Las Vegas, California, The Rose Bowl, Work,and Norwalk

So here I am. You have probably been wondering where have I been. Well let me tell you my stories.
On December 29th, we hopped on a plane and head to Las Vegas. We has my Dad with us, and for him it was his first visit to this crazy place. We decided to spend our one day there showing him the sights. The weather was mid 50s, the sun was shining but as the day went on it sure was cold. Note to self, if you go to Vegas in December bring heavier coat and maybe gloves and hat. We walked up the entire strip and saw the sights of Ceasars Palace, Bellagio's Dancing Fountain, The Mirage's erupting volcano, Venetian's boat rides. Most of the spectacular sights that one can put into a 5 hour span. It was sure busy that night in Vegas as it was 2 nights before New Years. I think that my Dad was probably a little overwhelmed as everyone usually is when they get to Vegas as we did a lot in one night. Vegas is definitely a world of its own. It is a fictional place were realities from other places a brought to one street. In the picture below you can see the replica of the Eiffel tower outside the "Paris" hotel. I guess it allows you to take in many different cultures all in one visit.

The next morning we woke up and drove down to Old Vegas, Freemont street. There really wasn't much to see there, so after a breakfast at a hectic Denny's we were on the road again.
Ahead of us was a 4 hour journey to Burbank California. This trip ended up taking longer as the road was closed due to an accident investigation. We had gotten off in a hicks ville town to get a map and decided to try the interstate again. Getting onto the On-ramp was as far as we got, so after I backed us off the on-ramp we were on our way again. We went through the mountains. It was a breathtaking ride that we weren't expecting. Here is another note to self, people drive really fast out there. Like 80+ miles per hour on these back curvy roads. It was unreal.

Anyways, we got to our hotel around 5pm and we headed straight for the outdoor hot tub. Now this was probably the most relaxing part of the trip. We enjoyed this for about a half an hour, then Ryan and I got ready to go visit with my friend Jenn from Nursing School. She is working in Hollywood as a travel nurse with our other friend Amanda. Amanda was at home for the holidays so we didn't get to see her. It was so great to see Jenn. We had not seen each other since my wedding day! So we had a lot to catch up on. I also got to meet Jenn's Boyfriend Greg which was great. He seems like a really good guy.

The next day was the day was a busy day, New Years Eve. We got up early and went into Pasadena to get out tickets for the Rose Bowl Parade. People were already lined up on the street for a parade that was 24 hours away. Unbelievable. We then went over to Hollywood and saw The Kodak Theater and some stars on the side walk. That was pretty cool. My dad bought some souvenirs for the grand kids and we off again....


To be continued... I am just starting to get better from the horrible Norwalk and I am going to lay down.. will finish at a later date. . . .