To-Do List #17 - Drive Across Country - Part Seven **the final chapter!**

So first we wake up 2 hours late... So much for alarm clocks! Or at least so much for setting them when you are sleepy! But to make matters worse - LJ's Jeep was really tired from so much driving and really didn't want to sit in traffic (which was really bad that morning) So Frankie (the Jeep) starts overheating. Crap. One more day of driving and it starts overheating. But I know my way around Vegas enough and had my handy-dandy GPS in hand, so we avoided traffic and was able to continue on. I drove the first half while LJ slept - but it was a really easy drive. We stopped and switched off after about 4 hours and LJ continued on through California. The butterflies in our tummy kept getting worse and worse until we were at the last town outside of Yosemite and I just wanted to drive back to Vegas! We were both so nervous sitting at McDonald's that I know people must have thought we looked ridiculous! But we managed to pull ourselves together and keep trekking on! LJ did great through the mountains where I closed my eyes and tried really hard not to pay attention to the cliffs. We drove through Yosemite completely and came out the other side. About 3 miles outside of Yosemite we turned onto Evergreen Rd. We thought we were there. No. About 10 minutes later we were finally seeing signs of the Lodge. We are really out in the middle of nowhere!

Alex was there to meet us and gave us the tour of the property. We met many people that first day - most of whom I do not remember - but I know they will become family very soon. The next day Alex, the maintenance guy- GW, LJ and I drove to Yosemite Valley. We saw Bridalveil falls, Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite Lodge and of course the Yosemite Camp Store where I can remember the first boy who ever flirted with me. I think he still works there! :) ha ha.

Afterwards we came back to the lodge and LJ and I set up house. The room is small but we have bunk beds so it gives us more space. We are looking forward to a paycheck so we can get a few things to help out.

So there you have it - my drive across the country with my end result being in the middle of no where. The closest Target is like 3 hours from here.

Did I mention they laugh and call me the city girl out here?

To-Do List #17 - Drive Across Country - Part Six

Sorry for the delay on the last part of my adventure! I have been getting settled in here in California -- so the good news - I have not been eaten by a bear yet! The bad news - I am in the middle of nowhere!!

Okay - so day one in Vegas was great! It was a lot of fun for me because I got to be the tour guide! LJ and I slept in that morning which was a real blessing and then went to the strip at about 11am... We started at the MGM where I showed LJ the lions - which were so adorable! We just wanted to take them home with us! I think they would have had a heck of a time in our small cabin though... From there we crossed the street to New York, New York and toured around for a bit and then decided to ride the Roller Coaster. On an empty stomach. I mean -- I have ridden that Coaster a few times - I love that one - but on an empty stomach? Yeah, I was about to throw up. We got a NY pretzel after that! From there we walked to M&M world, Alex wanted us to buy him jelly beans. At the M&M world. Yeah. So that was a no-go. After that we wandered around the Hawaiian Marketplace - that was really great fun - a lot like the International Marketplace! We had a great time with that! After our trip down Hawaii Memory Lane we walked through the mile shops at Planet Hollywood - which was uneventful until the end where this adorable boy selling relaxation things stopped us - we talked for a while and we said we had no money to buy whatever he was going to try and sell us - but he said that was okay, he just got to work and he wanted to warm up on us... So we stayed there for a half an hour while this gorgeous man (with an accent of course- I mean, it's Vegas after all!) massaged our heads and put lavender scented neck warmers on us. Good Times ;) We even managed to get him to take a picture with Booga - the road-tripping Tiki God!

After that we were all giddy like 12 year old girls and as we are walking out of the casino a guy with the club passes stops us -- he's about our age and LJ hadn't learned at that point not to acknowledge the people selling you stuff on the street. So we pass him and she says no thank you and he asks for a hug. BAD SIGN. So LJ gives him a hug - so then I have to give him one too. And then he gave LJ like 3 more hugs - wanted us to all go out that night with his roommates. It was all a little two freaky - so we quickly got away from the crazy boy and ran into the Paris Hotel and Casino. I love this place - I mean it's one city I love inside another. It's great. So we walked around and enjoyed the french-ness of it all! After the Paris we crossed Las Vegas Blvd again to walk around the Bellagio. Unfortunately the winds were high when we were there so we did not see the water show - I was hoping Lana could experience that. The Bellagio atrium was done beautifully for Spring though. Poppies, Delphinium, Azaleas, Gerberas, Roses, Hydrangea and tulips everywhere -- complete with a butterfly house! I got some great photos! It was really one of the prettiest I have ever seen the Atrium - and it is always incredible!

After the Bellagio we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for the evening - as we were meeting some friends of mine. So by 8pm my friend Max picked us up and we went to the Yard House for dinner. We had a really great and fun time there. Afterwards we drove to the Venetian where we had the almost-traditional-now coffee with Max, LJ, another friend Sardin and I at a very fancy mens clothing store that I can't remember the name of. I love coffee there though. Russian men always make the best coffee. Sergey always did - and he always knew what to put in it. American men don't make good coffee. This could be my problem.

After the great coffee we headed over to Sardin's house. He shares a great house near China Town with yet another friend, Arslan. But, we got there and Arslan wasn't there! We did have enough time however to fall perfectly in love with Arslan and Sardin's kitten (just days old) named Al Pacino. I mean, too cute!

Arslan was already at a club with some other cast members (did I mention Arslan is a contortionist in Zumanity? That's how I know him -- and all these people -- through Sergey) So we met him at the Freakin' Frog -- a jazz club with a great feel to it. We stayed there for about an hour - but Max and I were both up for some good House Music and dancing. So the four of us (LJ, Max, Sardin and I) drove to the Mirage. We tried Jet first but opted out of the two hour wait and instead went to Revolution (the beatles/cirque club) Very Techno/Electronica - it was great! The crowd was mainly Cirque dancers from Love - so it made for a great dance night! We ended the night early because Sardin was "tired". I was annoyed. I wanted to keep dancing, but we didn't drive our own car...

The next day we slept in and headed back down to the strip in the early afternoon by way of the Stratosphere. I had never been before! We opted out of going to the top - my fear of heights and lack of money was enough to do it! It is amusing though - inside is all Parisian - it was like The Paris but just cheaper looking... From there we walked around the Fashion Show Mall for a while (which I had also never been to!) We had a lot of fun wishing we could fit into Betsey Johnson dresses! After the mall we walked through Treasure Island and out through the front by the big ships! It just made us feel like home! After wandering around we hadn't heard if we were able to see Zumanity that night (did I mention that Arslan was trying to get us seats?) Well we finally heard that he was not able to so we went to the half price place and decided that we could afford to buy them! So we went anyways! We didn't even have time to change out of our jeans! I was really excited to see the show again and having LJ experience Cirque for the first time! The show was great -- so funny and it was amazing (and gross) as ever to see Arslan twist and contort his body. LJ was very impressed with the many acts, but how could anyone not be?

Afterwards we ate dinner in the New York and then walked to the Bellagio to see the fountains - which like I mentioned earlier, were cancelled due to high winds. So we took the bus (we decided to give her car a rest while we were there) to where we thought was downtown. Instead we ended up at the last stop by the airport where they told everyone to get off. Yeah - at this point we were exhausted and slap-happy, so we were cracking up. It didn't take one of the drivers long to realize that we had no idea where we were and he helped us get on the right bus, which he was actually driving. So the whole way back through the strip to the downtown area, our bus driver was hitting on LJ, serenading us, and all together just cracking us up! It was a great way to end the night! We had to get a really early start in the morning, so we went back to the El Cortez and crashed.

We set the alarm for 5:30am to leave town the next morning. We woke up at about 7:45. Oops...