Vacation Recap. So I was on roadtrip with my parents & grandparents the last 2 weeks. First and foremost, let me make it clear: being on roadtrip with your family is waaaaay different from being on roadtrip with your friends. It was definitely a test of my patience at times. Just being in such close proximity with your relatives for such a long time; it can get frustrating and/or infuriating at times. But overall, I guess it was memorable; and 5 or 10 years down the line, the good will probably overshadow the bad, and I'll think back and wonder why I didn't enjoy it more.
Anyways, we drove westward towards Las Vegas, stopping at various sites along the way- the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest was the only really notable spot I thought. We then met up with my brother who flew out to Las Vegas. We stayed a couple nights at Harrah's and a couple at Caesar's. I didn't really gamble as much as I woulda thought though, I did most of my gambling at Hooter's just cuz they had low limits. I actually ended up about $120 my first day, which I was quite happy with, cuz I've never been up at the end of a day before. For the whole trip though, I ended up down $80. =/
But yea, so the highlight of Vegas was definitely the buffets, heh. Though the Bellagio buffet wasn't quite as nice as I remembered. We had Sunday brunch at the Bally's though, and it was awesome, but freaking expensive. They had like lobster, stone crab, prime rib, caviar, and champagne though- I hadn't had good caviar in a really long time. Oh yea, and Hooter's has pretty decent prime rib (and mashed potatoes) too.
While in Vegas, I also caught a few shows. I watched Jubilee (the topless revue) with my grandpa; apparently he really likes topless shows (you learn something new about your relatives all the time, heh). Yea, he usually will say he wants to do something then forget like 10 minutes later, but this was all he could talk about for a whole day. So my parents had me take him to this show. Anyways, my grandpa liked it; I thought it was ok I guess. They could easily have stuck some bras on those girls and billed it as a family show though. I mean, I like boobs as much as the next warm blooded male, but they show the topless girls like 2 minutes in, and really they can't go up much from there. And after like 10 minutes, it's like you've seen all their tricks. It's not like they even try to draw attention to the fact that they're topless or try to sexualize/eroticize their boobs, they're just there, and I think that kinda cheapens the thrill of seeing boobs. To me, boobs are special, something to be celebrated, largely due to the fact that they're forbidden and rarely seen- kinda like how bare ankles supposedly turned on the Puritans or something. I think in general, when displaying boobies, it's not the quantity you show, it's how you show them, and I'm not sure this show took that into account.
I also saw Cirque du Soleil's O again. I remembered it as being better the first time around. They must change the clown skits all the time, cuz it seriously was not funny this time. But yea, we waited in line for standby tickets, and didn't get in until after the show had started a little bit. It was still a pretty enjoyable experience though.
We also played a couple rounds of golf at the Durango Hills golf course. It was ok I guess. I sucked it up horridly the first day, but did alright on the second. The course has a nice backdrop of mountain scenery, but it was basically a course of mostly par 3's, which gets kinda old.
From Las Vegas, we drove westward, making a stop at Death Valley. It was actually pretty interesting, but it was hot as hell. Literally like 130 degrees I think. From there, we headed to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July. My mom saw on the travel channel or something that the fireworks were supposed to be amazing, so that's why we went. (That and my parents had a free stay. They're frequent Harrah's customers.) I think the fireworks are only special if you can see 'em reflected off the water of the lake, which we didn't. Me and my dad also went and watched an improv comedy show since it was free. It was ok I guess, the place was practically empty cuz it was on the 4th. So me & my dad were sitting by the front, and one of the comedians starts making fun of me. I didn't mind him insinuating I was gay, but he also made a few racist jokes, which I didn't take too kindly to. Well, granted that most of this guys' Asian jokes weren't very good in the first place. But I dunno, it's just harder for me to laugh at jokes about Asians unless it comes out of a fellow Asian's mouth.
From Lake Tahoe, we drove towards California, we went up towards San Francisco, where we met up with my brother again. Saw (most of) the 49-mile drive, Golden Gate Bridge, and Monterrey/Cannery Row. From there, we (+my brother) drove southwards to San Diego. We stayed at the Doubletree Golf Resort there on my brother's accumulated pointage. Played a round there, was ok I guess. Then I went and hung out with the Mouse for an evening. The next day, the family went and got some killer seafood at Point Loma, then we had dinner with my dad's friend and crashed at his spare condo. My brother flew back to NY that night.
From California, we headed back to Texas, stopping off at the Saguaro National Park to see the iconic cacti. And that basically wrapped up a 2-week jaunt across the US southwest.
*I read a lot during the dull moments of the drive, and I developed a bit of an eye twitch, which kinda freaked me out.
Anyways, we drove westward towards Las Vegas, stopping at various sites along the way- the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest was the only really notable spot I thought. We then met up with my brother who flew out to Las Vegas. We stayed a couple nights at Harrah's and a couple at Caesar's. I didn't really gamble as much as I woulda thought though, I did most of my gambling at Hooter's just cuz they had low limits. I actually ended up about $120 my first day, which I was quite happy with, cuz I've never been up at the end of a day before. For the whole trip though, I ended up down $80. =/
But yea, so the highlight of Vegas was definitely the buffets, heh. Though the Bellagio buffet wasn't quite as nice as I remembered. We had Sunday brunch at the Bally's though, and it was awesome, but freaking expensive. They had like lobster, stone crab, prime rib, caviar, and champagne though- I hadn't had good caviar in a really long time. Oh yea, and Hooter's has pretty decent prime rib (and mashed potatoes) too.
While in Vegas, I also caught a few shows. I watched Jubilee (the topless revue) with my grandpa; apparently he really likes topless shows (you learn something new about your relatives all the time, heh). Yea, he usually will say he wants to do something then forget like 10 minutes later, but this was all he could talk about for a whole day. So my parents had me take him to this show. Anyways, my grandpa liked it; I thought it was ok I guess. They could easily have stuck some bras on those girls and billed it as a family show though. I mean, I like boobs as much as the next warm blooded male, but they show the topless girls like 2 minutes in, and really they can't go up much from there. And after like 10 minutes, it's like you've seen all their tricks. It's not like they even try to draw attention to the fact that they're topless or try to sexualize/eroticize their boobs, they're just there, and I think that kinda cheapens the thrill of seeing boobs. To me, boobs are special, something to be celebrated, largely due to the fact that they're forbidden and rarely seen- kinda like how bare ankles supposedly turned on the Puritans or something. I think in general, when displaying boobies, it's not the quantity you show, it's how you show them, and I'm not sure this show took that into account.
I also saw Cirque du Soleil's O again. I remembered it as being better the first time around. They must change the clown skits all the time, cuz it seriously was not funny this time. But yea, we waited in line for standby tickets, and didn't get in until after the show had started a little bit. It was still a pretty enjoyable experience though.
We also played a couple rounds of golf at the Durango Hills golf course. It was ok I guess. I sucked it up horridly the first day, but did alright on the second. The course has a nice backdrop of mountain scenery, but it was basically a course of mostly par 3's, which gets kinda old.
From Las Vegas, we drove westward, making a stop at Death Valley. It was actually pretty interesting, but it was hot as hell. Literally like 130 degrees I think. From there, we headed to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July. My mom saw on the travel channel or something that the fireworks were supposed to be amazing, so that's why we went. (That and my parents had a free stay. They're frequent Harrah's customers.) I think the fireworks are only special if you can see 'em reflected off the water of the lake, which we didn't. Me and my dad also went and watched an improv comedy show since it was free. It was ok I guess, the place was practically empty cuz it was on the 4th. So me & my dad were sitting by the front, and one of the comedians starts making fun of me. I didn't mind him insinuating I was gay, but he also made a few racist jokes, which I didn't take too kindly to. Well, granted that most of this guys' Asian jokes weren't very good in the first place. But I dunno, it's just harder for me to laugh at jokes about Asians unless it comes out of a fellow Asian's mouth.
From Lake Tahoe, we drove towards California, we went up towards San Francisco, where we met up with my brother again. Saw (most of) the 49-mile drive, Golden Gate Bridge, and Monterrey/Cannery Row. From there, we (+my brother) drove southwards to San Diego. We stayed at the Doubletree Golf Resort there on my brother's accumulated pointage. Played a round there, was ok I guess. Then I went and hung out with the Mouse for an evening. The next day, the family went and got some killer seafood at Point Loma, then we had dinner with my dad's friend and crashed at his spare condo. My brother flew back to NY that night.
From California, we headed back to Texas, stopping off at the Saguaro National Park to see the iconic cacti. And that basically wrapped up a 2-week jaunt across the US southwest.
*I read a lot during the dull moments of the drive, and I developed a bit of an eye twitch, which kinda freaked me out.
posted by Dear Daniel at 8:00 PM
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