Loving Vegas Living

New Blog Site

2009-08-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

I've moved my blog over to Wordpress. You can follow me there at http://lovingvegasliving.wordpress.com/.

New Camera

2009-04-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

My beloved camera, an Olympus SP-550UZ, has had a piece of dust on the lens for as long as I can remember. I never got it taken care of because I knew I'd have to send it in, and I didn't want to have to do without it. Finally, I decided to go to Fry's and have them send it in. Wouldn't it figure that Fry's said my 3-year extended warranty did not cover dust, and I'd have to pay Olympus $180 to have it fixed. I decided that a better use for this money would be to get a dSLR, as I've been wanted. After some research on the internet, I decided that the Olympus E-420 would give me the best value for my money.

I've been shooting in manual mode on my point-and-shoot for two years now, but a dSLR is still quite different. I'm slowly adjusting to it while continuing to use my other two Olympus cameras (the SP-550 UZ and the rugged 790 SW). I'm impressed with the crispness of the images. Here are two flowers blooming in my front yard (or "embankment," as Brad put it).

Edit: The E-420 is great, but I found the E-520 online for only $50 more, and it includes image stabilization, a larger battery, and a more substantial grip. I'm going to be testing out Amazon's return policy...

Pine Creek to Bridge Mtn, 0 for 3

2009-04-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, Rick, Mike, and I tried to reach Bridge Mountain from Pine Creek. Twice. We never found the route, so we never made it out of the canyon. When I saw Branch Whitney post this hike on the Meetup website, I had to try it. I started out with eight strong guys, and this was just not my day to conquer this hike. My legs felt weak and I couldn't get enough air, so at the end of the canyon I decided to turn back. It was probably a good thing because my buddy Gene said it was one of the hardest hikes he's done. The silver lining is that Fern Canyon was filled with water and flowers (and ducks, so I hear), so I was able to take my time getting back to the car and take some pictures along the way.

UNC - National Champs!

2009-04-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's March Madness, the most wonderful time of the year. My alma mater, North Carolina, reached the national championship game. So did my dad's alma mater, Michigan State. As indicated by the flag hanging outside my parent's house, my family was a bit divided on the issue.
I didn't have anyone to watch the game with, but I really wanted to share the excitement with others, preferably people who were cheering for a reason other than the betting line. Hours before tipoff, I discovered that there is a Las Vegas Carolina Club. I've been out here two and a half years, and I had no idea. I drove down to a sports bar just south of the Strip and met 12 or so other Carolina alums. I yelled, I screamed, and I cried at the end when my Tar Heels won their 5th national championship.

(Sorry Dad - I would be pulling for the Spartans in any other game. I'll be sure that the national championship t-shirt I send you doesn't show the final score.)

The Valley's Newest Casino - M Resort

2009-03-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

Despite the on-going recession, which has noticeably hit Las Vegas with decreased visitor numbers and delayed construction projects, a new casino opened on the south end of the valley last week. Ron and I ventured down to the M Resort to check it out.
Our goal was a quick meal at the buffet followed by some poker. We got there at 6pm and the wait in the buffet line was said to be 45 minutes. We immediately tried plan B, which was for me to get in the long rewards card line while Ron scoped out an alternative dining spot. Ron picked Veloce Cibo, a sushi restaurant, while I got through the rewards line in 30 minutes

To our surprise, Veloce Cibo was located on top of the hotel, with the panoramic valley view that M has been praised for. We asked for the sushi bar, which turned out to be short cocktail tables with comfortable bucket seats right against the picture window.
We received both a bar menu and a dining menu, which included sushi, small plates, and large plates. M has been noted as having a more approachable price point in their restaurants, and this was evident in their top floor restaurant only having two entrees over $30 (lobster and veal, as could be expected). Off the small plates, we ordered steamed potstickers and Kobe beef sliders, which were impressively presented with a mound of crispy sweet potato fries.
The best bargain of the restaurant was their bar menu. We actually asked the waiter if the prices and description were correct because the sushi appeared to be an absolute steal. We ordered the sushi for two, which included three different rolls with four pieces each for only $16.
An even more unbelievable value was the sashimi for two, which included three slices each of three different types of tuna sashimi for only $12. That price is unheard of, and the fish was fresh and delicious.
One of the more unique parts of our dining experience was the wine selection. We wanted to order wines by the glass and were informed that the wine was self-serve and we could purchase a $25 debit card for use in the wine machine. They are obviously still working out the kinks in the system because the waiter didn't know if the card could be recharged or if it could be used at a later date, but the wine dispensing system is ingenious. A wall of wine stores a vast selection of bottles preserved using the Enomatic system. You simply put your debit card in, select the wine and amount (1-, 3-, or 5-oz pours), and stick your fresh glass under the spout as your wine is dispensed.

After dinner and soaking up the view, we checked out the pool area and the wine bar downstairs, which uses the same system to boast 120 wines by the glass (without the need to employ cocktail waitresses, cutting down overhead and speeding up the serving process). Eventually, we made it to the poker room for a short session of 4/8L. Although the table had half blinds and a half-kill (I want to play 4/8, not 6/12, thank you very much), this was the perfect game for me - loose-passive. I haven't played poker in over a year, so I was nervous about remembering how to figure odds, but the passive nature of the players allowed me to ease in without having to call many raises, and the looseness of the table let me play the hands I knew were strong. Ron made a killing at the table, but I was happy to take my $18 profit and call it a night. I know there will be many more adventures out to M. Although it was only a 25 minute drive from Summerlin, it almost makes me miss living on the south side of town.

Wine and Appetizers

2009-03-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

I took advantage of my parents' visit to finally have a group of people over to my house. I thought of it as a sort of house-warming, so I had the crazy idea to prepare all of the food myself. The heavy-appetizer menu included tarragon deviled eggs, walnut Gorgonzola in endive, prosciutto mushroom sautée in phyllo shells, mini onion tarts, bruschetta, lime cheesecake in Oreo shells, chocolate-covered strawberries, and mini lemon meringues. I prepped for two days with help from Mom and Dad.

There were eleven people total, and we all fit comfortably around my new extended island. My stools had just arrived, so there was plenty of seating and way too much food (though we had no problem emptying the wine). I ate the baked brie and asiago onion bread brought by guests for breakfast for several days. Although game night is now defunct (L&B, please come back!), I hope this group can start a monthly wine and app get-together.

The Great Kitchen Remodel

2009-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love my house. But the one thing I disliked about it when I bought it is the kitchen counters. They are white tile with a lip to the edge, which makes them impossible to clean. I decided for my 30th birthday, I would treat myself to the long-lasting present of a kitchen remodel.

I started out by getting quotes for granite counters at Lowe's and Home Depot. Then I hooked up with a talented interior designer friend of Brad's, who connected me with a granite installer, granite warehouse, and a carpenter. I found that going through these individuals rather than a big box store was much cheaper and much higher quality. I couldn't believe the granite selection I had to choose from compared to the boring colors available at the box stores. It was also a super fast process. They did the tile removal and granite installation in one day and the backsplash on the second day. The results are amazing and worth every penny.

My kitchen when I bought the house. Notice the breakfast nook to the right of the island. I knew I would never put a table there, so why not extend the island and turn it into usable space?
My kitchen with the new counters and backsplash, including the extended island. Once I get stools, I will be able to have guests sit and enjoy wine and appetizers while I am cooking (the island also serves as a nice barrier for my cooking space). It can even be used as an eat-in kitchen, and I could probably get 10 people around the island.
Detail of the island and the granite. I am so happy with my selection. It is light enough that it doesn't take over the kitchen, but it is unique with its movement and color variations throughout.
Detail of the sink. I had not factored the sink, faucet, and plumbing into my budget, so this is where I blew my budget. But I'm happy with the money I invested into it. The right basin is twice as big and twice as deep as a regular sink, which will make cleaning pots and pans much easier.
Detail of the granite backsplash behind the stove and the stone backsplash behind the rest of the counter. The stone might be my favorite part of the kitchen. The opposite wall in the living room has similar stone tiles (but darker and bigger), so it brings the whole great room together.

French Brasserie

2009-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

While I was in RTP, a group of co-workers and I checked out Coquette Brasserie at North Hills in Raleigh. The decor looked just like a bistro in France, without the cloud of cigarette smoke. I've been to French restaurants where the waitstaff is fluent in French (Bonjour Bistro) or is taught a handful of French words (Mon Ami Gabi), but this was not one of those restaurants. I really wanted steak au poive, but didn't want something that heavy, so I ordered moules frîtes. The mussels were fine, though I sort of lost my appetite for mollusks after watching the guys eat raw oysters. The fries were wonderful, thin and soft with a slight crispness. If I lived nearby, I would go again for a drink and an appetizer or dessert, but I think there are better French restaurants in the area to try.
Not related to the French dinner, of course, I flew back to Las Vegas through Phoenix and took this picture of the mountains to the east of Phoenix. This looks like a beautiful area and I'd love to visit it.

"It's hard to speak after seven wines"

2009-01-24T23:11:00.001-08:00

I flew into NC to spend a couple of days in the office. The great thing about going into the office is that it's a great excuse to catch up with my UNC friends. Stephanie offered to host me this weekend, and she went all out by inviting the crew to a blind wine tasting. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and covered it up - the goal was for us to guess the grape and origin of each wine. I enjoyed each wine, but I was horrible at identifying the wine's details. I missed every single grape (there were two zinfandels, which are my favorite, and I misidentified them), and I only got two origins (when in doubt, California is a safe guess). Of course, you can't expect much after one wine with dinner, seven wines to guess, and a port to finish it off!

The wine gang

Kona enjoyed her squirrel while we were sampling wine

Grand Staircase in Calico Basin

2009-01-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

It's the middle of January and the temperatures are in the 60s. This is why I live in Las Vegas. The Meetup group scheduled a short hour and a half hike up Grand Staircase in Calico Basin at 9:30am, which gave me enough time to hike before my golf lesson. It was warm enough for people to be in sleeveless shirts and shorts (though I'm still a wimpy Floridian and had on long sleeves and pants), and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Some of the 44 people on the hike starting up.
There's still some snow on Bridge Mountain. It was great hiking with Rick again after a several month break.

Stone Temple Pilots

2009-01-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

Jen and I went to see Stone Temple Pilots in San Diego last summer, and the show was phenomenal. When I heard they were coming to the Pearl at the Palms, I immediately bought two tickets to see them again. Leigh and I went together, and the show was again great (though the lighting wasn't as impressive as at the San Diego show). The Pearl is an intimate concert venue with great acoustics and no bad seat in the house. I managed to take some decent photos with my iPhone.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

Brad and I enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve at home with three pounds of Alaskan King Crab, the best rosé champagne I've ever tasted, and the dogs who were quite interested in the crab. We had enough left over to have a second round of crab and chamapgne on New Year's day. Quite a nice way to start 2009.

Christmas in Florida

2008-12-31T23:35:00.000-08:00

Brad and I fled the "cold" Nevada temperatures for warm sunny Florida for Christmas. We stayed with my family and enjoyed a quiet and relaxing vacation filled with good food, story telling, and laughter.

We golfed at Bardmoor for 3 days. Brad got to try out his new wedges, and I got to use my new driver (how did I ever live without this club in my bag?). The course was extremely challenging, though it was hard to get too frustrated golfing in 70-degree weather in shorts on Christmas day.

On Saturday night, we drove across the bay to Tampa to eat at Bern's Steakhouse. We stayed at the Sheraton downtown which overlooked the Hillsborough river and the University of Tampa and its spires (which were unfortunately not lit up).

Bern's is a legendary steakhouse in Tampa (Wine Spectator Grand Award winner for every year they've handed out the award). The inside looks like a bordello, but that adds to the history and character of the place. We split a delicious porterhouse that was cooked just perfectly. We also had an amazing Bordeaux at an unbeatable price. This restaurant is a gem if you can focus on the steak and wine and overlook the rest of the food (bland French onion soup, julienned carrots of a questionable fragrance, uncooked soufflé).

Bern's is known for its extensive wine collection with 6,800 labels and 500,000 bottles (largest in the world?), and a tour through the wine cellar did not disappoint.

Only in Florida...

Christmas Lights

2008-12-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of the holidays, I requested that our game night group take a field trip to visit Christmas lights decorations. We started out at the Clark County Museum, where the restored historical homes from the early 20th century were said to have Christmas decorations specific to the year of the house. We got there too late to go inside, but we were able to enjoy the houses from the outside in the snow. This picture looks like it was taken in the midwest rather than in Las Vegas.

We had more luck at Ethel's Chocolates, where their cactus garden is lit in Christmas lights throughout the holiday season.

Red Rock Snow

2008-12-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

I opened my blinds this morning to see that the sun had come out and all of the mountains were covered in snow. As soon as I had a free minute, I drove over to Red Rock. The views were simply stunning. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything so beautiful. The sun was making the snow glow, and bits of red were peeking out of the rocks. It was quite crowded with people taking pictures everywhere. Here are some of my favorites, plus a video. More pictures here.

Snow in Summerlin

2008-12-15T09:30:00.001-08:00

Today we had a rare snowstorm in Las Vegas. The forecast was for 3 to 5 inches in the foothills, where I live. It started snowing at 8am and tapered off at about 4pm, with some heavy periods throughout the day. Although I prefer 70-degree weather and golf, I really do enjoy seeing snow once a year.

My street with my house in the foreground
Poor little palm tree View from my bedroom window

UNC Friends Run the Las Vegas Marathon

2008-12-10T00:18:00.000-08:00

Stephanie and Lesha (with John for support) came to town to run the Las Vegas Marathon. Running a marathon is the last thing I'd ever want to do, but I was so proud of how hard these girls trained and the mental and physical challenges they overcame to not only finish all 26.2 miles, but to do it well-under their goal time.

I was able to steal John for a day and take him golfing at Siena, where the weather was much too perfect for December.

We even found time to dress up and hit the town, seeing Cirque du Soleil's KÀ and enjoying dinner at Wolfgang Puck's at the MGM Grand.

Wine Pairing Dinner

2008-11-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

My group of friends here in Las Vegas do a weekly dinner/game night. A different person hosts every week, and everyone brings a dish or wine. This week was Leigh's birthday, and her birthday wish was for us to do an actual wine pairing dinner, where each course was paired with an appropriate bottle of wine. It was my turn to host, the first time at my new place, and I was thrilled at the night's theme.

The menu:
- Goat cheese Camembert and baked brie with a Pinot Noir (and a Petit Sirah while we waited for the next course)
- Grilled salmon on a bed of sautéed spinach and mushrooms with a Grenache Blanc
- Salad tossed with tomatoes, artichokes, avocados, and goat cheese topped with roasted duck with a Chateauneuf du Pape
- Cider-glazed lamb chops served on mashed potatoes with a Zin
- White chocolate cake (compliments of Sam) with an orange Muscat

I had so much fun cooking, well, helping Brad in the kitchen. The food was delicious, which was Brad's doing, and the wines went perfectly with each dish. We never got around to playing a game because we were having such good conversation, and before we knew it, it was 1am. Leigh, Brian, and Sam turned it in to a sleepover, and in the morning Sam made a soothing cinnamon bread custard.
Brad discovered that the dogs love roasted duck:
Bo was still hungry after her duck and was eyeing the lamb ribs:

Athens, Part VI

2008-11-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

They say that Athens can be done in a day or two, and that is the truth. By the fourth day in town, we had nearly run out of things to do. Lauren and I wanted to take a day trip to ruins on the coast, but we thought it wouldn't be wise to venture so far from town when we had an early flight the next morning. Instead, the RTI-HS group saw the Temple of Zeus and took the tram to the coastal town of Glyfada (not worth the trip).

The Temple of Zeus with our hotel in the background

That night we all enjoyed one last meal in Athens at Stofi, which had the perfect view of the Acropolis

Athens, Part V

2008-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

After a late night, Lauren and I had a quiet Monday strolling through Athens, seeing the Olympic Stadium, the Presidential Palace, and the National Gardens.

In front of the Olympic Stadium

Guard at the Presidential Palace

National Gardens

Athens, Part IV

2008-11-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday began with me sleeping through my alarm and nearly missing the short course I came to teach. Lauren and I made it on time, and the course was a hit, though we only got through half of the material. I do enjoy teaching when there is no grading involved.

That afternoon, Brett and I walked up Filopappos Hill, which had the best view in the city.

With the Parthenon and Lykavittos Hill in the background

View looking west towards the Saronic Gulf

View of Athens looking northwest

The Acropolis

The Saronic Gulf

Pathway coming down from Filopappos Hill

That night Brett, Lauren, and I went to dinner with a client. Afterwards, we went dancing in Anafiotika.

On the way home, Lauren made friends with the sweetest dog in Athens.

Athens, Part III

2008-11-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

The RTI-HS group walked up the Acropolis, around the Agora, and into the business district on our first full day in Athens. November is the off-season in Athens, so the crowds were "light," but if there are this many tourists crowding the Acropolis in the off-season, I can't imagine visiting in the summer.

Arches at the base of the Acropolis

Herodes Atticus Theatre at the Acropolis

With the Erechtheion in the background

The Caryatids on the Erechtheion (one of my dreams in life was to see these in person)

Columns on the Erechtheion

In front of the Parthenon

Columns on the Stoa of Attalos in the Agora (I have a thing for columns)

After lunch, I met a client at the rooftop bar at the Hotel Grand Bretagne, which has a great view (here, the Olympic stadium)

Athens, Part II

2008-11-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

After a nap this afternoon, the five RTI-HSers staying at the Athens Gate hotel met up at the rooftop bar to decide on dinner. We walked to Plaka, which is right next to the hotel and has pedestrian streets lined with sidewalk cafes. We picked the restaurant with the largest menu, and we tried some different appetizers - stuffed cabbage, fried eggplant, olives, and octopus. I had a Greek salad and, for the main course, pork souvlaki with french fries. The pork did not impress me (it was rather dry, but I tend to find pork dry in general), but the appetizers were fantastic and I look forward to trying new ones at our next meal.

View of the Temple of Zeus from my room at night:

View of the Acropolis from the hotel rooftop bar:

Hadrian's Arch leading to the Temple of Zeus:

Pedestrian street in Plaka, where we had dinner:

There are stray dogs and cats everywhere. It is a good thing that my luggage is a tight fit, or I would be bringing some home!

Athens, Part I

2008-11-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

I am in Athens, Greece for five days to teach a workshop at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. I flew to RTP on Tuesday to spend Wednesday and half of Thursday in RTI's office visiting coworkers. On Thursday, Lauren and I flew out of RDU around 2:30pm with Keith from another group. Lauren and I were wise packers and fit all of our things into carry-on bags. But, we were one of the last to board the plane, and there was no more overhead room. The US Airways rep insisted that our gate-checked baggage had to be checked all the way through to Athens, which we protested because our connection in Munich was only 30 minutes and we were afraid that our luggage wouldn't make it to Athens at the same time as us (which could be a disaster because nearly all of our things were in these suitcases). Fortunately, Lauren had a calm mind and negotiated with the stewardess to let us pick them up in Charlotte.

We had a short flight to Charlotte, where we met up with Sean from Keith's group. From Charlotte, we got on a huge Lufthansa plane to Munich. I have never flown this airline before, but I will definitely seek them out in the future. The flight attendants were extremely nice, and I felt like they were more like severs at an upscale restaurant. We had two good meals, and they came around with wine refills and cognac for after dinner. Each seat had a touch-screen TV in the headrest where you could select movies, TV shows, and music. I watched an episode of House. Then I turned on my iPod and fell asleep to my own music. I don't know how long I slept, but we were over Canada when I fell asleep, and we were over England when I woke up, so it was a majority of the flight.

The flight to Munich was about 8 hours, and when we arrived we had a mad dash through customs, security, and to our gate. Right after we got through security, we heard them calling our names over the intercom saying that the flight was going to leave. So we started sprinting. Of course, because I'm the clumsiest person alive, I hit a wet spot on the floor and both feet flew out from under me and I landed on my butt in the middle of the airport. We all had a good laugh at my expense while we were boarding the flight. The flight from Munich to Athens was about 2 hours, and they even served us a light meal on that flight. The European airlines obviously haven't done away with all of the services like the US airlines.

We arrived in Athens at about 1pm local time (10 hours ahead of the west coast) after over 15 hours of travel. Keith and Sean were happy that their luggage did make it through the quick connection in Munich. They waited at the airport for another colleague, while Lauren and I grabbed a cab to town. The cab ride was a long one, and we had to go straight through town and traffic. We were thrilled at the location of the hotel - it's right next to the Acropolis and overlooks the Temple of Zeus. An amazing view! The room is simple but very comfortable, though the fact that the internet connection is per minute rather than a flat 24-hour rate is going to make working a little challenging. Oh well, I guess that's a good excuse to go sightseeing!

View of the Alps from the plane:
View of the Temple of Zeus from the hotel room:

Wedding

2008-10-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, Brad and I went to a wedding at Dragon Ridge in Henderson. The weather was perfect, and the venue had a great view of the city.

Moving to Summerlin

2008-10-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

After two long months of waiting for the bank to sign off on the short sale, I finally closed on my house at the end of September. It was such a relief, and now I can hardly remember all of the drama and the episodes that caused me to panic and cry. Well, I can think of a few (e.g., UPS losing my closing documents). I know the home buying process is never easy, and I'm glad to be finished with it for quite a while.

I flew Dad out to help me move. It was much harder than I anticipated. I don't feel like I own much stuff, but it sure does add up. We rented a Budget truck, that I managed to drive around town without killing anyone, and we transferred all of the big stuff in one day.

I kept Dad too busy and wore him out too much, so we weren't able to do the typical Vegas activities like the Strip and Red Rock. But, we did manage to play a round of golf at Siena...

(It rained as we were getting to the course, and there was a complete rainbow, though this is all I managed to photograph)

And have lunch and a quick hike at Mt. Charleston...

(Mom and Dad, don't tell me that I never take pictures of people. I managed to squeeze Dad into this one.)
I'm completely settled in now, save for a few lingering boxes. I am immensely happy on this side of town and in this neighborhood. I feel like I live on Wisteria Lane, without all of the backstabbing and cheating. My neighbors are some of the friendliest people, and I feel very safe and content here.

The dogs have found some good napping places in the house, for while I'm watching TV...
And for while I'm working in my office downstairs...

Obama Rally

2008-09-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Brian, Ron, and I headed downtown to Cashman Field to hear Barack Obama speak. Traffic was awful getting down there, which was exciting to see that many people congregating to support him. It was so exciting to be in such a diverse, energetic crowd.
He spoke for about 30 minutes and had some exciting things to say, though I'm much more interested in what he will have to say during the debates.
I found the message on this billboard particularly ironic considering the news of the day.
After the rally, we stayed downtown for dinner. We parked next to one of Las Vegas' famed drive-through wedding chapels.
We had dinner at Chicago Joe's, an Italian restaurant near Charleston Blvd. It's in a small house and has about 10 tables. The food wasn't anything special, but the place has really neat ambiance that is worth experiencing at least once. This is definitely one of those spots with more old time personality than you would never expect to find in Vegas.

Ajax is the alpha

2008-08-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ajax never plays with toys anymore, and Bo is never seen without a toy in her mouth. But, every so often, Ajax likes to aggravate Bo by grabbing one of her toys and prancing around with it. The other night he grabbed her turtle (which is the only toy in the house that still has any stuffing), and he ran under the bed and sat with it in his mouth. He didn't play with it, he just calmly sat still holding it for 20 minutes, driving her crazy.
The dogs have routine with their bones - I give them each a bone, they run around showing them off for a few minutes, and then the settle down to chew them. Bo quickly loses interest in her bone and wants Ajax's bone instead. So she will lay down right next to him and pout, waiting for a piece to come loose that she will then carry off to enjoy by herself.

Black Mountain, the other way up

2008-08-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't been hiking in a long time, so I was excited when Rick asked me to hike Black Mountain with him and Danika after work on Monday. We parked in a neighborhood at the base of the mountain (around Horizon Ridge and Gibson) at 6pm and headed up. It was about 105-degrees, but the heat was surprisingly mild. I've never been up this side of Black Mountain, and I like this route much better because it is shorter and has some scrambling.
It took an hour to get to the top, and the view was amazing as always. The sunset was spectacular this night, and we spent about an hour chatting at the top.
We took the paved service road down the mountain because the rocks on the mountain were too unstable to traverse at night. Of course, I fell down a number of times on the loose gravel, and Rick managed to capture one of my clumsy moments on film. It took about an hour to get down for a round trip of 3 hours, the perfect after work hike.

Thank you to Rick for sharing these pictures. This is my first hike when I didn't bring a camera (shocking!), but I can always count on Rick to take some good action shots.

Weather, Golf, and House

2008-07-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today, the high was 87 degrees, and I just had to take advantage of the "cool" weather by playing a round of golf. The forecast called for thunderstorms and flash floods, but I figured I would chance it. I played at Desert Willow, the executive course in Henderson that I play at most often. After 10am, it's $25, and there were very few people on the course. It was blustery, and my ball was left up to the discretion of the wind. It rained for a few holes, and otherwise there were sprinkles here and there. But there were no flash floods, and the temperature was 78 degrees when I finished, so I enjoyed the cool July day despite my horrible score.

I'm starting to get a little nervous about my house, and this Las Vegas Review Journal article didn't do anything to calm my anxiety. The house I'm buying is a short sale, which means that it is owned by an individual who wants to sell it for less than is owed on the house. The bank must approve the sale, and this can be a very long process. I had been avoiding short sales when house hunting, but the listing agent said that this price was already approved by the bank and the paperwork had been expedited, whatever that means. Everything is moving along as planned, but we're waiting on the bank to give final approval of the sale price. I'm not necessarily worried about this, especially because the appraisal came in pretty close to the sales price, but I'm just concerned about timing. Earlier this week, I locked in a 40-day loan at 5.5%, which is a phenomenal rate. But, if we don't close in 40 days, I lose that loan and must secure another. No matter how on the ball my real estate agent and mortgage broker are, they can't do anything to make the process with the bank any faster. I can go month-to-month at my current place, so that's not a problem, but I just don't want to lose my loan and risk paying a much higher fee for my great interest rate.

Yesterday, my real estate agent was kind enough to take me by my house to take another look at it and to take pictures. When I saw it the first time, I literally flew through the house because I wanted to get the paperwork prepared right away. It was so much fun to visit it, and I still love it. I especially liked that we went on a Saturday afternoon and the neighborhood was silent. There were no kids screaming in the street, dogs barking, or cars speeding though, as would be typical in my current neighborhood.

Here's a picture of the front of the house:

House Hunting, Part II

2008-07-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

The hunt is over...I got a house!!!

I’ve been drooling over this floorplan since February when I first looked at the model home. This house just came on the market on Tuesday, and it is completely filled with upgrades and is more beautiful than the model. I saw it on Thursday, and as soon as I walked through the front door, I was ready to make an offer. After scurrying through the house to make sure there were no surprises (only good ones!), my realtor and I rushed back to his office to put together the offer. It's a short sale that is already approved by the bank at that price, so we offered the asking price, which was an incredible price for that house (they are still building in the neighborhood, and if I were to build the house brand new, it would be at least $150,000 more!). The listing agent said that she was expecting another offer that night, but by Friday morning it hadn't come in, so she was just going to present my offer to the seller. Later that day, I found out that the other offer had come in, and while we were offering the same price, the other offer gave more as an earnest deposit and was putting considerably more down. I figured at that point I wouldn't get the house because on paper the other offer looked better, plus, if the other people had more to put down, they were probably in a better position if we got into a bidding war. My realtor already had a relationship established with the listing agent, which worked in my favor. He had my mortgage broker call her and explain that my credit is great and I would have no problem qualifying for the loan. Somehow, between the two of them, they were able to convince her that I was the stronger offer, and the seller signed the paperwork to accept my offer on Saturday!

I am so thrilled with this house. It is in a guard-gated community with a pool, gym, and tennis courts. It's at Sahara and the 215, so it is convenient to the highway, shopping, hiking, and golfing. It is 2 bedrooms with an office and a bonus room and has incredible details throughout. The best thing about this house is that it is an amazing investment. It’s going to retain its value much more than the other places I was looking at, and as I mentioned, I should have quick equity on the house because it is really under priced as compared to the new homes in the community. It's a short sale, so the escrow period will likely take longer, and I'll probably close in September. I'm so happy that I don't have to look at houses any more!

House Hunting, Part I

2008-07-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

With the Las Vegas housing market tanking, I decided to take a look at buying a house out here. The process started with Brad and me drooling over the new developments near him in Summerlin. A little research on realtor.com showed me that I could get a resale of the same homes that they are currently building for as much as $100,000 cheaper! Thus, the house hunt began.

My realtor is Brad's business partner, and it is so nice to have someone that Brad knows and trusts to be leading the way. Our first day out wasn't very successful, as I found that the foreclosures on the market aren't in the pristine condition of the model homes I had seen. The second day had some better finds, which leads me to...

House #1

I had already seen a couple of homes with the same floor plan that I liked very much - an upside down house with the kitchen, living room, master, and office upstairs, and the guest quarters downstairs. But, as soon as I walked onto the balcony of this house, my heart skipped a beat. This house had an incredible 180-degree panoramic view of the Las Vegas valley, including an unobstructed view of the Strip. Additionally, it had a huge pool-sized yard and no neighbors on any side. My realtor and I got really excited and sat down to look at the comps in the neighborhood to decide what to offer, and that's when the bad news arrived...this house was priced at $359,000 but would not appraise for over $300,000 based on the comps. It turns out that the house had been purchased at auction a few weeks earlier for less than $200,000 by a company that specializes in flipping properties. They put in new carpet and appliances, painted the walls, and put the house on the market for a $160,000 profit! My realtor tried to get in touch with the listing agent to negotiate the price, but she refused to return his calls. I learned my first lesson on the Las Vegas real estate market:

Even though the market has tanked, some people are still trying to get the money they would have gotten a year or two ago.

I loved the view of that house, but there are plenty of houses on the market. And I couldn't feel bad about not getting a house when my hands are tied - even though I could qualify for a $360,000 loan, I couldn't get a loan of that size on that house because the house must appraise for the amount of the loan. So, we moved on to the next round of houses, and along came...

House #2

This home was 1-story with a huge great room-kitchen area and an absolute oasis backyard. It had large trees for privacy, an in-ground hot tub, and a tranquil waterfall that flowed into a pond. The floor plan was perfect, not too big and not too small. Unfortunately, as with the 1st house, it was priced way over the probable appraisal value. It was listed at $334,000, but based on the comps, we figured it wouldn't appraise for more than $300,000. The owners had just moved into a new house, so we knew they would be anxious to sell. And, we knew that they paid around $150,000 for it in 2000, so we went ahead and made an offer at $300,000. As expected, they countered the offer, but we weren't going to budge because we didn't want to offer more than it would appraise for. Again, I was disappointed, but it was impossible (and would be a waste of money) to go any higher. Last week, the listing agent of the house called to say that they had lowered their price to $324,900. My realtor told her that the new price still wasn't low enough but that they should consider our offer of $300k on the table whenever they want to take it. Yesterday, the house changed to contingent, so I guess they got an offer at near their asking price. Unless that person is paying cash, I can't imagine them getting it appraised for anything over $300k because the identical house without the spa backyard just went into contingency at $260k. So, with this house, I learned my second lesson of the Las Vegas real estate market:

It completely sucks that someone can come into this market having sold their house for an exorbitant amount and pay cash for a house that is priced too high for financing, thinking that this house is steal compared to the market they came from (e.g., California).

Again, there were plenty of other houses on the market, so I moved on. Sure enough, on our next outing, I found the house that completely crushed my spirits...

House #3

Ahh, this house was just amazing. It was a foreclosure, so it needed a little bit of work (some appliances, a good cleaning, some touch up paint), but it was actually in very good condition. It had great curb appeal and everything was upgraded inside. It had the perfect office for me at the top of the stairs with double French doors with small vertical windows on either side and a nook that was just begging for built-in cabinets. The beautifully tiled shower had two shower heads. And the yard was to die for - although the was no landscaping, it had an in-ground pool overlooking a greenway (no neighbors behind) with a spectacular view of Red Rock. Best yet, the price was incredible: $291,900. I absolutely had to have this house. My realtor and I started on the paperwork, and when he called the listing agent to ask a question, he was told that there were multiple offers, so we had to make our highest offer. Ugh! My mortgage broker said that the house would likely appraise between $295,000 and $310,000. I didn't want to offer too little and lose the house, but I didn't want to offer too much and not get it appraised at that price. We decided the best bet was to offer $295,000, which was more than it was listed at and was a safe bet for appraisal. My realtor called the listing agent to find out if the offer was competitive, and to our shock we were told that there were multiple offers over that price. At that moment, I learned my third, and tearful, lesson about the Las Vegas real estate market:

Banks are putting foreclosures on the market at a price that seems too good to be true, which leads to competitive bidding that drives up the price of the house.

This house took me some time to get over it. Ask anyone who spoke to me that day, I was not a pleasant person to be around. I felt like I was on the dating scene, having head-over-heels first dates, just to have some bombshell dropped on me during the second date and getting my heart broken. After a few days of ignoring the house hunt all together, I got back on the horse that threw me with a refreshed attitude and a harder shell. Which led to...

House #4

This house was very well-kept inside, with a nice floor plan, and a killer backyard with a pool, spa, waterfall, and big trees for privacy. My realtor had the forethought to call the listing agent before I got my hopes crushed by another house. She told him that they had a few offers but none were acceptable because the owners needed to sell near the asking price ($289,999) or they'd have to do a short sell (they're already paying some out of pocket to cover the mortgage at that price). We were fine with that news because the house is in perfect condition and has a beautiful backyard. But, when we ran the numbers, the comps came in at around $250k. And so I was introduced to lesson number four about the Las Vegas real estate market:

Even when a house is listed at a seemingly good price, banks may be selling foreclosures in the area at rock bottom prices, driving the values down, but homeowners may owe more than that and cannot lower their own prices.

At this point, I've seen more than 60 houses. I'm not kidding. When I started out, my goal was to be moved into a new place in August before my lease runs out so that I don't have to sign a new year-long lease. Fortunately, my property manager said that I can go month-to-month in my current house (that I hate!) for $100 extra per month. So, now I don't have the time constraints on my search. Another good thing is that after looking at that many houses, I know what I like and what I don't like. I really, really, really want a pool. I don't want to put $50k out of my pocket into the house only to get about $10k back when I sell.

I found this MSNBC article that describes the bidding wars that have erupted over these cheap foreclosures. This is obviously a very frustrating market right now. Everyone says that the Las Vegas market is suffering and that now is the time to buy (or in the next year). But, from what I've seen, the good properties are going at a high price and the crappy properties are just sitting on the market. So, much to my realtor's chagrin, the process continues.

I just don't understand - I watch people all the time on HGTV look at three houses, make an offer, and move into their new house within 30 minutes. Why can't that be me? :)

Puppy Playdate

2008-07-01T22:45:00.001-07:00

Leigh brought Maddie over to play with Ajax and Bo. I wouldn't say Ajax and Bo are "bad" with other dogs, but their play tends to be quite aggressive. And Maddie is a passive dog.
They chased her all around, and she held her own. But she much preferred to be in Leigh's lap.
After a night of being chased around by two wild Jacks, poor Maddie was pretty rough looking.
I don't know about Maddie, but Ajax and Bo passed out as soon as she left. It was a successful first date!

Bristlecone Loop

2008-06-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Brad and I wanted to golf, but we couldn't get an early tee time. So, instead, we packed up the dogs and headed to Mt. Charleston for a hike. We did Bristlecone Trail, which is an easy 3 mile trail. The scenery was beautiful, with great views of the mountains and a trail that meanders through pine trees and Quaking Aspen. The high in the Las Vegas valley was 108 degrees, but the temperature was 75 at the trailhead and 68 at the top of the trail where we stopped for lunch. It was the perfect break from the heat. The dogs loved the hike, though Bo tired out early and nearly fell asleep in my arms as I carried her back to the car.
More pictures here

TPC Las Vegas

2008-06-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

Brad got a great deal on summer golf at TPC Las Vegas, so we will be playing this course throughout the summer. The course is spectacular, with fairways nestled within the desert landscape and Red Rock canyon visible from nearly all holes. I didn't find it as difficult as the courses in Tucson, but that's probably because the greens are more forgiving. Still, I made only one par, and I picked up my ball several times as the heat started to wear me out.
More pictures here

Bo loves to play

2008-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

"Please throw the hedgehog for me...I want to play!"

Golf holiday in Tucson

2008-06-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Brad and I spent June 4-8 on a golf holiday in Tucson. We chose Tucson because we wanted a great golf destination, and neither of us had been there before. Tucson is about a seven hour drive from Las Vegas, and the trip took us over the Hoover Dam and through Kingman and Phoenix, and we spent hours and hours looking at yuccas and saguaro cacti.

We stayed at the Loews Ventana Canyon. We chose this resort because of its incredible golf rates (June is low season because of the heat) and its location nestled in the Catalina Foothills. I was nervous about this resort because it received mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but it was everything that I imagined and better. I don't know how people could possibly give it a poor rating - the service was impeccable, the scenery was breathtaking, and the atmosphere was as relaxing as it can get. I would absolutely stay here again and recommend it to anyone looking for a golf vacation or just a place to unwind.

View driving into the foothills.View of the waterfall from our balcony.
A winding walking path on the back of the property led to this waterfall...
...and a view of the city (with the resort in the foreground).
We golfed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. There are two courses that the resort shares with the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, the Canyon Course (which we played twice) and the Mountain Course (which we played once). Both courses were challenging, despite having surprisingly wide fairways, but the greens on the Mountain Course were absolutely a killer. We were only paired with another twosome on Saturday, and the weather was perfect all three days. Although the highs were around 100, because we played in the morning, we were off the course before the temperature reached 90.

Lots of golf pictures follow. I love this one of the two of us with the 18th green and the Loews behind us.
The most picturesque hole on the course, the 3rd on the Mountain Course.We saw lots and lots of animals on the course, including ground squirrels...
...dragon-like lizards...
...and a road runner. We also saw hundreds of rabbits and quail. Thankfully, there were no snake sightings.
The resort is at the trailhead of the Ventana Canyon Trail. I was anxious to hike this trail, but there was limited time with our golfing. On Friday, I grabbed my pack and headed up the trail, trying to reach the Maiden Pools, about an hour and a half in. At about an hour in, I lost the trail and the cairns disappeared, so I decided it would be best to head back rather than getting lost in the dark. I still enjoyed my hike and was glad to take advantage of the proximity of the trail to the resort.
On Saturday, Brad and I skipped our post-golf nap to check out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We were told that this is the second-most visited attraction in Arizona (the Grand Canyon is first, of course). It was about an hour drive from the resort, and the drive took us through town and over this beautiful mountain pass.
The museum is more like a zoo, with many animal exhibits. It is located in the middle of the desert and was quite hot, but we were able to zip through it in less than two sweaty hours.

Mountain lions.
Bobcats.
Sweet little margay.
Desert big horn sheep (Red Rock has lots of these, though the seem to hide every time I'm out hiking).
Bird in the aviary that kept dive-bombing Brad.
The hummingbird aviary was my favorite part.
In addition to the golf and site seeing, we ate many great meals. There were many restaurants on our list that we didn't get a chance to try. A brief run-down:

Dinner at Vin Tabla - nice outdoor patio, good wine selection, and informative waiter who helped us choose our other dining locations
Lunch at Wildflower - nice courtyard dining, absolutely fantastic food
Guacamole and margaritas at the Flying V Bar and Grill at Loews- beautiful view of the 18th hole from the outdoor deck, delicious table-side guacamole
Lunch at Armitage Wine Lounge and Cafe - probably should have just stopped in for a glass of wine, as the food was unremarkable
Dinner at the Ventana Room at Loews - AAA 5 diamond restaurant overlooking the city, the service was impeccable, the food was amazing
Dinner at Cafe Poco Coso downtown - unique Mexican food, loved the idea of the chef's selection where the chef surprises you with three different menu items for your plate

More pictures from our wonderful vacation here. I can't wait to return!

Zion and Bryce with Jamie and Robby

2008-04-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Jamie, my sorority sister and senior year roommate, came out for her second trip with her boyfriend, Robby to play in Vegas/visit me. They stayed with me two nights before moving on to a Strip hotel (no, I didn't run them off, that was the plan!). Friday night I successfully made them hungry enough so that when dinner was served at 9:30pm, they devoured it without minding that I was the chef (with some crucial kitchen prep by Brad).

On Saturday, I wanted to let them escape the neon by taking a trip to visit two national parks in Utah, Zion and Bryce Canyon. Zion is a three hour drive from Vegas, and Bryce is an hour past there, so the plan was to wake up early and hit the road. The wine from the night before kept me in bed until 9am (and the headache lasted all day), so we didn't leave the house until 9:30am.

We got to Zion at about 2pm (we lost an hour with the time zone), and it was breathtaking. The main road through the canyon was closed to private vehicles because they are already in their summer traffic restrictions, but we were able to enjoy the scenery along Highway 9.
We looked for a picnic table along the way to eat our lunch, but we had to settle for this picnic rock along the side of the road.
After leaving Zion, we continued on to Bryce. This area of Utah is very rural with lots of horses and cows. In fact, as we were driving along Highway 89, we came across a herd of cattle being led along the side of the road. Being city folk, we pulled over to watch the scene. It is fitting that that we have Johnny Cash playing in the background on this video.

The trip between Zion and Bryce seemed to take forever, and we finally arrived at about 4:30 local time. Bryce is so interesting because you are several thousand feet above sea level, but you feel like you are on flat ground. You drive through the park and turn into overlook areas which peer into the canyon below. The geology is remarkable. Here are some good pictures of the hoodoos and videos of the amphitheater (turn down the volume so that your speakers don't bust from the sound of the wind and the Quebecois in the background).

We figured that since we came this far, we might as well drive the entire length of the park. The road is 18 miles long and ends at Rainbow Point, which is 9115 feet above sea level. The view looks over the entire park, and on a clear day you can see New Mexico (not that there was a sign pinpointing New Mexico).
We finally started the drive back at about 6:00 local time. We drove through Red Canyon, which not surprisingly had a scattering of red rocks. We stopped to take a picture of this neat arch, and Robby started running away from the car. He figured standing in the middle of the road was less risky than another minute in the car with me.
This sign bid us farewell as we left the scenery. I guess Dixie was the last national park to draw a slogan from the hat, and this is what it got stuck with.

The drive home was not nearly as excruciating as it should have been. Robby discovered that my backseat reclines, so he was asleep quickly, followed closely by Jamie. I spent the four hour drive catching up on my favorite podcast, the Living in Las Vegas Podcast. Thank you to Scott and Melissa for being highly entertaining and keeping me awake on the drive home. We pulled into my garage just before 11pm, for a 13+ hour day of driving. The drive to Zion was absolutely worth it, but I wouldn't go that far again just to see Bryce. I would say these parks are best seen by staying the weekend in Zion and taking a quick trip over to Bryce.

You can see more pictures from the day here

My Lazy Dogs

2008-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ajax and Bo love to sleep in their kennels while I'm in my office working. I guess they have to sleep a lot to get the energy to be as hyper as they are.
Now that the weather is warm, I like to leave the sliding glass door open, and they go outside to lay in the sun.
Bo of course has to lay in the dirt so that she can get extra baths.

I Really Love Flowers

2008-03-25T13:10:00.001-07:00

Val sent me a beautiful bouquet of purple roses to thank me for my efforts on a very taxing project that we just wrapped up after several years of work. I love working with Val, so it was my pleasure to collaborate with her, but I am always thrilled to receive flowers. This bouquet absolutely made my day!

Exploring with the Brits

2008-03-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

After three days on the Strip, I was sure Jan, Maurice, and Ann were ready for a change of scenery, so I took them up to Mt. Charleston for breakfast at the Mt. Charleston Lodge. This was a risky proposition as it was Easter, and the last time I attempted to eat here on a holiday, it took two hours just to order. Fortunately, we arrived at 9am and there were many empty tables. They had a fixed price menu with four choices, and we each ordered a different plate. Breakfast was fast and the view was amazing. It was a perfect day and not too cold despite there being snow on the ground. My guests couldn't believe that a place with so many trees could be so close to Las Vegas. Ann remarked as she was getting out of the car, "It's so quiet here!"
After breakfast, I drove to Red Rock for a complete juxtaposition of scenery. The group loved the color of the rocks and the stunning mountains. We went through the visitor's center, took some pictures, and drove around the scenic loop. They remarked that they could understand why I love living here, and they had smiles on their faces all day! This "eat at Mt. Charleston then tour Red Rock" itinerary is one that I will have to do for all guests that come to town.

Dining out with the Brits

2008-03-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

My British friends, Jan and Maurice, along with Maurice's cousin Ann, are in town for a week. Jan and Maurice are part of the British crowd in Florida but we usually only overlap one or two days a year, so it's been great having them in town to spend an extended time with. On Thursday, the four of us had dinner at Rick Moonen's RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay. I had the Everything Crusted Tuna, which was perfectly rare and encrusted in black and white sesame seeds. It was irritating that they wouldn't let me swap out the rice that it came with for anything other than a starch, so I ordered a side of sautéed spinach, which had the perfect amount of thinly sliced garlic. The restaurant has a higher-end upstairs section, but we ate downstairs, where I thought the menu was slightly overpriced for the rowdy college basketball atmosphere. But, the food was delicious.

On Friday, we wanted a nice meal out for the four of us plus Brad, so we went to Canaletto at the Venetian. This is an Italian restaurant overlooking St. Mark's Square in the Grand Canal Shoppes. The prices were very reasonable and the food was delicious. I had beef tenderloin with polenta, sautéed spinach, Gorgonzola sauce, and crispy fried leeks, accompanied by a great Chianti. For dessert I had tiramisu, of course. Aside from being next to the open kitchen, which was a bit loud, it was a great meal in a great atmosphere.

Washington DC

2008-02-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

I traveled to Washington DC for a three day conference on clinical trial methodology. This is my favorite conference because it's a nice small group and it's easier to share ideas. I stayed at The Madison, where the conference was held. It was a sophisticated hotel, though the shower could use updating. There wasn't time to explore, but I did have tapas at Panache and a variety of Belgian beers at Brasserie Beck.

Magic Mountain

2008-02-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Branch Whitney, of Hiking Las Vegas fame, has been organizing some challenging hikes for the Meetup group with lots of scrambling and exposure (my two favorite things). I've been aching to do one of his hikes because he always limits them to 12 or so people, but I've been too busy with guests and travel. I finally got to go with his group on the hike up Magic Mountain, the mountain on the right in the picture below. It was a challenging hike with some great chimneys to wiggle up.

There was a saddle near the top that opened into a breathtaking view of Pine Creek Canyon. Bridge Mountain is above me in the picture below.
I wanted to say that I summitted Magic Mountain, so I climbed up this massive boulder at the top.
Unfortunately, I then had to climb down it. It's always more difficult going down. There were no handholds, so Eric got out a rope while Doug tied it around his waist and supported me going down. It helps to hike with capable strong guys.

The cutest dogs

2008-02-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get cuter than these two dogs. The prodedure throughout the day is 1) Ajax gets in Bo's kennel and curls up under her blanket, 2) Bo gets in the kennel to aggravate Ajax (this is one of the many reasons she's known as the Bo-agravator), 3) Ajax admits defeat and moves to his pillow.

Skiing in Tahoe

2008-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

Joe and I hopped in his car Friday afternoon and made the 6 hour drive to Reno/Lake Tahoe for a weekend of skiing. We stayed at the Silver Legacy, which had the hardest bed I have ever slept in. We discovered an awesome blues bar around the corner that was a local's joint with great live bands with their own roadies.

We skiied two days at Northstar, which is about 30 minutes away from Reno. The mountain doesn't look big from the road, but it is massive in both vertical drop and skiiable acres. Joe and I spent the days on the backside of the mountain tackling double black diamonds. He is a great skiier and gave me some great pointers. The mountain was entirely too crowded with long waits at the lift lines because it was a long weekend, but the backside of the mountain had no lines.
Me in my hot purple ski pants. These will never go out of style! :)
Joe and me on the top of the backside of the mountain. The view is incredible.
Lake Tahoe in the background.

Here's a small, crappy video of me skiing. Next time I'll bring my video camera.

Kraft Mountain Attempt

2008-02-10T22:59:00.000-08:00

Mike and I attempted Kraft Mountain, which is right past Calico Hills in Red Rock. We didn't know the route, but we were told to head straight back towards the mountains. That's what we did, but about two-thirds of the way up we came to a vertical wall and had to give up on the summit.
The whole climb up I kept saying that I wouldn't come back down this way, but I had no choice, so the climb down was a little bit tricky.
So we decided to hike around Kraft Mountain instead. There is a great wash that goes behind the mountain. I plan on taking the dogs back there sometime because the scrambling is limited.
We didn't know where the trail was to get back to the cars, so we hiked over the west side of Kraft Mountain, which had rocks full of swirling colors.

I Love Flowers

2008-02-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

Val and Sheri sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday. It was so special to have them delivered to my door, and they had lots of pinks and purples.

Mmm, birthday cake!

2008-02-05T09:23:00.001-08:00

My friends Leigh and Brian had me over for a pre-birthday dinner last night. I walked in and saw that they had baked me a cake, and I got teary-eyed. It is so special to have friends like them in town.

RTI Las Vegas

2008-02-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

Two co-workers from North Carolina and a client came to town to conduct cognitive interviews with patients. There is a facility near my house here, which provides the perfect excuse for my co-workers to visit. They stayed at South Point, which is just down the road from me. We ate at the Garden Buffet at South Point (I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there, I much prefer the Seasons Buffet at the Silverton), Osaka (my favorite sushi restaurant - I always have their lasagna sushi!), and Trader Vic's (my new favorite Strip destination). We went shopping at the District, and I found a new place to blow my money (Francesca's - they have the cutest clothes!).

On Saturday, the rain and wind held off long enough for us to hike in Red Rock. We took the trail up to Calico Tank. I've never actually been up this path, and I was shocked to see how large the tank was at the end. The girls wanted to see Ajax and Bo, so I brough them with me on the hike. They have never been hiking before, but they loved it and did really well. It was so cute to see them jumping over rocks. I had to pick them up only a few times, and they never tired out during the two and a half hours. It was quite cold out, and they had their jackets on - a bomber jacket for Ajax and a pea coat for Bo. They were adorable!
Ajax "walking the plank" while Bo looks on. She looks so prissy in her pea coat!
Ajax looking back on the trail at another dog. We passed at least 5 other dogs on this hike and probably 20 people.

Kirsten's Visit, Version 3

2008-01-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

Kirsten is a great friend - she has come to visit me three times since I moved out here! She was here for three days this weekend, and us girls had a crazy time on the town. The night she got here, we went to Stoney's for some country dancing and were out until 2:30am.

On Friday, she did the tourist thing on the Strip while I was working. Fortunately, she wasn't hanging out on the roof of the Monte Carlo hotel, which went up in flames.
That night, we met Leigh, Brian, and the LA boys at MGM for drinks at Rouge and dinner at Fiamma (not on the list of places I would eat again). Afterward, we went to a comedy show at Tropicana that I slept through.
On Saturday, the seven of us went to the Neon Museum to check out some Vegas history. Although it's essentially a junk yard, it's incredible to have so many famous signs gathered at one place. It will be very neat when they restore the signs.
Afterward, we got another taste of old Vegas at the Peppermill restaurant. My Cobb salad was the largest salad I've ever seen in my life. Three days later, I still have two boxes full of it.
That night, Kirsten and I shopped at the Miracle Mile Shops while Leigh, Brian, and the LA boys played in the Planet Hollywood poker tournament. Aaron and Scott joined us afterwards at Trader Vics for some tasty island cocktails.
Kirsten and I took a break from the LA boys to meet up with Brad and Rob at Firefly for some mojitos. After they wimped out, we met the boys back at Paris for some Let It Ride and much needed coffee. We finally hit the road at 4am.

Red Rock in the Snow

2008-01-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

It amazes me that this place that is 100+ degrees in the summer can get snow on it in the winter. I love looking out the window and seeing snow, but not having to shovel it.

Boring white walls

2008-01-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

I need color on my walls (anyone who had seen my walls in Burlington would know this), and it kills me to be renting a house with plain, boring, blah white walls. My boss showed me a website of stick-on wall graphics, Blik, and I knew I needed some to spruce up my house. I ordered the Leaves pattern that reminds me of Matisse in black, silver, and two shades of blue. They filled the area above my headboard perfectly and provide a nice splash of color in a minimalist black, white, and grey room.

Skiing in Utah

2008-01-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

I bought a new car and decided to take it on a road trip. I headed to Brian Head, which is a ski resort in southern Utah, about three and a half hours from Las Vegas. It was a perfect day - the weather was amazingly clear, the drive was relaxing, and the snow was soft and powdery. Though it was a holiday weekend, the slopes were not that crowded. I spent most of the day tackling the black diamonds at the top of the mountain (doing everything in my power to avoid the moguls), and then racing on the course closer to the bottom of the mountain. I earned a silver pin for the second fastest time of the day!

Here's a picture of my new ride, a Lincoln MKX, with the slopes in the background

Mussels in Brussels

2007-09-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Brussels, Belgium to attend a conference. It was a quick trip but I certainly made good use of my time. I presented a poster that earned an award for being the distinguished poster at the conference. I saw the sites (not much to see in Brussels), had amazing food (must try the mussels in Brussels), drank delicious beer (mmm, raspberry beer!), and even played some blackjack at a casino!

Frenchman Mountain

2007-09-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

Rick and I hiked up Frenchman Mountain. It's an awful hike up, with absolutely no scenery and endless elevation gain. But the top is an unbeatable view of the valley.

Scrambling at Calico Basin

2007-09-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

Mike, Kristin, and I spent Labor Day scrambling at Calico Basin, one of my favorite hiking spots. It was a beautiful day. The last picture of the bee won me first prize in my hiking group's photo contest - I got free Jimmy Buffett tickets!

Gold Strike Hot Springs

2007-09-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Rick, his girlfriend Loren, and I went to Gold Strike Hot Springs for a day of scrambling. I had done this hike with Joe in January, and it was quite the challenge. It follows a creek down to the Colorado River, and much of the hike involves climbing over boulders using ropes. This time, the hike was much easier for me, I assume because I am in better shape and because I have a lot more experience scrambling now.

Within minutes, I had already injured myself. The rocks in this area are very sharp. I lost my balance while standing on a rock about 6 inches off the ground, and it cut my hand when I braced myself falling. This is not a good sign considering the boulders that I would be climbing down later in the hike are 10+ feet off the ground!

A sweet little frog that posed for me.

The creek, close to where it meets the Colorado River.

The Colorado River as seen from the trail.

Me standing under a very wimpy waterfall.

Me using a rope to climb up a boulder.

Zion National Park

2007-08-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Las Vegas Hiking Meetup group went to Zion National Park in southern Utah this weekend to do a number of hikes. Almost everyone went up on Friday night and camped, but I am not much for sleeping on the ground. So I drove up Saturday morning with Calvin from my wine group. We had to meet the group at 9am Mountain time, and Zion is 3 hours away from Las Vegas, so we had to leave at 5am.

We started the day with a hike up to Angel's Landing. This rock formation gets its name because it is so narrow that only an angel could land on it. The peak is 5785 feet and 1500 feet above the canyon floor, and it was a 5 mile hike round trip. As you can see from the picture below, there is a sheer cliff on either side of a tiny spine.A chain railing follows the path almost the entire way to the top. In this picture, you can see the rail as well as the people making their way up.
I had seen pictures online prior to the trip that conveyed the narrowness of the spine. I took this picture at the most narrow point. The cliff on the left is clear. On the right, there appears to be brush, but those are actually trees at the bottom of the canyon.
This is one of the steepest points.
Here I am at the top with the canyon behind me. You can see the road below, and the tiny white line is the bus that runs throughout the park.
Our group at the top of Angel's Landing.
The beautiful view looking down the canyon.
Starting our way back down. For the second hike in a row, I ran into a group of French Canadians and got to practice my French. Who knew there were so many of them out here on the West coast.
After our first hike, we took a quick walk up to Weeping Rock, which has a small waterfall and hanging gardens. Then, we went to the Zion Lodge to eat lunch. I had packed a peanut butter sandwich, but the hot food and ice cream were too tempting! We ate under this huge tree on the grass with the mountains towering above us.
Our final hike of the day was the Emerald Pools trail. This was an easy 3 mile trail that passed by three sets of waterfalls and pools. This is the light waterfall at the Lower Emerald Pools.
The scenery along the way was magnificent, with beautiful views across the canyon.
Here I am at the Middle Emerald Pools.
And here I am at the Upper Emerald Pool. Our whole group waded or jumped into the water, which was cool and refreshing.
On the way back down - you can see the Virgin river at the bottom of the canyon below.
The setting sun had a nice effect on the mountains at the end of the day.
Calvin and I finally headed home at about 7pm. We had a great view of the sunset on the drive home, and we made it back to Las Vegas at about 9:30pm. I am jealous that the rest of the group camped another night and were planning on doing more hikes on Sunday. I'd like to go back to Zion soon to see some other parts of the park.
I filled up the entire 1GB memory card on my camera with pictures from the day! After deleting some of the duplicates and ones that didn't turn out, I ended with 217 keepers. If you have the time and patience to view 217 gorgeous pictures, you can see them here.

High School Reunion

2007-08-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

I really, really didn't want to go to my 10-year high school reunion. I hated high school and had few friends in my class. But I found a cheap ticket to Tampa on Southwest for that weekend, so I figured I might as well go while I was in town. To my surprise, high school reunions can be more fun than high school itself! The rivalries have ended and the attractive and popular people have fallen from their pedestals. What's left is a bunch of people who grew up together and genuinely care about the direction that each person's life has taken.

The weekend festivities were held at the Holiday Inn Harbourside, or Hamlin's Landing as we called it in high school. Ironically, this is where all of the high school parties were held, so it all came full-circle. Friday night we all met up at the poolside bar. We spent the evening breaking the ice and trying to remember who the heck everyone was. It felt like a regular night out on the town, except that you knew every person at the bar. It's amazing how alcohol can break the tension of being thrown into socializing with 100 people you haven't seen in 10 years.

There was dinner and dancing on Saturday night. It was nice getting the awkward hellos out of the way on Friday night because on Saturday we could just kick back and enjoy the evening. I went with Keri and Jessie (and Jessie's husband, JR), my two track buddies.
Here is a view of the intercoastal from the hotel balcony. This view really made me miss home, though the humidity that weekend reinforced my love for the desert.
I flew out Sunday night, and we were almost grounded in Tampa due to thunderstorms. Right when the stewardess announced that we could use our electronic devices, we were flying right over Seminole, and I was able to take this picture.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the weekend.

Violent Femmes

2007-07-28T10:28:00.001-07:00

Every week night in Las Vegas Spy on Vegas puts on a free open bar at a different location with a different featured drink. On Friday, it was at the Hard Rock pool featuring 10 Cane rum. But, the thing that made this event unique is that the Violent Femmes were playing. I was crazy about this group in high school and had seen them several times then, and I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to see them for free. I emailed Leigh to see if she and Brian had any interest. They were in, and they had enough friends that wanted to join us that we got a cabana.

When I pulled up to the Hard Rock, I couldn't even pull into the parking lot because there were cars lined up to pull in. I had no idea there would be such a turn out. I made it inside to see an endless line. Fortunately, there was a special cabana line, and Brian came out to get me right in.

I've never gotten bottle service before, and, frankly, I thought it would be a waste of money. It turned out to be a fantastic idea. The cabana got us past the tons of people in line, and once inside, it kept us out of the crowd. It had a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, a safe, a phone, a waitress that came around regularly, and, yes, a cabana boy. Included in the price of the cabana was a bottle of vodka and cranberry juice and tonic water for mixing.

The concert was awesome. I bounced around and sang along with all of my favorite songs. I also met some of Leigh and Brian's friends - Don, Dan, Jen, and Steve. I have to give a shout out to their blogs: Leigh and Brian have their LBC Blog and Dan keeps up Pokerati.

Here's a poor picture of the stage with the pool in the foreground with the hotel in the background. I took this with my iPhone, but if I had know that the cabana had a safe, I would have bought my good camera.

Golf Scramble

2007-07-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

My dad is a huge golfer. He became a teacher just so he could have his summer's off to golf. He brought me up trying to get me interested in golf, but I resisted. Golf was not cool, and neither was I when he sent me to golf camp one summer. I was even less cool when my ball ricocheted off a tree and broke a fellow campers finger. But fast forward a few years, and like all good kids, I eventually appreciated my dad's efforts and the pastime itself. In fact, golf came in handy during my dating years because I could hang out with the boys on the golf course.

I used to golf a lot, and I've been wanting to find some golfing buddies in Las Vegas. I was thrilled when I found a Las Vegas Scramble League had been started on Meetup. On Friday afternoon, we had our first scramble at Desert Willow golf course in Henderson. This course is fantastic - after 2pm, their greens fees are $20, and that includes a cart. It's a par 60 executive course, and very nicely maintained. Our tee time was at 4pm, and it was warm in the sun, but it cooled off quickly. It was quite windy, but the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy a relaxing day on the course. We played a scramble format, where we all hit from the best ball, so it was much more pleasant than having to chase balls across the course or wait on a slow person to hit from the opposite fairway.
I saw plenty of wildlife on the course, including birds, ducks, and rabbits. The groundskeeper told me there is also a resident bobcat, but I was happy that he did not come out to greet me.

Weather and Car Update

2007-07-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

The weather has been awful here this week. Every day it has tried to storm, though only a few drops would come each time. But the problem is that the storms have brought humidity, something I thought I left for good on the East coast. Though the highs have been in the 90s and low 100s, the humidity has been around 40%. Usually, our humidity is, oh, 1%. I want my dry heat back!

The good news is that the blower motor for my car came in. I got the repair manual from the library, and it looked simple enough: (1) remove glove box, (2) take out 7 screws to remove glove box panel, (3) take out 3 screws to remove blower motor, and (4) work steps 1 through 3 in reverse with new blower motor. Well, they left some details out, so I had to improvise along the way. I must have taken out 20 screws and remove 2 extra panels just to get to the screws. When I got to the blower motor, I didn't have a wrench small enough for the screws. So I went to my neighbor, who fortunately had the perfect part. The most frustrating part is that there was a bundle of wires below the opening that made getting the new part back in really difficult. I must have tried it different ways for 30 minutes, all the while using language that I hope didn't carry down the street. I went inside to take a break, and it went in the first time the next time I tried it. After three and a half hours, I managed to find all of the screws their homes, and I got my A/C working. Oh, and most of the time was spent upside with my head under the dashboard!

Weather Report

2007-07-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

The high temperatures have been around 105. I don't notice the heat because I am inside all day. It is very pleasant when I get up at 6am, and in the evenings it is tolerable because the sun isn't oppressive.

I can absolutely bear the heat out here, except for the fact that the air conditioner in my car has been broken. It had been putting out inconsistent cold air, so I took it in to have the freon recharged. It worked great that night, but the next morning the A/C was dead. I found that the fuse had blown, so I replaced it and it worked for another week before the fuse blew again. I took it back to the repair shop, and they told me the blower motor needed replacing. I decided to repair it myself and am waiting for the part to arrive. Until then, I have no A/C, not even a fan for circulation. At 40 MPH or less, driving with the windows down is sufficient. But any faster than that, and 100+ degree heat being blown in at that speed feels like sticking my head in front of the huge track driers they use in NASCAR. Until the part arrives, I will keep my driving to a minimum.

Today I noticed something odd outside - drops of rain. I don't remember the last time it rained here. I think it was in February. It really didn't rain today; there were just a few drops on the pavement. The good thing is that this is a "cold" front coming in, and the highs this week will be as low as 92. I'm going to pull my sweaters out.

Mummy's Toe

2007-07-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to hike last weekend, and I'm out of town next weekend, so I wanted to get a good, challenging hike in this weekend. My friend Rick and I set off to hike Mummy's Toe, another body part of the Mummy Mountain that I hiked two weeks ago. That hike went up to Mummy's Tummy, the highest point on Mummy at 11,542 feet, and this hike went up 10,925 feet. I found the hike description in the book Hiking Southern Nevada by Branch Whitney, and I chose it because it used a trailhead that I haven't used yet, and because it seemed to have some fun scrambling towards the top. The book said that it was an 8 mile hike with 2,591 feet elevation gain that should take 5 to 6 hours.

We started on the North Loop trail at about 8:15. I love the atmosphere when starting a hike because it is cool and peaceful, though we did pass several people who were on their way back down the trail. Shortly after starting, we found a cool tree and took each other's pictures in it.After about 2 miles, we reached a high point where we had a nice view over Kyle Canyon and a clear view of our destination.About a half mile from there, we reached the Raintree. This is a Bristlecone Pine that is 3,000 years old.In about another half-mile, we reached Mummy Springs. We walked up to the springs to relax and have a snack. We came across two men with their dogs, and I overhead them speaking French to each other. They sounded French Canadian to me, but their accents were much clearer to understand than most French Canadians I've heard. I asked them, in French, if they were Canadian. They said they were from Montreal, and we spoke for a few minutes. I haven't had an opportunity to speak French for a while, and these guys made my day.From there, we started the one mile ascent to the summit. I kept pulling the Hiking in Southern Nevada book out to figure out the way. It said to hike up to three successive walls, following them to the right, until a dry wash. Then follow the wash up to another wall, follow it to the left, and hike up to the saddle. A last scramble would lead us to the peak. These directions were very difficult to follow - at one point, it said to hike up to a Bristlecone Pine, and there were literally thousands of those surrounding us. So we just kept going uphill. Much of the way were were on dirt, and it was difficult to get our footing. Other parts were on limestone, and those were much easier to climb.Finally, at about noon, we made it to the summit. We signed the register and figured we would be the only people at that peak today. It's neat knowing that this peak is less frequented than most in the area.The view from the peak was awesome. We could see all of the Vegas valley, Kyle Canyon, Lee Canyon, and the surrounding mountain ranges. We spent about an hour at the top eating, chatting, and taking in the views.
Click here for a panoramic view from the summit.The hike down was much easier than going up. During the steep parts on dirt, we just slid down rather than taking steps. I lost my balance several times, but it would have been much more frequent if I hadn't had my trekking poles.After we got below the first of the series of walls, we noticed a trail on the other side of the wash, through which we were to descend. I was not looking forward to retracing our path because it was difficult to find good places to step on the way up, and I though gravity would not be friendly on the way down. So I suggested we take the trail and see where it went. Fortunately, after a series of switchbacks, we found ourselves back at Mummy Springs. I noticed at Mummy Springs that the trail appeared to continue, though the book told us to go straight uphill at that point. If we had continued on the trail, we would have found this much easier route up to the last wall. I would recommend that hikers ignore the directions in the book and to continue on the trail past Mummy Springs until it ends. At that point, follow the last wall till it ends on the left, and go straight up from there.

We finally got back to the car at about 5:00. We were on the trail for 9 hours, considerably longer than expected, but we did a fair amount of stopping to rest, snack, and take pictures in trees and such. This was a great trail, and I would definitely do this hike again.

Here's a picture of downtown Las Vegas through the trees.Click here for more pictures from the hike

Mummy Mountain

2007-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Las Vegas Hiking Meetup group tackled Mummy Mountain, the 2nd highest mountain in southern Nevada at 11,542 feet above sea level. The path to the summit is 8.5 miles round trip with nearly 4000 feet elevation gain. I figured that if I could do Griffith Peak, which is longer and just slightly shorter, that I could do this peak as well. Here's a picture of our starting and ending points, taken from the top of Griffith Peak two weeks before.

Ten of us started at 8:50am. Immediately, I was exhausted. The others in the group were obviously experienced hikers because the steepness of the trail didn't phase them. When I begin a hike, I can tell if it's going to be a good day or a bad day. Today was going to be a bad day, but I was determined to be able to say that I conquered this mountain. So I trudged on. After about 2 miles, the Trail Canyon trail intersected with the North Loop trail. Here, everyone caught up and briefly rested.

After hiking the first two miles alone, I realized this was not going to be a social group hike. So I got out my iPhone and played some shows from the Living in Las Vegas Podcast. 1.25 miles after joining with the North Loop trail, we came to 500 foot steep scree route up an avalanche slope. It is really hard to describe in words what this slope was like, and the picture below definitely doesn't do it justice. Imagine climbing a black diamond ski slope covered in gravel. For every four steps I took, I would slide back three. It must have taken at least 30 minutes to get up this slope.
Here I am halfway up the slope. Don't let the smile fool you, I was not enjoying myself.
Once we got to the top of the slope, we trail was entirely on limestone. The hike was not very steep at this point, and the views were incredible, so this was my favorite part of the hike. In less than a mile, we came to a 200 foot class 2 chute that would bring us to the peak.
After three and a half hours of strenuous hiking, we made it to the top. I signed the register and was very honest: "Never again!"
Randon and Nicole had brought Toblerone on our Griffith Peak hike, and I thought that was the perfect way to celebrate a summit. So I froze two bars to share with our group.
This is the view of Griffith Peak from Mummy Mountain.
Here's our group at the summit.
Here I am at the summit with Mt. Charleston in the background. The summit was weird because, as you can see here, it was flat and sprawling. Notice that I am wearing a jacket. The temperatures in the valley were near 115, but it was probably 60 or 70 on the top of the mountain with cold winds.
After a good, long rest we started back down the mountain. Usually, I hate the part going down, but it was a nice change after the steep climb. The only bad part was the 500 foot scree slope. I would take one step and slide down five feet, with rocks above my boots. When I got to the bottom, I had to empty out the numerous rocks that had joined my feet in my boots. Even from there, we had a long way to go, as you can see by this picture.
We made it back to the cars by 3:30, for about six and a half hours of hiking. I am very proud to have made it to the top of this mountain, but I can say with confidence that this was my first and last hike to the summit of Mummy Mountain!

Click here for more pictures.

It's hot outside!

2007-07-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

The first time I came to Las Vegas was at the end of June/beginning of July, and I moved here in August, so I've been here when it's hot. But the temperatures then were no where near where it is now. It's been 116 the last two days. In Florida and North Carolina, 96 would be sweltering, but here it's 20 degrees hotter than that! To be honest, it isn't as bad as it sounds. Granted, I am inside all day, but tonight I was outside at a friend's party, and the thermometer read 115, and it just didn't feel like 115. 100 yes, but not 115. I've been bracing myself for this heat, and if this is as bad as it gets, then there's nothing wrong with the weather in Las Vegas.

I was talking to a woman at a restaurant today about the potential for a group of us to eat outside on Sunday (under the misters). Only in Las Vegas would someone say what she said, "It's supposed to cool off this weekend. The high is only going to be 108." Yikes!

Fourth of July

2007-07-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

My college roommate, Jamie, and her boyfriend, Robby, came to town during the Fourth of July holiday. I met up with them on July 3rd for dinner at Margaritaville at the Flamingo. I love Jimmy Buffett, so this is one of my favorite places to eat in town. We had a great table overlooking the Strip, and I enjoyed two Ruby Red Ritas (margaritas with chambord) with my fish sandwich.

After dinner, we started wandering around the Strip. We stopped in at Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon (formerly, Barbary Coast) for the advertised $1 margaritas. We then walked over to the Bellagio to watch the fountains.
After watching the fountains and walking around inside, we headed over to Planet Hollywood for a last drink. I stuck with tequila and ordered some awful combination of tequila and pineapple. PH is really hip now that it's been renovated, and I enjoy hanging out there.

On the 4th of July, we headed back to the Strip for a round of casino golf. I heard about this on the Living in Las Vegas Podcast, and I thought it would be a great tourist activity. Each casino is a hole, and you set aside a certain amount of money with which to gamble at each casino. At each casino, while you're gambling, you get a free drink. We started at New York New York, then went down to Mandalay Bay and came back through Luxor and Excalibur. After four holes, we called it a round (we were shooting for 9, but it was hot and we were tired) and headed home to grill out.

After dinner, we went outside to watch fireworks. My backyard overlooks the valley towards the southeast, so I figured we would have the perfect view of the downtown Henderson fireworks. We never actually saw that show, and I read online that it was pretty pathetic. However, we were able to see fireworks in every direction being set off at people's houses. From our front yard, we could see at least three sets being set off in our neighborhood. These fireworks were as big and colorful as those in the professional shows. Apparently, the fireworks laws in Nevada are much looser than they are back east.

Silverton Casino

2007-06-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday, and Eva and I needed a girl's day. We headed over to the Silverton Casino for brunch at the Seasons Buffet. It was a champagne brunch for $13.99, and Eva had a 2-for-1 coupon to make it even better. I don't really like champagne, so I was pleased to see that that they had different fruit puree flavors that could be added. The mango was awesome! I grabbed two glassed, and headed over to the crab legs. Crab legs are my weakness. Like most buffets, they were available cold, but if you tip the chef a dollar, he will re-steam them. We must have spent two hours there eating crab, sipping champagne, and tasting a few other things here and there. This is the best buffet I've been to in town for the price, and it's off the Strip, so it's easy to get to.

The Silverton has a fish tank that is a focal point in the casino. It is complete with sting rays, sharks, and, of course, mermaids. Next to the fish tank is the Mermaid Lounge that has a jellyfish display behind the bar. I am captivated by jellyfish, and these are artistically presented. The chandelliers in the lounge are shaped like jellyfish.

Griffith Peak

2007-06-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Las Vegas Hiking Meetup Group ventured up Griffith Peak, the 3rd highest mountain in southern Nevada. It is 11,056 feet above sea level, and we took the South Loop trail, making for a ten mile hike with about 3400 feet elevation gain. The trail was well-worn and shaded nearly the whole way. The incline was gradual, so while strenuous, it wasn't overwhelming. The seven of us stayed close to each other throughout the hike, stopping often to allow everyone to catch up, and conversation flowed regularly throughout the hike.

Here I am pointing to our destination. We were about two-thirds the way up the mountain at this point.

Here, our group begins the final ascent. This was definitely the most difficult part of the hike. Notice Yan in this picture - yes, he is carrying hand weights. He likes to give his upper body a workout on the hikes too!Here I am at the top of Griffith, with Mummy Mountain in the background.
Our group shot - seven people and one very sweet chocolate lab.
Here is my entry in the register. My first summit!
The view of Las Vegas from the summit.
The hike down was leisurely. Much of it looked like this, meandering through very tall pines.
We got to a meadowy section about a mile from the bottom, and I fell behind the group to take pictures of the wild flowers.
About a quarter mile from the bottom, the group that had hiked Mt. Charleston caught up with us. Here is both groups at the trail head. Round trip, it was about an 8 hour hike in beautiful weather. The entire hike was very scenic with a fabulous view from the top. I will definitely do this hike again in the future.
Click here for more pictures.

Desert Creatures

2007-06-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

I would have thought that the desert would be a very desolate place in terms of wildlife, but there are a ton of animals that live here. In the Red Rock area, you can see burros, bighorn sheep, and tortoises (not that, in all my hiking trips out there, I've ever actually witnessed one of these creatures). I hear that there are coyotes that you will even see in neighborhoods on the outskirts of town. I am pleased to have never seen one of them and hope to keep it that way.

My backyard is lined with pine trees, and several types of birds love to rest in their branches. Since spring, every day I have heard the songs of mockingbirds. They have many songs that they sing, and they sure do sing them loud! Every so often, when I look outside, I will see a hummingbird looking in the window at me. I'm not quite sure which species they are, and I've tried to get a picture of them but the darn things move too fast. They are metallic jade in color, so I think they might be a magnificent hummingbird. My friend, Mark, suggested several types of flowers that I can get to attract them, so hopefully I'll catch one on film someday.

Every afternoon, there are a number of mourning doves sitting in the branches of the pine trees. They are obviously used to city living and don't mind the dogs or me coming outside. The pictures below are some of my favorite, with nice close up shots of these birds, along with the cityscape and mountains in the background.

Bridge Mountain Attempt

2007-06-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been considerably cooler this week (highs in the 80s and 90s instead of triple digits), so four of us from the hiking group decide to take advantage of the weather and hike at Red Rock (which is usually too hot for a hike in the summer). We decided to try to summit Bridge Mountain, the second tallest mountain in Red Rock at 6940 feet above sea level. There are several approaches to Bridge Mountain, the most popular of which requires a high clearance vehicle to access the trailhead. None of us had such a vehicle, so we decided to try the path through Pine Creek Canyon. We found a website of a couple who had made it up this way, so we knew it could be done. We met at 7:30am and began our hike. The Pine Creek trail is a simple dirt path for the first 1-1.5 miles, beginning at about 4000 feet above sea level. At Mescalito, the trail forks. Our path was the right fork into Fern Canyon.

Starting out on the dirt path, approaching Mescalito in the middle:
Fern Canyon was beautiful. Water flowed in a creek and it was surrounded by thick vegetation. Because of all of the trees, it was much cooler in here. Eventually, the canyon became drier with fewer trees and plants, and the class 3 scrambling began. See how happy we are to come to boulders:
Here I am climbing up some boulders:
At first, the boulders were pretty simple to get over, but eventually we came to a steep wall. Rick and Parnell decided to scale the wall, but Mike and I found a path up some boulders to the right of the wall. Here I am at the top of the wall:
At the top, the view overlooking Pine Creek Canyon was beautiful. At this point, there was no longer a clear trail. The wash continued, but we decided to start up the canyon wall. There were cairns every so often to let us know that we were heading in the correct direction. Here is the view as we looked ahead. We were trying to get to the top of the ridge directly ahead so that we could begin the trek over to Bridge Mountain. We were pretty high up at this point on slick tilted rock. Going up seems so easy, but it's intimidating as soon as you look down to see where you came from. Eventually, we stopped seeing the cairns and no longer knew which way to go. Parnell tried one direction, but it was a nearly vertical wall that made even him nervous. Mike tried another direction, but the footholds ran out and he had to come back. Here is Mike, the dot in the center of the picture, trying to find a route for us.Alas, we had been hiking for four hours and decided to give up. We figured that this route was just too difficult to do without equipment. We had an awesome time bouldering, but the summit was not meant to be for this day. We made it back to the car six hours after we started, and we went out for a much-needed lunch.

When I got home, I looked at the website of the couple who had taken Pine Creek to get to Bridge Mountain. It turns out that if we had stayed in the wash, we would have found an easier route up to the summit. Looking at their topo map and GPS route, we had made it about 2.5 miles in, and we only had about 1.5 miles to go. We had ascended about 1500 feet of the 3000 feet to the summit. There's no telling how long it would have taken to finish that last mile and 1500 feet elevation gain because the route was just going to get scarier, but it's disappointing that we were so close to our goal. Next time the temperature cools down, we will try this peak again, perhaps with a different starting point.

Click here for more pictures from our hike

Mother's Day Weekend Recap, Part III

2007-06-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I took the day off to spend with Mom. We packed a lunch and headed to Red Rock Canyon. It is a conservation area west of the valley where the rocks and mountains have an incredible red color caused by rust. It is breathtaking to see, and it's my favorite place to go hiking.

We started at the visitor's center, where they had displays on the geography and history of the area. They also had some critters indigenous to the area, including this cute iguana.
Out by the car, the sweet ground squirrel posed for me.
There's a 13 mile one-way loop around Red Rock, with many spots to pull off and explore. Here is Mom at Calico Hills, where I often go hiking. Clearly, she was not here to hike in her white pants!
We stopped at Willow Springs and ate our lunch in a nice picnic area. It was very hot (near 100-degrees), but we were shaded by trees. We watched several squirrels and birds scamper around during lunch.
After finishing the drive, we went to Ethel's Chocolate in Henderson. That is Ethel M as in the Mars chocolate family. We went on a tour through the factory, sampled some chocolates, and Mom picked out some gifts to bring back to friends (sure beats a T-shirt!). Then we walked through the cactus garden outside. This is such a neat collection of cactus and other plants that can survive in the desert climate. In the winter, they decorate the plants with Christmas lights.

Mother's Day Weekend Recap, Part II

2007-06-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Mother's Day, and my goal was to make up to my mom for my teenage years! The Mt. Charleston Lodge that I enjoy so much was having a special Mother's Day brunch, so I made reservations for noon. We arrived at noon and there was a line out the door, so I was relieved that I had made reservations. We sat down and the waiter gave us the breakfast menu. We said that we wanted the brunch menu, and he said that the kitchen was really backed up and that brunch wouldn't be served for 30 minutes. I was irritated but there was nothing we could do, so we ordered a glass of wine. Mom and I had a wonderful time chatting. In fact, we were so caught up in conversation, that we hardly noticed that 30 minutes had turned into an hour. We started to notice the people around us who were very upset that their food had not been served. Several people stormed out not wanting to wait another minute. We were told another 30 minutes. In the meantime, we started chatting with the people around us, who were quite friendly despite being very hungry. At 2pm (2 hours after we arrived!), a sheepish waiter finally came over and said that the kitchen was a disaster and the special brunch was not going to materialize. We were able to order off the lunch menu, which pleased Mom because she got the Ruben sandwich she had been craving. Lunch should have been a total disaster, but Mom was thrilled getting to talk with me for two hours, and I was happy if she was happy.

And now for the part where I win Daughter of the Year. Mom's all-time favorite musical is Phantom of the Opera. Her chorus sang it back in the 1980s, and ever since then she has been obsessed. I grew up having to listen to her sing it around the house. Despite her infatuation, she has never seen the show in person. So, the minute she bought the plane ticket to come out here, I bought tickets for Phantom - The Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian.

I wanted to surprise her, so I told her that we were going to see the Blue Man Group, also at the Venetian. As we were driving there, she asked very innocently if Jeremy ever gets free tickets to Phantom, and I said no. She was disappointed. We arrived and started to the theater, which is very clearly marked "Phantom Theater." No reaction. In front, there's a mosaic of the phantom on the floor, and she said, "Careful, don't step on the Phantom." She didn't think anything of it. I handed her the ticket and she got the playbill, both of which were clearly marked "Phantom," but she didn't notice. Walking up the stairs she pointed out the "Phantom's chandelier." Still, nothing. Finally, as we are walking to our seats, she looks at the playbill and screams, "This says Phantom! We're going to Phantom!" I wanted to surprise her, but I had no idea that it would work so well. I thought the curtain was going to go up before she realized what show she was seeing!

The show was amazing. The set was incredible. It was thrilling to walk in with the chandelier in pieces above the audience's head, then to watch it come together, and then for it to crash down just feet above the audience. The music was beautiful and the story captivating. I would see this show again and again. When it was over, Mom didn't want to leave! We sat in our seats and watched the audience file out and the workers start cleaning.

After the show, Mom called all of her friends to tell them that she got to see Phantom. Then I showed her around the Venetian. She really enjoyed the canal (which is on the 2nd floor), which she said was much cleaner than in Venice.
Next we went over to the Bellagio to check out the botanical gardens and the Chihuly chandelier. We walked over to the poker room, and Mom saw several players that she recognized from TV (Daniel Negreanu, Shawn Sheikhan, and others).
Then, we walked outside to watch the fountains.
Finally, we ended up at Paris, where we each had a seafood crêpe at La Crêperie. Mmm, I could eat there every day.

Mother's Day Weekend Recap, Part I

2007-06-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

My mom came to visit over Mother's Day weekend (yes, I know that was nearly a month ago). She had never been to Las Vegas, and her friends don't like it much out here, so I knew I had to be crafty in my entertainment choices. My plan was to show her all of the fun activities in the area (that don't involve poker) so that she could come to love it here as much as I do. Mission accomplished!

We started on Saturday by driving by the Hoover Dam. We wanted to save the tour for when my dad came out to visit, so we just drove over the dam and stopped to take some pictures from a distance (through an enormous amount of power lines). By driving over the dam, we crossed into Arizona, so my mom got to go to Arizona for the first time.
On the way back from the dam, we stopped at a nice overlook at Lake Mead. Again, an incredible view with some poorly placed power lines.
Near the dam is Boulder City, a town that was built to house the workers who were building the dam in the 1930s. This is a small, quaint town with little resemblance to Las Vegas (it is the only city in Nevada without gaming!). We went to the main street area where there are a few restaurants and antique shops. This area was smaller than I had pictured, but we still had a nice time wandering around the shops. We ate lunch at Milo's Best Cellars, a wine cafe that I had been anxious to visit. I had a delicious croissant sandwich with avocado, roasted red peppers, and melted brie. Afterward we went inside to check out their wine selection. They offer a wall of wine with 100 bottles for less than $10. I selected a bottle that reminded me of one my excursions in France.
After Boulder City, we came back to Henderson and went to the Clark County Museum. This tiny little museum does an awesome job describing the history of Clark County and the Las Vegas area from prehistoric times to Native Americans to miners and the railroad to gambling. My favorite park of the museum is Heritage Street, where a number of local historic houses have been moved and each renovated to a decade in history with displays on local events from those decades. I find it fascinating to see appliances and furniture people used in the past, but Mom was less impressed (though still interested) because she grew up with many of those items! She was very excited to see this Airstream trailer because she lived in one of these as a child when her family spent winters in Florida. We wrapped up the day by attending Penn & Teller at the Rio. I got free tickets and thought this would be a fun show for mom. It was very entertaining, and the only drawback about the show was that they randomly chose people out of the audience to participate, so I worried the whole time that they would grab me to go on stage. Mom was blown away by the casino, and we spent some time after the show just watching the table games and taking in the excitement.

Hiking at Mt. Charleston

2007-06-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I went hiking with the Las Vegas Hiking and Outdoors Meetup group. I've been a member of this group since September, but this is only my second hike with them. I need to make a better effort to attend more of their hikes because they go to neat locations and the members are wonderful. I met so many nice, friendly, interesting people with all different backgrounds, from a guy from Newcastle, Australia, to a girl who teaches forensic nursing, to a guy who lived on a solar-powered commune in Kentucky.

We met in the northwest part of the valley and carpooled up to Mt. Charleston. Our first hike was up Cathedral Rock. The 1.5 mile hike to the top of the rock passed through huge trees, into a meadow, and up through more huge trees. At the top, we had a panoramic view of Kyle Canyon, Mt. Charleston, and other peaks in the Spring Mountains.

Cathedral Rock: Me at the top overlooking the town of Mt. Charleston:
View of Kyle Canyon:
Beautiful Ponderosa Pine:
Beautiful White Fir:
Trail through Quaking Aspen:
After we finished Cathedral Peak, we moved on to Fletcher Canyon. This hike is also in the Mt. Charleston area, and is about 4 miles round trip. The hike isn't as scenic because it doesn't have any overlooks, but it does eventually get into a canyon with some scrambling. I am happy anytime I have to climb over a boulder, so I enjoyed the end of the hike. A couple of us even squeezed through a tiny hole below a boulder to continue past the "end" of the trail, but we didn't go much further because we were worn out from our adventures.

Me in front of the limestone cliffs and some very fragrant trees (it almost seemed tropical through here):
Limestone cliffs and Ponderosa Pines:
Our group getting into the canyon:
A dead but artsy-looking Ponderosa Pine:

Here are more pictures from this hike

Tournament at TI

2007-05-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

I joined a group of people celebrating Jen's birthday last night at Isla Tequila Bar at TI. I wasn't hungry so I just had a glass of berry sangria, which at $7 was well-priced for a bar on the Strip. The food was Mexican, but it was fancied up so much that the quesadillas looked like toaster strudels.

Afterward, a crowd of us went to the poker room to play in the nightly $60 tournament. I have never played no-limit or a tournament in a casino, but I've been curious about tournaments because you can turn a small buy-in into a big cash. So I figured I would give it a shot. There were 43 entrants including re-buys, and about 10 of them were in our group. This is usually a soft tournament, but the people in our group are all affiliated with poker professionally (poker bloggers, poker writers, and poker website creators), so the competition was going to be tougher. Not that it mattered because regardless of the other players, I wasn't going to have a clue as to what I was doing.

In my usual 4/8L game, I am very comfortable. I can chat with other players, and I know what to do in terms of cards to play and number of chips to put in the pot. Last night I was completely out of my element. I was so nervous when the tournament started that I was actually hoping to have bad hole cards so that I didn't have to make any decisions. In limit, all I have to do is count the number of big blinds in the pot to determine my pot odds, but in no-limit, I had to actually count the number of chips people were putting in and how that compared to my stack size. That's a lot to keep track of.

I think I had only one raising hand all night. I had AQo one behind the button early in play. I raised to 3 times the big blind, and the blinds called. The flop was something like 10-10-7, and the blinds checked. They seemed weak, so I knew I had to bet, but I had no idea how much. So I just grabbed some chips and threw them in. I think my bet was larger than the pot, but it got the blinds to lay down their hands after some contemplation. So that was my first success.

Later, I had J-7o in the big blind, and the small blind completed. The flop was 10-7-3, and the small blind raised. I figured he was taking a stab at the pot, so I reraised (again, I didn't know how much to put in, so I doubled his bet). He thought for a long time, and fortunately by this time I had been playing long enough that I wasn't shaking the whole time sitting there waiting on him. Eventually he folded. Again, a small pot, but a small little victory for me.

Eventually, the blinds ate me up. I had 1100 left and the blinds were 600 and 300 (we started with 2000 and I think 50 and 25 blinds). I was under the gun and saw A8d, so I pushed my two chips all in. Everyone folded except the big blind, who called with AKo. The flop was paired with two diamonds, but the turn and river didn't pan out. I went out in 21st, but made it through an hour and a half of play.

I can't say that I had a great time. I would have much rather been playing a cash game at the Wynn where I could socialize, have a drink, and still know what I was doing. I'm intrigued by tournaments, and I definitely have more respect for tournament players now. Perhaps I'll get some practice and try it again one day. But until then, you can find me at the Wynn.

Memorial Day Weekend, Part II

2007-05-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight was one of those small-world nights where I ran into a friend from college on the Strip. We met up later at the Stratosphere.
The fancy-meeting-you-here scenario continued because one of the guys in the group was a guy that I spent summer of 2000 with studying abroad in Montpellier, France. We had the time of our lives that summer, so it was great catching up with him and reliving old memories.

The Stratosphere is a casino that has a 1149 ft high tower (to put it in perspective, the Seattle Space Needle is 605 ft high). It is on the most northern part of the Strip, and in fact, it is so far north that technically it isn't on the Strip. I have never been there, but I've always wanted to go up the tower to see the view. To get to the observation deck on the tower, you have to wait in a long line and pay $10. But, the guys we were with knew a better system - you can instead go to the Romance Lounge in the Top of the World revolving restaurant, which requires no wait in line and no entry fee. We went up and enjoyed a drink overlooking an unbelievable view of the city. It was breathtaking. Next time, I will go up to the observation deck to get better pictures, but this one gives the perspective of the view from the bar.

After drinks, we went to the Sahara for some blackjack and craps. This is an older casino, but that's no problem because it means you can find $5 tables on one of the busiest weekends of the year. I broke even playing blackjack, and of course had a great time socializing with the guys we were with. It made me miss college and all of the antics the guys could get away with when they were 21.

Memorial Day Weekend, Part I

2007-05-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend is a huge weekend here for tourism, and I was determined to enjoy my 3-day weekend with the rest of them. I wimped out Friday night to catch up on sleep that I missed all week, but on Saturday I woke up early to meet my friend, Leigh, and her friend, Jen, at TI. We had breakfast at The Coffee Shop; I had a delicious eggs Benedict. The prices were decent for the Strip.

After breakfast, Leigh and Jen went to play in TI's morning poker tournament. My no-limit skills need some serious help, so I knew there was no sense in joining them in the tournament. Instead, I went over to the Mirage to play some 3/6 limit. I only played twice around the table before the girls were done with their tournament, but in that time I saw ace-king twice, ace-queen once, king-queen twice, and ace-jack twice. You would think that with those starting hands, I would have left with more money. But, alas, those hands never improved.

After poker, the three of us went over to Fashion Show mall, which is just north of TI on Las Vegas Boulevard. I've never actually been in the mall, and oh my gosh, it is huge! They have every name brand you can think of, and quite honestly, the clothes would seem out of place in my closet that is filled with Target merchandise. The mall was packed, and you could really get a feel for how many people were in town this weekend.

That evening, I went to dinner with Leigh, her boyfriend, and his friends who were visiting from southern California. We went to a restaurant whose lack of impressive food is made up for with an abundance of personality: Battista's. This place is right off the Strip on Flamingo. They have a fixed price menu with several price levels. You pick which main course you want (I got ravioli), and with that you get soup or salad, delicious garlic bread, and cappuccino for desert. And here's the kicker, all-you-can-drink red or wine house wine is included with your meal. They have a carafe of each of the table that they continue to fill throughout the night. Honestly, I could make better food at home, and the wine was so cheap that I had a headache the next day, but it was more about the experience of old Vegas than anything else. I would recommend this as a great place for tourists to go if they are not in to the upscale dining scene that dominates the Strip.

Las Vegas Strip History

2007-05-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been so busy that I haven't posted recently. I have had so much fun in the last few weeks with several friends visiting (including my Mom) and lots of fun activities. I have also been super busy at work, and after a long day of working on a computer, the last thing I want to do is stay online to post a blog. I have a ton of pictures to post, which I should be able to do over this long weekend.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a great website that I just discovered. It's the Las Vegas Strip Historical Site, and it has history and stories of all of the hotels on the Strip. Lots of the information on this website comes from first-person accounts of what each casino was like back in the day and how it came to be. There is a plethora of information on the site, complete with (albeit, small) pictures. It has been so much fun reading about the evolution of the Strip. I can't believe that as recently as 15 years ago, the Strip was a much different place with some small hotels and casinos still in existence. In fact, there's still a small apartment building wedged between Mirage and TI (read that section to find out about the debate over this land). If you're looking to kill some time reading colorful accounts of the history of the Strip, then this is the website to check out!

Panorama Towers

2007-04-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, my wine group had an event at one of the member's homes in Panorama Towers. It is directly across from where they are building CityCenter on the other side of the 15. The reason they call it Panorama Towers? Because you have a perfect panoramic view of the Strip. The view from the 28th floor was amazing, as you can see by the photos below. Although I could never live in a condo with no yard, I could definitely get used to having a view like this. The event was a huge success. There were about 30 people, and each person brought a different bottle of wine. I tried so many types of wine, my favorite being an Alsacian Gewürztraminer. The hit wine of the party, and one that I always try to keep on hand at home, is the Ménage à Trois Red by Folies à Deux. It is a blend of zinfandel, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon. It tastes even better knowing that you can get it for $9.99 at the grocery store.

Planet Hollywood

2007-04-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, I met one of my best friends from elementary school and her family at Planet Hollywood. The Aladdin officially changed its name and theme to Planet Hollywood (aka, PH) just a week earlier. I've only been inside the Aladdin one or two times. It had a very cheesy Arabian Nights theme and looked run-down compared to other Strip casinos, despite having been demolished and rebuilt in 2000. They've been transitioning to the rebranded casino over the past few months, and you could watch as the facade changed. The sign on top of the hotel read "Planet Ho" for several days, then changed to "Planet Hol" as they were installing the letters at a leisurely pace.

The casino is fabulous inside now. It is a very contemporary style with clean lines, contrasting colors, and of course bright lights. The only thing that would keep me from coming here often, and this is a big thing, is that the parking garage is a long haul from the casino. I don't know what genius designed it this way, but you basically have to walk through an entire shopping mall to get to the casino. You have to read the map to even figure out how to get there. Because the casinos are so big and it can take a long time to talk from one end to the other, parking is very important to me - I want to be as close to the casino entrance as possible. The Wynn has the ideal parking garage. It has electronic signs telling you how many spaces are available on each level, and the door is about ten feet from my favorite destination, the poker room.

We all ate at Lombardi's Romagna Mia in the shopping mall (the Miracle Mile, or formerly the Desert Passage). This Italian restaurant was a bistro style with open air seating (well, open air in the sense that the mall is designed to look like it's outside, though it's just painted ceilings). The food was wonderful. I had a chop salad, my favorite meal as of lately. It had avocados and artichokes in it, yum! I usually don't order desserts, but since others were having some, I jumped on the Crème Brulée. Oh, it was so delicious! If you somehow find yourself lost in this mall, I would highly recommend this restaurant.

I don't have any pictures from PH to share, so instead I will share these pictures that I took from Stephanie's garden this weekend. Her husband, John, has done an amazing job on their landscaping. Their yard is the envy of the neighborhood!

Trip to NC

2007-04-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

With me having to travel to the east coast anyways for the conference in DC, I thought it would be a good opportunity to swing by NC. The great thing about having to travel to NC for work is that I get to see my girlfriends from college while I'm in town. I had a wonderful visit catching up with co-workers and friends. I stayed with Stephanie, my sorority sister and French class buddy. We had so much fun together. On Friday, we went to B-Risque, a new women's fitness facility that has sexy dance classes. We took the "floor and chair" class, but I really wanted to take the pole class! Afterwards we had awesome sushi at Shabashabu and rented a funny French movie (Décalage Horaire).

On Saturday, we went to the flea market at the fairgrounds in Raleigh. This was a really great flea market, and I can't believe I hadn't taken advantage of it sooner. Then we had lunch at Brixx with Lorin, another sorority sister, and her husband and daughter. After a long nap that afternoon, I was rested up to hit the town with the girls. We went to two bars in Raleigh, and they really made me appreciate the Las Vegas nightlife. At White Collar Crime, the women's bathroom was flooded - you would never see that in a club in LV. And since when is breakdancing back in style? People were spinning around on their heads, so there was little room to dance. At Bogart's, there was a crappy frat house band that was just screaming their songs. Again, entertainment in LV is much more talented. Oh well, I still had fun with the girls.

On Sunday, we took a long walk with Stephanie's sweet Boxer, Kona. Then we went up to UNC's campus. I walked around taking pictures for quite some time while Stephanie got in a run. Afterward, I met Jamie at Ham's, my favorite restaurant in town. Mmm, their chips are so good!

Here are some of my favorite landmarks on UNC's campus...

Bell tower:
Old well: Columns at Wilson library: University seal on the main quad:

On the Road Again

2007-04-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm a telecommuter, I travel a lot. I like to go back to my office in North Carolina every three or so months, just to refresh the bonds I have with my co-workers. This week, I set off on my eighth trip since moving to Vegas (four trips for business, four trips for pleasure). I left LV on Wednesday morning for Washington DC to attend a conference on Thursday. In LV on Wednesday we had very high winds (gusts to 50+ MPH), so I was really dreading the take-off. The initial ascent was no problem, but as soon as we got up to a good altitude and started making the controversial right-hand turn, the plane started shaking like it was a prop duster going through a hurricane. I have never felt turbulence like that before, and especially on a plane so big. Thankfully, it didn't last long, and I enjoyed the flight to Chicago without anyone sitting next to me.

In Chicago, I had a layover long enough to grab dinner, and then I switched from Southwest to their partner ATA. Now, I love Southwest. They are very laid back, and I like to call them a frat party in the sky (examples of that another time). But they get their stuff done efficiently, they are generous with their snacks and drinks, and I prefer them because free flights are fast through their frequent flier program. I bought my flight through Southwest, but they don't go to Washington National, so I had to use ATA to get there. ATA is definitely a no-frills airline. There were no snacks, but they did have several for purchase. Not even free peanuts. And they actually charge for pillows and blankets. I'm sure many airlines have resorted to this approach, but it makes me appreciate Southwest all the more. Once I finally got to DC, it was a full half hour after I got off the plane before our baggage started coming around the belt. Southwest and ATA are both discount carriers, but with ATA you can really tell it.

I stayed in the Hyatt in DC, right next to the Capitol Building. I can't get over how expensive hotels are in this city. My room was $400 a night, and the room was nothing special. They charged $3.75 for bottled water in the room (my crappy Radisson in NC gives free bottled water - I am a bottled water fiend), and they didn't even have free internet! For $400, I expect to be able to check my email.

I like DC so much. It is such a pretty city with so much going on. I wish I had stayed an extra day to explore the city. I enjoyed seeing the capitol from the hotel, and flying out was neat because we took off right over the city and I could see every monument. DC seems to be a popular location for these meetings of the minds in my field, so I'm sure I'll be back again soon.

Me in front of the capitol...

The capitol glowing at night...
The Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial taken from the airport. I didn't get to explore the city during this trip, but at least I got to enjoy its view from the airport!

Knitting Group

2007-04-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

When you work from home, you look for any way to find people to interact with. Upon moving here, I discovered Meetup.com, where you can find local groups that share the same interests. I joined the Henderson/Las Vegas Wine Meetup Group, which has been an awesome resource for meeting new people, taking part in fun social events, and discovering some great new wines. I even became an assistant organizer of the group, though social planning is not on my list of talents.

I've been waiting for a local knitting group to start on Meetup, but finally I discovered one on Yahoo! Groups. They meet once a month on the west side of town and once a month on the east side of town. Last night I went to the east side gathering, which is at a coffee house. I met six other women, each of whom knew a heck of a lot more about knitting than me. It was great getting to know six other people in town that share an interest with me. They told me about some yarn stores in the area and some good websites to use for getting patterns and ideas. I'm glad to find some other people in town who knit because now I have a resource when I have questions or when I just don't want to knit alone!

This is a baby blanket that I made for my friend Camille. Her nursery is pink and brown, so this blanket matches perfectly. It looks complicated, but it is really easy to make. I'm working on a second one now for another friend.

Frenchman Mountain

2007-04-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

One of the best features of the house I am renting is its view from the backyard. It is on the edge of a ridge, so I've got a panoramic view looking east towards Lake Mead. So many homes in Las Vegas are built right on top of each other, and backyard views include a tall cement wall and the neighbor's house, so I feel so lucky to have this view to enjoy. When it's time to move, I want my next house to have a view of the strip. This picture was taken peeking through the pine trees behind us looking at Frenchman Mountain during sunset.

Lunch at Mt. Charleston

2007-04-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's funny that this blog is intended to rave about how much I love living in Las Vegas, yet I'm going to begin by talking about escaping the city. If you need a break from neon and desert, then the best cure is a quick drive up to Mt. Charleston. From where I live in the south valley, it's about a 45 minute drive. As you approach, you are surrounded by cactus and dirt, but you can see the beautiful snow-capped peaks in the distance. It's a striking contrast.

As you keep driving, gradually the cactus turn into small bushes.
And suddenly, you're surrounded by tall pine trees. To think that on the other side of these mountains there's a bustling city. It is so peaceful up here, but you do see many other people driving up here to enjoy the hiking and scenery.
When I come up here, I always eat at the Mt. Charleston Lodge. It's a quaint lodge with a fireplace in the center of the room and a nearly panoramic view of Kyle Canyon. The food is fabulous. I always have a cup of their french onion soup to warm me up - it's usually 30 degrees cooler here than it is in the valley. The lodge elevation is about 7700 feet while the peak of Mt. Charleston is about 12,000 feet high. Someday I'll hike up there, but for now I'll just enjoy a nice lunch at the lodge.

Better Late Than Never

2007-04-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

When I moved from North Carolina to Las Vegas in August 2006, I told myself that I should document the move in a blog. I thought it would be neat for family and friends to see my adventures now that I would be so far away. Well, I'm lazy and never did it. My new friend, Leigh, just finished a two year road trip all around the country with her boyfriend. They kept up a blog that was kind of like a picture diary of their trip. I really enjoyed looking through their blog, as well as the comments left by their family and friends, who obviously followed their journey closely. So, I decided, it's better late than never.

Even though I've been here eight months, every day is still a new adventure. I've made some friends, but it takes a long time to develop close friendships like I have at home. I'm still exploring the area, finding fun locals hangouts, favorite stores, and new hiking locations. There's still much to tell, and on the slow days, I can recap events from the past eight months. And even when there's nothing to talk about, I can always post a picture. To many people, Las Vegas is a dreamland where you can be someone you're not while you're on vacation. But for me, it's a place where I can be myself. I hope that this blog shows that Las Vegas is a normal place where normal people do normal things. There are just a lot more things do here, and they don't always have to be normal!

With that, I leave you with a picture from the airplane the last time I flew out of Las Vegas before I moved. I was so sad to see it disappear from my view because I didn't know the next time I would see it again. Just ten (long) months later, I was here, and now I can see it every day!