Saturday, May 26, 2007
First week of training
So I've been here at Echo for a week of training now. We have 22 people in our training class, only two of which are female. So any ideas of leaving the 8-to-1 ratio at Breck are pretty much done. Its a male dominated world in the rafting business. Anyway I'm not here for women, I'm here for the river. We've been down the gorge once and the rest of the time has been training on the Big Horn section in class 3 rapids. I'm starting to get the hang of moving around a raft with the oars but it just takes a lot of effort if you don't have everything planed well in advance. I got in a kayak yesterday and did a pretty good section of the river. The difference was amazing. I could get that kayak where I wanted with a few quick paddle strokes. I did pretty well and didn't even take a roll although I had to put in a few desparate high braces in one of the big wave trains. So I'm really happy with that because not having my own boat or car I was a bit afraid that I wasn't going to get on the river too much. As it turns out the company owner has a couple fo boats that he doesn't mind people borrowing so that solves one problem for now and as far as rides, there are a couple other guys who kayak and so I figure I'll be able to get on the river a good few times. Theres also a good climbing area nearby as well and a few guys who want to go. Its Shelf Road which is one of the best sport climbing areas in Colorado so we want to go check that out soon. I am surprised by how few of the guides climb and kayak. They all just seem to be into rafting, which makes it quite interesting because as a kayaker, when you first learn you're thrown in the river all the time and you end up swimming most rapids you get into. In rafting you can pretty much get away with all kinds of stuff with out going in the river so everybody is a bit fearful of swimming. I suppose there's no point in swimming rapids and bouncing offf rocks if you don't have to but it is pretty amusing. Anyway, we've got this afternoon off as well as tomorrow since the company is so busy from the holiday weekend then we're off to do a three day overnighter on the Colorado river next week. So it's more fun and games with the oar boats and then I think we start up on paddle boats. Thats when it gets really exciting and we start flipping them and doing all those sorts of senarios. Well I think I've said enough for now and the bar is open so I'll sign off and let you know how things are going in a few days.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Echo Canyon
So I've made the move down to Canon City, well almost. I'm a few miles out of town which I thought was going to be a crap not having a car but its actually a much nicer living environment and plenty of people go into town that catching lifts is no problem. The only problem could be that its a really small community. There's about 3 raft shops, a couple camp grounds and a bar so it might be quite difficult to escape and get away if I want to chillout but oh well. I was going to get a tent and live out of a tent the whole summer but they have a bunk house/barn thing so I'm saving a couple bucks on buying the tent and living in there. It's pretty primitive and infested with mice. When I first got there I spent about three hours cleaning out the room, sweeping out mouse shit and getting the place decent enough to live in. But its not too bad and we get thunderstorms most afternoons and even if the roof leaks a bit its still maybe better than a tent. Most people live out of trailers, campers or RVs but I don't want to throw any money at something like that.I'm already spending enough getting set up here. Anyway, I haven't been on the river yet but we start our training tomorrow and I think they'll be throwing us in constantly. Everyone's been talking about how hard its going to be and how its going to kick our asses but we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I've posted a couple of pictures of the bunk house so you can check out my new home.
Echo Canyon
Echo Canyon
Friday, May 18, 2007
R&R at the Snow Palace
So after the road trip I was in serious need of a break. I returned to Breck and was crashing at the "Snow Palace", Chris, Kristin, Kirsten and Jeff's house they had for the season. They have a lease until the end of May and Chris and Kirsten had already gone home so there were some space beds and not much going on. Just what I needed. Kristen was also gone, she was in Hawaii so it was only Jeff and me, and left for a few days as well. I basically did absolutely nothing. It was difficult to even leave the house some days but I'd force myself to go for a run or walk into town just to get some activity during the days. Some of you may think that this would be a waste of time or completely boring, but no. It was exactly what I needed after the season and the road trip. I was feeling beat up and abused. My body was not happy with me so this was just the break I needed. I watched a bunch of movies and read Seabuiscit, which Arthur had found for me in Telluride and just recovered.
Soon enough Kristin came back from Hawaii with her friend Kristen, and Jeff returned a day or so later. So my peace and quiet was gone and I had some company again. Which was nice considering it was a bit creepy to be in a big house all on my own but it meant staying up a bit later and having a few beers. It was strange, the first night I had a beer again it really didn't taste that nice and it didn't really make me feel that good. Usually having a beer smooths things over and generally makes me feel better, but not this time. Anyway, we had a few nights of entertainment. We got the bow and arrow set out again and failed at trying to make the sucker arrows stick to the window and then they had a bit of fun going mad with the hair spray on mine and Kristins hair. during the day we'd go into town or go on a hike. The hike we did was a bit challenging. It's still really early in the season and the trail was covered in snow. It meant you had to walk right on the path where the snow was compacted. One step to the side and you'd sink in to your thigh. I went in a couple of times but Kristin was having a tough time and scraping up her legs falling through the snow.
Arthur returned on Wednessday. We went into Denver to get a few bits and bobs and hang out before picking him up at the airport. Our final night in Breck we went to the Killers concert at Red Rocks. I didn't have a ticket but everyone else did but we figured we could scalp one easily. It urned out alright. As we picked up the other guys tickets at the will call window there was a couple who had an extra ticket that we picked up. So mission accomplished, I had my ticket. It was going to be an awesome show in a venue that people rave about. We got settled in and saw the opening acts and then the Killers came on. They opened up with a couple songs then it appeared that they were sorting something out, maybe taking a quick break. Why they would need to take a break so soon I don't know. But soon enough it became apparent. Some one came on stage and said that Brandon Flowers was having trouble with his throat and voice. Then sure enough, 20 minutes later they cancelled the show. So two songs and goodnight. It pretty much sucked. Apart from the show being cancelled I thought Red Rocks was a cool venue. You got a view over Denver and were surrounded by the amazing rock formations. So visually it was amzaing but I wasn't too impressed with it as a concert venue. The sound wasn't very good because the winds were swirling around and changing the voilume and quality of the sound. Maybe if you were closer to the stage or if it was a still summer evening it would work I don't know. It's definitely worth going for a show to experince it but I wasn't blown away by the place.
Well, that sums up my rest and relaxation back in Breck. I'm about to pack my stuff and head down to Canon City today to begin raft guiding. I'll have the weekend to get situated and then the training starts on Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to treat my body a bit better this timme round but it might be difficult. I'll let you know.
R&R at the Snow Palace
Soon enough Kristin came back from Hawaii with her friend Kristen, and Jeff returned a day or so later. So my peace and quiet was gone and I had some company again. Which was nice considering it was a bit creepy to be in a big house all on my own but it meant staying up a bit later and having a few beers. It was strange, the first night I had a beer again it really didn't taste that nice and it didn't really make me feel that good. Usually having a beer smooths things over and generally makes me feel better, but not this time. Anyway, we had a few nights of entertainment. We got the bow and arrow set out again and failed at trying to make the sucker arrows stick to the window and then they had a bit of fun going mad with the hair spray on mine and Kristins hair. during the day we'd go into town or go on a hike. The hike we did was a bit challenging. It's still really early in the season and the trail was covered in snow. It meant you had to walk right on the path where the snow was compacted. One step to the side and you'd sink in to your thigh. I went in a couple of times but Kristin was having a tough time and scraping up her legs falling through the snow.
Arthur returned on Wednessday. We went into Denver to get a few bits and bobs and hang out before picking him up at the airport. Our final night in Breck we went to the Killers concert at Red Rocks. I didn't have a ticket but everyone else did but we figured we could scalp one easily. It urned out alright. As we picked up the other guys tickets at the will call window there was a couple who had an extra ticket that we picked up. So mission accomplished, I had my ticket. It was going to be an awesome show in a venue that people rave about. We got settled in and saw the opening acts and then the Killers came on. They opened up with a couple songs then it appeared that they were sorting something out, maybe taking a quick break. Why they would need to take a break so soon I don't know. But soon enough it became apparent. Some one came on stage and said that Brandon Flowers was having trouble with his throat and voice. Then sure enough, 20 minutes later they cancelled the show. So two songs and goodnight. It pretty much sucked. Apart from the show being cancelled I thought Red Rocks was a cool venue. You got a view over Denver and were surrounded by the amazing rock formations. So visually it was amzaing but I wasn't too impressed with it as a concert venue. The sound wasn't very good because the winds were swirling around and changing the voilume and quality of the sound. Maybe if you were closer to the stage or if it was a still summer evening it would work I don't know. It's definitely worth going for a show to experince it but I wasn't blown away by the place.
Well, that sums up my rest and relaxation back in Breck. I'm about to pack my stuff and head down to Canon City today to begin raft guiding. I'll have the weekend to get situated and then the training starts on Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to treat my body a bit better this timme round but it might be difficult. I'll let you know.
R&R at the Snow Palace
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Road Tripping, back to Breck
So we got up late and got out of town. I was feeling pretty rough and not doing too well. I almost needed to pull over a couple of times to release my stomach but I managed to get through it somehow. We were headed to the Grand Canyon and then Telluride to stay the night with Alissa. The first stop was the Hoover Dam. The traffic leading up to it was horrible. We probably wasted at least an hour just waiting there. We stopped and took a few pictures. Checked out the construction on the new bridge they're putting in over the whole thing, which will hopefully get rid of the traffic jam, and kept on cruising down the road. It was more of the same desert driving we were getting quite used to by now. At one of the gas stops Arthur got a bit bored and picked up a plastic bow and arrow set with a sucker end. We were trying to get it to stick to the car and only after a pile of attempts did the stupid thing actually stick but I filmed a few of the attempts for you to check out.
That entertainment didn't last much longer than it took to finally stick an arrow to the car so we loaded up and kept cruising. This was when I started to feel properly rough. It wasn't a pleasant drive but I hung in there and we kept on cruising. We must have hit a time warp because we were cruising at anywhere between 60 and 80 mph but it seemed like every hour we'd only knock off 20 miles. We were getting quite unhappy about the prospect since we hadn't even hit the Grand Canyon yet and we still had to make it all the way out to Telluride. It turns out the timing was quite good in the end, at least for the Grand Canyon since we hit it right around sunset and got some really good pictures. It was a bit rubbish though because Arthur had run out of batteries on his camera and right when we were taking some really good photos of our sillouttes on the rim of the canyon my battery ran out. Oh well, at least we got a few good pictures and also a couple of videos. The first one maybe not be too funny for you guys but when I was taking it I started out with quite a bit of sky and Arthur says "Less sky, more canyon" before I realised what I was doing. Like I said, in our delirious state it was quite funny but maybe not for you. Anyway, check them out.
With the sun gone down there was no point in hanging around so we hit the road again and headed back to Colorado. We made the only major navigational error of the whole trip when we somehow missed a turn off to stay on 160 to go passed four corners. Instead we headed down into New Mexico and added a half hour onto our drive. Buts whats a half hour in a days drive? It was looking like we where going to arrive in Telluride around 3:00am. Which had us concerned for a while because Alissa told us the road was closed between 10:00pm and 5:00am due to construction. Fortunately it was the road headed north out of Telluride and we were coming in from the south so we were safe. The final section of the drive was pretty crazy. We were working on not much sleep and hangovers, the road got a bit snowy in patches and to top it all off there were elk roaming on the road around every corner. We managed to make it through and got into Telluride at 3:00am and had to wake up Alissa to let us in. It was our second 15 hour day and we wanted some sleep. We were greeted by her roommate and boyfriend? in a completely dark living room where they had craked open a bunch of glow sticks and sprayed them everywhere, oh and she was completely naked. It looked like quite a good little party but we were thinking more along the lines of finally getting some sleep so we hit the sack pronto to try and recover.
We woke up late again, it seems like we've had a noon to 5:00am schedule on this trip, and met Alissa for lunch in town. It was good to see her again and hang out but after a quick tour fo the town she had to go back to work and we had to get to Breck. Arthur was catching a flight from Denver the next day and he still needed to sort out a bunch of things. So we hit the road for the final leg of our road trip. The scenery was really nice on the drive back but we were quite happy to be on the final leg. The trip had really taken it out of us. We finally got onto I-70 and back onto familiar territory. We passed Vail, which had lost its snow and managed to roll into Breck by about 6:00. It was noce to be back home finally and know that I didn't have to get back into the car for another 15 hour day. I went to bed leaving Arthur to sort out all his stuff. The next morning I drove Arthur to the airport and dropped him off. And so ended our two weeks of living out of a car together.
It's now time for me to recover before we head down to Canon City to start raft guiding. I've dug myself into quite a deep hole and I'm not sure how easy it will be to get out. Hopefully with some good food, good rest and not doing shit I'll manage to claw my way back just in time to runi myself again when the raft season starts up. As much fun as all this is, I think I'm getting a bit too old for it. Not the snowboarding, travelling, rafting and all that, but the college party atmosphere. I think that after the summer ends and I've closed the book on the rafting I'll be good and ready to settle down to just relaxing into a normal lifestyle.
Road tripping
That entertainment didn't last much longer than it took to finally stick an arrow to the car so we loaded up and kept cruising. This was when I started to feel properly rough. It wasn't a pleasant drive but I hung in there and we kept on cruising. We must have hit a time warp because we were cruising at anywhere between 60 and 80 mph but it seemed like every hour we'd only knock off 20 miles. We were getting quite unhappy about the prospect since we hadn't even hit the Grand Canyon yet and we still had to make it all the way out to Telluride. It turns out the timing was quite good in the end, at least for the Grand Canyon since we hit it right around sunset and got some really good pictures. It was a bit rubbish though because Arthur had run out of batteries on his camera and right when we were taking some really good photos of our sillouttes on the rim of the canyon my battery ran out. Oh well, at least we got a few good pictures and also a couple of videos. The first one maybe not be too funny for you guys but when I was taking it I started out with quite a bit of sky and Arthur says "Less sky, more canyon" before I realised what I was doing. Like I said, in our delirious state it was quite funny but maybe not for you. Anyway, check them out.
With the sun gone down there was no point in hanging around so we hit the road again and headed back to Colorado. We made the only major navigational error of the whole trip when we somehow missed a turn off to stay on 160 to go passed four corners. Instead we headed down into New Mexico and added a half hour onto our drive. Buts whats a half hour in a days drive? It was looking like we where going to arrive in Telluride around 3:00am. Which had us concerned for a while because Alissa told us the road was closed between 10:00pm and 5:00am due to construction. Fortunately it was the road headed north out of Telluride and we were coming in from the south so we were safe. The final section of the drive was pretty crazy. We were working on not much sleep and hangovers, the road got a bit snowy in patches and to top it all off there were elk roaming on the road around every corner. We managed to make it through and got into Telluride at 3:00am and had to wake up Alissa to let us in. It was our second 15 hour day and we wanted some sleep. We were greeted by her roommate and boyfriend? in a completely dark living room where they had craked open a bunch of glow sticks and sprayed them everywhere, oh and she was completely naked. It looked like quite a good little party but we were thinking more along the lines of finally getting some sleep so we hit the sack pronto to try and recover.
We woke up late again, it seems like we've had a noon to 5:00am schedule on this trip, and met Alissa for lunch in town. It was good to see her again and hang out but after a quick tour fo the town she had to go back to work and we had to get to Breck. Arthur was catching a flight from Denver the next day and he still needed to sort out a bunch of things. So we hit the road for the final leg of our road trip. The scenery was really nice on the drive back but we were quite happy to be on the final leg. The trip had really taken it out of us. We finally got onto I-70 and back onto familiar territory. We passed Vail, which had lost its snow and managed to roll into Breck by about 6:00. It was noce to be back home finally and know that I didn't have to get back into the car for another 15 hour day. I went to bed leaving Arthur to sort out all his stuff. The next morning I drove Arthur to the airport and dropped him off. And so ended our two weeks of living out of a car together.
It's now time for me to recover before we head down to Canon City to start raft guiding. I've dug myself into quite a deep hole and I'm not sure how easy it will be to get out. Hopefully with some good food, good rest and not doing shit I'll manage to claw my way back just in time to runi myself again when the raft season starts up. As much fun as all this is, I think I'm getting a bit too old for it. Not the snowboarding, travelling, rafting and all that, but the college party atmosphere. I think that after the summer ends and I've closed the book on the rafting I'll be good and ready to settle down to just relaxing into a normal lifestyle.
Road tripping
Road tripping, Las Vegas
So we got up at 7:00am and said goodbye to Boeing and hit the road again. Vegas baby, Vegas. We got out of the LA basin and hit the desert. After a good few hours we hit the Nevada stateline, and what was there? You guessed it, a bunch of casinos right on the border to get people as soon as they crossed into Nevada. We didn't bother with them and kept cruising to see the real deal. We hit Vegas around noon on Thursday and went straight to the MGM sports book. Arthur had some ponies to bet on and it was only a few minutes before the races started up. I chilled it in the sports book for a bit and watched some of the races but also cruised around the casino and checked out the poker tables and the lion enclosure they had. There were a couple of lion cubs and they also had some males and females they brought out separately. Arthur had done quite well with his ponies, which was quite good. He had a daily withdrawal limit on his ATM card and as a result he was a bit worried that he wouldn't have enough money to properly enjoy his time in Vegas. But he was saved, a few of his ponies came in and gave him a nice bank roll to see him through our time in Vegas. After playing the ponies for a few hours all his friends arrived in town. A couple of Arthurs friends were getting married in Vegas, which was pretty much the whole reason for the road trip. We met up with Steven and his mother and got some dinner at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant at the Venetian before the rest of the group went to see the Blue Man Group show. While they were watching the show Arthur and I indilgedin some poker at the Mirage. I didn't do as well as I wanted but thats life. By the time we got through our fun money the show had ended and we met up with everyone else. the wedding was on Saturday but it was time for the Bachelor party. We rounded up everyone and headed for a bar, the first we came across that fit the bill was Shadow in Ceasers. It was quite fitting since they have silloutted dancers behind the bar which fit the evening. After a few shockingly expensive drinks there we headed for the Pussy Cat Dolls Club just round the corner and caught another drink and a bit of the show they put on. At this point we were doing quite well and we hit up Spearmint Rhinos. Some drinks and dances later and with quite a few less dollars in our pockets from the night we ended up leaving. There might have been some gambling in there before and/or after but we ended up calling it a night around 6:30 in the morning. Arthur and I didn't ahve a place to stay yet so Steven was nice enough to offer some floor space in his room.
We woke up nice and late. Arthur had to go and tend to some ponies a bit earlier so we met him downstairs in the sports book. We hung out there for a bit and then made one of the better decisions of the trip. We headed over to the Imperial Palace and got ourselves a room. Arthur got cleaned up and headed out to a dinner for the wedding. I decided to stay in a take a nap so that I didn't die. We met up after the dinner and found a spot with some cheap drinks, $2 High Lifes at O'Sheas and stuck around there with everyone for a while. Arthur was providing plenty of entertainment playing roulette but I think his bank could have done with out it. We had been there for a good few hours and people had been drifting off so Arthur and I decided to change it up a bit and head back to the Mirage for some more late night poker. Once again I didn't do so well which was pretty frustrating since I imagined I would have done better after being somewhat successful playing back in LA. At least I had managed to build up some money for a while where as in Vegas it just seemed like I was constantly just slowly hemorrhaging money. I could probably have played better (you always can) but talking to Ali and other people afterwards they were sayign that the 3-6 limit I was playing is pretty hard. The pots never get that big and the house takes its percentage out. Anyway, we hit the sack again in the early hours.
Saturday was a big day in Vegas. It was Cinco de Mayo, the de la Hoya vs. Mayweather fight, the Kentucky Derby, Arthurs friends Tony and Christina were getting married and Ali was playing in a $20,000 buy in, winner take all tournament. We started the day like all the other days in Vegas, at the sports book. Arthur played a few ponies and before long it was time to get ready for the wedding. We stopped by the Wynn so Arthur could play the Kentucky Derby, which was pretty good with the whole sports book packed out watching the race. The favorite won and we set off on our mission. Arthur wanted to rent the Dumb and Dumber tuxedos for the wedding so we jumped in a cab and headed for the costume shop. A few minutes later, mission successful, he had the baby blue tux and we got back to the Imperial Palace to change. Time was running short and we legged it down the strip to get to the wedding which was at the Wynn. We got there just in time. It was the first actual wedding I have been to. The only other time I've been to a wedding it was just the reception afterwards for Will and Dani. A few of my friends from university and Detroit have got married but I've been a poor student in England so I've never made it back to the US for them and as far as high school friends, Adam is the only one and he got married in Japan which is even further away. After the ceremony and plenty of pictures with Arthur in his rental tux (which they forgot to give him the pants for) we jumped in a monster limo and headed over to the Ruth Chris Steak House for dinner. It was excellent food and the drinks kept coming, which was a bonus. After the dinner people were going back to their rooms to get changed and ready for a night out. I took this opportunity to grab a cab with Arthur, Steven and Brian down to the South Point Casino to see Ali play in the poker tournament. We got there later than I thought we should be they had only just started palying. We got to be on the set and watch them film. Unfortunately, after 20 something hands another player went all in on Ali, who had pocket 4's with a 4 on the flop. Ali had to go for it with the set of 4's, but it turns out the other guy had a set of 10's so Ali made an early exit. It sucked but he was going over it outside with his friend Devon (another pro poker player) and they figured that it was the only thing he could have done. With that done and getting the news that Mayweather took the fight by decision, we headed back to the strip to meet up with everyone else. They were partying in Tangerine, but Arthur and I didn't have dress shoes so we had to take off. It really pissed me off because I really wanted to get just one night in at a club in Vegas but being a ski bum and raft guide doesn't require dress shoes so I didn't bring any. We took off and were debating what to do when Arthur got a call from Steven saying he had a spare pare of shoes. Good news. We headed back to the Imperial Palace and got Arthurs dress shoes then jammed back to Treasure Island to get the shoes from Steven. Mission accomplished and we just had to get in the club. We talked to the bouncer and he let us passed the line since we had talked to him before about the shoes. We were in, although a little late. I procceded to get quite hammered and since we were standing near the VIP area I was bullshitting with the bouncer on the entrance about working in Vegas and all that. The night wore on, my wallet wore down and before long it was time to call it a night. It urns out Arthur had found the roulette tables again and gone up a pile of money before losing it again. Oh well, it seemed to be the way it went for us in Vegas.
Road tripping
We woke up nice and late. Arthur had to go and tend to some ponies a bit earlier so we met him downstairs in the sports book. We hung out there for a bit and then made one of the better decisions of the trip. We headed over to the Imperial Palace and got ourselves a room. Arthur got cleaned up and headed out to a dinner for the wedding. I decided to stay in a take a nap so that I didn't die. We met up after the dinner and found a spot with some cheap drinks, $2 High Lifes at O'Sheas and stuck around there with everyone for a while. Arthur was providing plenty of entertainment playing roulette but I think his bank could have done with out it. We had been there for a good few hours and people had been drifting off so Arthur and I decided to change it up a bit and head back to the Mirage for some more late night poker. Once again I didn't do so well which was pretty frustrating since I imagined I would have done better after being somewhat successful playing back in LA. At least I had managed to build up some money for a while where as in Vegas it just seemed like I was constantly just slowly hemorrhaging money. I could probably have played better (you always can) but talking to Ali and other people afterwards they were sayign that the 3-6 limit I was playing is pretty hard. The pots never get that big and the house takes its percentage out. Anyway, we hit the sack again in the early hours.
Saturday was a big day in Vegas. It was Cinco de Mayo, the de la Hoya vs. Mayweather fight, the Kentucky Derby, Arthurs friends Tony and Christina were getting married and Ali was playing in a $20,000 buy in, winner take all tournament. We started the day like all the other days in Vegas, at the sports book. Arthur played a few ponies and before long it was time to get ready for the wedding. We stopped by the Wynn so Arthur could play the Kentucky Derby, which was pretty good with the whole sports book packed out watching the race. The favorite won and we set off on our mission. Arthur wanted to rent the Dumb and Dumber tuxedos for the wedding so we jumped in a cab and headed for the costume shop. A few minutes later, mission successful, he had the baby blue tux and we got back to the Imperial Palace to change. Time was running short and we legged it down the strip to get to the wedding which was at the Wynn. We got there just in time. It was the first actual wedding I have been to. The only other time I've been to a wedding it was just the reception afterwards for Will and Dani. A few of my friends from university and Detroit have got married but I've been a poor student in England so I've never made it back to the US for them and as far as high school friends, Adam is the only one and he got married in Japan which is even further away. After the ceremony and plenty of pictures with Arthur in his rental tux (which they forgot to give him the pants for) we jumped in a monster limo and headed over to the Ruth Chris Steak House for dinner. It was excellent food and the drinks kept coming, which was a bonus. After the dinner people were going back to their rooms to get changed and ready for a night out. I took this opportunity to grab a cab with Arthur, Steven and Brian down to the South Point Casino to see Ali play in the poker tournament. We got there later than I thought we should be they had only just started palying. We got to be on the set and watch them film. Unfortunately, after 20 something hands another player went all in on Ali, who had pocket 4's with a 4 on the flop. Ali had to go for it with the set of 4's, but it turns out the other guy had a set of 10's so Ali made an early exit. It sucked but he was going over it outside with his friend Devon (another pro poker player) and they figured that it was the only thing he could have done. With that done and getting the news that Mayweather took the fight by decision, we headed back to the strip to meet up with everyone else. They were partying in Tangerine, but Arthur and I didn't have dress shoes so we had to take off. It really pissed me off because I really wanted to get just one night in at a club in Vegas but being a ski bum and raft guide doesn't require dress shoes so I didn't bring any. We took off and were debating what to do when Arthur got a call from Steven saying he had a spare pare of shoes. Good news. We headed back to the Imperial Palace and got Arthurs dress shoes then jammed back to Treasure Island to get the shoes from Steven. Mission accomplished and we just had to get in the club. We talked to the bouncer and he let us passed the line since we had talked to him before about the shoes. We were in, although a little late. I procceded to get quite hammered and since we were standing near the VIP area I was bullshitting with the bouncer on the entrance about working in Vegas and all that. The night wore on, my wallet wore down and before long it was time to call it a night. It urns out Arthur had found the roulette tables again and gone up a pile of money before losing it again. Oh well, it seemed to be the way it went for us in Vegas.
Road tripping
Raod tripping, LA
So we had to fix the brakes before we set off. A quick trip to Pepboys got us some new brake pads and we set about changing them. As usual with these affairs, the first side took about 30 minutes because we had to figure it all out, including sanding down the new pads since they were too fat. After getting the system down we did the other side in about 5 minutes. Anyway, we got it done and with a bit of a late start we were headed down to LA by about 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. We cruised over the Altamont pass and saw the wind farm before hitting the long, flat and straight central valley. More flat and straight, just what we were used to. Anyway we hit the Grapevine a bit after sunset and worked our way into LA. Our first stop was casa de McCain. We got some directions wrong due to a missunderstanding about which freeway we were coming in on but shortly after we found him. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and a six pack and headed back to his place for some downtown street drinking. For those who don't know (most of you), McCain lives in a commercial district downtown in some space that he and McD converted into a living space. It was pretty cool but Arthur and I felt a bit sketchy living his car with our lives in it outside. So we shot the shit drinking a few beers outside his place with some colorfull conversation which hit topics like who is allowed to be naked on nude beaches and the finer points of visiting TJ. McCain had to be up early the next day so Arthur and I said goodbye and moved on to Ali's place. It was quite the contrast. A converted commercial space compared to an apartment in a gated complex with a 60" flat screen TV. Needless to say, I think Arthur was much more comfortable leaving his car parked outside. We shot the shit with Ali for a while before crashing the couch.
We got up late and didn't really have too many plans. Ali didn't have much to do so we jumped in the drop top M3 and rolled out for some breakfast at Toast. Well it was more like lunch or even a late lunch and by the time we were done we just decided to cruise around LA and show Arthur the sites. We cruised Sunset, Melrose and whatever else there is down there. We saw the Chinese Theatre and the place they have the Oscars, the Melrose Place apartments and all that kind of stuff. Ali had to stop by his agency so we all rolled up. Supposedly Pauly Shore was in the building somewhere but we didn't really care too much. After Ali sorted out his stuff and we were about to go Pauly Shore walks in and talks to a few people and then walks out. Since we were about to leave Arthur was right by the door and had to pretty much move out the way to let him get out. So we did see him, but as we were leaving Arthur says "We should have gone and seen Pauly Shore". Ali and I couldn't believe it, he'd walked right by and Arthur didn't even realise, I guess he really is washed up. Anyway, we cruised around a bit more then headed back to Ali's place. We put on some warmer clothes and switched rides to the M5 and headed out to Ali's girlfriend's brother's new house to get some chinese food and watch the Warriors game. The Warriors lost but we set up a little poker game afterwards playing 0.25 0.50 no-limit. It was a good laugh, I was doing alright, except playing like an idiot on the first hand and giving up almost half my money. After that I clawed it back. It bagan to get late and people were leaving and with no obvious end to the game in sight we decided to play a final five hands. I was up a few bucks and played two of the five hands. I gave up all my money. I just got beat palying hands that I should have played so I couldn't be too disappointed. Oh well, we set off home but it kind of started a little bug in me to play a bit of poker.
We woke up late again, and caught the Man U. European championship semi final ( we had seen the Chelsea Liverpool semi yesterday). After the game we headed out to grab some lunch. We followed Ali this time because he had to take care of some stuff before he flew out to Vegas in the evening for some work and to play in a tournament. After lunch we said goodbye and headed down to Venice beach. We walked around a bit and grabbed a beer. There were the usual assortment of street performers and interesting people. There was a guy who kept on cruising by on his longboard and he would hoist up his dog and hold him on his arm as he cruised by. Arthur got some video which I'll try and post. The guy said he had a myspace site called "Flyin' Lion" or something but I haven't been able to find it. We had seen Venice beach so we headed back and met up with Boeing. I had stayed with Ali and Boeing a few times crashing on their couch but I always missed Boeing because he actually kept normal hours. Anyway we met up and got some food at the local famers market food court and hung out a bit before calling it a night. Boeing had to be up early the next day and we were heading to Vegas so it was looking like we might actually make it to our next destination when it was still light for the first time this trip.
Road tripping
We got up late and didn't really have too many plans. Ali didn't have much to do so we jumped in the drop top M3 and rolled out for some breakfast at Toast. Well it was more like lunch or even a late lunch and by the time we were done we just decided to cruise around LA and show Arthur the sites. We cruised Sunset, Melrose and whatever else there is down there. We saw the Chinese Theatre and the place they have the Oscars, the Melrose Place apartments and all that kind of stuff. Ali had to stop by his agency so we all rolled up. Supposedly Pauly Shore was in the building somewhere but we didn't really care too much. After Ali sorted out his stuff and we were about to go Pauly Shore walks in and talks to a few people and then walks out. Since we were about to leave Arthur was right by the door and had to pretty much move out the way to let him get out. So we did see him, but as we were leaving Arthur says "We should have gone and seen Pauly Shore". Ali and I couldn't believe it, he'd walked right by and Arthur didn't even realise, I guess he really is washed up. Anyway, we cruised around a bit more then headed back to Ali's place. We put on some warmer clothes and switched rides to the M5 and headed out to Ali's girlfriend's brother's new house to get some chinese food and watch the Warriors game. The Warriors lost but we set up a little poker game afterwards playing 0.25 0.50 no-limit. It was a good laugh, I was doing alright, except playing like an idiot on the first hand and giving up almost half my money. After that I clawed it back. It bagan to get late and people were leaving and with no obvious end to the game in sight we decided to play a final five hands. I was up a few bucks and played two of the five hands. I gave up all my money. I just got beat palying hands that I should have played so I couldn't be too disappointed. Oh well, we set off home but it kind of started a little bug in me to play a bit of poker.
We woke up late again, and caught the Man U. European championship semi final ( we had seen the Chelsea Liverpool semi yesterday). After the game we headed out to grab some lunch. We followed Ali this time because he had to take care of some stuff before he flew out to Vegas in the evening for some work and to play in a tournament. After lunch we said goodbye and headed down to Venice beach. We walked around a bit and grabbed a beer. There were the usual assortment of street performers and interesting people. There was a guy who kept on cruising by on his longboard and he would hoist up his dog and hold him on his arm as he cruised by. Arthur got some video which I'll try and post. The guy said he had a myspace site called "Flyin' Lion" or something but I haven't been able to find it. We had seen Venice beach so we headed back and met up with Boeing. I had stayed with Ali and Boeing a few times crashing on their couch but I always missed Boeing because he actually kept normal hours. Anyway we met up and got some food at the local famers market food court and hung out a bit before calling it a night. Boeing had to be up early the next day and we were heading to Vegas so it was looking like we might actually make it to our next destination when it was still light for the first time this trip.
Road tripping
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