our night in vegas was pretty tame. driving the strip allowed us to see just about everything, and we walked from mandelay bay to the bellagio and back. having no money, we spent most of our time speculating about the casino patrons while we broke-ly shuffled around the luxor and new york, new york. wade "take a seat" wisdom had made rumblings about doubling our money in vegas, but gabe "baby boy" shaukat and i had trouble even pulling the handle on the slot machines. needless to say, wade's proposal was abandoned. and in case you were wondering, the most expensive room in the bellagio that they'll tell you about over the phone costs $6000 for a three-bedroom penthouse suite. thank you, bellagio reservations guy.
bellagio, fountains off.
the next morning, i rose early for some breakfast and a brief workout. we loaded up and set off for l.a. california's "welcome to" sign was the weakest we've seen thus far. considering the amount of traffic that goes between vegas and l.a., arnold should really step up his game. we ate at in-n-out burger, which was simple, quick, and delicious. we also managed to catch most of the celtics/cavs game on a.m. radio, the highlight of which (aside from utter domination provided by paul "the truth" pierce) was dr. jack ramsey's commentary. his frequent descent into a guttural growl seemed to come at random, with no rhyme nor reason to it.
we parked in downtown hollywood and set out, determined to find cuba gooding, jr.'s star on the walk of fame. stops along the way included mann's chinese theatre, the columns of best picture winners dating back to the first year the academy awards were held, a few other stars, and an awesome movie poster store. after we found cgj's star, we hit the road again, searching for a good vantage point from which to take pictures of the hollywood sign. after numerous bouts of trespassing and some treacherous driving on the narrow streets of the hollywood hills, we settled on a park positioned quite well for our purposes. the location also afforded us a spectacular view of the city below. proving that you can take the boys out of georgia, but you can't take the georgia out of the boys, we tossed the football around for about twenty minutes. our next stop was the santa monica pier. playful insults were hurled, the football was thrown, loch- and rockmiel stood watch, and game fuel was quaffed. expect an explanation of the game fuel in provisional post two.
walking from the pier back to the car, i basked in the glow of our youthful exuberance. i hesitated briefly to drink it all in, suddenly cognizant of the fact that i may never get another chance to live so really and savagely as we were living at that moment, as we are living currently, and as we will be living for the duration of our time together. we had already traversed over 3000 miles from the home we'd created for ourselves in athens. on that walk, i realized that two of the most important aspects of "home in athens" were right there with me.
gay, i know.
all i have to stay about our stay in calabasas is that you should avoid seeing prince caspian. at all costs. unless you're in the mood to chuckle while your childhood literary fantasy is denigrated by piss-poor acting, a dreadful script, and an overplaying of lewis's intended-to-be subtle religious allusions, caspian will be a huge waste of time.
for the drive to san francisco, california one was the highway of choice. it's hard to believe, but the stunning views of the coastal countryside and cliffs that dropped into the sea became almost monotonous. it was a drive i intend to take again in the future. my only regret was not having "california one/youth and beauty brigade" by the decemberists to play upon our entrance to the highway.
one among many scenic stops along california one
here's to long drives and whirlwinds.
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