LAS VEGAS(DEC 28,2005)- DAY 1
             We left Tampa at 8:45 in the evening of december 28, 2005.
I am excited to see Las Vegas for the first time. We saw a brochure at the
plane for the tour in Grand Canyon National Park. Seeing the whole city
from the  plane at night. It is really nice. We arrive at the McCarran Airport 10:50 pm but got out from the airport at 11:30 pm.
We have the car rental reservation in the internet so we just need to go
to the car rental place through their own shuttle from the airport.
Problem number one here it comes. The front desk said they cancelled the
reservation because we have to show up within 24 hours and we
did it four days before the pickup. Luckily, they still have cars.
Next is finding a place to rest for the night instead of heading to
Grand Canyon, Arizona for the tour and for the reservation we made
in one of the lodge at havasupai indian reservation so we can go
to the havasu and mooney falls. We are driving around
Las Vegas to look for motel and got one in industrial rd.
We are tired so Ray went to bed and i hook up the laptop so i can be online
check our emails since i am not sleepy yet. Finally i am sleepy so went to bed too.

GRAND CANYON(DEC 29,2005)- DAY 2
Second day of our business-pleasure tour into the west. Early in the morning we already have a problem, the laptop hard drive crashed. We called at the store and have our technician send another one in motel 6 where we have to stay for 2 days. We'll get it the next day so no big deal. Today we returned the car and have to get another one but it is in another rental company. We are settled with the car and have our reservation for the helicopter-boat-bus ride in the Grand Canyon through the Papillon Company, we rented another one for two weeks. The whole thing was done until one o'clock in the afternoon. So we decided to go to some of the casino in the Las Vegas Strip. We went to the Excalibur, luxor, Mandalay Bay and New York New York. We ate in New York New York. At four o'clock, we are heading towards The Grand Canyon in Arizona, one of he wonders of the world. On our way to there we saw Hoover Dam and lake mead but it's dark so i can't see it really good. We will just see it on our way back to Vegas since we are coming back to celebrate New Year. We arrive in Flagstaff at 10:00 in the evening. We already called motel 6 for our stay in there. Have to rest again...Goodnight

GRAND CANYON(DEC 30,2005)- DAY 3
Man, it's freezing in here. We planned to go out early so we can make it worth. We didn't go here to stay in the room. We are in the road around 7:30 in the morning. Our plan is to go to the South rim of the Grand Canyon and then to the West rim for the 1:30 pm Papiloon reservation. At 8:00 o'clock we are in South rim. Man it is awesome. There is no place like the GRAND CANYON. The formations, the color which varies when the sun ray hit it. Oh boy, I am astound of the breathtaking view the place can offer. I don't care if it's chilly, hell ya! i saw one of the natural wonders of the world. We left at 10:15 am in the south rim, we are heading to the west rim. In relation to the laptop problem, we don't have my GPS which we can't go anywhere without it. We can't do anything until we get the other one, so we have to rely on Ray's GPS. I love my GPS just tell me where you wanna go and i will tell which road you have to get on and off. I hate using his GPS but we don't have a choice at the moment. All this time i am assuming that the west rim is in the Havasupai Indian reservation, only too late to know that it's in Haulapai Indian Reservation. I hold the steering wheel for the first time since i am not allowed yet, i don't have permit. Just to try if it's not too hard for me. There's not much cars in that road so i drove until we hit the rough road.When Ray realize we are kinda late he was going 120 mile per hours just to make it to our resevation. We arrive in the Havasupai around 1:25 pm only to know that we are not in the west rim. We are supposed to go to Haulapai Indian Reservation. The place is where our first plan, where the havasu and mooney falls located but we changes our plan. We also agreed that it is kinda cold to go down to the canyon and stayed for the night. We have to drive back and somehow find the Haulapai Indian Reservation. We are back to route 66(the historical route 66) and ask somebody for the direction. We also drove back and forth because we can't just drive without having a full tank of gas. The most useless driving we ever made. It was a heck of a drive too. Finally make our way to the Grand Canyon West airport where Pipillon is located. We really thought we can't go to the ride anymore. We also turn our back to the motel but somewhat came to there office and ask them what's the best thing to since they already run the credit card we already pay the initial payment for cash. Fortunately, they reschedule our ride for the next morning. Somehow, paid all our effort, we really wanna go to that ride no matter what it takes. We hang out for a little while and see the canyon west rim when the sun set. It's nice to see the color changes. Going back to the motel kinda confusing because we went to the other way which they said the shortest way to get out from the canyon. But it is further going to back to the motel. I can't wait to be in bed. It was a long day but the experience is awesome.

NEW YEAR'S EVE LAS VEGAS     (DEC 31,2005)- DAY 4
Whew, i am soooooooo excited. I already saw the Grand Canyon from the land, now i will see it in 3 different angles. From the top(helicopter ride), from the bottom(colorado river boat ride) and from the land(bus ride to the prohibited areas). We make our way at 10:30 in the morning. We watched the safety measures in the office and sent us to the helicopter. We are only two in the helicopter going down to the canyon. Oh my God, it is really unbelievable. Ray is always afraid of height but that time he wasn't because he only appreciate the beauty of nature. It is different looking at it in the helicopter. I don't know how long that ride lasted, all i know is was magnificent. We are making our way so slowly to the boat, took pictures here and there without knowing that there are people in the boat waiting for us. Everything is extraordinary. After the boat ride to the colorado river, the helicopter pick us up. This time i am  seating beside the pilot. I told the pilot i am his co-pilot for the day. We went the other way instead of coming back to where we came from just to give us more outstanding view of the GRAND CANYON WEST.  Next is the bus ride, we went to other different spot where only prohibited people can. We have our lucnh at the place there. it is included in the package. It is a pretty good deal. For us to see the Grand Canyon in three different angles plus the lunch. We are still surprised of what we saw but we have to go back to Las Vegas before dark. We also planned to see the real London Bridge in Arizona but we have no time. Besides i wanna see Hoover Dam and Lake Mead in the daytime.
There are so much construction in hoover dam, but it didn't stop us to see it. It was great. Knowing that the water came from Colorado river and Lake Mead. Lake Mead is really really pretty.
We are started to woory when we heard in the radio that they will bkock the strip. We have our hotel reservation at the Stratosphere for the New Year.
In the fortunate manner, we made our way to the Stratosphere. Another problem, they said our reservation isnot valid, hearing it made me mor tired. All i wanna do is stretch in bed and perhaps make a nap in preparation for the New Year. Ray has to talk to the managerand finally got our room in the 19th floor.
At 10:00 o'clock in the evening we went down to the casino level to see what's going on. There are parties everywhere and pretty sure in every casino have bunch of parties too. We got our ticket for the stratosphere pool deck party. They have music and some are dancing. It is chilly out there so we came back down since it is too early to hang our in the pool deck. I played in the slot machines, just me since Ray promise not to gamble anymore(actually, we promise both, we at least went once a week to hard rock casino Tampa before but in the past 6 six months we promise not to gamble anymore). Gambling is a losing game in any way.
Finally New Year is only 30 minutes away, we went back up. Here comes the countdown and boom HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!
The fireworks in stratosphere is phenomenal. It is extravagant. Your attention will be divided from the fireworks coming from the tower and from the parking. I don't even have time to see the other fireworks in the strip. That was fun. I saw couples exchanging Happy New Year's greetings(of course we did too).
We went back down to the casino level after dancing a couple of minutes. Since we have a tiring day we just spent an hour or more and went back up to our room.

DEATH VALLEY & RENO (JAN 1, 2006)- DAY 5
Sleep late today, woke up around 10:00 am. We packed our
things and put them all in the car. Went back to the hotel
and get our tickets for the stratosphere tower. Have our
breakfast and found place near their tv stations where
we can watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the
New Orleans Saints. We went to the top of the tower during
the half time of the game. The tower is high, they have four
rides(get off, get down, get up and get around). The rides
aren't that scary but the fact that you are a thousand feet high,
that makes the difference. We didn't didn't went to any of those
rides  because Ray don't want to. He is afraid of height. I am not
scared to go to, i just don't want to go alone. I don't think
it is as exciting as duelling dragon in Islands of adventure in Universal
Orlando Resort.
We went back down to see the rest of the game and Tampa Bay Buccaneers won.
Here we go again, heading to the road towards Death Valley and stay the
night in Reno, Nevada.
Death Valley is awesome in it's own way. It's mainly beautiful mountain   
and driving through it is a memory to reminisce. Besides the
fact that you are in the lowest part in the world. I saw signs that says
elevation -190 but there is one part that is -225 according to our GPS.
That was really pretty. One thing i noticed while driving into the west,
it is nice and prettier than driving east. Mountain are just breathtaking.
The rest of the day was driving towards Reno, Nevada. As we go up north,
makes me excited because i saw the weather channel saying they have snow in Reno.
It will be my first time :). I hate chilly weather but i am crazy to see snow
and being snowed.
That night they don't have snow where we stayed. We are worry because we check
highway safety and it says I-80 smewhere in truckee is closed because of
the snow storm. We are just hoping for the best the next day.

RENO (JAN 2, 2006)- DAY 6
This is what i am talking about, being stuck because of the snow storm. It is really snowing hard. Finally i experience snow and being outside with the snowflakes. It is cold but not too bad. I like it but to live with it there is no absolute way!
We are supposed to drive to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Seqouia National Park and then San Francisco but we can't because of the snow. If not road closed it will be chain tires. So we decided and appropriate to say have to stay in Reno for another day. We have no choice rather than risk our lives driving. We will lose a day for sure not be able some of the places we wanna see.
Reno is not too bad. In fact they called it " BIGGEST LITTLE CITY IN THE WORLD". It is a miniature of Las Vegas. We just drove to downtown and enjoy the rest of the day. I even met a Filipino in one of the casino in there. Her name is Gloria, she came from Davao City. She is nice and work in there and i am playing in the slot machines i can order free drinks. Our day was in downtown.
At this point we doesn't know our destination from Reno. It will depends on tomorrow's weather. Still hoping for the nice and sunny day.

 SAN FRANCISCO, CA (JAN  3, 2006)- DAY 7
Finally, back in track. The road(I-80 west) is open going to San Francisco, CA. We drove through sierra-nevada mountain. That was fantastic. Mountains are really nice in the winter. The snow covers the leaves of the trees and the land itself. The driving wasn't really a problem at all. We thought for sure that we have to have a chain tires for the snow but we are lucky enough not to. We  arrive in San Francisco around eleven in the morning. First we went the famous streets haight and ashbury. I think every city has their famous streets. Then continue to see one of the seven wonders of the modern world "The Golden Gate bridge". We walk halfway through and come back. The bridge is huge and pretty. Then drove to San Francisco's lombard crooked street. Fisherman's wharf is not far from it so we went there too. Even it is showering but it's not the hindrance for people to walk down the streets. We saw the sea lions just hangin' out in the sea water. Our final stop in San Francisco is the Chinatown. I am so hungry and i don't feel like eating anything except chinese food. The place is nice and as usual anything that got to with chinese is there.
We saw the places in San Francisco that is being planned and wanted to see. Around five in the afternoon we left for Yosemite National Park.

YOSEMITE & SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS IN CA (JAN 4, 2006)- DAY 8

We thought for sure both parks are out of our sight because of snow and we saw in the map that they closed in winter. We called them and they said they are open but some parts are being closed because of snow. We stop n a gas station gas up and ask about the road. The lady said we are lucky because it's been two weeks since the sun is hiding and been snowing but today is a beautiful sunny day. She also said we don't need a snow chain for the tires.
Yosemite National Park here we come. First I notice is the snow in the side of the road and in the trees. They are so pretty. Everything is white or green. While driving up the more snow you'll see and while we are in road going to the main area of the park we saw bunch of small waterfalls. I don't know if it's because the snow is melting or it's a waterfalls but of course big waterfalls that you can't even walk near it.  We stop to some waterfalls beside the road just to take pictures and even climb to the nearest spot we can. I really love waterfalls. They are so gorgeous. We went to Bridalveil waterfall and it is preeminent. Ray started to go up near the drops of the water. I don’t want him to because it’s dangerous but he did. I am worried but he came back safe but he got scrapes on his elbow and knee.
After that we went to the gift shop, we always get a shot glass and a souvenir wherever we go. We continue to see Yosemite waterfalls. They have the lower and the upper Yosemite fall. That was magnificent. Ray climb again into the drops of the waterfall. He is a risk taker he’s always been but this time it’s not as far as the other one.
Then we tried to find the upper waterfall but we went the wrong way so we just went where some people are playing snow. I love snow but to live in a cold place there’s no way. Maybe I am just amazed seeing it for the first time.
We got out in the park and drove towards Sequoia National Park. It is south of Yosemite so it works out perfect. Man, the Sequoia trees are humongous. I never had seen trees like those trees before. They are unbelievably big. The Sequoia national Park is mainly trees not just trees but humongous trees.

LOS ANGELES, CA (JAN 5, 2006)- DAY 9
We didn’t stay in downtown LA. We are 20 miles away from it so we decided to go to Hollywood hills first to see the Hollywood signs. They are big. It’s not easy to be close to those letters. Then we went to Hollywood Blvd to see the Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Star Walk of fame. I can’t believe that main stars are The Beatles and Elvis Presley. I saw some that I knew and a lot of stars in there that I didn’t they exist. At least I saw Nicholas’ walk of fame star. He is one of my favorite actors. Then we stayed there for a couple of hours and guess what? They are having the movie premiere of “Glory Road”. I always see a movie premiere in TV especially in VH1 but I didn’t expect to see a premiere of a movie.We also drove in Beverly Hills to see some of the houses of Hollywood stars. We went to rodeo drive where the Hollywood stars do their shopping. The street doesn’t just look expensive, everything are really expensive.
Finally, we are done with California. Hopefully we will go back the next time.

LAS VEGAS, NV (JAN 6, 2006)- DAY 10
After Calico, the ghost town, it's in our way to Vegas. Our last cut and final destination is Las Vegas, Nevada. It is mainly the reason why we are in the west, to attend the CES International Convention. We have to find hotel to stay for four remaining days. We are not aware that they are having two conventions at the same time so hotels are fully booked. So we have to go out of Las Vegas. Even small motels are fully booked. At last we found one near Boulder highway. It’s 20 miles away from Las Vegas. No big deal we the car anyways. Driving is not a factor for us and it’s only for two days until the conventions are over. We went to the CES International Convention.
At night we are in the strip then go home to the stinking motel. Directions for us are not a hindrance either because I’ve got my GPS. So we don’t have a problem at all.

 LAS VEGAS, NV (JAN 7, 2006)- DAY 11
Today is focused on the business trip. So we went to Sand’s Expo. The convention is really cool. Mostly electronic related stuffs and lots of big companies who participated in the convention. At that day we knew about the other convention called AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Internext Las Vegas. We are curious so we want to buy tickets. We went there around five o’clock and they still sell tickets but only for that day. We don’t want to waste our money for just an hour so we decided to go to the next day.
At night just enjoying the night through casino hopping. We just want to experience Las Vegas as what it is known for. We went to Rio to watch their parade inside the casino. Have our dinner in this Mexican restaurant as usual my favorite chimichangas (I had it with that food). We also went in club Rio. We thought they have a show but it’s been a couple of hours and it was just dancing. We dance for a little bit and Ray doesn’t really like rap and the kind of music they played so we head our butt in the car and drove to the motel.

LAS VEGAS, NV (JAN 8, 2006)- DAY 12
The same old day, this is mainly for business. Of course, have our plan for the day. First thing in the morning is to get our tickets for the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. Got our tickets so time for the business again. We went to the other three locations; Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), Hilton Hotel and Alexis Villas. That was pretty easy, we rode the bus intended for the convention because it is really hard looking for a parking space. Today is the last day so we want to see the rest. It was fun and tiring.
Around two o’clock we are back at the Sand’s Expo for the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. We walk inside and look around just like what others are doing. Having autograph signing with those porn Stars that I don’t even recognize. My outfit is not daring at all. But guess what, someone approaches me and wanted to have a picture with me (Hello I am not a porn star and I don’t even have a boob to boast but I am happy with it). I even told him I am not working in there but still he wart to so Ray took a picture of the guy and me. I am still shock, we continue roaming around here come another one, this time he is a gay from Fort Lauderdale, Fl. He asks me which company I am working with. Then I said nope, I didn’t worked at all. He can’t believe and he even said I am prettier than those porn stars (of course I know he’s exaggerating. I saw pretty faces in the show). Before he left he gave me his card to call in case I need a limousine (which I can’t afford). Another two guys wanted a picture with me, this time it’s different because they are Filipino, are they nuts? I am not a star, why they want to have a picture with me. We talk in Tagalog of course. I don’t even know where they came from. If the star is real pretty then I will be in line just to have an autograph (especially shirt autograph) and have pictures with them. When I am posing with the star some will take pictures of us too supposedly just Ray. I am not exaggerating the whole scenario but it happens to me. I also have picture with a Filipino porn star. She wasn’t friendly at all. I just don’t know if she’s pressured of my presence because I am Filipino too or she’s really like that.
The whole thing was fun and exciting. Life in Vegas again, I like be in the slot machines because I can order my new found drink, Baileys. We tried to find this clubs outside the strip unfortunately we found one but it’s kinda slow so we check in to the Stratosphere. Finally the business related stuff is done.

 
MOUNT CHARLESTON & VEGAS, NV (JAN 9, 2006)- DAY 13
We woke up late today. We are not in a hurry at all, around two o’clock we drove to Mount Charleston. It’s only an hour away from Las Vegas maybe less than that. Call me crazy because I went there with a mini skirt. I didn’t expect to see snow there but they got tons of it. The place is really cool but I didn’t enjoy that much because I am freezing. We are 8,600 above sea level, it is really cold. Anyway, just hoping next time if there’s next time J I can go on skiing. I saw people skiing. It’s really cool.
Drove back down to see Titi Helen (Ray’s godmother). She is really nice and warm. She gave me something so I can always remember her. We stayed couple of hours and drove to the house of uncle Frank (brother of Ray’s dad). He is so nice too.
Then continue to a bar not far from his house. Hang out for couple of hours then has a relaxing night. It’s been a long week for us.

LAS VEGAS, NV (JAN 10, 2006)- DAY 14
Our last day in Vegas, We just enjoy the rest of the strip. Went to these different casinos that everyone cost couple of million dollars. We already packed our things and ready to go. We just have to wash the car because it’s really dirty from driving through the desert and being snowed makes it dirtier.

So far the trip went smoothly as planned and it is really a memory to keep forever. Our flight back to Tampa is 10:45pm but we arrive home around 6:30 am because we gain 3 hours coming back. It wasn’t a big deal we are sleeping the whole trip anyway.

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