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Summer is a great time to visit San Francisco, especially if you are in need of a new sweatshirt! My colleagues have gone to Japan, Greece and Turkey and I had stayed home. So, in need of a little break from the city, I decided to take a week off and took a mini-trip to Los Angeles to see friends and got back in time to go with Frank to Las Vegas.
Los Angeles
I don't remember the last time I've driven the beautiful Interstate 5 but I think it was more of a mental block than anything else. There is something to be said when you can spend the night for less than it costs to fill my Ford Focus. I paid an average of $3.47 per gallon. Thank God I also received United Miles. Anyway, I thought I was being clever by cutting over to the 5 via Gilroy but instead of cutting of hours on my commute I got stuck behind a set of semi-trucks who were moving at 5 m.p.h and so what should have taken 30 minutes took nearly 2 hours. Once on the 5 I got to see the remains of the burnt land which smelled quite pleasant compared to the cow manure from the stockyards. By the time I got to the Grapevine it was dark and I had the choice of country, hip-hop or Christian Talk Radio. Am I so liberal that I think that our President calling people Islamic Fascists was wrong? I just don't think it's funny to comment that it's never "Bill" or "Ted" blowing up planes. I have a slight inkling that after Timothy McVey blew up the buildings in Oklahoma if someone said he was a Christian fascist, the same talk show hosts would be up in arms. I could be wrong.
My first stop was at Etan's in LA. MapQuest is great but the people who put up the signs in around the city have a wicked sense of humor. Let's hide this sign behind a tree. Lights? Why bother. I drove past the Hollywood Bowl, Downtown Hollywood and after numerous phone calls for help found my way to Etan's. In the dark, his complex, complete with a guard station looks quite modern, which having been built in the 40's was not. There are one way roads, round abouts and the street signs are Burnside Circle, Burnside Avenenue and Burnside street. Did I mention that the signs were not really useful while in a car. I found a parking spot and the journey began again ... this time on foot. Several phone calls and visits to the wrong towers I found Etan.
The following day we headed to the Grove for lunch, met Eric and after seeing Little Miss Sunshine went out to West Hollywood for dinner. At the Abbey we spotted our first semi-celebrity, James from the reality show Boy Meets Boy. Had we been more nightowls, we could have seen Jessica Simpson perform Amazing Grace at a club and then grab her boobs. Hmm. Did she know she was in a gay club? Whatever.
The next morning, I said goodbye and headed down to Laguna Niguel to visit James and the girls, Maggie and Bella. We headed to Hamburger Mary's for brunch and then hung out for the day. It was then time to head back to San Francisco and I opted to take the 101 back and while it took longer, views of the ocean were much more scenic and with my iPod now connected to my tape player I had my tunes to sing along to!
Las Vegas
There have been rumors that I was not excited about going to Las Vegas, but that is simply untrue. Now I may have pondered the sanity of going to the desert in the month of August or that LV is the white trash capitol of the world but I was secretly looking forward to it. Besides, it was Frank's birthday and he wanted to go and that was the end of the conversation.
Frank did something I do not have the patience of doing ... getting a hotel room off of Priceline.com. Basically, Priceline enables you to propose a price and if the hotel chooses to accept your bid, you're in! Frank did the magic and we got a room at the Venetian. Classy ... in a Vegas sort of way. The airport was not as bad as we anticipated and the room was great. Huge. And the fact that Frank's friend sent him Elvis glasses only made that much more fun.
Hmm. What did we do? We donated to the casinos and they gave back ... a little. We went to the Canyon Ranch spa and ran into Zeb Atlas. We also had great meals and the Wynn Hotel and saw Le Reve, a water show with people flying in and out of the water. Amazing. We also participated in a focus group and got free tickets to Madame Tousseuds wax museum. Good times. Downtown Las Vegas ... scary, though the Slotto machine was quite addictive. It's like a slot machine and the lotto all in one! After another morning in the sun by the pool, we had to say goodbye to Las Vegas and return to the land of fog. Luckily there was a cooling trend and Las Vegas was only 100 degrees instead of the usual 115!
Celebrity Sightings:
A wax museum is one thing but seeing the real thing is well ... a little thrill; granted it is a little sad to be excited by simply being able to associate images to a living breathing person, but it is a thrill. I would like to add that unlike some nameless friends who went all weak in the knees when it came to meeting Diana Ross (we spoke and she touched me!), I was coy and only positioned myself to force the people I recognized to touch me. Yes, I've touched the Titanic this year and have had a brush with celebrities ... Zeb Atlas and Nick Carter.
Our sighting of Zeb Atlas, Fitness Model (see interview), took place at the Venetian Spa. We were touring the facilities and he was coming down the stairs. The fact that we were using the spa facilities and not the work out facilities might explain the difference in stature, especially since we are about the same height. I suppose he does not hit the buffets when he is visiting Las Vegas. Shame.
Our second sighting was of Nick Carter, one of the members of the boy band, The Backstreet Boys. Nick and I go way back, though I doubt he remembers the 6'3" man standing 6th row center at the concert in San Jose a few years back. Although, I must admit that I stood out amongst the screaming teenage girls. The ushers asked if we, the friend who dragged me along and I, were with a record lable. I wish. Fun concert. Too old for the audience. I can also claim to have hosted the daughter of the man who put the band together in my studio and that we procurred a concert poster for the friend when we were in Sweden, even though there was dubious material attached to it. Anyway, I had been eyeing the white diamond slot machine, which reimbursed us $100 for our time at the Venetian and before we headed to the airport we had to cash in our winnings. In route to the Cashier I spotted someone who looked familiar playing craps. It was Nick Carter, looking a little rough compare to his boy band days. I stood beside him and watched as he placed a $400 bet and lost. As he left the table, he brushed against me. If I was a true friend I would mail the shirt to my friend ... but I opted to wash it instead! As they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. What they don't say is that it is usually your cash that stays behind!
