Jorge's favorite aunt lives in Vandalia, IL like an hour east of St. Louis. I am about over the family reunion but he insists we stay for one night. So we get to this small mid-western town and pick up his hot 16 year old cousin from high school and go to their house. Nobody is home so we give her a ride to work where i meet angel, her older brother works there as well. It's a pizza/pasta place so we decide to come back and eat there later along with another younger cousin. So with nothing to do and nobody home we go find a basketball court and start a game of 21. This meth-head looking guy asked to join in so we let him and i really think he was on meth, he was running around so fast. So after he won it was so hot we could only play one game. We go back to the house and his aunt is home from work i take a shower and let them catch up. Then we take the 7 year old up to the pizza place and get some food. It was pretty good and we got some leftovers for later. The mom goes to bed early and we haven't smoked all day so we go to wal-mart to get a redbox and blaze on the way. When we get back angel is about to go to friends house and invites us to ride with. Now this kid seems like a good kid so jorge doesn't want to ask him if he smokes but right when we get to the friends they are rolling blunts from some home grown shit. We smoke out in their garage and chill out. Then back to the spot we watch our movie and i get to sleep on the couch.
Next day we pack up, eat some leftovers, say our goodbyes and head out to Chicago!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
East Saint Louis, IL
Right across the Mississippi river is east saint louis where jorge has more family. So head over to his aunts house, where he has 4 girl cousins. She invited us to stay the night, said yes. Then we went to see his uncle who is more our age. The two older cousins came with us. We chilled with his wife and daughter, a 7 year old cousin jorge has never met. When he got home from work the corona's came out and then of course the tequila. The oldest cousin who was 19 started drinking with them and ended up getting wasted with a little cousin pressure from Jorge. Then a round midnight their dad is banging on the door. He comes in yelling at the girls. Then he starts in on the wife and says someday when you have kids you will understand, his dumbass didn't even know they had a kid. So we go back to jorges aunts chill a little and hit the couch. Next day we go up to the mall where the oldest cousin, Jenifer works got some food and talked about how her parents are way to overprotective. Then we went over to the ghetto where the younger uncle works at top metal. We drank some beers there found a little dime midwest dirt weed. Then went over to some other family of his started really drinking some coronas while playing the washer game. It is kinda like hourse shoes but u play with a washer and a box. This house had a cross eyed pit bull and a garden with some nice nugs, turns out we didn't need that dime. Smoked and drank all night then crashed at the younger uncles house. Next day we hit the road again. Good stop jorge saw more family then he has seen in 10 years and i was immersed into mexican american culture, wish i knew spanish!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
St. Louis
So after experiencing the wonderful western U.S. it is time to head back east. We wake up real early and leave Lee's house in Colorado Springs. I took the first shift just so we could wake and bake. I took us out of Colorado and into the most boring state to drive through, Kansas. I quickly gave the controls back to jorge before i fell asleep. Kansas is nothing but flat fields, i was hoping for a tornado just to break up the boredom. Near to the end of kansas i drove the third shift that took us past kansas city and through Missouri. Around 1am jorge's cousin, that we were staying with, was calling him talking about how they are drinking and waiting for us. So i step on it and we finally get there around 3am. Juan and Alex are waiting for us outside of Juan's fiancée parents house, where we are staying part of the time. Downstairs juan and his girl basically have their own apartment, where they are playing this drinking game called Bizz on a beer pong table. You throw your dice and try and get your opponent to drink their whole beer by getting the right numbers. To be honest i never really understood it i just drank and threw dice. After some beer drinking, of course the tequila comes out.
Next day we grab some food then go downtown to Alex's house where jorge's aunt lives and some more cousins. By the way all of jorge's family that lives in the U.S. lives around st. louis except his parents. He has so many cousins around here that he doesn't even know them all, that's crazy to me. So we go to his aunt's where he has 4 cousins and the youngest one he never met so that was cool. This is where we planned on staying part of the time but they really didn't have the room. Then Juan gave us a little driving tour of downtown. I saw the Mississippi River for the first time and the arch. That night we went to the restaurant that Alex works downtown. I got a nice steak and we made plans to go to Morgan St. which has a nice strip of bars. We finish up dinner got a nice discount and head to the first bar. Stay there for a few drinks then we head down the street hitting up a few of the bars that didn't have a cover. As we were walking i saw the fake field goal Michigan st. did to notre dam to win the game. We ended up at this club with different dance rooms but you go outside to go to a new room it was pretty cool. We did some shots and the drivers wanted to leave so we left around 1 and went back to the house for some more beers. It was a great night i'm glad i partied downtown st. louis and that jorge's cousins are so cool to show us around.
The next day is Sunday and the eagles happen to be playing the lions. So we get up all hungover and tell juan and his girl that we are going to find a place that has the game on and they decide to come with us. So we try this one wanna be hooters bar but they didn't have it on. So Juan took us to buffalo wild wings where they did have it. We got a table and some food and watched the game. Lions had a chance to win it but they are the Detroit lions so i lost the bet. We went back to the house and watched the rams in the late game.
We sleep in everyone is at school or work so we decide to do some sight seeing. We wake and bake on the way downtown to the riverfront. I park and we walk over to the arch take some pics then we go inside it. It costs 14 dollars to go up to the top of arch so we got our tickets. We wait outside these little doors, they open and 5 people got out of this little enclosed carousel looking pod. Jorge and i get in and it's real tight but two more people squeezed in and eventually we start going up. I never thought i was claustrophobic until a ride into the arch. Once the doors opened we were in the top center part of the arch if you look at a pic you can see these little windows and from those windows is an amazing view of the city. You can see right into the cardinals baseball stadium, the Mississippi river, and Illinois. So we get back into the pod and 3 frenchies get in with us so we are really packed in there. Then the ride stops and we were stuck for what felt like forever. After getting back on the ground we checked out the western expansion museum under the arch. Then back to the truck which had it's 4th parking ticket on it. Then we drove up to the st. louis blues stadium and the rams stadium for some pics, we did our own driving and smoking tour which we have learned is the best way to see a city.
Next day is one of our last on the nice side of st. louis and we are finally going to the Anheuser Busch Brewery. We wait for the tour to start in the budwiser museum. They have some cool shit in there like these drinks they made during prohibition to stay open and all kinds of other products they have made over the years. First the guide explains the brewing process then he shows us the brewing process. The size of these mash tanks are ridiculous. After a tour of the process all the way to the bottling, we got to see the Clydesdale horses. Then we went to the brewery bar and got a beer tasting. I really liked this pumpkin ale it was delicious but the bud i had from that place was the freshest budwiser i have ever tasted. After the tour, which was free by the way, we went to the gift shop and i got a t-shirt. We hung out watched a movie and jorge called relatives on the other side of the river to tell them we were coming through. Good people and good times in the lou.
Next day we grab some food then go downtown to Alex's house where jorge's aunt lives and some more cousins. By the way all of jorge's family that lives in the U.S. lives around st. louis except his parents. He has so many cousins around here that he doesn't even know them all, that's crazy to me. So we go to his aunt's where he has 4 cousins and the youngest one he never met so that was cool. This is where we planned on staying part of the time but they really didn't have the room. Then Juan gave us a little driving tour of downtown. I saw the Mississippi River for the first time and the arch. That night we went to the restaurant that Alex works downtown. I got a nice steak and we made plans to go to Morgan St. which has a nice strip of bars. We finish up dinner got a nice discount and head to the first bar. Stay there for a few drinks then we head down the street hitting up a few of the bars that didn't have a cover. As we were walking i saw the fake field goal Michigan st. did to notre dam to win the game. We ended up at this club with different dance rooms but you go outside to go to a new room it was pretty cool. We did some shots and the drivers wanted to leave so we left around 1 and went back to the house for some more beers. It was a great night i'm glad i partied downtown st. louis and that jorge's cousins are so cool to show us around.
The next day is Sunday and the eagles happen to be playing the lions. So we get up all hungover and tell juan and his girl that we are going to find a place that has the game on and they decide to come with us. So we try this one wanna be hooters bar but they didn't have it on. So Juan took us to buffalo wild wings where they did have it. We got a table and some food and watched the game. Lions had a chance to win it but they are the Detroit lions so i lost the bet. We went back to the house and watched the rams in the late game.
We sleep in everyone is at school or work so we decide to do some sight seeing. We wake and bake on the way downtown to the riverfront. I park and we walk over to the arch take some pics then we go inside it. It costs 14 dollars to go up to the top of arch so we got our tickets. We wait outside these little doors, they open and 5 people got out of this little enclosed carousel looking pod. Jorge and i get in and it's real tight but two more people squeezed in and eventually we start going up. I never thought i was claustrophobic until a ride into the arch. Once the doors opened we were in the top center part of the arch if you look at a pic you can see these little windows and from those windows is an amazing view of the city. You can see right into the cardinals baseball stadium, the Mississippi river, and Illinois. So we get back into the pod and 3 frenchies get in with us so we are really packed in there. Then the ride stops and we were stuck for what felt like forever. After getting back on the ground we checked out the western expansion museum under the arch. Then back to the truck which had it's 4th parking ticket on it. Then we drove up to the st. louis blues stadium and the rams stadium for some pics, we did our own driving and smoking tour which we have learned is the best way to see a city.
Next day is one of our last on the nice side of st. louis and we are finally going to the Anheuser Busch Brewery. We wait for the tour to start in the budwiser museum. They have some cool shit in there like these drinks they made during prohibition to stay open and all kinds of other products they have made over the years. First the guide explains the brewing process then he shows us the brewing process. The size of these mash tanks are ridiculous. After a tour of the process all the way to the bottling, we got to see the Clydesdale horses. Then we went to the brewery bar and got a beer tasting. I really liked this pumpkin ale it was delicious but the bud i had from that place was the freshest budwiser i have ever tasted. After the tour, which was free by the way, we went to the gift shop and i got a t-shirt. We hung out watched a movie and jorge called relatives on the other side of the river to tell them we were coming through. Good people and good times in the lou.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
White Water Rafting!
We have had a lot of fun exploring colorado it's a great state to visit but we wanted one last adventure before heading to the midwest, so we decide to go white water rafting! We found a half day trip on the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge. The trip takes off in the small western town of Canyon City which is about 45 minutes from Colorado Springs where my friend Lee lives. So i call up Lee and tell him the plan asked if wanted to go but he had to work. So we drive from Boulder to Lee's house. The rafting is early the next day but we go out anyway. His roommate manages a bar so we get some free drinks. Then we go to this other bar where this band is playing and BBQ going on so we get some grub and beers. After some listening to the band and beers we go back to lee's and smoke a little.
Next day we wake up real early and drive the short distance to canyon city. I smoked on the way but Jorge was scared to smoke and hit the rapids. We get to Raft Masters the company we were going with, sign some waivers. They tell us to get our helmets and wet shoes. Jorge and i get matched up with this old couple and the best guide. The whole group gets on this buss they drive us up the mountain, past some prisons. The guides unloaded the rafts they give us some last minute instructions. The water is cold but refreshing. It was a level 3/4 rapids but the water level was down a little. The mountains were amazing, the view from the raft looking up at the royal gorge just surrounded by rock was awesome. There was a bridge all the way at the top and our guide told us last year he was coming down the river and found a guy that was parachuting and got cut in half on the bridge cables, CRAZY. Part of the way, there was an old railroad track right next to the water and the guide told us those tracks were older then the state of colorado. I can't imagine someone building that through the side of a mountain that long ago. On one set of rapids i almost pushed jorge out but no one fell out of our raft. There was a lady in a different raft that fell out. Jorge and i both jumped in at this one calm part to cool off. After about 4 hours our trip was done and we all got back on the buses to go to the raft masters office. Gave our equipment back looked at some pics they wanted us to buy for like 40 bucks, i bought a t shirt instead. Starving after our trip we went to the small downtown of canyon city and found this pizza place we ate, it had real shity service. Then we drove back to lee's he was just getting out of work. We played some video games and smoked all night then the next day we have one of the longest drives of the whole trip ahead of us, 14 hours to St. Louis!
Next day we wake up real early and drive the short distance to canyon city. I smoked on the way but Jorge was scared to smoke and hit the rapids. We get to Raft Masters the company we were going with, sign some waivers. They tell us to get our helmets and wet shoes. Jorge and i get matched up with this old couple and the best guide. The whole group gets on this buss they drive us up the mountain, past some prisons. The guides unloaded the rafts they give us some last minute instructions. The water is cold but refreshing. It was a level 3/4 rapids but the water level was down a little. The mountains were amazing, the view from the raft looking up at the royal gorge just surrounded by rock was awesome. There was a bridge all the way at the top and our guide told us last year he was coming down the river and found a guy that was parachuting and got cut in half on the bridge cables, CRAZY. Part of the way, there was an old railroad track right next to the water and the guide told us those tracks were older then the state of colorado. I can't imagine someone building that through the side of a mountain that long ago. On one set of rapids i almost pushed jorge out but no one fell out of our raft. There was a lady in a different raft that fell out. Jorge and i both jumped in at this one calm part to cool off. After about 4 hours our trip was done and we all got back on the buses to go to the raft masters office. Gave our equipment back looked at some pics they wanted us to buy for like 40 bucks, i bought a t shirt instead. Starving after our trip we went to the small downtown of canyon city and found this pizza place we ate, it had real shity service. Then we drove back to lee's he was just getting out of work. We played some video games and smoked all night then the next day we have one of the longest drives of the whole trip ahead of us, 14 hours to St. Louis!
Boulder with Robyn and Karalinda
So after a relaxing week at uncle kevin's it's time for some partying and no better girls in CO to do it with then my friends from the brio in FL, Robyn and Karalinda. They live in Boulder about 45 minutes north of Denver. We find their apartment complex and meet Loki a puppy chiwawa they got recently. So we blaze a little and plan on going to pearl st. downtown boulder that night. So we slowly get read, pre-gaming a little. Then we are off to shooters i guess one of boulders favorite bars. Some nights they have wet t-shirt contests or midget wrestling but we missed both those nights. So after a few captains we go to another bar on pearl. After hitting up a few more spots we end our night back at shooters. The girls were hungry so we went to del taco it was robyns first time. Nothing special but it works for drunk munchies. Robyn goes to work early and the rest of us slept in. Then i put some football on since it was a sunday and karalinda kept trying to get us to lay out by then pool, no offence but if i'm hungover i would much rather chill in the ac, watch football, and burn one. So after a while robyn gets home and she was so shocked how late we slept and didn't do much while she was at work. I don't think she understands that by this point we had been traveling for almost 3 months and it's ok to just chill out and not spend money.
Next day jorge and i made one of our many shopping trips to the grocery store. Worked out then went to the pool where we met some of their neighbors who shared some beers with us. The pool was freezing but the hot tub was nice. That night we ended up back downtown denver on 15th and 16th streets. We met up with katie rooney. That night i got real wasted drank more then any other night in CO. At the end Robyn got her car and this gay guy really wanted to drive it. I thought it was a bad idea but it's not my car. It's a stick shift and he tried to put it into first and ground the gears real bad. At that point i told him to get out the car, he did. Then he tried to fucking kiss me, i pushed him as hard as i could he fell backwards into the glass window of the hyatt. So i was disturbed and wanted to smoke so i went with katie back to her house. Robyn, jorge, and kara followed all the way back and through a mcdonalds then decided she wanted to go all the way back to boulder because she had to work early, so they left. We went back to katies and her cousins dog wanted to eat me. She had to lock the two pitbulls in the room. We smoked and drank a little more then passed out. The next day she was nice enough to drive me all the way back to boulder. I made her a sandwich and smoked her out as a thank you. Katie chilled for a minute then went back to denver and that was the last time i saw her.
The next day i booked a room for our upcoming trip to steamboat springs. We went out to dinner at this nice place downtown, i forgot the name. Then we got a redbox movie and chilled out that night.
The next day robyn finally gets out of work so we hit the road to go to steamboat springs. A two hour drive is nothing with a nice blunt. So we get there pretty late check into our hotel and call it a night. The next day the girls wake us up real early to go get some brunch. I had eggs benedict. Then went to the Strawberry Hot Springs. A very amazing place, up on the mountain there is a very hot spring just coming out the side and running down into these huge pools. The highest pool is burning hot then they get a little cooler as they go down and eventually run off into this little river. It's crazy i have never seen a natural hot tub before now. So we hang out for a while before going exploring down the river, which was very hard torain especially with no shoes but we made down to a cool waterfall and found a place to smoke. So we went back to the parking lot where this old man worker told us if we left we would not be able to get back in. Which is bs since we needed to get some drinks in us. So we left anyway and went to this cantina got some mexican food and some beers. Then we went to this sports bar and continued to drink. The girls went in this photo booth and took some nice pics for us. We took some shots then about 9 went back to the hot springs and the same ass hole old man was in the hut by the parking lot. We all agreed we were not paying 20 bucks again when kara just went off waking by him. So the rest of us went too and of course he stops us. So i talked to him and said hey man you said we could not leave so we took a nap in the parking lot. He looked confused but let us back in. Let me tell you the change at the springs from night to day is crazy. During the day it was families chillin, at night it was a party people drunk and naked everywhere. So we broke out the captain found a nice spot in the pool on some steps starting passing it around the bathing suits soon came off. Robyn has the most amazing ass i ever seen. It was just sticking out of the water with the moon light hitting it. Amazing one of the best natural wonders i have seen on this whole trip. Lets just say we had fun then the grumpy old man came down from his hut to kick us out. So we packed up and went back to the truck. Drove out of steamboat springs and headed back to boulder. Robyn fell asleep right away before she could even get dressed. The rest of us smoked the whole way back. I was almost falling asleep and it is a crazy drive through the mountains but we made back safely. Instantly passed out.
The next day was our last we made some dinner, watched a movie, and packed our bags. It is time to move on next stop white water rafting in colorado springs!
Next day jorge and i made one of our many shopping trips to the grocery store. Worked out then went to the pool where we met some of their neighbors who shared some beers with us. The pool was freezing but the hot tub was nice. That night we ended up back downtown denver on 15th and 16th streets. We met up with katie rooney. That night i got real wasted drank more then any other night in CO. At the end Robyn got her car and this gay guy really wanted to drive it. I thought it was a bad idea but it's not my car. It's a stick shift and he tried to put it into first and ground the gears real bad. At that point i told him to get out the car, he did. Then he tried to fucking kiss me, i pushed him as hard as i could he fell backwards into the glass window of the hyatt. So i was disturbed and wanted to smoke so i went with katie back to her house. Robyn, jorge, and kara followed all the way back and through a mcdonalds then decided she wanted to go all the way back to boulder because she had to work early, so they left. We went back to katies and her cousins dog wanted to eat me. She had to lock the two pitbulls in the room. We smoked and drank a little more then passed out. The next day she was nice enough to drive me all the way back to boulder. I made her a sandwich and smoked her out as a thank you. Katie chilled for a minute then went back to denver and that was the last time i saw her.
The next day i booked a room for our upcoming trip to steamboat springs. We went out to dinner at this nice place downtown, i forgot the name. Then we got a redbox movie and chilled out that night.
The next day robyn finally gets out of work so we hit the road to go to steamboat springs. A two hour drive is nothing with a nice blunt. So we get there pretty late check into our hotel and call it a night. The next day the girls wake us up real early to go get some brunch. I had eggs benedict. Then went to the Strawberry Hot Springs. A very amazing place, up on the mountain there is a very hot spring just coming out the side and running down into these huge pools. The highest pool is burning hot then they get a little cooler as they go down and eventually run off into this little river. It's crazy i have never seen a natural hot tub before now. So we hang out for a while before going exploring down the river, which was very hard torain especially with no shoes but we made down to a cool waterfall and found a place to smoke. So we went back to the parking lot where this old man worker told us if we left we would not be able to get back in. Which is bs since we needed to get some drinks in us. So we left anyway and went to this cantina got some mexican food and some beers. Then we went to this sports bar and continued to drink. The girls went in this photo booth and took some nice pics for us. We took some shots then about 9 went back to the hot springs and the same ass hole old man was in the hut by the parking lot. We all agreed we were not paying 20 bucks again when kara just went off waking by him. So the rest of us went too and of course he stops us. So i talked to him and said hey man you said we could not leave so we took a nap in the parking lot. He looked confused but let us back in. Let me tell you the change at the springs from night to day is crazy. During the day it was families chillin, at night it was a party people drunk and naked everywhere. So we broke out the captain found a nice spot in the pool on some steps starting passing it around the bathing suits soon came off. Robyn has the most amazing ass i ever seen. It was just sticking out of the water with the moon light hitting it. Amazing one of the best natural wonders i have seen on this whole trip. Lets just say we had fun then the grumpy old man came down from his hut to kick us out. So we packed up and went back to the truck. Drove out of steamboat springs and headed back to boulder. Robyn fell asleep right away before she could even get dressed. The rest of us smoked the whole way back. I was almost falling asleep and it is a crazy drive through the mountains but we made back safely. Instantly passed out.
The next day was our last we made some dinner, watched a movie, and packed our bags. It is time to move on next stop white water rafting in colorado springs!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Denver and Uncle Kevin's
I am behind on the travel blog but will try and catch up as i have time off in MI for christmas. So jorge and i get up early and have to drive from salt lake city to denver, another long drive. We get there and are staying with my uncle Kevin and his family. I have two younger cousins there that i don't get to see very much so it will be good. The basement i like a studio apt. which is great. So the first night we just chill in the basement. The next day we play my uncle and cousin, nick in some two on two basketball and we lost. The altitude is crazy, i could never catch my breath. That night everyone i know in CO are planning on meeting up downtown denver. It's weird but i actually knew a lot of people around there. First we go to katie rooney's, pick her up and go to the denver brio. As we are on the way to brio sarah t. calls me and says she is sitting at the bar at brio with lee (all people i have worked with at the naples brio.) Sarah is actually just visiting for a wedding. So we meet up get some drinks and i get a chix d. Then we go to the hotel where sarah is staying and drink at the bar there until robyn and karalinda drive down from boulder. When they finally get there we all go out to 16th street and it was going off. Tons of bars and clubs everywhere. We hit up almost all of them, don't really remember all of them but it was lots of fun. Somehow we decide to go up to boulder- i did not drive. Next day we blaze and finally get lee to drive us back to my truck which is still downtown denver. When we get there all the streets are closed off and people everywhere. The taste of Colorado is going on so we jump out of lee's truck so hungover and make our way through the masses of people. Jorge tries to buy a bottle of water at a booth but you have to have tickets- so annoying. Finally we get back to the hotel parking garage where my truck was parked and get the hell out of there. I think we crashed in the basement after that for a while.
Probably took it easy that day but the next day uncle kevin and lilly took us up mount evens, the highest paved road in the US- 14,200 feet and i ended up driving. As i was going up this road the sights were amazing but jorge kept wanting me to whatch the road. So we get to the top and get out of the car to take some pics when i realize it was freezing. When we were on the ground it was 90 degrees now on the top of this mountain it was 37 and so windy. We saw some mountain goats up there jorge got real close to one of them for a pic. As the sun began to set we started to head down the mountain, what a beutiful way to see a sunset.
A lot of days there were spent relaxing, sleeping in, working out, and playing soccer in the back yard with the cousins. They are so competitive- lilly especially doesn't like to lose. One of the nights uncle kevin and Nick took us to a colorado rockies game. They played the cincinati reds, the game had playoff implications even though neither team made the playoffs but Coors field was packed. We saw two nice home runs by toulowiski (sp.) and we talked some shit to the reds 3rd baseman. We had great seats right by the field. It was a good time and that pretty much ended our week in aurora with my uncle, great to see them and thanks for the hospitality. Next stop boulder!
Probably took it easy that day but the next day uncle kevin and lilly took us up mount evens, the highest paved road in the US- 14,200 feet and i ended up driving. As i was going up this road the sights were amazing but jorge kept wanting me to whatch the road. So we get to the top and get out of the car to take some pics when i realize it was freezing. When we were on the ground it was 90 degrees now on the top of this mountain it was 37 and so windy. We saw some mountain goats up there jorge got real close to one of them for a pic. As the sun began to set we started to head down the mountain, what a beutiful way to see a sunset.
A lot of days there were spent relaxing, sleeping in, working out, and playing soccer in the back yard with the cousins. They are so competitive- lilly especially doesn't like to lose. One of the nights uncle kevin and Nick took us to a colorado rockies game. They played the cincinati reds, the game had playoff implications even though neither team made the playoffs but Coors field was packed. We saw two nice home runs by toulowiski (sp.) and we talked some shit to the reds 3rd baseman. We had great seats right by the field. It was a good time and that pretty much ended our week in aurora with my uncle, great to see them and thanks for the hospitality. Next stop boulder!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Salt Lake City
After a long drive through some big western states we finally arrive at the Salt Lake City hostel. It is the cheapest hostel yet at 16 dollars a night it's more like the prices i was used to in Australia and it is not bad, even a tv in the room. Tired we take it easy and plan out the next day. So wake up semi-early eat and get directions out to the salt lake. On the way we drive by hundreds of salt fields some of them were being mined or harvested for the salt. On the way we get real stoned and then we get to the national park. Pay to get in then drive to Antelope island which is huge. As we are entering the island we see some buffalo real close to the road they don't seem to be scared of us at all. The lake looks amazing, the water is so still that it looks like a mirror. You can see the mountains and sky in the reflection, i took a lot of pics. Then we find this beach spot and we thought we were going to go in and see if we really could float. But when we went up to the water since it is so still the bottom is real slimy and nothing can live on the lake except thousands of sand flies. Not the most ideal swimming situation, kind of reminded me of lake mead. I walked in a little ways but it was too gross. So instead we played a little soccer on the beach that was not much nicer a little muddy. While we were playing around this group of brits came and went straight in the water and one girl actually laid down and she did float. So at least i got to see that people can float on this lake. After the beach we drove over to this restaurant which had mostly bison on the menu but they said like five times the buffalo are not from the island, i don't know if i believe them. I got a bison brat, it was good. Then we drove around the island a little saw some antelope and a lot more buffalo. There was huge snake road kill. Right as we were about to leave this one buffalo was rolling around in the dirt near the road. Jorge was going to try and pet it for a pic but pussied out after a few feet. So we drive back to the hostel. Shower up and get ready to see what the salt lake city night life is like. We walk to the down town area past some huge moreman churches. We go to about 4 bars before this one bar tender told us about utah beer. All beer in utah bars have half the alcohol content they are supposed to have. There is nothing like bud light because it would be like water. If you ask for a bud light they give a bud since it pretty much is a bud light in utah. I was wondering why i was getting full faster then i was getting a buzz. At that point we started taking some shots. We were sitting on this one porch drinking and having a smoke when we met this couple that was from FL. They told us some other bars to check out so we left. We ended the night at this underground bar. It was cool and it had the most hot utah girls of any other bar we went to that night. They sold these huge beers for cheap but i had switched to liquor and i asked this girl why do you drink this utah beer. She said DUI's are punished so harshly in utah so if she just drinks this utah beer she doesn't feel bad about driving. So after the bars closed we walked back, not the most exciting city we traveled to but not as boring as i thought it was. After getting back we went to the parking lot and bogged out the truck for a while. Then off to bed since check out is 10 am and we have to drive to Denver the next day. On the way out of town we drove by were the Jazz play basketball (utah's only pro team) and got a pic. Wanting to smoke on the way i took morning shift since jorge doesn't like to smoke and drive but it worked out because i drove out of utah then we switched and he drove wyoming which is a boring drive. We stopped in Laramie where they are famous for gay hate crimes then i drove to aurora, where my uncle live near denver.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
RENO
Reno Nevada is our next stop and while in Tahoe we saw a commercial, buy one get one free nights at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, so we booked it. Drive up after a 3.5 hour drive and the place is huge. Check in then, see the huge room with 2 giant beds and one real small tv but we smoke and watch some pre-season football anyway. Then i see in the local paper that there is a huge tomato throwing fight for cancer right downtown. We go down and we are an hour late, there are so many crushed tomato's in this park piled a few feet high. A few stragglers are still there throwing tomato's and people are all over covered in tomato juice and seeds. The festival is not over there are booths and bars set up all over the streets. Also there is live music with some white guys rapping on stage. We check out downtown Reno and eventually go back to the Grand Sierra. Starving we go to find some food and see a huge line at this buffet so it must be good. We decide to wait till the line goes down some and walk around the hotel. This place is amazing they have so much stuff to do like a bowling alley, movie theater, driving range, laser tag, a big pool, arcade, and of course a huge casino. We go back to the buffet around 8 and still don't get in until 9, which is a problem because they close at 10 and we want to put a dent in the buffet but we sit down anyway. Eleven they were still seating people so i guess i had nothing to worry about. It was good but nothing compared to the one in vegas great food and service. After that we were planning on getting in on this poker tournament but we missed the deadline so not wanting to lose a lot we sit down at the penny slots and ended up staying all night because the coctail server kept coming over to us every ten minutes. I used a 10 dollar bill in the machine and i think i drank 12 free coronas. We met some people that kept talking about burning man a festival going on right then in the desert. We thought about going until we looked online and saw the tickets were 300 for camping with no facilities.
Next day i slept in then checked out the hotel a little more. Then we went to the driving range, which is on the water so if you make your ball on one of the islands you win a prize. The furthest ones are prizes like a trip to Hawaii and the close ones are free dinner. I actually hit the free dinner one but it didn't stay on. Get some dinner then Jorge signs up for that nights poker tournament, i was not feeling lucky so i went and worked out instead. After i showered i went back out to the casino floor and he was still playing so i hit up the blackjack table. I put down 100 on the dollar blackjack and was up 40 bucks when it changed to 5 dollar minimum at midnight. I should have quit then but i ended up losing all but 25 dollars. So i took a break to blaze in the room. After some chilling i decide to go back out with the last 25 dollar chip. I sit down and meet these aussie guys from Melbourne who are going to burning man and they could not believe i was in the area and not going. I ask them why is it so expensive and they could not give a real reason but they say it's worth it. I ended up losing it and vow not to gamble anymore the rest of the trip.
Next day i call the front dest and get my normal late check out. Then it's off to Denver through Wyoming what a boring drive.
Next day i slept in then checked out the hotel a little more. Then we went to the driving range, which is on the water so if you make your ball on one of the islands you win a prize. The furthest ones are prizes like a trip to Hawaii and the close ones are free dinner. I actually hit the free dinner one but it didn't stay on. Get some dinner then Jorge signs up for that nights poker tournament, i was not feeling lucky so i went and worked out instead. After i showered i went back out to the casino floor and he was still playing so i hit up the blackjack table. I put down 100 on the dollar blackjack and was up 40 bucks when it changed to 5 dollar minimum at midnight. I should have quit then but i ended up losing all but 25 dollars. So i took a break to blaze in the room. After some chilling i decide to go back out with the last 25 dollar chip. I sit down and meet these aussie guys from Melbourne who are going to burning man and they could not believe i was in the area and not going. I ask them why is it so expensive and they could not give a real reason but they say it's worth it. I ended up losing it and vow not to gamble anymore the rest of the trip.
Next day i call the front dest and get my normal late check out. Then it's off to Denver through Wyoming what a boring drive.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Beautiful Lake Tahoe
Well we spent a lot of money the last month in California, so for one night we are going to ruff it and sleep in the car. In that case there is no real hurry to leave San Fran, so we check out and sneak back in the hostel. I successfully went first and made some breakfast. By the time i saw jorge again was in the theater room and he was not so successful. He said he left his hat upstairs, they made him to leave his license and to come right back. He didn't and I fell asleep until this employee came in looking for Jorge. So I went and talked to the chic at the front desk gave her both ID's and she let us hang out as long as we needed. Around 4 we decide to make some moves and pick up the truck. Then we hit the road heading east for the first time, our slow trip home has started. We smoke and drive a little then get some food. A little more driving through nowhere Cali and we see a city in the distance. We finally get up to it and see that it's sacremento surrounded by vast nothing. A small two and half our drive and we get to Lake Tahoe. Since Tahoe is on the boarder of Cali and Nevada of course there are casinos on the nevada side. So we end up at Harra's watching some pre-season football. Ahh it's so good to have football back. Jorge got real sick from the temps in san fran so after the game he went to the truck and passed out. So i got some food and then went to the bar. I put 20 in the video poker, gambled slow and drank real fast. I met a chic named Roxy, she seemed cool. After a few more drinks we went to the truck to smoke where she told us she is an escort. I then made sure she knew it wasn't a business transaction and we went back in to drink some more. After i had enough alcohol to the point i thought i could pass out in the car and Roxy found what she was looking for, a rich business guy. We drove back to the Cali side for fear of DUI while sleeping on the nevada side and found a hotel parking lot to park in for the night. I woke up once at like 6am to maintenance people around the truck so moved the car and passed back out.
At about noon i went to the hotel we did book for the next two nights and checked in. Not sleeping much the night the night before i went back to sleep. We woke up worked out, ate, and showered. That was about enough activity for jorge so i went a drive around the lake. Which is beautiful, a bright blue lake surrounded by mountains. After a 1/4 of the lake i had to turn around because it is getting dark. I go back and smoke some relax and go to bed.
So next day i decide we have to do something so i was thinking volleyball. We go outside and it's freezing, one of the coldest days in tahoe, of course. So we want to go see a beach at least and King's beach is on the top part of the lake. South Lake Tahoe is where we are staying so i drive up the Nevada side get some good pics. It is an all mountain road at one point the drop off is on both sides staight down, kind of freaky. When we get to the beach it is so windy sand is blowing everywhere and it's like 45 degrees. So i guess volleyball is out and so are we. I head back the california way to the hotel. So after some chilling we decide to go to the casinos because there is a UFC fight and we know Harra's will have it on. We watch the first few at some bad casino seats then i find this cobo wabo bar in the tunnel from from Harra's to Harvey's where we watch the main event with bj penn and edgar. I try to buy Jorge a drink and he declines so i knew he was really sick. After the fight i play a little slots and stay away from the black jack! Back to the super 8 for our last night in Tahoe. I like Tahoe but i feel like we were just there at a bad time with the cold and no snow. If i could go back to Lake Tahoe for some snowboarding i would be all about it but summer is not a great time to visit this beautiful boarder town.
At about noon i went to the hotel we did book for the next two nights and checked in. Not sleeping much the night the night before i went back to sleep. We woke up worked out, ate, and showered. That was about enough activity for jorge so i went a drive around the lake. Which is beautiful, a bright blue lake surrounded by mountains. After a 1/4 of the lake i had to turn around because it is getting dark. I go back and smoke some relax and go to bed.
So next day i decide we have to do something so i was thinking volleyball. We go outside and it's freezing, one of the coldest days in tahoe, of course. So we want to go see a beach at least and King's beach is on the top part of the lake. South Lake Tahoe is where we are staying so i drive up the Nevada side get some good pics. It is an all mountain road at one point the drop off is on both sides staight down, kind of freaky. When we get to the beach it is so windy sand is blowing everywhere and it's like 45 degrees. So i guess volleyball is out and so are we. I head back the california way to the hotel. So after some chilling we decide to go to the casinos because there is a UFC fight and we know Harra's will have it on. We watch the first few at some bad casino seats then i find this cobo wabo bar in the tunnel from from Harra's to Harvey's where we watch the main event with bj penn and edgar. I try to buy Jorge a drink and he declines so i knew he was really sick. After the fight i play a little slots and stay away from the black jack! Back to the super 8 for our last night in Tahoe. I like Tahoe but i feel like we were just there at a bad time with the cold and no snow. If i could go back to Lake Tahoe for some snowboarding i would be all about it but summer is not a great time to visit this beautiful boarder town.
Monday, September 6, 2010
San Fran!!!
We wake up an hour after check out and scramble to grab our gear. Then we drive through Oakland and over the bay bridge then we see the golden gate bridge very clearly. Which is important, remember that for later. So we get to the HI (hosteling international) downtown san francisco and check in. I am a member of YHA hostels and have stayed at them in Australia which is affiliated with HI. So the hottie from Minnesota at the front desk gave me a discount. We leave our bags since we have to park the car about two blocks away. We pull in and it is 20 bucks a night, makes staying at a hostel not so cheap. We walk back and go to the room where meet george a japanese guy who lives in Vancouver. Then Jorge gets a little lost and when he gets back wants nothing to do with p90x but finally decides to man up. After the workout we eat and get ready to go party it up in San Fran. We ask around and are told Polk st. has a bunch of bars so that is where we head. The first bar we go into is dead we pound one (captain for me) and leave. Then we go to a bar that is a little less of a dive meet the hottest girl in california, take some shots drink a bunch. Then we ended up at some goth bar on the corner grab a drink and see that there is live music upstairs. I forgot to mention that it was 95 degrees outside which is very hot for san fran. So when we get upstairs it is so hot i instantly start sweating and, you know what, it was just not our seen anyway. I think after that we hit up one more bar before closing then we walked around a little. Right before 2am we grab 22 from the liquor store. Keep walking until Jorge walks into a "massage parlor" you know his back has been hurting. So i go inside and sit down the owner wants me to take this girl but i just wanted to smoke and drink. So i said no i'm good he told me to get the fuck out. So i left and stood on the corner by the liquor store and hit the one hitter. Then this black guy about my age comes up and asks me for a dollar, i tell him i have no money but he can hit the weed. So we smoke a little and there are a bunch of late night drinkers and bums on this corner by this time and i am wasted so i could careless. I meet this guys sister when finally Jorge comes back and we start walking. When this same guy i smoked with again asks me for a dollar, i yell back no money. So he hits me in the leg with his cane. I get in his bum face and tell him to fuck off i just smoked with him. Right before bust him in the face this other street guy comes over and gets his boy. Man i have not been that pissed the whole trip. After that we smoke on the way back to HI and call it a night.
I wake up pretty hungover to all this yelling outside like a chant. So i look outside pissed and there is strike going on at the Hilton across the street, unbelievable. Jorge is already gone, i find him in the kitchen but i have no groceries so i go to the jack in the box downstairs. After that i walk around downtown a little then i see my favorite receptionist is back so i ask her about this 49 mile driving tour of san fran that khaiman told me about. She gives me a map i get jorge and we get the truck. We decide we are not going to hit all 49 but definitely the major ones and honestly i don't remember all of the ones we saw. The driving tour is great for a hangover no hiking and smoking the whole time. City Hall was real impressive and the library across the street is where we packed the first bowl. Then the gates of china town which we drove through. Then a tower, forgot the name. A left turn, hard to do in san fran, and we are at another point Lombard street. The road is so straight down that it has to have switchbacks in it. After that we go to the best stop fisherman's warf which has like 11 points of the tour right there. First we wanted to see Alcatraz, so we head down pier 39 and before we get to the end we see a huge amount of sea lions on this dock. There where so many we get some picks and one swims right by us, sure don't see that on the east coast. We go to the end where you can see alcatraz and it is a crazy rock, i can't believe they built anything on it let alone a prison. One thing i didn't know, i thought it was further away from shore. I think someone really desperate could swim that but it is the freezing pacific ocean. We watch a little street dancing. Then we start to drive to the golden gate bridge. As we are driving we notice it getting foggy very quickly. We get to the golden gate park and the wind is kicking the fog is rolling in. We get out and you can't even see the bridge only a little red painted steel. We actually go walk on it thinking we could see better but i could barely see 5 feet in front of me. So we get out of the freezing wind as the sun is going down. It is amazing how fast the temperature drops out here. It went from shorts weather to coat weather in less then an hour. We get some food from the safeway the grocery store and jorge decides to make fajitas. The HI is real nice brand new modern kitchens almost looks like a restaurant kitchen. We get some good food finally then go to the movie theater, yes a hostel with a movie theater. Chill in there until this girl comes to lock it up and kicks us out. I try to make small talk with her and she ignored me. Jorge says i don't think she likes you much i say maybe she doesn't like you. When he informs i pissed her off being a smart ass last night when she was at the front desk and i don't remember any of this but i do believe it. Roll one up and walk to this city park near our place. Sit out there and smoke for a while. Then off to bed since we have to check out at 10am. Sux we have to leave so early and only two days in san fran but i feel like we did a lot with our time. Here people don't judge and good thing because there are some crazy californian's in the most liberal city in the U.S.
I wake up pretty hungover to all this yelling outside like a chant. So i look outside pissed and there is strike going on at the Hilton across the street, unbelievable. Jorge is already gone, i find him in the kitchen but i have no groceries so i go to the jack in the box downstairs. After that i walk around downtown a little then i see my favorite receptionist is back so i ask her about this 49 mile driving tour of san fran that khaiman told me about. She gives me a map i get jorge and we get the truck. We decide we are not going to hit all 49 but definitely the major ones and honestly i don't remember all of the ones we saw. The driving tour is great for a hangover no hiking and smoking the whole time. City Hall was real impressive and the library across the street is where we packed the first bowl. Then the gates of china town which we drove through. Then a tower, forgot the name. A left turn, hard to do in san fran, and we are at another point Lombard street. The road is so straight down that it has to have switchbacks in it. After that we go to the best stop fisherman's warf which has like 11 points of the tour right there. First we wanted to see Alcatraz, so we head down pier 39 and before we get to the end we see a huge amount of sea lions on this dock. There where so many we get some picks and one swims right by us, sure don't see that on the east coast. We go to the end where you can see alcatraz and it is a crazy rock, i can't believe they built anything on it let alone a prison. One thing i didn't know, i thought it was further away from shore. I think someone really desperate could swim that but it is the freezing pacific ocean. We watch a little street dancing. Then we start to drive to the golden gate bridge. As we are driving we notice it getting foggy very quickly. We get to the golden gate park and the wind is kicking the fog is rolling in. We get out and you can't even see the bridge only a little red painted steel. We actually go walk on it thinking we could see better but i could barely see 5 feet in front of me. So we get out of the freezing wind as the sun is going down. It is amazing how fast the temperature drops out here. It went from shorts weather to coat weather in less then an hour. We get some food from the safeway the grocery store and jorge decides to make fajitas. The HI is real nice brand new modern kitchens almost looks like a restaurant kitchen. We get some good food finally then go to the movie theater, yes a hostel with a movie theater. Chill in there until this girl comes to lock it up and kicks us out. I try to make small talk with her and she ignored me. Jorge says i don't think she likes you much i say maybe she doesn't like you. When he informs i pissed her off being a smart ass last night when she was at the front desk and i don't remember any of this but i do believe it. Roll one up and walk to this city park near our place. Sit out there and smoke for a while. Then off to bed since we have to check out at 10am. Sux we have to leave so early and only two days in san fran but i feel like we did a lot with our time. Here people don't judge and good thing because there are some crazy californian's in the most liberal city in the U.S.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Rock The Bell's
So after a long time in wine country, with a great place to stay it is time to move on. The next big thing on our list is the Rock the Bells concert. So we drive through Oakland to Pallo Alto where we rented a hotel room. We got there a little late but still got a good workout in. Then we get some rest for the concert tomorrow.
We wake up early-ish and get some food on the way to the Shoreline Amphitheater. The plan was to be at at the second stage by 2pm for Clipse but with the parking and eating we didn't get in until 4. So we head straight to the main stage and DJ Premier was on. We find a good spot high up on the hill in the lawn seats. Now we prepared for this concert while at Khaiman's and Gabbie's by pre-rolling 8 joints (snoop can't be the only one smoking.) So after finding a seat we light one up. We wore pants because it gets real cold at night but still it is very hot during the day so sitting in the sun in between sets i took a nap. Then KRS-ONE went on and i was not very impressed but very stoned. Next was Rakim and at this point i was getting very thirsty so Jorge and i played rock paper for who had to go get the first round and i won. It took him like a half hour and he gets back with one beer. They told him he had to have two ID's for two beers. So i went through the crowd of blankets and people to get my 10 dollar beer. After i got it i stood there a moment and drank a little, looked over the crowd and there was a huge cloud of bud smoke just hovering above the crowd's head. That is when i knew this was going to be a good night. Next up was Lauryn Hill and she is not very good live. Next up was Tribe Called Quest and i was so high at this point but still not very impressed except they had a special guest appearance by Busta Rhymes and he killed it. The sun was starting to go down which was great because i was getting burned. Also the crowd was really starting to fill up no more spots left to sit. So we let these two indian chics sit kind of in our space but they were smoking some medical mj and they let me taste it. Next finally something i was looking forward to, Wu-Tang Clan all the original members with Boy Jones ODB's first born son. Out of all of them red man was on his game he also killed it so we smoked one to him. Now it is 11:30 pm and we have been sitting on this lawn all day for snoop dog. He comes out and announces that he will be performing Doggystyle in it entirety. Which so bad ass since i don't really know his new stuff but i know that CD. In a addition to that good news he has Warren G, Kurupt, and the dog pound with him. We each lit up our own J's right as snoop dog and the thousands of other people there did. I could not sit up on the hill anymore so we got as close to the stage as possible and i could actually see him blazing. Jorge found these two real hotties wearing barely anything and we smoked with them right as warren g performed regulators with out Nate Dogg for one of the first times. After all the classics he did end up performing some new stuff, then about 1 am we start to head out. A long day of music and smoking will make you very tired. Check out the next day for San Fransico!
We wake up early-ish and get some food on the way to the Shoreline Amphitheater. The plan was to be at at the second stage by 2pm for Clipse but with the parking and eating we didn't get in until 4. So we head straight to the main stage and DJ Premier was on. We find a good spot high up on the hill in the lawn seats. Now we prepared for this concert while at Khaiman's and Gabbie's by pre-rolling 8 joints (snoop can't be the only one smoking.) So after finding a seat we light one up. We wore pants because it gets real cold at night but still it is very hot during the day so sitting in the sun in between sets i took a nap. Then KRS-ONE went on and i was not very impressed but very stoned. Next was Rakim and at this point i was getting very thirsty so Jorge and i played rock paper for who had to go get the first round and i won. It took him like a half hour and he gets back with one beer. They told him he had to have two ID's for two beers. So i went through the crowd of blankets and people to get my 10 dollar beer. After i got it i stood there a moment and drank a little, looked over the crowd and there was a huge cloud of bud smoke just hovering above the crowd's head. That is when i knew this was going to be a good night. Next up was Lauryn Hill and she is not very good live. Next up was Tribe Called Quest and i was so high at this point but still not very impressed except they had a special guest appearance by Busta Rhymes and he killed it. The sun was starting to go down which was great because i was getting burned. Also the crowd was really starting to fill up no more spots left to sit. So we let these two indian chics sit kind of in our space but they were smoking some medical mj and they let me taste it. Next finally something i was looking forward to, Wu-Tang Clan all the original members with Boy Jones ODB's first born son. Out of all of them red man was on his game he also killed it so we smoked one to him. Now it is 11:30 pm and we have been sitting on this lawn all day for snoop dog. He comes out and announces that he will be performing Doggystyle in it entirety. Which so bad ass since i don't really know his new stuff but i know that CD. In a addition to that good news he has Warren G, Kurupt, and the dog pound with him. We each lit up our own J's right as snoop dog and the thousands of other people there did. I could not sit up on the hill anymore so we got as close to the stage as possible and i could actually see him blazing. Jorge found these two real hotties wearing barely anything and we smoked with them right as warren g performed regulators with out Nate Dogg for one of the first times. After all the classics he did end up performing some new stuff, then about 1 am we start to head out. A long day of music and smoking will make you very tired. Check out the next day for San Fransico!
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