Tahoe Preview

Lake Tahoe

For some reason eating the pizza had put Brownbear in hibernation mode. This caused the drive to Tahoe to be one of the toughest of the whole trip. About 15 min outside our hotel we saw a spot that looked great to hike up the mountain. We hiked for about 15-20 min and got some great views.

After arriving at our little mom and pop hotel around 6:00 a.m. we slept until about 11:00. When we woke up we got dressed and ready to go hiking up the mountain. We went to the visitor’s center to take a look at some trail options. After finding a good spot we drove to it and got ready to go. We kept on the trail until we found a good spot to do a little harder climbing. Once going off trail we got up about as far as we could we got caught in a snowstorm. The temperature continued to dropped and the wind picked up so we decided to head back before we couldn’t get down the steep parts. It was a pretty amazing experience.

Making our way back down the mountain it was snowing everywhere and the temperature was 28 degrees, quite a change from the Daytona weather in the 90’s. We got some dinner at a place called whiskey dicks who’s bartender was probably the hottest girl on the mountain. We were pretty tired after stuffing out faces and having a few drinks so we went back, got some laundry done and then got ready to leave the next morning for Yellowstone.

San Francisco

In the morning we got up and began our trip to San Francisco. After much discussion we had decided the best plan for attacking the city was to pull an Austin. Get in early head to the bars, grab some food, and get started on our 4 hour drive to Lake Tahoe. The idea of spending $150 dollars for only four hours of sleep was not very appealing after Vegas shenanigans. We than began our trip up to the next city along highway 1. The view of the ocean, the mountains, and beautiful houses sandwiched in-between was pretty impressive. The fact that just a few weeks ago we were swimming on the opposite coast of America in the Atlantic Ocean solidified the fact we had driven around 4,000 miles and seen how much the U.S. had to offer.Along the way we stopped at a little restaurant along the coast that was hosting Taco Tuesday, I was sold. Of course Brownbear instantly wanted to try the fish tacos that were almost as fresh as salmon on their way to spawn. We ate our small meal in the sun framed by a mountain which looked as if it belonged in Hawaii while watching surfers ride the waves of the Pacific.

Refreshed from our meal we decided that it would take much to long to ride the entire highway up the route and let our Garmin guide us from there. The highway we took was no less stunning as we heading up a mountain pass into the Los Pedros National Forest. Here was saw countless ranches, lakes, and rolling hills that make up northern California. On the new highway we quickly approached San Fran and began laying out a plan for the night.

First, we found a little hole in the wall, which served the best fish and chips in San Francisco. A Korean family that had refined the art of frying fish ran the small restaurant, Chelsea’s, they swear it’s the batter that makes the difference. We both got some fried fish and fried mushrooms leaving us ready to hit the bars throughout the city.

Driving around San Francisco taught us one valuable lesson, be careful about which bar you go into. Our first mishap almost happened when we came close to visiting a bar called Studs… I was thinking studs in the wall etc. but the two rainbow flags waving on their front door identified Studs other meaning. Our next stop, the Lion’s Den, sounded a little questionable and the reviews kept raving about “fresh juice squeezed by strong bartenders” but with a bar named after him the BC knew it would be ok. The bar was filled with a few graduating seniors from the local college were celebrating their release into the real world in a much less fun way than a great migration.

The girls were about to call it a night so they pointed us down a road that led to a lot of college bars that would be active during the week. At the first stop we met two older women, again… who talked with us a bit about the best bars to go for a Tuesday night. We shared a few drinks and after they swore they were not allowed to join us on our trip we moved on to the next bar. The night continued in this fashion as San Francisco on Tuesday night is pretty low key. Throughout the night we visited 7 bars and talked with the locals who were friendly enough. Despite all the stories about how crazy some local San Franciscans could be we did not see any that night. Either they usually take Tuesday off or I should have convinced Big Cat to go inside Studs for a couple beers. After a couple hours of water and a large pizza we decided to hop in the car to move back East towards Lake Tahoe.

LA

Still riding the high from last night’s success at the black jack table we continued our great migration. A short trip brought us to LA around 6:00 P.M. Our hotel was situated on Crescent Street in the middle of Beverly Hills and after our time at the Palms we were ready to check in. What we found was completely opposite of Vegas, I had to turn my shoulders sideways just to get in to our room and there was just enough space for me to sleep next to the single bed. Slightly disappointed we made our first stop the bar in the lobby of our hotel. There we got on the bartenders good side when we ordered Whiskey on the rocks. As it turns out Cody was a whiskey fanatic and infused his own from time to time. This personal brew was infused with bacon and maple syrup and as he offered a free glass there was no way we would say no. As we continued to talk we found that not only did we all enjoy whisper but he had grown up in Dayton at Bishop Alter High School. He then moved on to Miami University and after 4 years there moved out to L.A. with no job, no place to live, and a dream of being in movies, unsurprisingly. He has had a few small parts in big movies such as the social network but had yet to score any major roles. He gave us a few more beers; this bar did not stock any light or standard beer that I praised the hotel for. It turns out Cody was the director of purchasing for the bar and refused to have any “piss water” in his bar. Due to similar interests and backgrounds he comp’d our drinks for the night and grabbed us a cab for dinner. We took off for a Brazilian restaurant, which was recommended by the hotel. Once there we had some steak with some different spices on it (Brazilian style if guessed correctly).

Sadly, L.A. did not turn out to be what we hoped. The five locals we met told us that on Monday night there was only once club that would be open and have anyone there. This club was extremely expensive and unless the Big Cat grew a pair of Double Ds asap we had to be in line before 8:30 P.M. By the time dinner finished it was close to 11 so thoroughly exhausted from Vegas we decided to prepare for our long drive up Route 1 towards San Francisco.

Vegas Day 3

Waking up the next morning not really knowing how much we had spent we each checked our bank accounts….bad idea. We realized how much we lost and it didn’t make for a great start to the day. However, Big Cat had the foresight to order us a cabana at the pool months in advance. This cabana was just the thing to cheer us up. Equipped with food, bottle service, and set against the newly created Palm’s Place pool we were definitely living the Vegas dream. Big Cat and I agree the best part of our Cabana was Monique, our waitress who could have won a Megan Fox look alike contest. It was her job to refill our drinks, bring our food, and feed the Big Cat fresh grapes from a perch above the sofa where he had taken to sunning himself.

Now despite our gorgeous waitress we were able to meet a few new people. The first girls we met were right across the Cabana from us at a bachelorette party, we just couldn’t escape them. After watching around 4 guys get kicked off their little isle we knew we had to save them from the onslaught of creepy men, we were both up for the challenge. Now we both made our way around the pool to the little isle cabana the 14 of them had reserved. All around us were guys, many of them were flexing so hard trying to impress the girls they looked like they would crap their pants, and they watched as we approached the bachelorette party. Now, we did have a unique advantage as the girls were stunned by the boyish smile the BC gave them, but they quickly recovered and began to try to kick us off their island. First, we asked them why they were yelling at us so much and then gave them a little bit of lip back that they were giving us. The party quickly realized we weren’t there to appease them or buy them drinks for no reason and opened up to us. The girls were 26 and from Kansas, one of our last stops on the migration.

Next, we met a man by the name of Carlos. Carlos made a living flying planes for celebrities and privately wealthy clients. As I eyed his Rolex and Guido yet expensive clothes I began to question a little more about his job. Supposedly, he had just dropped Tiger Woods off in Florida and had flown to Columbia and back. One of the girls from the bachelorette party asked if he smuggled coke… Surprisingly he did not laugh or mess with us, Carlos became very quiet and shook his head and wandered off. I got the distinct feeling the answer was yes. But who am I to pass judgment on a man who makes his living smuggling drugs across our borders or moving Tiger Woods from women to women. But more importantly who did he know and what would they do to me if I said something about it. So in a good sense of self-preservation we spent the rest of the day in the sun getting burnt and sipping tequila. Overall it was exactly what we needed. By the time we finished our fifth and a few margaritas the pool was about to close for the day so we went to the Palms buffet. It didn’t exactly match up to the rest of the hotel, but it was all you can drink with it. Thankfully we could not drink too much more because of how much we ate. Now you all know what happened next, just like every time before we went and passed out in preparation for our last night in Vegas.

We awoke to our alarm blaring and Billy Madison on the T.V., things were looking up for us and we showered and dressed to impress. Since our trip was shaping into a whiskey trip we drank a fifth of early times and headed out to another club Ghost. It was Sunday so the club was not packed. Ghost consisted of one straight line with V.I.P. sections roped off as you walk through it. Then there was a little dance floor and a huge patio with the best view of Vegas we had seen yet. As we moved through the club we saw our friends from the pool and we were quickly invited to their V.I.P section. At one point an older man invited the BC and I to his section to take shots of Grey Goose, as long as we brought some of the girls we were with. Despite the offer of free alcohol the BC and I became infatuated with the back of the club on the balcony. There we found a large square of Plexiglas replacing the balcony giving a great view of 75 floors straight down, clearly we did not need another drink.

We had fun drinking and hanging out but the club began to empty around 4. This left us one more solid option for a great night; we were going to win back the money we lost. Our first stop was a blackjack table with a $50 dollar minimum bet. We both sat down and got to business. Around us a few girls from the bachelorette party tried their luck at the table until eventually an hour had passed. The BC had lost a little bit more money but when he glanced to me it was a completely different story. Sipping on my 5^th water from the waitress I had kept a little bit of my luck from last night. Placing bets up to $200 dollars per hand Brownbear quickly wracked up a pile of chips. Once again Big Cat nudged me to see what I had, and like the song had told me you never count your chips at the table. But after another 15 minutes it was time to call it quits and leave the table while I was ahead. After a quick count we discovered I had won $1600 dollars that night, easily making up my lost winnings from yesterday and then some. We walked to the cashier and asked for my 16 $100 dollar bills, thank you very much, and then stayed as far from the roulette table as possible.

Waking up in the morning we checked out and took a quick walk through some of the hotels on the strip and but decided to get on the road. Vegas definitely was fun, we both had some pretty big highs and some pretty big lows but like Kenny Rodgers once said every hand is a winner and every hand is a loser.

Vegas Day 2

We woke up around 10:00 A.M. and decided to win back some money. Brownbear decided that the small pots at the $2 and $4 dollars table were not worth it and headed to a No Limit Hold Em table with $100 dollars. After a few solid bluffs and a couple great hands he was able to win back any money lost yesterday and go up around $60 dollars. The Big Cat, in Big Cat fashion, found an excitable cougar to teach him the finer details of Craps. This little bit of gambling, drinking, and fun was just a precursor to what awaited us at the Palm’s Place resort.We left Freemont Street and drove to one of the newest hotels in Vegas the Palm’s Place. Driving up we realized how big the hotel was, three different towers stretched across three blocks of the highway connected by the Casino floor. We walked into the casino and went straight to registration. From there they took us into a quiet back room where we discovered we were in the wrong building. Our reservation was actually in the new tower, Palm’s Place, that had recently been featured on the new Real World. All week long Big Cat had warned me the rooms are not that nice because they want their guest down in the casino gambling so I should be prepared for a small room. With this in mind we finally found the lobby of the new tower after a quick walk through the sky tube. Joe, who worked the front desk, checked us in and than began to hand us our cards which came with our reservation. 3 V.I.P. passes to all the new clubs within the hotel, complimentary drinks at the Palm’s bar, and a few deals for spots along the strip. After the excellent treatment from the hotel staff we began to get excited to see our room. We made our way to the 10^th floor and were shocked at what we found.

The bed sat on top of a wood paneled floor and along a wall made completely of mirrors. An L shaped couch that folded out into a bed sat next to the wall, which was one big window leading out to our balcony. I walked past the two 42-inch plasma T.V.s mounted on the wall and looked out our window. There I saw a great view of the Vegas Strip. The full kitchen, all stainless steel, marble counter tops, and a Jacuzzi in the bathroom were just icing on the cake. This great hotel room was the starting point for a great weekend in Vegas.Big Cat slid in the hotel key and pushed open the door to reveal our new room for the next two days. The first part of the room was made of a dark marble, which morphed into a white marbled bathroom.

With a quick change in to our Vegas best we headed out to meet the Big Cat’s grandparents for one of the top rated buffets in Vegas, The Wynn. Now the Wynn’s buffet is made mostly of 5 star cuisines from across the world and we had not eaten for a full 24 hours. The waiter quickly learned not to come near the table as Brownbear took a swipe at a bold man who tried to take my plate before I had cleaned the bones completely of meat. This fantastic food was beginning to weigh us down and almost knocked us out for the night. In order to keep this from happening we quickly ran to the casino floor for free whiskey on the rocks and some gambling.

Now the Wynn has a little red card known as a Players Card. When one signs up for this simple card it gives them a free $10 dollars for slots and allows the casino to keep track of their winnings. Ten dollars richer we headed to the 25 cent slots and began to pull the levers while sipping our fresh whiskeys. Within minutes the Big Cat won $50 dollars on the slots and ran to cash in on his free $50 bucks. He then came back to find I had used all my free money and had stopped playing. The BC sat down at his old machine to use the rest of his free money and within 3 pulls of the lever had won another $150 dollars! The BC was on his game and we both knew tonight would be a night to remember.

After a quick shower and an even quicker downing of a fifth of whiskey we were ready to head to the “PlayBoy Club” at the top of our hotel. What we thought would be a fun dance club turned out to be a place where men gambled and PlayBoy Bunnies dealt the cards or served drinks. All in all it could have turned out much worse. Here the table minimum for blackjack was $25 and after an easy $100 was lost we decided to head up to the club Moon.

Moon is a short escalator ride from the PlayBoy Club and is one of the best clubs in Vegas. As people pack in the club with plenty of V.I.P. sections, drinks, and a huge dance floor Moon pulls back a retractable roof giving everyone a great view of the night sky. While at the club we noticed some men looked a little douchier than others and they were all standing near us. Shocked by this revelation I looked around and realized we were standing right next to Chris Angel. The B list celebrity, with his entourage of mediocre girls, beefy security guards, and creepy stare sat in the booth next to us. I quickly became disinterested and began to look around the bar until the BC gave me a nudge. Behind us the Big Cat had caught a familiar scent within the bachelorette party who had taken to dancing on the couches and waving glow stick in each other’s faces. Distracted as I was by the glowing lights and the seizures I guessed it had caused in the girls I noticed one face that look familiar. Big Cat had found our friend Colleen from the University of Dayton. We headed up to the top balcony with the bachelorette party to get a view of the city and had a few more drinks. This is around the time we encountered the true monster that is Vegas.

Brownbear had noticed his phone had broken; the screen had stopped responding to touch, and had wandered off amidst the crowd of drunken people. Big Cat, caught up in his frenzied dancing, did not notice my absence until much too late. The BC prowled the club looking for drinks, women, and occasionally the kid who drove him here. Eventually BC found his way down to the PlayBoy Club where Brownbear was sitting sideways at a blackjack table. The only sign that Brownbear was alive was the huge stack of chips that sat before him at the table. The table had gone up to a $50 minimum after 2 A.M. and from the looks of it Brownbear had done quite well for himself.

With a quick nudge BC shook me from my stupor and I looked own to count my chips. I had turned $100 dollars into $800 in less than an hour! As the clock neared 4 A.M. I ran to cash in my chips and collect my winnings, 8 one hundred dollar bills, Vegas indeed. But now is the point when Vegas rears its ugly head and with a simple sentence our night changed. The BC put his paw on my shoulder and yelled over the music, “Lets go to the roulette table!” Now I knew this was a bad idea but the whiskey had other plans. After a quick $200 on black I was in preservation mode hoping to win back my chips, I mean it wont land on red all night long could it… It could and it did. Before we knew it we had each dropped close to $1200 dollars on the roulette table and any joy we had felt was gone. We quickly headed back to our room around 5 in the morning to sleep off all the horrible decisions made that night.

Vegas Baby, Vegas

We awoke the next morning and after a blowing my nose, I swear glitter came out, we decided to hit the rode. The drive to Vegas was one of the most scenic trips we had made. Heading through deserts such as Death Valley we could barely see the road as the suns heat warped and twisted the air. The empty desert quickly gave way to mountains built with a combination of tan and red earth. The road shifted from straight and empty to winding its way up the mountainside. We had arrived at the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade. Big Cat quickly took pictures of the beautiful landscape as I dreamt about riding my motorcycle through the mountain pass. After a quick vehicle inspection, they questioned why we had a dead cow in the back of my jeep but seeing the Big Cat and his teeth, quickly let us move on. The Hoover Dam was a great sight and Lake Meade was beautiful but nothing short of Megan Fox could keep us from moving on to Sin City.

Our first hotel was located in the heart of Old Vegas, Freemont Street. The street sports casinos such as the Golden Nugget and the Four Queens all with the original decorations and exterior. This part of Vegas was much cheaper than what our next two days would be so we decided to go down and do a little gambling. Brownbear found the poker tables so we sat down for a little tournament and after losing about 30 bucks we decided it was time for dinner. We hit up the nearest buffet; much like the plains of Africa it was all you can eat. Big Cat used his paws to destroy some crawfish while Brownbear piled his plate with everything from berries to slow roasted pheasant. Once again we hibernated until 8:30 and prepared for our first night in Vegas.

After using or animal magnetism to gain VIP passes to a club called Jet at the Mirage we caught a bus down to the strip. We quickly moved pass the line and into the packed Vegas club. We bought our first round of drinks; 9$ dollars for one Budweiser, and moved to the back of the club. Within 15 minutes a rapper, Chingy, arrived and began to perform on the front stage. The crowd was unusually excited for a mediocre rapper such as Chingy but I shrugged it off and continued to have a good time. Next to us was a roped off V.I.P. area filled with 4 girls and 2 guys whom we quickly discovered were from L.A. The group was celebrating their recent graduation from nursing school and was leaving the next day but for the time being needed relief from the creepy men who littered the club. We hung out with the group talking about the medical field, L.A., and many other highbrow subjects. As the club began to close and everyone filed out the doors we decided to walk through a few other casinos on our way to the bus that would take us home.

We eventually climbed aboard the RTC transit system and began to head to our hotel. After it finally arrived we rode the bus for a half hour or so only to find out that we had boarded on the wrong side of the street. Our bus took us to the end of line were we boarded a second bus that went through every stop in Vegas and finally reached Freemont Street. We had boarded the bus around 4:30 A.M. and had finally reached our hotel around 6:15 in the morning. My first sunrise in Vegas took place on the front of a metro bus while the Big Cat passed out unfortunately close to a hobo who seemed in desperate need of a cuddle buddy. As we reached our hotel we quickly went to our room, shut the blinds on the rising sun, and passed out.