Comments (2)

By Johnny, August 30, 2009 5:56 pm

I have returned from my latest adventure through Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the Grand Canyon. My travel-mates, my sister and her fiancé planned this trip a few months back. Here was the itinerary then.

• August 22nd – Las Vegas
• August 23rd – Zion
• August 24th – Bryce
• August 25th – Page, AZ
• August 26th – Grand Canyon
• August 27th – Grand Canyon
• August 28th – Havasu Falls

Saturday morning we got all our camping stuff together and it looked a little like this.

At first we couldn’t get everything packed in the car. Eventually we left the canopy and few other items at home. We were very close to calling it quits to the trip since all the SUVs and vans were rented and that would have been a $500 increase to the rental rate even if they found one for us. We began our journey towards Vegas in our rented Nissan Altima around 11AM.

We eventually made it to our Vegas location. We stayed at a friend’s vacation condo located about 4 miles from the strip. It was a hot and muggy day. Notice that the floor is wet when we arrived. Eventually we made it out to the strip and parked our car at the Bellagio hotel. We pretty much spent our evening walking through the strip from hotel to hotel after having our last meal before our camping trip at the Paris hotel. We eventually went back to the condo and called it a night.

The next morning we started our journey towards Zion. This was the first time we ever drove north on the I-15 freeway. After about 3 hours of driving and being lost at the north part of Zion we eventually made it to our campsite. We quickly setup camp and had our lunch. Marie had mentioned that this was “the best sandwich” ever. Probably because of the fact that we didn’t eat until 3PM.

We eventually hopped on the free shuttle that ran through Zion Canyon and took it all the way to the end. On the way we saw so many different sandstone formations. I was in awe to be in such a beautiful environment. We definitely felt so little at a place like that. The history of the Virgin River running through the canyon which was pretty much the reason why the canyon was carved in the way it was.

Our first hike was about a mile hike to the beginning of the Narrows. This was a section of the hike that you had to get your feet wet literally. We didn’t go too far due to the fact that in places like this with thunderstorms looming, you can easily be caught in a flash flood and we did not want to risk that. Thunderstorms was the theme of this trip after my friend Camille had told me she had lost a friend during a flash flood in Grand Canyon. We were very conscious about not putting ourselves in the position. Luckily when we got back from the hike, it was drizzling right before we hopped back onto the bus.

We then stopped at another location called the “Weeping Rock”. This was a half mile hike which featured a rock that had a constant stream of water flowing on it. We were under it to see and feel the water fall off the rock. The hike was steep but very short.

By the time that was over, we ended up going back to camp by the shuttle. We prepared some salmon and corn for our dinner and sat around our first night of camp fire. There was a general store right outside the park in which you can buy almost anything you need for camping. We went and bought some firewood and some citronella candle to deter the yellow jackets that was constantly buzzing around our meals.

The campsite was very nice. We were under the shade for the most part. At nights, it got windy. Perhaps not as windy as it seemed if you were sleeping in a tent. Our second night was much worse when it felt like the tent just was about to be blown off from it’s foundation.

The next day we got up and headed out of Zion and into Bryce Canyon. It was a 2 hour drive towards the Northeast. Very beautiful drive on a 2 lane highway. On the way we saw a group of cyclists who was doing one of those fully supported rides. I vowed one of these days I will be doing that. But for now, I admired my view at speeds ranging from 45mph to 70mph.

When we got to the Visitor’s center we had our lunch of Lunchables crackers, meat, and cheese. Again there was a free shuttle that drove us from various points of interest. We stopped at Sunset Point and was treated to majestic view of what this park had to offer. All three of us was in pure amazement to see the pylons of stones that made up this location. After several minutes of photo sessions, we hiked down to the canyon.

Our hike was initially going to be a 1 – 2 miler but ended up to be about 4 miles. We were very anxious at the beginning but towards the end it got tough with the hike terminating at the top of the look-out.

After the hike, we jumped on the shuttle for 2 more stops at Bryce Point and Inspiration Point. From there we were able to see more beautiful rock formations. We had lots of beautiful pictures from this hike and was probably the most scenic of all the places we went. Towards the end, we stopped taking pictures since it pretty much looked the same at each of the points. We left the park at 6PM and retreated back to Zion. We ate dinner, sat around the camp fire, and went to bed.

The next morning, was check out morning for Zion. We had breakfast and packed up our campsite. We had to remember how we originally packed the car so that we used every space optimally. After we were all packed up, we went on one last hike through Zion. We hiked to a location called the “Emerald Pools”. It sounded very interesting but unfortunately didn’t lived up to our expectations. Because of the fact that there isn’t a lot of water during summer, we didn’t see magnificent waterfalls. Instead a few spouts of water falling from the rocks above. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good hike.

When we got back to the car, we began our journey to Page, Arizona. What’s in Page, AZ? That was going to be the stop before the Grand Canyon so that we can sleep on beds and take our much deserved showers.

What we didn’t realize was that Page offered many places to see. Ranging from Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge, Horseshoe Bend, and the Glen Canyon Dam. We eventually decided to go see Horseshoe Bend before dinner. We were not prepared for the minor hike to the location but walked through it with slippers and all. When we got there, we were treated to another sight of beauty. Sunset at the Horseshoe Bend was incredible. We spent almost an hour admiring the view and getting over our fear of heights.

We meet a German family on the way back from view Horseshoe Bend. The father helped us snapped a group picture at the spot. We found out they were doing pretty much the same trip we were doing. Instead of starting at Las Vegas, they were going to end there. They were at Zion and Bryce at the same time we were and was heading off to the Grand Canyon the next day as well. We bid them farewell only to meet them again at the restaurant where we had Chinese food. They were very friendly and pleasant. Through out the remainder of the trip we referred back to them several times. One of the most interesting part of the trip was that we kept on hearing so many different languages. We were surrounded by Europeans everywhere we went. They really love our national parks! We got back to the motel and surfed on the Internet for a few hours as well as watched TV. Eventually went to sleep in our somewhat comfortable beds.

We got up, went to Walmart and McDonald’s for breakfast. I was surprised by the fact that it cost us almost $20 for breakfast at McDonald’s. That was 3 of the same “value” meal. Anyhow, we got on the SR-89 going South. What we didn’t know at that time, our GPS made us go to “Grand Canyon National Park” location in Flagstaff. We obediently obliged and drove all the way down to Flagstaff only to realize that the location it was directing us was an office location.

Our detour did bring us to another National Park at the “Sunset Volcano Crater”. This was an active volcano few thousands of years ago. It pretty much was one of the bigger ones around the area and around the park was surrounded by remains of hardened magma. We hiked around the Lava trail for half a mile. The place was interesting but it wasn’t as “scenic” as we thought it would be.

Our detour led us more Southwest than we would have wanted to be. Eventually we made it to our campsite in the Grand Canyon National Park around 5PM. We quickly setup camp and bought some more firewood for the night. The free bus at the park ran until 11PM every night in the summer so we thought it was a good idea to go to one of the stops to see the Grand Canyon.

We eventually made it out to Yavapai Point in which we were treated to a beautiful sunset. The canyon was massive. Much bigger than that of Zion or Bryce. I felt much smaller being there especially when you look through a pair of binoculars towards some trails in the canyon. We eventually took the bus back and settled in at our new campsite.

The camping at the South Rim of Grand Canyon was cold at nights. It was comfortable and not too cold. We heard lots of crickets and insects that chirped through-out the night. We saw bats flying over while the stars sparkled in the sky. The first night, the moon was missing after a brief appearance. The second night, it lit the sky and our paths.

The next day we went to the Visitor’s center to ask the park ranger on recommended day hikes. We were told that there is a 2 hour hike we can do called the “Ooh Aah Point”. This hike was great going down, but on the way back up, it was strenuous. Nevertheless, the reward at the bottom was another beautiful view of the Eastern part of the canyon.

We eventually finished the hike drenched in sweat and exhausted. We went back to the Visitor’s center by bus and meandered through the Rim trail. That was another 1.5 mi walk back to Yavapai Point, which was the location we were at the evening before. We took the bus into the Village. We were actually in search of these “cancellation stamps” from the National Park. At Bryce, we bought some National Park Passports which allows you to put stickers and have cancellations stamps from all the major US National Parks. In the Grand Canyon there was 5 of them. I only got 4 of 5. We treated ourselves to some ice cream before taking the bus towards the western side of the Grand Canyon. We ended up at Hermit’s Rest.

We found the 3rd stamp there and proceeded back. I remember being exhausted and falling asleep on the bus ride back into the Village. Marie & Sang decided to head back into camp and take advantage of the showers. I decided to find the remaining cancellation stamp at the Visitor’s Center. I soon found out that the last stamp was at the Desert View location which was only reachable by car. It was a 25 mi drive to the East side of the canyon, outside of the park. I was fortunately to find the 4th stamp at a location where we found the first one.

I made it back before it got dark and just sat around until they came back. We had dinner and discussed the details of our last day. When I was sitting around I was doing some quick research about Havasu Falls. This was going to be something we needed to do in more than 1 day. It wasn’t a simple trip of going there and hiking to see the falls. It was going to require some hiking to a location, camping and hiking back. We decided that it wasn’t going to be a good idea to go there and decided to head back home a day earlier. We forfeited the night at the hotel as a result. But that was evened out when we returned the car a day earlier.

Thinking back, we did a lot for a week long trip. It was non-stop action and I loved the camping aspect of this trip. I can’t wait to do another camping-centric trip again. I believe we may try to go see the Arches and make our way into Yellowstone. You know we have these cancellation stamps to obtain!

Here is the Flickr set of the remaining photos in our trip. Enjoy!

Comments (0)

By Johnny, May 27, 2007 9:26 am

Famous words from my childhood friend Shon. I’d have to say he’s the luckiest son-a-va-bitch that I personally know. On Friday night I received the following email explaining why this is the case:

THE CAR:

It’s Thurs. morning about half past midnight when my cell phone rings. I think to myself, “What MF would call me at this time of night.” I pick up and it’s my dad screaming frantically.

He’s barely coherent, but I heard English phrases, such as “$25,000?!?…. is it that or the car?!”

My first thought was that my parents were having car problems. My second thought (a selfish one) was, “Oh, great, now I hafta drive out to Vegas to help them figure this out?”

Then, he finally started making some sense. He excitedly uttered, “Your mom was playing slots and won a Z4! She needs you to come down to pick it up!” WOW…. I mean, WOW!

So, next thing I know, I’m booking the one-way 6:30 AM flight to Vegas…. VEGAS, Baby! I had to get to the airport by 6 AM. So needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep. But, the moment was filled with excitement. I landed around 8 AM, grabbed the first shuttle to Circus Circus, and was in my parents’ hotel room by 8:30 AM. I was barely awake, but fortunately, we didn’t have to meet up with the Circus Circus rep. until 11 AM. So, I grabbed 2 hours of shut eye.

I awoke to my mom’s big grin as I felt her shaking me awake. It was 10:30 AM. While we were walking downstairs, she described how it happened.

“I was playing penny slots and lost. But, I had ordered a bottle of water from the drink lady, so I decided to wait for it. The slots for the Z4 were next to the penny ones, so I decided to put in $20. Around the 12th dollar, I saw the first “Car” symbol roll down the barrel, then the second. Before the third barrel stopped spinning, your father retorted ‘Darn, you’re gonna miss it by one… I just know it.’ But, the third barrel stopped and there it was, the third “Car” symbol!”

She won a $39,000 car with $12!

We met up with the Circus Circus rep. who then had my mom fill out some simple paper work. He then introduced us to George Duncan, the car dealer from BMW. He drove us to the Beamer lot, signed some papers, and within an hour, I was driving off the lot in a black convertible Z4.

As we were driving, my mom was trying to figure out how to sell it since everyone in the family already drives a car, and thus, she didn’t see any reason to keep it. I really wanted it, but it wasn’t my decision to make and so, I stayed silent on the subject.

POK-AR:

We arrived back at Circus Circus and I really was dead tired. I wanted to go to sleep since I figured I had a long drive ahead of me. But, just as I was about to go up to the hotel room to catch a couple of hours of sleep, my brother called. He generously offered to go feed our dog and offered to let me stay in Vegas for the night so that I didn’t have to rush home. I figured with a night to spare, I can now play poker.

Circus Circus had a lousy poker room. There was only one table being played at the moment and it was a 3/6 limit game. I disdain limit games, as you all know. But, since it was the “only game in town,” I figured why not. But, the darnest thing happened, I played with the “Oh hell, I’ll call since I’m already in the pot” mentality, and the next thing you know, I’m up $100 after an hour. I continue playing it like it was no-limit ( i.e. check raising, playing the draws, etc.) and with no possibility of being bullied out by a huge raise since this was limit, my aggressive tactics and lucky draws worked. Four hours pass and somehow I’m up $458 in winnings!

I’m dead tired and can barely stay awake. In fact, for the last three or so hours, I’ve been running on a cocktail of alcohol and coffee. I would leave, but this table is filled with loose callers and bad players. To leave would be committing financial suicide. So, I grind it out. But, needless to say, when you have been awake for 36 hours straight (but for the 2 hour nap), your calculating abilities are off. I go on a slow losing streak in the next hour and lose $68. I’m down to $390. I decided that it was still a good haul, so I call it quits. Funny thing is that I still didn’t get any respect for my abilities from my fellow players. Rather, every chump I took at that table started fighting for my seat because they all thought what I did was based on the luck of that position. Go figure.

THE BAR:

As I was driving the Z4 home the next morning, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Then it hits me: the bar results come out tonight at 6 PM. With all the excitement, I had buried away this thing that I had been dreading for the last 3 months. Through the entire 3 hour drive, I felt the attacks of anxiety; my stomach was cramping and in general just churning away like a grain mill.

The moment of truth was upon me. It was 6 PM. I logged on, typed in my information, and saw the words “This person’s name shows up on the pass list!” I screamed “THAT”S RIGHT MUTHAFUCKA…. WHAT’S MY NAME!???” Upon hearing this, my sister ran into the room with a grin and a high-five. After four attempts and a burdening huge amount of failure, I’d finally beaten that test.

I called my parents to tell them the good news. They were able to match my good news. My father said, “Congratulations. That car will be your congratulatory gift. We won’t sell it. It’s yours.”

It was 6:30 PM. Exactly 42 hours from when I first received that fated phone call from my father. What an exciting 42 hours, eh?

Congrats to him for his hard work in passing the bar and getting a new whip!

Comments (0)

By Johnny, September 7, 2006 12:58 am

A couple of videos from our bachelor party rock climbing event last weekend.

Andrew vs. Sir

Instructor going horizontal!

Andrew vs. Vince

Comments (0)

By Johnny, August 28, 2006 6:26 pm

My first attempt in planning a bachelor party went fairly well. Besides the bachelor losing his wallet within the first 30 minutes of arrival, everything else was great. We did some rock climbing, lots of eating, gambling, and of course gentlemen’s club. I ended up being down $400 in gambling. $300 of that was playing poker. Been in a bit of a losing streak lately. Spending time with friends and making new friends is worth the $800 spent on the trip.

Comments (0)

By Johnny, May 29, 2006 2:09 pm

The Memorial Day holiday brought a great opportunity to pay another visit to Las Vegas for the 3 days off. It was also a birthday celebration for Chanthou as well as a celebration for me being debt free. We left for Vegas Saturday morning and did not arrive until 5pm. The traffic wasn’t too bad. There was some delay’s on the way to Hesperia, but it was negligible considering we did not experience major traffic from that point on.

I played some craps and a $50 1-2 NL game when we got there. Unfortunately lost about $150 before we even went to eat dinner. We enjoyed a nice dinner at an Asian noodle place in the Hilton (our hotel). Did some saki bombs and saki shots for Chanthou’s birthday. After dinner I went back to the 1-2 NL game and bought in for another $50. At the end of the night I walked away with $377. So I was up $177. We spent the next morning eating dim-sum in Chinatown Las Vegas. Because I had won the night before, I decided to give everyone a treat and paid for the bill. We then went to see a magic show at the Tropicana hotel. This was my first Las Vegas show I’ve ever experienced. The show was okay and I’ve always enjoyed watching magic so it was a good experience.

After we finished the show, we went back to the hotel. Rich and I decided to lay-out at the pool. It was nice. The pool was cold and the weather carried a breeze towards the end of our 2 hours out in the sun. I did get a bit of color, but nothing to really brag about.

We get back up to the hotel room and discovered that the girls had received comp dinner at our hotel for signing up with a player’s club card. Sweet! We stuffed ourselves with all sorts of buffet food. There was even free alcohol at the buffet.

After dinner, we went to see Fremont Street, the original “Las Vegas Strip” in Downtown Las Vegas. I really liked it there. It was also a first time for me being there. We settled down at the Binions Hotel and played some craps. Lost another $140 there. We left Fremont at 11pm and went back to our hotel. Obviously I had to visit the card room once again after the successful night I had before. With the initial $50 buy-in, I had slowly accumulated about $650 and became big stack in a matter of 5-6 hours. Unfortunately, I had lost $400 in a matter of 2 hands afterwards. The second place chip-leader had busted me with a set of Q’s. We actually both had Q’s and I thought I was good since my cards were Q-10. Unfortunately, he had Q-A. That hurt. I grinded out my last $200 for another 3 hours until I lost it all. I rebought w/another $100 and played all the way till 5am this morning. I lost it on busted up flush draw against another Q top pair. The cool part about both poker nights, I came across a couple of regulars who were very receptive of me. The first night I had an older gentleman who joked around with me and told me all the regulars that played with us that night along with their style of play. This morning, the guy who beat me w/top pair Qs shook my hand and said, “I’ll see you in the circuit.” He thinks that I play professionally! A great confidence booster to a down weekend. At the end of the trip, I had only spent $300 of the $600 I brought. Not bad considering I had treated for dim-sum and paid for other expenses besides gambling.

Comments (0)

By Johnny, January 9, 2006 11:29 pm

First of all, Happy New Year. I’m finally settled back at home with my folks. I finally got my home hooked up to the Internet via SBC Yahoo! DSL. It only took me 5 days from the day they said it was going to be installed. That’s sarcasm just in case you didn’t catch that. I’ve been very productive since coming back. I’ve empty and organized all my box of stuff. I unpacked whatever I needed. Just the bare minimum. For some reason I just don’t think its time for me to completely unload. To me this is just a temporary stay so I don’t want to completely settle down. I tell ya, its good to have food ready when you come home or have food to bring for lunch. Also a place to wash and work on my motorcycle is sweet. The only bad point would be my lack of seeing my gf. At least we have the weekends to spend together.

Vegas was fun on NYE. Lots of people and great display of fireworks. I did very well that night being up about $200. But then lost it all on NYD. In a span of 1 hour I lost $200. And then lost the rest ($300) playing careless Hold’em later that night. I should have been more patient, but got too greedy. I even hit quad 9′s and won $50 for getting the hand. Unfortunately, blew that on craps. As far as gambling goes, the trip sucked. But overall, it was fun!

Comments (1)

By Johnny, December 27, 2005 10:59 pm

This will be my last post for the year as well the last post in my apartment at Diamond Bar. I am a bit sad about leaving this place. I had alot of good memories for the past 2.5 years. Unfortunately, I will not have Internet access until the New Year arrives. So Happy New Year to you all. I will be at Sin City for the New Year so wish me luck!