Road trip updates

Hi all,

I have finally gone and done what I have said I was going to do for weeks...an update! There are pictures from Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

The trip to Las Vegas was a few weeks ago now. On our way there we (well Dave, Amy, and I) went via the Hoover Dam (the other car got lost and found themselves in California and didn't go via Hoover Dam). Now I was expecting something a little larger. I always had this grand impression of the dam, but when I actually saw it I was shocked at it size--well the lack of size. Since we were kinda in a bit of a rush to get to Vegas, we didn't take the time to do any tour of the dam.

When we eventually found ourselves in Vegas, had about 24 hours for our whirlwind tour. Most of our time was spent checking out all the various hotels/casinos. You really need more time experience it all. All in all it was a fun time, didn't spend too much money (really I didn't).

Last weekend Adam and I made the trek to the Grand Canyon. Saturday morning we got up and started off to the Canyon. Our trip had stops at Sedona, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon itself. We broke up the drive there with a stop in Sedona for a drink on a very nice patio. We arrived at the Canyon about an hour before dark, so we only got a brief view of it then. We went back into town and found a Red Feather Inn to stay in for the night. After we were sure we had somewhere to stay we went to the local steak house...quaint place, not the best selection but good food.

Sunday we headed back to the Canyon and did the tour of the south rim, stopping at all the look-outs. During the drive along the Canyon (and back to Chandler) we got to experience all the seasons: we got sun, rain, snow, hail. I don't know what to say about the Canyon, other than you really have to see it. There is good reason for it being one of the natural wonders of the world. As a little side-note, the Celica was very good to us: one tank of gas for the approximately 550 miles; handled all the weather well; and it was fun to drive. :)

Well that is about all for now. Oh, Gilberth and I are going to California for a concert this weekend. The main reason I want to go is that Coldplay will be at it. I'll let you know how it goes. I mean it.

Hillside around Sedona 

Where is the road runner?

Adam had been in the car too long...I had to let him out ;) 

Leaving Flagstaff 

Adam and I on the edge of the Grand Canyon 

A long way across 

Have to see it in person 

Storm rolling in along the canyon 

My current rental 

Luxor has a taste of Egypt 

View across Bellagio's pond 

Vegas even has Paris 

THE MGM Grand 

Hoover Dam -- not as large as I expected 

A moment of peace

Hi all,

I guess I never did get back to writhing about Vegas. I suppose I'll still find time to do a post dedicated to it...don't think that this will be it though.

Currently, I'm just finishing up for the week. And guess what that means...BBQ. What I actually just finished doing was preparing some home-made burgers (with the help of some 2002 riesling from our good friends at Turning Leaf in California...sorry everyone, you can't find Ontario wine here). Lacey and Gilberth should be showing up in about 45 minutes to take part in the feast (it is always fun to feed others). I hadn't really tried to make my own burgers from scratch until I got here. But I've done it a number of times now; I don't think I'll ever buy pre-made burgers again. Thanks for the base recipe Mom. :)

Tomorrow will see a trip to the Grand Canyon for Adam and I. And it will be made extra special fun by the new rental car--a 2005 Celica. This car is really growing on me (well I have always had an eye for them)...I do wish it were a stick though. :( I'll definitely let you all know how the Canyon is (pictures and all); but now I need to go finish off the burgers.

Las Vegas

Well we made it safely to and from Sin City without much incident. Well actually there wasn't really any. I won't go into the trip in detail yet, just letting everyone know that we made it to and from safely and that we had a good time. More details to follow.

Pope's Funeral

Last night I started to watch the Pope's funeral. But alas, it was very late when it even started here and I only managed to see the begining of the service. I'm assuming Grandma recorded it though (am I right?). I did however find a good news article about the service (I'm sure there are hundreds more but this is what Google found for me). Give the article a read, if you find any good ones post a coment with a link.

Living it up in the south-west

Hi all,

It has been a while since I posted anything. It has been a rather busy week. Four of my fellow team members came down on Monday (and Tuesday), two are now on their way back home, but the other two will be here until next week. From the time they arrived, additional work seemed to follow. Monday and Tuesday nights didn’t end until 12am and 1:30am respectively, in both cases it was to do releases. Thankfully I was not the one doing them, however, I did start one of them and was there to answer questions and lend a hand to help speed up some of the work.

The last two nights Adam and I have been feeding the masses. Wednesday was ribs night with a couple nice big racks of BBQ spare ribs and an excellent Caesar salad; Thursday ended up being handmade burgers and a garden salad with a red wine vinaigrette. The burgers took on a south-west flair with the jalapeno and chili peppers. Both these nights included a nice peppering of beer and caesars in the hot-tub (under the stars of course).

This weekend is the trek to Vegas. There will be 7 (maybe 8 but doubtful) of us heading out on Saturday morning, returning Sunday sometime. None of us have the intention of peeing away our money at the tables; we will give them a try but there is so much to see, and not a lot of time. I’ll let everyone know how it turns out.