Feb 16 2010
…hop on a flight to Las Vegas for a few days!
We haven’t been back for a few years, so there was a lot of new stuff to see. CityCenter is simply amazing, we’ll certainly have to stay there next time.
Robin came back with money, but the rest of us didn’t. I claimed the booby prize and brought back a nasty cold. Yuck.
Granny, Lisa, and Robin enjoying cocktails with Donny & Marie
Lisa terrified but Robin excited?
Oct 17 2009
Yes, I’m still in shock! I can’t believe we went from coast to coast in two weeks. What a great time. I think Michael should plan all of the vacations from now on. He did awesome and he can keep a secret really good. We are almost done with Christmas shopping, planning our Auntie Robin Thanksgiving and also planning a wedding right now, so we really needed that vacation. Thanks so much Hubby! You did an awesome job–can’t wait till next year!
Oct 11 2009
I finally finished sorting through over 1400 pictures taken from our 2009 Mystery trip and and posted them to Picasa. You’ll find 500+ photos of Denver, San Francisco (including separate Russel Wright exhibit at the San Francisco airport), New York City, and Miami Beach. Now I just have to go through and add captions to all those pictures!
This was a trip of a lifetime, with so many memories. A number of things stand out for me:
Oh, the list could go on. But most memorable was hearing Lisa scream in delight when I told her finally where we’d be going, and of course watching the amazement and joy in her face those 2+ weeks we spent on both coasts.
Thanks for sharing this special time with me Lisa, can’t wait for next year!
Sep 20 2009
Long travel day home, very tired after 20 hours up and a drive from Denver to Albuquerque!
Excellent trip, one we’ll never forget. Have about 1200 pics to download, should have them posted in coming days.
Good night.
Sep 19 2009
Walked along the beach at high tide on our last night here, it is kinda bittersweet in a way since we don’t want our vacation to end but we are ready to come home. I won’t miss all the cigarette butts littering the beach, I am shocked that not only are there still tons of smokers out there but they llitter at the same time! Asses! Ignoring that, Miami Beach is beautiful, we willl likely come back again, probably to get on a cruise ship.
Sep 18 2009
More sun, more sand, more ocean, and a hell of a lot of fun (except for sunburns, ach)!
Sep 17 2009
There seems to be a lot of hookah lounges and Italian restaurants in Miami Beach for some reason, and its French and Italian tourist season, where tops are optional. Wasn’t expecting that. To our detriment Lisa and I have sunburns, but that shouldn’t slow is down. The water is just too perfect to stay out of.
Sep 16 2009
In Miami now, specificallly Miami Beach at the most remarkable hotel yet! It is called the Z Ocean and the bathroom alone is bigger than our entire NYC room. We are posting from the BlackBerry since they charge for internet access. That blows, but not a problem. Ocean Drive and the art deco and neon is beautiful, the beach is gorgeous, it is where we are posting from right now. I will take some time to adjust to the humidity and heat, but give us an umbrella and shade and we are happy as clams. Time to get in the ocean!
Sep 14 2009
Lisa hoping to get on camera at the Today Show:
Al and the gang made it outside, but it looks like we picked the wrong end of the stage to meet them, they were way on the other side and didn’t make it our way. Rats. Sorry Lisa. It was cool to see them though, and Rockefeller Plaza.
On our way downtown, however, we had a bit of a surprise!
That’s President Obama’s car! He was in town today to make a speech at Federal Hall, and we just happened upon the barricades over at Liberty Street. What’s shocking is how close we are to his motorcade, just look at that camera phone photo, we are mere feet away. Obama managed to smile and wave as he passed by us!
I think NYPD screwed up security here because Lisa and I weren’t checked out by police at all, I even had my backpack on, they let us walk anywhere prior to his arrival. By the time we finished shopping, this time we were kept about 200 feet away from the vehicles as they departed. Wow, what a treat that was.
After shopping in the Wall Street area, we headed over to Chinatown and enjoyed a couple Tsingtao and local cuisine. We finished off the night by a final stop by Times Square.
Our 5 days here went by fast, and there is still so much more to see. But we are completely exhaused, time for some R&R for the next few days, and we’ll be back to NYC soon. Of that, we are sure.
Tomorrow is a travel day…
Sep 13 2009
It might be one of the highlights of the trip, our visit to the Met:
It was like a live, in person version of your college art history book. Lisa and I agreed that next time we’re back in NYC we’ll spend at least two days there, as the museum is astonishingly large. And since it is situated in Central Park, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and hung out for some time to soak in the beauty of the park and the surrounding architecture.
We’d only had breakfast (and a few beers) by the time we left the Met around 4:30, and decided Italian food might be a good idea, so we headed down to Little Italy. Wow, were we in for a surprise, since we had no idea the Feast of San Gennaro was going on this week! Tons of people, tons of food, carnival rides, and booze to celebrate this religious festival. Been happending for 80 years or so, it was a blast to be in Little Italy during the festival.
We finished off the night by visiting the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The line was long and took a while to make it up 86 floors, but it was well worth it! I certainly hope our pictures turn out, the view is amazing.
