A Quick One, While He's Away....

Here's a lil update for you all:

1. I'm going to Burbank tomorrow to see some folks I used to deal with at Warner Bros/Warner Music Group.
2. I sent my resume out a whole bunch yesterday, let's hope that lends to fruitful things.
3. I encountered my very first earthquake, today.  The epicenter was in Chino Hills and was a 5.8 on the Richter Scale. (I'm fine, by the way--thank you to all who called, texted, and emailed.)

If you're curious as to what the quotes were from on each of my blogs, here's a list for you:

Intro: "Highway 101" by Social Distortion

Day One: not actually a song, but a quote from a Ditty Bops t-shirt.

Day Two: "Man on the Silver Mountain" by Rainbow

Day Three: "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Day Four: "Viva Las Vegas" as recorded by Elvis Presley, Dead Kennedy's, etc..

Day Five: "Oh Yeah" by The Subways

Day Six: "Building A Legend" by Bullets & Octane

Day Seven: "L.A. Woman" by The Doors

Day Eight: "I Feel the Burning Sun" by Crowbar

Day Nine: "Hang On to Yourself" by David Bowie

and this one was "A Quick One, While He's Away" by The Who

Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J.

Day Nine: "Come On, Come On, We've Really Got a Good Thing Going. Come On, Come On, If You Think We're Gonna Make It, You Better Hang On to Yourself"

Well, this is it...the last day of vacation.  I woke up and laughed at my misfortune upon my torso.  Vince got a little, but his arms are way worse from the drive here.  First on the agenda was to check out, then head to Hollywood and walk around.  I had promised Vince one last In-N-Out journey before he left.

We parked near Amoeba Music on Sunset and Ivar and walked around the Farmer's Market for a few minutes.  We made our way towards Hollywood Blvd.  and walked towards  Highland.  We saw El Capitan theater, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the Kodak Theatre.  We cut down Highland to Sunset and went to In-N-Out for lunch, where Vince ate an identical meal as his first one in Vegas: A 'Double-Double' and a Cheeseburger.  I was starting to really feel my appetite dwindle, and got through a cheeseburger, but barely touched my fries.

We made our way towards the Guitar Center and Hollywood Rock Walk on Sunset, then back towards Amoeba Music.  We went in and I consoled myself with some music purchases: Backyard Babies "Stockholm Syndrome", High On Fire "Surrounded By Thieves" and when I found the 'Rockabilly' section, I nearly lost my sh**, but narrowed it to one album from there, The Legendary Shack Shakers "Believe."

Heading back to the car, slowly, with new music and food babies in tow, it took a few minutes to find the car.  We payed the parking fee and Delilah got us to LAX in decent time, but not too quick, either.  We laughed in the car a little bit, but it was for the most part, a quiet ride.  Our arrival at the American Airlines departure terminal was about 3PM, just as planned.  I helped Vince get his suitcase out and he said "No long goodbyes, bro.  I'll see you soon.  Good Luck." and he hugged me then turned around and went inside.

Leaving LAX, alone, I didn't know what to do or where to go.  I set Delilah for Tim's address, as that's the area I know the best.  I ended up going to the Old Navy in the Beverly Connection which is across La Cienega from The Beverly Center.  I picked up some flip flops and a shirt, then sat in the patio and made some phone calls.

Jackie said to come down by her and crash at her place, if I wanted to.  That was the only thing I had left in my agenda, so I made my way down to Santa Ana.  Jackie called and had to pick her friends up from Huntington Beach, but said she'd be back shortly after I arrived.  I said it was fine and I'd find parking.

It was really good to see Jackie and Wrigley, her dog.  As promised, I gave Jackson (my nickname for Jackie) a big hug.  We went in and fed Wrigley, and caught up.  I played with the dog for a bit and the 4 of us decided to order pizza for dinner.  It was decent, but at that point, my brain didn't really care.  The girls were all watching Gilmore Girls DVD's, and I sorta passed out on the couch half watching them.

I got up about an hour later, washed up and brushed me teeth and laid down on the floor with Wrigley.  I fell asleep petting him, and I guess he kept scooting towards me all night.  When Jackson woke up in this morning, Wrigs was laying right next to me.

That's about all I've got right now, but there may be more to come.  Any traveling I do, I will record on this blog.  It's been quite the journey and I'm glad I did it; T'was a long time comin'.  I miss certain things, here and there, about Chicago, but I haven't quite gotten 'homesick' yet.  Maybe I will, maybe I won't.  Who knows?  I'll miss my friends and family, but they're just a phone call away, and I love them all.

Til next time, Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J.

Day Nine Photos

Day Eight: "On to the Road I've Paved, I Feel the Burning Sun. It's My Own Life I've Saved, I'm Not the Only One. I Found a New Man Underneath."

 ...woke up yesterday feeling fine.  Couldn't say the same for Vince--that $5 champagne did him in, something fierce.  Went to Panera, down the street, and blogged the previous day's adventures whilst munching upon an asiago bagel and lemonade.  Vince was a bit shaky, still, slowly huffing on some water.  

After leaving Panera, we started to make our way towards Venice Beach.  We were meeting my friend Bridget and some of her friends there.  After about a mile, Vince asked me to pull into a gas station, so I obliged.  He got out calmly, went to the bathroom, and returned within 5-minutes.  "I guess it was all the water and no food." He says.  "Oh, but it had nothing to do with the bottle of champagne you practically guzzled yourself?"  As long as he was feeling better, that's my concern, and he said he was.  Continuing on towards the beach, there was traffic, heat, more traffic, and more heat.  Getting off at Venice, we started the long search for parking, which was hilarious at best.  Turns out Bridget and her friends haven't even left North Hollywood yet, but were going to call when they got down there.  We ended up parking at California and Abbot Kinney, which was roughly a 10-to-15-minute walk to the beach.

Finally getting down to the beach, we didn't have a care in the world at that moment.  Where we were going to sleep that night, where we were going to eat later, getting Vince to the airport on time the next day, nothing.  All we saw were water, sand, waves, and sunshine (not counting the many people around us).  The ocean, our boundary from driving any further, was a sign for me, of freedom, of growth, of a new beginning.  I snapped some pictures of seagulls, waves, water, whatever, then found a spot in the sand and just relaxed.  I relaxed my mind, my body, my soul, everything.  I just let it melt and blend with the soothing sound of the waves crashing.  Not using my brain due to the calming hypnosis of the sights and sounds before me, I removed my t-shirt and laid down on the sand.  A nap in the sun was just what I needed.  Vince nabbed the camera and walked around.

Upon my waking up, Vince was back, sleeping in the sand just feet away, and I had some text messages.  It was Bridget updating me on their whereabouts, at that point, I didn't really care.  I laid back down and napped for another 20-minutes, then opted I should get up, realizing that the only sunblock I had used was on my arms and neck: ingenious!  I checked my phone again, and Bridget had told me where they were on the beach.  Vince and I opted to get up and look for them, but after walking about 100 yards, we figured it was like a wild goose chase and we'd meet up with them for dinner.  We sat back down and chatted a bit, Vince was feeling more like himself, again.  We were trying to figure out what to do that night and where to sleep.

Bridget called and said they were heading to the Pizza place that she loves.  Abbot Kinney Pizza, 1407 Abbot Kinney St., which I ended up plotting into my phone's 'google maps' application.  Turns out this pizza joint was 2 blocks from where I parked my car, so it couldn't have worked out more perfectly!  We got the the pizza place and waited about 15-minutes for the remainder of the entourage.  We went in, and it was a 'pizza-by-the-slice' kind of place, with racks of pizzas on those rotisserie pans with the lights.  You know the ones, they put pretzels on them at carnivals.  I asked Vince what he planned to get, he wasn't sure, but opted at the last second to get 2 slices, both of which he inhaled.  I got 2 slices, as well: 1 slice of goat cheese, mushroom, and garlic, and 1 slice of sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese. 

After the pizza, we bummed around the neighborhood for another 30-minutes digesting and clowning around.  We said our goodbyes, and were possibly going to meet up later in the night, but did not.  Vince and I decided to just head back to the same motel that we were in the night previous, seeing as it was only $70 per night.

En route, we thought about just taking it easy that night and maybe going to see Dark Knight again.   Pulling in to the parking lot about 30-minutes later, we went to the office, and were told they had one room left--we took it.  This room, just as creepy as the last, but for different reasons, coaxed some sick jokes out of us.

We checked under the mattress for dead hookers and corpses in general.  An ongoing joke throughout our trip was which motels had bibles and not.  This one managed to have one, in this room, but not the last.  Not only did we find a bible in the drawer, but burn marks around it.  This is where my hypothesis of  the previous tenant was a junkie came from: the burn marks were from incendiary spoons being set down upon injection of mood enhancements. [smack]

Our sick sense of humour had creeped us out enough to decide that we wanted to spend as little time in this room as possible.  Earlier we had asked Delilah where to find an AMC movie theater, since I had 2 free movie passes.  (Long story, short: Some dude came into Estelle's and tried to buy drinks with a stack of movie passes.  It didn't work, but I guess he left them anyway, or as a tip.  Tommy gave them to Berger or vice-versa, and somehow they ended up in Derek's hands.   He gave me a pair, and that's how I got them, yay.)

Our movie destination: Burbank, CA, a mere 10-minute drive from our junkie haven in Studio City.  Getting off the highway, we saw Warner Music Group buildings, so I had a good idea of where I was.  Getting to the theatre, the area reminded me of Schaumburg or Woodfield area, so that was sort of comforting.  The theater was decent, just as I'd expected, we saw a lot of younger people, I just hoped that they'd be quiet during the movie.  They were, but there was one guy a few seats down from Vince that was on his phone in the beginning.  I asked him to take it outside because we didn't pay $10 per ticket to listen to his conversation.  He didn't hear me or chose not to hear me, but the kids a couple rows up got his attention by chucking candy at him.

After the movie, which we both loved all over again, we headed back to the motel.  I showered and my sunburn hurt--BAD.  Yeah, with all that soulful hippy crap I went through at the beach, my better judgement was clouded and i turned myself into a lobster.  Aside from that, the shower was decent.  I felt like 'Kramer' with all the sand all over me.  I laid down and Vince went to shower.  I must've been tired because when I woke up, it was the next day.

Gotta take Vince to LAX later, but first Hollywood...until then, Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J.

Day Eight Photos

Day Seven: "Well, I Just Got Into Town About an Hour Ago. Took a Look Around, See Which Way the Wind Blow"

Mile by mile, this journey to my new beginning slowly comes to a halt.  It's been an interesting ride, full of excitement...

Departing Henderson, Nevada around 11am, as planned, we got on the highway.  My poor car hating Vince, me, and life in general, she managed to keep up the pace despite the heat, weight load, and trashed front brakes (from mountain driving).  Delilah was pretty quiet after getting us onto the highway while Vince and I had our way with the remainder of the beef jerky he had purchased in Page, AZ.

I've noticed, as the days progressed, Vince and I became quieter and quieter.  We were, as Agent Smith in "The Matrix" would say, "delaying the inevitable."  California was getting closer and closer, and the end of a chapter was drawing do a close...enough of that emotional crap right now...

We tried to hit up In-N-Out, again, for lunch, but the line was out the door, so we hit up the "BK Lounge."  I was slowly starting to lose my appetite, not just for fast food, but in general.  The nerves began to kick in; looking for work, living arrangements, and new friends.  I tried not to dwell on it, but it was in the back of my head, and still is.  

Furthering into California, I made some phone calls and got some semblance of a schedule formed for the week.  I still haven't heard back from Tim, my friend in West Hollywood, who was going to be letting us crash on his and Laura's (his girlfriend) couch.   I set Tim & Laura's place on Delilah's destination point and she took us right there.  

En route from the highway, I gave Vince a short off-the-cuff tour of Hollywood from the car.  He saw the "Hollywood" sign in the hills, as well as the Guitar Center on Sunset, the Capitol building at Hollywood and Vine, and the Kodak theatre on Hollywood and Highland.  

Getting to Tim's, we parked by his house, got out, and walked around West Hollywood for a bit.  I was getting worried, as I hadn't heard from him still.  So I called my friend, Mo, who's pretty close with Tim and he said he hadn't heard from Tim in 3 days.  Mo continued to text or call Tim and called me back.  He got a weird text from Tim that neither of us understood, so I just figured we'd better find an alternate option.  

My friend, Devin lives in Studio City, and he said it was cool if we crashed at his place, but from the sound of it, he or his roommates weren't too keen on the idea, let alone it was very last minute.  We asked Delilah to help us find some motels in the area and she did.  $70 per night at "Studio City Inn" on Ventura and Cofax.  Needless to say, we were both nervous to stay in this joint, and didn't feel confident in sleeping, so we did the next best thing: drank.  We went to a mexican joint down the street, "Mexicali" which was pretty decent.  So decent, in fact, that it was a 40-minute wait to get a table.  Asking for 'first available' we ended up getting a table outside on the sidewalk, and immediately ordered a pitcher of margarita.  We both ordered 2 kobe beef tacos and they came pretty quick.  After we were each one taco into our meal, we looked up and without blinking an eye, we ordered a 2nd pitcher of margarita.

If the booze didn't help us sleep, I don't know what would.  We giggled and staggered back to the motel.  Vince got a phone call from Tony, so he took it and walked down the street to Long's drugstore to get some bottles of water.  He got back and we were both still sort of awake and bored--not to mention buzzed--so we took the walk back to Long's.  Vince bought a bottle of $5 champagne, which I questioned all the way out the door.  Illegally, j-walking across Ventura, due to the hilarity and sheer rebellion of it, Vince popped the cork on the $5 "instant hangover".  We were drinking it all the way back to the motel and for the next hour or so.

Vince kept on it while I slowly fell asleep between hiccups and giggles.  I had a bottle of water next to me which I'd started on just to insure no hangover would ensue.  Needless to say, I was fine today, but Vince was an utter mess....

...read more about his splitting headache, barfing at a gas station, and our day at Venice Beach.

Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J.

Day Seven Photos

Day Six: "On the Run With Nowhere to Go. 'Cause I'm Building a Legend in Slow-Mo. Always Waiting Here For Someone to Save Me- I'll Go it Alone."

"Is this a God Dam?"  

Hilariously enough, we did NOT ask the tour guide that question at Hoover Dam...

..Upon M2's advice, we went to Boulder Dam (a.k.a. Hoover Dam) earlier in the day.  I was there on a tour with Dad 11 years ago, and I was rather bored on said tour.  I was 16 and could care less about Lake Mead and the dam and the cooling rods within the dam it self.  Now, that I'm older and more curious, I retained more info from the tour.  I found it interesting that Lake Mead was the largest man-made body of water in the U.S.  They had men working on the construction of the dam, diverting of the river, and everything else 24/7 for 5 years.  I don't want to give away the entire tour, but you can find more out here.

Vince really wanted to walk on top of the dam and see the Arizona/Nevada border.  Unbeknownst to us, we could have done that without the tour, but it was interesting to learn about the dam and its power plant.  We saw turbines and generators as far as the eye can see, it was actually a lot cooler than I remember it--probably because I am older and was awake for the whole thing!

Lake Mead was gorgeous, just glimmering in the sun.  Our view atop of the dam helped that much more.  Got some great views of the Colorado River meandering into the dam.  The colour was so crisp and the lake looked so refreshing; We'd joked about jumping off the dam into Lake Mead, seeing as it was less than 14,000 feet!  Alas, we did not and our knees, ankles, and spines are still intact...for now.

On the way back, we stopped at Best Buy to get a wireless router for M2's computer.  It would make using the internet a lot easier on my laptop.  Vince fell asleep in the car due to the heat and all that dam excitement we had just endured.  Our evening plans were to go for dinner with Mom-Mom to a restaurant she likes called White Chocolate.  After dinner, we were tentatively meeting up with Vince's cousin, Ron, who was living out in Las Vegas doing electrical work.

Dinner was delicious, as were the cocktails with it.  We got Spinach & Artichoke dip for appetizer, along with a soup we split that sounded delicious: Tomato & Gin soup.  The menu instructed that whomever ordered it had to be of drinking age (21).   I inquired as to why if they were cooking with the Gin, knowing that the alcohol would cook out and all the liquid would be reduced to just the flavour.  Apparently they add the gin after the cooking, and its flavour compliments the rest of the ingredients: bacon, tomatoes, and a cream base.  After the 3 of us demolished that bowl of soup, we all agreed that it really was delicious.  

We got back to M2's house and relaxed for a bit.  Ron had fallen asleep and called Vince back apologizing that he would not be coming out since he has to get up at 3:30AM to start work.  Vince and I decided to head downtown for a night on Freemont Street for some 'grown up' activities.  We started at Fitzgeralds, probably my favourite stop on Freemont, then moved up and down hitting all sorts of black jack tables.

Opting to be awake early enough to actually leave on time, we made it an early evening.  We both cleaned up and hit the hay within 25 minutes of our return.  With a fun filled day of dams, power plants, and Las Vegas fun, we were asleep in no time.

Next stop: Sunny Los Angeles....stay tuned!

Rock & Roll, as always,

Uncle J.

Day Six Photos

P.S. Dad- just because I was sleeping through the tour last time, didn't mean I didn't enjoy it..also, I found a 'widescreen' setting on the camera that looks more panoramic...dig it!

Day Five: "Wasting Time, Hanging Out, Oh Yeah Oh Yeah. These Teenage Years, No They Don't Last, Oh Yeah Oh Yeah"

Well, I hate to disappoint, but today, we didn't do a whole helluva lot. We slept in and helped M2 with some 'house chores'.

Things Mom-Mom needed done:

• Change kitchen cabinet light bulbs
  
• Emissions/Smog test
  
• Oil Change
  
• Re-grease garage door chain and rollers
  

Before the chores began, I took M2 and Vince out for breakfast, with some of my winnings, to one of my favourite diners in Henderson, "Blueberry Hill." I had some ridiculously large Mushroom and Cheddar omelette, while Vince inhaled his typical steak and eggs. Mom-Mom had some ham & eggs which looked pretty good. We stopped at the Ace Hardware for replacement flourescent bulbs and WD-40, then off to the Smog testing booth. After passing that test, we dropped M2 off at home then made our way to get the oil changed.

While waiting for the oil to get changed, we ran across the street to Walgreens to get shaving cream since mine exploded in the trunk--eew. I also made some phone calls to people in LA warning them of my impending presence, as well as inquiring about employment.

After getting the car back, we returned to M2's where I crossed off the remaining chores on the list. We also had plans to go to dinner with Marilyn and Bill that night. Upon my entering Mom-Mom's house lastnight with 40lbs of In-N-Out, she asked me what I wanted for dinner Wednesday night. How could have I known before eating dinner I was just holding? I opted for the easiest answer other than "whatever is easiest": Italian.

We picked up Bill at 5:30 and met Marilyn at the restaurant. The girls working there were pretty cute, most of them very tan and had some blotch of different coloured hair (i.e. purple, pink, red, or blonde). I had lobster raviolli and 2 glasses of Cabernet, along with some hot bruschetta and a salad. After stuffing our faces, we went back to Mom-Mom's to relax.

Our evening plans were to meet up with my friends, Jenny and Johnny [yeah, I know], at Elephant Bar for some cocktails and/or dessert. Of course, the glutton I am, I had dessert: hot fudge brownie with ice cream and sauce. We hung out, caught up, chit-chatted, and put on 90 lbs. It was great to see them and hear that they were doing so well. They're planning their wedding, which will be back in Chicago next summer. After splitting up with them, Vince and I opted to go to Green Valley again to play some more Black Jack.



We had a little more difficulty finding tables, but after some patience and perserverance, we were fruitful in our findings--at 2 separate tables. After a little bit, I moved over to Vince's table, because the dealer at mine sucked and pulled 2 black jacks on a new shoe. Rule #1: Know when to walk away.

At the new table, I moved positions a couple times, as I dislike the earlier positions and I wanted to sit by Vince, who was in the 'power seat'. He was doing okay, as was I, and we liked April, the current dealer. She was friendly and earned her tips by being entertaining and joining the banter b/t Vince and I. We were the only lucid people at the table, the only other guy there was not only falling asleep at the table, but kept pulling 21's. I was rather appalled, but so be it. Some girl came up, in an inebriated fashion, and asked "What's this?" to which Vince replied sarcastically, yet humorously "A casino." April, the dealer chuckled a bit and the young passer by retorted "The game, d**khead. I know it's a casino, I work here."

By the look on April's face, she didn't know this girl, so she obviously didn't work there. After she walked away, our friendly dealer joked with us saying that that girl "worked" there as a "working girl" haha. Good times for all. Some 30 minutes later, that girl walked back up and asked if she can sit at the table and play, to which I'd said "Only if you're polite." She looked at me in question and I expanded on my statement: "You were rather rude to my buddy on your last pass around. It was unnecessary. We're here for fun, not verbal abuse." She asked the sleeping man with cauliflower ears next to her "Was I rude earlier?" He just nodded and mumbled "Well, sorta, yeah." She sat, then disappeared 5 minutes later when her dude showed up. He watched her chips, we played, won, pushed, or won. More time went by, and she still didn't show up. He was calling her and looking for her, then he started to grab her markers, to which April, our friendly dealer said he could not because they weren't his. He said she was playing with his money and blah blah blah. The pit boss came over and okayed the 'color up' and asked him to leave. It took a minute or two for the dude to comprehend, but he got it and left.

A few more hands and Vince left the table with his buy-in, but I was still strong. I always separate my buy-in and play with winnings. At one point, I was making $40 bets and that's when the fun happens. I will always put more $ into my pile to be 'colored up' so I not only walk with my initial buy-in, but I have extra, too. I did well and when April was done with her hour slot, I colored up, as well.

We headed home and opted to watch some "Robot Chicken" on the laptop, as we were both not very tired. Needless to say, a day of doing nothing but eating, we both passed out within the first 30-minutes.

Tomorrow: Hoover Dam...until then, Rock & Roll!
-Uncle J.

Day Five Photos

Day Four: "Bright Light City Gonna Set My Soul, Gonna Set My Soul On Fire"

Woke up in Page, Arizona, today.  Showered, cleaned the car, and did some photo uploading.  Got both batteries for the camera charged and ready to go.  "Why?" you may ask, because we're Grand Canyon bound...

I've been there once before--11 years ago with my Dad on our 'bonding' trip--and I'll tell you what: it's not changed one bit.  It's still a magnificent piece of nature.  I love it so much, for some reason.  Yeah, I know it's a giant gaping hole in the earth, but it was created by nature, and it lets you know how small you actually are.  The road there was another story all together.  They closed off one lane of highway, and had 2 directions of traffic going on it, lead by a 'pilot car' or a pace car for you race fans.  We lost about an hour because said 'pilot car' was taking about 10-20 cars at a time around a 10 minute drive around this mountain in order to get the opposite direction's traffic where they needed to go.  Needless to say, it was annoying.  

We got bamboozled into stopping at one of the little Navajo art huts on the way to Grand Canyon.  Who was so crafty as to lure us?  Our gluttonous stomachs.  I saw a sign for "Buffalo Jerky: Next Right" so I stopped.  "How was the Buffalo Jerky?" I don't know, I wasn't about to spend $13 on 4 pieces that wouldn't last me the 30 remaining minutes to Grand Canyon National Park.  

Making our way through the rest of Kaibab National Forest, we got to the GCNP and forked over the $25 fee to set foot in the park.  Looking in the maps, we opted to stop at the watchtower to see the Grand Canyon at 360-degrees (that's geometrical, not temperature, but it felt close.)  It was breathtaking.  That's the only (compound) word I can use as an adjective without a thesaurus.  Vince was even taken aback at the grandeur of the 'big friggin' hole in the ground'.

We made a few more stops at some different vantage points, even pulling over and making our own.  Vince and I utilized nature as a tripod at, where else, Moran (pronounced: Moe-Ran) Peak and snapped a picture of the 2 Morons (pronounced: Moe-Ron-zz).  After said vantage point, we made a couple more stops and even brought the gnome out for some photo ops.





 

Bye bye Grand Canyon, it was great to see you again.  Hope I can come back again, maybe less than 11 years, eh?  

Our voyage continued west to Las Vegas, Nevada, and we were going to see one of my most favourite people in the whole world: Mom-Mom!  That's right, my lovely grandma, aptly named "Mom-Mom", some of you may know her from such evenings as "Jordan's College Graduation Party" or "Sneezing after sweet food lady", or "Madam Voice of Reason"..I know her as Mom-Mom, and she's one of a kind...but I digress..

After getting out of GCNP and regaining cell reception, I checked my 8 voice mails and returned my Mom-Mom's phone call.  I told her we should be in Henderson, NV around 8pm.  She asked me to pick up dinner at In-N-Out Burger, which was like pulling teeth with me, I'm sure...

We filled up the tank, cleaned the windshield, and Vince took the wheel for the remainder of the day.  I shot a bunch of photos, none of which included any freakin' cacti.  I love cartoons, especially the old Looney Tunes where Wile E Coyote chases the Roadrunner around the desert (Arizona).  What do you see (other than a slew of Acme-brand dynomite and anvils)?  Rocks, dirt/sand, mountains/cliffs, and a slew of cacti!  Where are all the cacti?  Not even ONE cactus, and you'd think "who cares?" Well, my loyal readers, I do.  

Moving on...

We edged closer to Nevada, but in order to get there, we must cross the Hoover Dam.  I completely forgot that the border of Arizona and Nevada were ON the dam.  Vince was stoked to see it, for some reason unbeknownst to me, but cool, whatever gets his boat afloat.  I was at Hoover Dam 11 years ago on afformentioned 'bonding trip' with Dad, and there were some changes I've noticed.  

1. There was a security post about 10-miles prior to entrance of dam.  [upon exiting, we noticed an identically plotted security post]
2. They're currently building a by-pass bridge going OVER the whole dam(n) area.

Getting out of the car a few times at Hoover Dam for some pictures was like stepping into a dry-sauna.  The pictures were difficult to take, as the sun wasn't in the most opportune location.  I will say this about digital cameras, though: shooting into the sun, you get a percentage of decent looking photos if you time it right.  Try shooting into the sun with film: you'll ruin your entire roll.  Crossing the Nevada border, I had forgotten that we gain an hour for being in the Pacific Time Zone.  So, I called M2, and informed her that we were going to be an hour earlier than I'd initially stated.  She didn't mind, nor did we.

The anticipation grew as we headed through Boulder City, NV and got onto I-215 towards Las Vegas.  Delilah was a real trooper, helping us find In-N-Out on Eastern Ave., then back on the I-215 to Mom-Mom's in Henderson.  When we showed up with our case of food, we were very excited to eat.  Vince had a 'double-double', a cheeseburger (animal style) and fries.  I had 2 cheeseburgers (animal style) and fries.  Mom-Mom had a burger (animal style) and fries.  We were all quiet and munching for at least 20-minutes.  Chatting for another 30-minutes or so, we caught up and made plans for the next day.  

Vince hopped in the shower and I made plans for us to see my buddy, Johnny, at Tailspin, a bar in Henderson.  He runs a 'free rock jam' every Tuesday night.  After a couple of beers, I ended up on stage rocking a few tunes.  It was easier knowing there was only 4 people in the whole bar.  It was great to see him, and hear that he's been busy playing music everyday.  He moved from Chicago to Las Vegas for a couple reasons, but I can definitely agree that he's found more opportunity for himself out West.

After leaving Tailspin at 2AM, we were still restless and wanted some action.  We headed to Green Valley Ranch to play some blackjack.  I love blackjack, and no matter when anyone says "Oh, I don't gamble." My response is always: "Neither do I.  I play cards for money."  

Blackjack, as well as poker, is 95% skill and 5% luck.  It's statistical and knowing what moves to make when.  This is all that I will say because just as it is with religion and politics, everyone has their own thoughts.  The only thing more that I'll say is that I know when to walk away from a table, and I walked away with quadrupling my buy-in.

Heading back to M2's, we definitely felt the exhaustion setting in.  Bedtime was the best end to a great day.

Until next chapter, rock 'n' roll!

-Uncle J.

Day 4 Photos

Day Three: "Now I'm Free, Free Falling"

Day Three is complete.  We traveled through 3 different states and saw a million different things.  Starting off in Colorado, our 'continental breakfast' promised by our hotel, turned out to be a complete farce.  It was hardly continental, but came off as more suburban: cereal, instant waffles, English muffins, etc.  I opted for a yogurt cup, banana, and green tea.  

Vince started off the drive, as he seems to be better in the day time--or let me rephrase that: I seem to do better in the afternoon hours.  Vince is good to drive whenever.  We traveled on I-70W towards Utah, admiring all the landscape.  Mountains, hills, little mining towns, it was all phenomenal.  We took some 150 pictures before we got out of Colorado.

Getting into Utah, we were in the zone, and then it happened: I spotted a billboard.  I mentioned it to Vince, and he asked if I was serious because if he turned around, that was it.  I was, so he did.  We were curious, and wasn't sure how long it was going to take, but we said 'F**k it!' and we each went skydiving for the first time ever!  It was exilirating.  We got an entire tour on the plane ride up, and then on the parachute down, we saw all of Colorado and Utah in a matter of minutes.  It was breathtaking, literally.  The diving coaches were super fun, took all the tension off and made it what we went for: fun.  We each opted for the video package and they said they may keep a copy for the tutorial because we were the one of the few jumpers that weren't saying how scared we were.  We had smiles on our faces and were pumped to jump out of an airplane at 14,000 feet!  Vince said it best: "We've seen crazy, now we're gonna see INSANE!"

All adrenalized and pumped up from the jump, we continued on our journey through Utah.  With 'Delilah's' help again, we found a Motel 6 in Page, AZ, which is only a couple of hours from the Grand Canyon.  The countdown of mile markers through Utah into Arizona, was sort of amusing.  Vince took another 150 pictures from Utah to Arizona.  The scenery would change colours ever so often, along with the lighting.   Greens, oranges, reds, grays, blues, etc.  It was magnificent!

Somewhere in some Navajo town in Arizona, we filled the tank up just in case we didn't see any gas stations the rest of the way.  We also switched up the drive, and Vince took the wheel while I manned the slowly depleting camera.  I took maybe another 20 pictures or so, as the sun was going down, the battery was dying, and a lot of the stuff, starts to look the same. (Actually it doesn't, but the camera can only capture so much.)

Getting to the Motel 6 in Page, AZ, it was about 8pm, and we were pooped.  We had asked 'Delilah' along the way to find us some food establishments near the motel.  She found one that peaked Vince's interest: Glen Canyon Steakhouse.  After settling in our room, which smelled like pee, we washed up and headed the 1-1/2 miles to the restaurant.  First on the agenda: beer.  They had 'big' drafts for $6 and 'small' for $3.50.  I opted for the 'big' Hefeweizen, which I think was actually a Hacker-Pschorr.  Vince had a 'big' Sierra Nevada, then followed it with a 2nd.  To sum up our meal: steaks were okay, salad bar was okay, soup was decent, service was not the best, and there was no ventilation in the restaurant.  I was sweating from the second I sat down until I walked outside.  Where oddly enough, it was cooler than in the restaurant.  I coined a phrase, which Vince thought was both hillarious and on-the-nose: "Exorbatant prices for sub-par meat."

Back in the room, I scavenged through the atlas while Vince was in the lobby with the laptop.  I zonked out from the food baby in my belly, and when I woke up Vince was just getting back to the room.  We cleaned up, and started to finish our growler of beer from the night before, now that the garbage can of ice I'd put it in cooled it down enough for human consumption.  Laughter and hijinx ensued.  We were both overtired and slightly buzzed, but our pee-smelling room, sub-par meal, and lumpy beds were all we needed to sleep.

Until the next installment: Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J.

Day Three Photos

Day Two: I'm the Man on the Silver Mountain

Where do I begin? I believe the word is Bittersweet; leaving Nebraska was difficult, but easy simultaneously. Tears were flowing, emotions surging, but it was all for good reasons. I think Dad summed it up best when he said "When your Mom and I cry, it's not because we're sad that you're leaving; We're proud of you. It's the fact that you won't be here, and it bums us out."

I hate to see anyone cry, especially when it's my Mom and Sister, but I knew it was out of pride that they were crying. I must say, it will be weird to not see my parents until November. I think I"ll get a true sense of what it is to be an 'adult' from this experience--if not, a start to said feeling.

We made our way through the horrifically boring state of Nebraska, keeping our eyes peeled for mountain tops, as my Dad said that towards Western Nebraska we should start seeing them. Well, in the words of Isabel "LIAR!" We got goose-egg in the entire drive out of Nebraska.

We hit Colorado a few hours after leaving Omaha, but it felt like an eternity. We opted, that day, to drive with the windows and sunroof open. It definitely increased our gas milage because we didn't use the A/C. It was also great to have fresh country air to breathe in, I'd even say 'refreshing.' We stopped at a Sinclair due to a tummy ache I had incurred. Quite possibly due to the 5-hour energy drink I'd guzzled--it had been in the glove box, and it was grossly hot. Got a couple pics of the gas station, though, which was fun.

After clowning around w/ the dinosaur, we made our way further into Colorado.  I found out that I'm certainly my father's son on the drive through the mountains.  Whipping around bends and up and down, I can definitely see how I got car sick every time I was in the backseat on car trips.  Without realizing it, we had driven 11 hours (12 if you don't include the hour we gained crossing the time zone). 

We used 'Delilah'--that's what we named my GPS, seeing as she has a woman's voice, we needed something by which to address her--to find a hotel in whatever city we picked out.  The city we chose, Glenwood Springs, sort of came back to bite us in the asses.  Everything around there closes at 10pm or so, even bars.  We managed to walk around and find a bar getting ready to close up, but happy enough to sell us a growler of their weiss beer.  We woke up Delilah, and asked her to show us where we can stuff our faces.  Her answer: Burger King.  We drove the 1.1 miles to the open Burger King, ordered 2 double whopper meals (yes, we're complete gluttons) and made our way back to the hotel room.  We commenced stuffing our traps with food and beer.  Needless to say, we both passed out shortly thereafter.

Small side note--sort of going back in time, but this is my blog, and if you don't like me rehashing things, tough cookies: Samantha made us some Rice Krispies Treats, and I was told that every time I started to get sad or think of family or anything, just eat one of them and it'll put a smile on my face.  Well, that was some amazing advice, and it seems to work, so thank you Munchkins, I love you.

Until next time, fellow travelers, the road calls my name....

-Uncle J.

Day Two Photos

Day One: We Shall Ride Under a Black Flag, and Call the Streets Our Empire

Aiming to leave Chicago between 4 and 5AM, we didn't leave until 5:40AM.  Seems to be the theme of our trip, as you'll see....

First stop, 7-11 at Gross Point & Lincoln Ave in Skokie.  "Why there?" you ask.  Easy: it's one of my happiest places.  From when I can remember, I have always loved frozen treats, 'Slurpees' especially, and that particular 7-11 has always had the best ones.  Not only my favourite flavours, but the perfect consistency, too.  My sister, Abbie, used to take me there as a wee lad, and I've always gone there.  When we were kids, Vince and I would sneak out during sleepovers to go get Slurpees, Funnyuns, and Candy.  It's sorta the 'cornerstone' of my childhood, so I figure, "What better way to start the journey towards my new life than something that makes me so incredibly happy?!"

Slurpee in tow, we hit the road.  I-294S to I-88W, merging onto I-80W.  We stopped at the Iowa 80 Truckstop: "The World's Largest Truckstop" for breakfast.  Full of bacon, eggs, and biscuts n' gravy, we continued on I-80W to West Des Moines to visit Vince's family, Tony [brother], Karla [sister-in-law], and Isabel [niece].  It was great to see them and hang out.  Isabel has gotten SO big (she's 3), and has a pretty full vocabulary.  She'll repeat almost anything you say.  Funny enough, she kept calling 'Uncle Vince' "Beast." 

After a couple hours, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to I-80W towards Omaha, Nebraska.  Traffic was nuts, as there were lane closures and merging was a foreign language to many travelers.  We finally got to Omaha about 7pm and as I suspected, the munchkins (Samantha & David) were waiting frantically at the door.  As I pulled up, they ran out to give their Uncle J big hugs and kisses; they acknowledged Vince as 'Uncle Vince', as well.

We put the kids down for bedtime about an hour later.  Sam chose Uncle J to read her a bedtime story, which she usually does when I'm around.  She's gotten so big and she's SO smart, practically reading along with me.  I kissed her goodnight, and made my way downstairs for dinner.  Steak, corn-on-the-cob, and grilled tomatoes: yum!  After the table was cleared, we all sat around and had some beers and laughed our faces off.  Mom brought my favourite dessert: Eclair Cake; so we dug into that and furthered our food comas.

The night ended shortly thereafter; Mom and Bill headed back to the hotel, while Abbie, Pat, Vince, and I talked for a bit.  We, then, commenced with our 'goodnights and see you tomorrows'.  Tomorrow is a new day, and most likely will be a rough one...for all.

Until Tomorrow: Rock & Roll!

-Uncle J

Day One Photos