weren't quite done with Vegas, yet, though. Just off the east side of The Strip on Flamingo Road is the Atomic Testing Museum, which was highly recommended to me by Jeff (the manager of my group). The reason the museum is located here is because much of the US's nuclear testing in the past was done in the desert just north of Las Vegas. There are actually historical photos of The Strip with the mushroom cloud after an atomic blast clearly visible in the background. Having been born after the atomic age, this extensive and fascinating museum helped fill in the numerous gaps in our knowledge of the nuclear history of the United States. Anyone who has so much as a passing interest in nuclear warfare (or simply desires to be a more educated human being) should visit this museum.

Cost Breakdown

$10.00 (per car) - Special event (Easter weekend) admission fee for Calico Ghost Town, normally $6/pp
$5.00 (per car) - Admission fee for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
$66.50 ($24.75+tax/fees x2) - Tickets to MGM Grand's Crazy Horse Paris from Tix 4 Tonight (visit link for a "$2 off service charge" coupon)
$6.00 - Entrance fee for Valley of Fire State Park
$91.54 - Dinner at Bouchon, with 15% discount
$9.00 - Admission fee for Atomic Testing Museum (we used a 2-for-1 coupon, which can be found in Las Vegas coupon books scattered across The Strip)
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$188.04

Notes:
- Our 4 nights at The Venetian were comped for being a new Club Grazie member. Click the link for more information on their current promotion for new members.
- Our visit to the Hoover Dam was also comped, but the prices are reasonable. The tours start at $11/pp for the Powerplant Tour (the one we took) and parking is $7 per vehicle.
- Vegas is one of our favorite places to frequent, so visit all our Vegas travel guide blog posts for the latest ideas, reviews, and promotions available.

Palm Springs, CA, USA: 2/21/09 - 2/22/09

2009-02-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of 2008, Hyatt had a "Faster Free Nights" promotion where Hyatt was giving guests a free night for every 2 eligible stays. We earned 1 free night during that promotion and had to use it before the end of February, so we planned a weekend trip to Palm Springs. At a little over 1.5 hours by car, it's close enough for a meaningful 1-2 day trip but far enough away to make it worth a night's stay.

This was our second trip to Palm Springs together and my second time ever. Our first trip was in August 2008, and, although we were able to do many things then, it was too hot to fully enjoy the city. If my memory serves me correctly, there were a few instances where poor Willy almost passed out. But, we had none of those problems on this trip. The weather was perfect for hiking, eating great food, watching an outdoor movie, and visiting an art museum, without the chance of suffering from a heat stroke.

Day 1
We left for Palm Springs on a Saturday morning and arrived around noon. We first stopped at the Palm Springs Visitor Center to find a map to the trails at Indian Canyons. I ended up having to change clothes and shoes here, too, because Willy had "forgotten" to tell me we were going hiking (even when he saw me leave the house in flip flops and jeans). Luckily, I had packed my running shoes and windbreakers. After getting directions, we were off.

Indian Canyons is gorgeous. The weather in Palm Springs is surreal; how can it be 80 degrees in the middle of February?! The first trail we took was an easy trail in Andreas Canyon. This canyon was different from the canyons I've hiked through in LA because the land wasn't all dry and rocky. In addition to the seemingly barren landscape, there were flowers and streams and palm trees! Yes, palm trees! And an abundance of them as well. What made this hike even more special was that we met a great couple and one of the guys offered to give us a little photo shoot (I guess he could tell Willy's method of using nature as a tripod wasn't working out too well):

After this hike, we went on two more trails. The second one was more difficult. Willy left me a couple of times and I wanted to give up, but the view at the peak was worth it. After that we were about to go home when, thankfully, one of the park staff told us there was one more very short one that we just had to do. This last trail was very short (1 mi round trip), easy, and brought us right up to this wonder:

After Indian Canyons, we popped in Willy's Tito Puente CD (Tito and the Springs = almost a match made in Heaven) and drove to our hotel: Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs. It is right on Palm Canyon Drive, the main street in downtown Palm Springs. After checking in, we hit the pool, showered, and walked to dinner.

If you are ever in Palm Springs, you must go to LG's Prime Steakhouse, which has 3 locations (all local to the Palm Springs area). We discovered this place on our first visit and knew instantly this would become a staple in our places to visit in Palm Springs. We were even lucky enough to get the same server, Mima, who remembered us! We started off with an appetizer sampler and escargot melted in butter and alfredo sauce, shared a filet mignon with creamed spinach on the side, and wrapped up with some vanilla bean ice cream. To complement our meal, we shared a half bottle of red wine.

After dinner, we watched a movie poolside at the Riviera Resort & Spa. We saw a flyer at the Visitor Center advertising this as the last event of the "Modernism Week" festivities, which just happened to be this week, and decided to take advantage of it. I admit I don't remember much of the movie (because I might have fallen asleep) but I do remember that the Riviera has very comfortable private cabana beds. They also provided free popcorn and desserts.

Day 2
After packing up, we went to the Palm Springs Art Museum, which was only a couple of blocks away from our hotel. The museum's visiting exhibits were of Wayne Thiebaud, who grew up in California and is famous for his paintings of food and consumer goods, and Robert Mapplethorpe, a master of photography known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and provocative nudes. Here are some shots of Thiebaud's works that Willy snuck in before security asked him to stop:

After spending the morning at the museum, we went to Pomme Frites, a French restaurant on Palm Canyon Road, for lunch before reluctantly heading home.

Cost Breakdown

$12.00 - Admission for 2 to Indian Canyons
$113.03 - Dinner at LG's Prime Steakhouse with 2 appetizers, 1 "In Season Special" Prix Fixe (1 salad, 1 entrée, 1 side, and 1 dessert) for $45, and a half bottle of red wine
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$125.03

Notes:
- Our 1 night at the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs was comped for participating in the Faster Free Nights promotion toward the end of 2008.
- This Hyatt charges for parking, but there is plenty of metered street parking available (that does not run on weekends) all around the hotel.
- We received free admission to the Palm Springs Art Museum because we are friends of a sister museum. Admission prices ranges from $5 for students to $12.50 for adults and is free on Thursdays from 4-8pm.