Do Opposites Attract?

Helloooo!

We're back from our 4 day vacation within a vacation and I'm writing this overdue post on a virus ridden laptop in safe mode...not ideal but it'll have to do. I've got a feeling Loz and I may have got a bit keen on the downloading front and invited the bug onto Chris's property with a golden invitation, oops.

A lot has happened in the last week, the days are flying by but we're ticking off things we've wanted to do and that's all good. Last week was a bit of a mish mash of beach days and downtown exploration. I've discovered how hard it is to cycle with a 9m kite, wetsuit, beach bag, board and harness on my back and look like an overloaded Mexican donkey.
I also experienced some nasty sun burn that looked like Picasso and Pollock had an argument on my right leg and threw the results down in angry abstract red splodges, that wasn't too cool either.

On a better note Loz and I have pinned down our movements between July 19th - July 24th when we'll be driving to San Fran on costal road highway 1, road trip time! We decided we wanted to rent something inconspicuous and understated so have gone for a Ford Mustang convertible to cruise around in :D.....We'll be leaving LA on the 19th and spending the following two nights up the coast in Pismo Beach and Monterey Bay (in the cheapest motels possible).

Last Wednesday and Thursday we spent the evening getting our camping things together and going to budget food stores to load up on snacks and just generally nasty food for the body and then on Friday it was bon voyage and off to three separate canyons and Las Vegas via California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah (really backward serial killer type state). It took around 4 hours to get to our stop over in Vegas and we were all knackered so bundled into the Mexican style motel and collapsed in front of the film Chuckie. Not ideal viewing but oh well.

Saturday's early morning start began with a coffee hunt and then the second 3 hours of the drive began. This time we were off to set up camp in Duck Creek, a site close to Bryce Canyon in the wooded hills of Utah. Once we left the desert and started climbing the tree lined mountains the scenery got spectacular. Jagged horizons, rocky overhangs and splashes of green surrounding lakes in the crevices.

Chris had just had his satellite radio connected for the trip and we had over 400 music channels to choose from so I chose 'Cinemagic', a station playing classical film scores which really completed the filmic experience I felt we were getting. There's nothing like the feeling of pretending to conduct the Batman score while soaring over the skyline!

Eventually we arrived at Bryce Canyon. Not many people have visited this one as it's a little off the radar so we impressed the local nature enthusiasts as we roamed around. Bryce is made from bright red rock and from above looks like a Crystal Maze game formed out of thousands of stalagmites. I thought I had done well dressed in my jeans, trainers and shell jacket, but obviously not well enough as the rain storm ten minutes earlier had turned the downhill foot trail into a steep, thick red muddy bum trail which it turned out I was not suitably dressed for.
We had loads of fun though and attempted to jog the near vertical uphill mile on the way back up. Notice use of the word, attempted!

There's loads more I could go into but this is a blog not a novel so after Bryce we returned to camp and successfully lit a massive bonfire to do voodoo dances around and burn marshmallows. I was really pleased with our pitch, it was nicely hidden from others by a circle of pine trees and came with a picnic bench and fire pit.

The temperature dropped fast after sundown and I prayed I wouldn't have to break the 'heat seal' of my sleeping bag in the middle of the night for a bathroom break...but I did, damn. Loz also had an almost entirely sleepless night by visualising all the ways an axe murderer would capture and torture us, or a bear rip us apart. Nice!

Sunday was utterly chaotic, we packed up and drove the miles and miles to the Grand Canyon as it's something you've got to do! It was great, fantastic views and sooooo huge. I don't think we had gone to the 'best' viewing point on North Rim but it was still totally amazing :)

Then on the way back to Vegas we took quite a large detour and went to Zion. 'What? The capital city in the Matrix?' I hear you say. No, a third state park in Utah which was also mind blowing. I really felt like I was in Jurassic Park, all gigantic, oversized rocks with pinky red tones.

Getting back to civilization (if that's what you can call the madness that is Vegas) was a relief and we got straight into the spirit of things by meeting up with Spencer and Christina (friends from the UK) and out into a club. Spence and Christina had been extremely kind and let us crash in their hotel room for a couple of days for free...what we didn’t realise was that they were staying at the 'Paris' hotel right in the heart of the strip, an amazinggggggg blag!

We found a tout offering heavily discounted entry into all the big high end clubs and managed to get passes into Pure and Jet for $5 each when it would have been $30 each on the door, woohoo. So that night we headed out to Pure club in Caesars Palace and as I stood on it's roof top bar listening to some tunes and sipping a drink I felt pretty damn good!

The next day (being Monday) was spent at the Paris pool in the morning and then the Hard Rock Hotel pool in the afternoon. Paris's offering seemed a little tame and we were after some Vegas action so after hearing Hard Rock was for the 'younger lot' we taxied down their way. I don't really know how to explain what we found there...it was just nuts. The pool itself was GREAT, kinda tropical vibe with palms and a fake beach leading into the water. There were cabana beds for hire ($500 upwards just so you know!), poker tables under waterfalls and a stage with DJ's pumping out house. But i've NEVER seen anything like the clientele there was at this place before. I would say 99% of the girls had silicone valley implants and a serious case of tango body (fake tan) and 99% of the men were complete meat head posers checking themselves out every 30 seconds.

The whole afternoon was spent checking everyone out while they checked everyone else out while they checked themselves out before checking some other people out. It was exhibitionism to the max and not a place to go if you're insecure!

That evening we went to the Jet club, our passes meant we had to be in by midnight so we arrived at 11.30pm thinking we'd be ok. The line was virtually out of the Mirage door and the bouncers were smirking at us so knowing action had to be taken asap I attempted blag number 3 by strolling straight to the front of the guest list queue saying the concierge had called ahead to put us on the list and if we weren’t on it then there was a mistake. Obviously we weren’t on it but I managed to get 5 free entry passes with a wink and a smile. I then spent the next two hours on the podium dancing and being filmed for MTV haha!!

By Tuesday to say we were struggling was a huge understatement. We popped into the Bellagio where Oceans Eleven was filmed and suddenly felt very poor, it was beyond luxurious. Then we went to the most amazing all you can eat Sushi buffet which had unlimited choice and was sooooooooooo gooooood. Love it :D

After lunch we needed some urgent chill time and made our way over to the MGM Grand pool to check it out. We happened to walk into blag 4 by picking up some random guest passes that got us into their pool party called Wet Republic. It meant free entry and was awesome, a much better vibe than the pretentiousness of Hard Rock. We just chilled on chairs in the water listening to good music and feeling the sun on our skin. That evening we said our goodbyes to Spencer and Christina (till Thurs when they're coming to Long Beach to stay) and began the long drive home to LA.....via Carl's Junior, the best burger and fries joint in the world.

That brings us to yesterday where we slept for 11 hours straight and went to The Library in the evening, our local coffee house for a frappucchino. And today where Loz and I took the bus down the coast to Laguna Beach for a day in the sun and waves. Spence and his sis have just arrived so we've lit a fire in the pit and are sipping some wine before things get crazy again. We're off to Hollywood this weekend.

So after two days camping and two days in Las Vegas I guess it's fair to say opposites really do attract!