Finally Updating!

So after a long hiatus, I am finally updating my blog. I told you not to rely on me being consistent with this :-P.

So after Memphis, Matt and I continued on I-40 towards Vegas. We began our journey that day around 2 or 3 in the morning to give us plenty of time to get to Albuquerque to relax for a longer night, and make the drive to Vegas shorter. As we left Tennessee and entered Arkansas, it became apparent, this is going to be a long state, and honestly, there was so little to see and entertain us, even as the Sun rose.

After the boring drive through Arkansas, we entered Oklahoma, which was actually surprisingly beautiful. The terrain was awesome, and when we hit Oklahoma City (OKC from here on), it was awesome. OKC was like the unexpected diamond in the ruff on the drive. Out of almost nothing, we hit an Air Force Base, then this huge city with so much to see and do (of course all we did was get gas and a car wash, and kept going, but it was really nice there).

We continued through Oklahoma towards our lunch destination of the Big Texan Steak Ranch for lunch. Those of you who watch Man v Food will remember this as the 72 oz Big Texan Challenge, which unfortunately, Matt didn't do, but it looked surprisingly doable for someone who likes steak.

We continued through Texas and entered New Mexico, which I honestly have to say, was a very nice drive. The views were amazing, nothing I had ever seen before. During the drive, we realized we would hit Vegas Thursday afternoon instead of Friday, a full day early. We hadn't been speeding, just making longer drives than we originally thought. We had really good grooves going with trading off sleeping and driving that we managed to pull 12-16 hours stints. I called Orbitz, and adjusted our reservation to add a day at the beginning, and we were set. We arrive in Albuquerque to our hotel, and dropped stuff off from the car, and then went and grabbed dinner.

After the night in Albuquerque, which we slept later (4 AM this time!!), we began our second to last leg into Vegas. Again, driving through New Mexico, and then Arizona was some of the most amazing Terrain I had ever seen, especially when we hit Flagstaff and the Southern Rockies. We stopped in Flagstaff for a few, grabbed fuel, and admired some of the views. As we approached Vegas, I was welcome to a surprise I wasn't expecting, we were going to cross the Hoover Dam! Now, I am an engineering nerd completely, and because I was just winging the drive, it completely skipped my mind that I would have the opportunity to do this.

As we approached Hoover, it became so apparent the dedication of those who braved this terrain to build the roads and the dam, and those doing it again to make the new bridge and road. The Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the works in progress, and the mountains and canyons were so beautiful. We got to take some really awesome pictures, and admire some scenes as we rested at the Dam for a few.

After leaving Hoover Dam, and passing through Vegas, the adrenaline started kicking in, only a little bit more till Vegas. Matt had wanted In-N-Out Burger the entire drive, and we had passed one a little earlier in Arizona but opted to continue driving. Check in at our hotel wasn't until a little later in the afternoon, but we arrived in Vegas right around lunch time, so we found one, right next to the UNLV campus.

After finishing our well deserved meal, we continued to the Strip, and the Planet Hollywood, where we were staying. The Planet Hollywood was actually fairly nice, and more than what I was expecting. Last time I was here, I stayed at the Encore, which is just an amazing hotel. Planet Hollywood was well receiving, and the room was more than adequate for us. We checked in, walked around the strip a bit, and grabbed some food at one of the restaurants in the resort.

Now, last time I was in Vegas, I didn't get to fully appreciate Tao, so I knew I wanted to go back. I hit up the promoter I knew, and he hooked Matt and I up with free entry into Tao, it was on! Matt crashed for a bit, and I just hung out, then we rolled out around 10 or so. Tao was, of course, awesome. I had such a great time finally being able to see the entire place, and enjoy it all. Met some really cool people, and just overall had fun. It was nice to relax, and unwind and know tomorrow we weren't driving.

The next day, we picked up Brooke, Matt's girlfriend, from the airport. It was nice to know that with the fact that we planned this all last minute, it was all falling into place, and working out really well. We walked around and hung out for most of the day, grabbed lunch at the buffet in the Bellagio, which was delicious, and filling. That night, we decided to go to LAVO for dinner, which I was extremely happy about. LAVO is probably my favorite Italian restaurant, and the Chicken Dominic was amazing. I hit up the promoter again for LAVO that night, and he got the girls free drinks from 11-12, and we just chilled there again. Afterwards, I met up with Paul and his party at Tryst in the Wynn, then finished the night at XS, the most amazing club in Vegas.

The next day was awesome. Hung out at a bar called "Freakin' Frog" with a friend I met Thursday night there. It was a great beer bar, and the cooler there had so many amazing beers. The bar tenders were extremely nice, and the chili cheese fries were to die for (yes, I ate something with cheese!). Jack, the bar tender, showed us the Whiskey Attic, which was really cool.

That night, Matt and Brooke went to Maggiano's for dinner, and I just grabbed some Mexican food at the Planet Hollywood, which was actually really good. That night, we saw "O" at the Bellagio, which was amazing. It put Wintuk to shame. I really want to see La Reve at the Wynn now to see how it compares. After the show, I met up with Paul's crew at Treasure Island since they were heading over to Vanity at the Hard Rock. Vanity was actually pretty interesting, set up differently from the other clubs I had been to. It was fun chilling with them for a few hours, then met up with my friend when they were off from work at the Freakin Frog, and just took it easy for the rest of the night.

The next day was rollout day. We woke up around 4 or 5, and packed up the car, now with even more things, but it all fit! We drove up I-5, which the last time I did around 5 or 6 years ago, was at night. There were some great views along the way, and then we rolled into SF around 4, perfect time to relax, and grab dinner.

We met up with Alex, my friend who moved here a week and a half before me, who showed us the area. Matt's friends met up with us, as did a friend of mine from High School, and we actually managed to have a small posse walking around. We grabbed dinner at Taqueria La Cumbre in the Mission (another Man v Food favorite). Burrito was delicious! We walked around some more, then went to a bar Alex knew about, and grabbed some drinks, and a friend of Alex's met up with us.

After that, Matt and Brooke went to their hotel for the night so they could grab an early flight, and I pretty much just relaxed, and passed out, on the floor...

Long story, which the next update will have more details on. I promise it won't be too long for that!