The flight out of Vegas was bumpy as hell - very terrifying considering that you feel you can touch those sky scrapers if you were able to put your hand out of the window. The flight was on time again - which meant I had about 5 hours to kill before my onward flight to Auckland. Having experienced LA traffic - I decided not to venture out of the airport area and there in lay the problem. I didn't believe it when people said that they hated LAX but I've now joined that league. Singapore Airport is this massive hub where everything is connected and you have loads of stuff to do - LAX is the complete opposite - totally disconnected and very little to do.
On recommendation of the check-in counter guy, I walked over to another terminal to have some food and killed some time walking around LAX. It sucks that the terminals aren't connected and there is very limited amount of restaurants you can access and there are different brands of restaurants spread over the various terminals but you can only access them once you get past the security check - which is ridiculous.
To top off my misery - the Air New Zealand flight I was supposed to catch got pushed back by 4 hours. The frustrating thing was that they didn't tell anyone about it till about 3 hours prior to the flight time and it meant you were just boxed in a small terminal with nothing to do. I did the next best thing - read the book that Sandy {from San Fran} gifted me and listened to music on the ipod that Raja Mavaiya gave me and was extremely grateful for those gifts. That killed me some time but it was still a frickin long time doing nothing and getting no update as to why the flight had been delayed.
So when the flight finally boarded, I was pretty happy to get out of LAX. The reason for the flight delay sounded pretty lame but I guess that there is nothing you can really do about it. The flight was alright - I watched 'The Book of Eli'; had dinner and fell asleep. Singapore Airlines had the best fleet and hostesses and it seemed a lot newer than any other planes; Air New Zealand had the best service while Malaysian Airlines definitely had the best food - the only airlines I didn't like was Lufthansa.
The flight was pretty uneventful and I woke up at 6.00 AM NZ time to watch 'Harry Brown' before being served breakfast and then finally landing at Auckland Airport- 4 hours behind schedule. The walk through immigration and customs was easy - especially since I declared my camping/hiking trips. I walked out of the airport into a cold and wet day in Auckland to find a couple of answer phone messages on my cellphone and one of them was from work. I returned the call and soon found out that I'd been successful in my job application for a new role in the restructured workplace - which was a huge relief.
It's good to be back home but somehow I'm not quite as ecstatic on being back in New Zealand as last time. I can't place my finger on why but it's something that I can feel deep down. That's the end of this adventure and I can only hope for more to come.
Amit
Friday, May 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Vegas stay with family
It's nice being with family - I guess mainly because they accept you for who you are - atleast that's what I'd like to think. The plan was to just hang out with Veni and Sandy as much as I could as I'd already experienced Vegas before and it didn't particularly enchant me. The time I've spent has been a blur and all I can remember are snapshots.
Snapshot one is Suchi coming over to help clean some crabs and then cooking them. Crabs smell bad when you are cleaning them and their smell filled up the whole house. And it's a frickin lot of work for very little meat and you've got to wonder if it is all worth it but the end result proved otherwise and it was delicious.
Another snapshot was Veni marveling at how Sandy's dad was chatting to me - which she considers some kind of miracle as he is usually a reserved person. He's an interesting person and talking to him, you'd never guess he was a reserved person. We had a few long conversations and I enjoyed the conversations and I also enjoyed the drink I shared with him and Sandy.
Yet another memory was all of us going to MGM Grand to see the lions. It so happens that I bet Sandy and Veni to it as I'd been there before them {on the intrepid trip} but this display this time was much better as the lions {correction - the lionesses} were awake and playing. It was an amazing sight as usual seeing wild beasts in artificial enclosures. Everyone gambled a bit {except Sandy} but I still couldn't get myself to do it. If only I was good at playing cards as I reckon cards is the only game where you are not completely ruled by luck. :-)
Outside of the strip - Vegas is like any other american city and the only reminder that you are in Vegas are the massive buildings on the strip that catch your eye from wherever you are. I've got a new favorite store now - Trader Joe's - the smells are amazing and they have a nice selection of production. Veni introduced me to a Japanese ice cream called 'Mochi' and I am hooked.
I made DVD's of the US intrepid trip photos and decided to post them off to the rest of the group - so that it was one less thing to worry about after I came back to NZ. Post office there was pretty similar to a NZ Post office except that the lines were massive. And I figured posting something from US to UK and Germany would be cheaper than posting from NZ to those places - but not really - it cost me about the same. Walking back home from the post office in the nice burning sun was a pleasant change and I really enjoyed it.
One of the nights Veni and Sandy introduced me to some of the most amazing sushi I've had in a long long time. I usually don't like Salmon in Sushi because you don't wanna end up with a bad salmon but oh my - the salmon sushi was amazing and so were all the other different kinds of sushi that we had.
Sandy's parents left on the 18th morning and that left room open for some small brother-sister fights.And as usually is the case - I come off at the losing end of it. There were points were I got punished by Veni to the point where I was pleading for mercy and apologized for my stupidity. It was heaps of fun. :-) We also watched a couple of episodes of 'Castle'- which was entertaining, so much so because of Nathan Fillion, who is fantastic in it and after that it was a whole heap of 'The Office' episodes. It is compulsively watchable and I think they got the casting spot on in the american version.
Veni also introduced me to an electric closer shaver and that was on my to-buy list along with a case for the ipod nano. Sandy took us electronic shopping and I managed to get myself both the items. The electronics shop was huge and it's nuts to have that much choice. :-)
Another thing I'll remember for a long time is the dinner with Sandy and Veni at a gourmet burger joint. The burger was tasty and they have a bottomless glass of coke and bottomless plate of french fries with the order but could barely finish the first round.
It was sad saying goodbye again. I positively hate goodbyes. It was awesome spending time with Veni and Sandy and Raja Mavaiya and family and Sandy Chauhan and family. I really enjoyed my time in the US and this final good bye was definitely the hardest one. The trip went too fast and next time I'll probably plan for a longer stay.
The last couple of days was again kind of tense with the air flight schedules up in the air because of more volcanic eruption in Iceland. Luckily the schedule for my flight was back on track and it meant I could fly back to NZ without any hiccups. Sandy and Veni dropped me off at the airport. And just like that - with a hug and a kiss - the US leg of the journey is finished.
Almost.
Amit
Snapshot one is Suchi coming over to help clean some crabs and then cooking them. Crabs smell bad when you are cleaning them and their smell filled up the whole house. And it's a frickin lot of work for very little meat and you've got to wonder if it is all worth it but the end result proved otherwise and it was delicious.
Veni's mother-in-law, Veni and Suchi admiring the crab
Sandy, Suchi and Veni
Another snapshot was Veni marveling at how Sandy's dad was chatting to me - which she considers some kind of miracle as he is usually a reserved person. He's an interesting person and talking to him, you'd never guess he was a reserved person. We had a few long conversations and I enjoyed the conversations and I also enjoyed the drink I shared with him and Sandy.
Yet another memory was all of us going to MGM Grand to see the lions. It so happens that I bet Sandy and Veni to it as I'd been there before them {on the intrepid trip} but this display this time was much better as the lions {correction - the lionesses} were awake and playing. It was an amazing sight as usual seeing wild beasts in artificial enclosures. Everyone gambled a bit {except Sandy} but I still couldn't get myself to do it. If only I was good at playing cards as I reckon cards is the only game where you are not completely ruled by luck. :-)
Veni and me
Sandy and Veni
Lion Habitat @ MGM Grand
Poker
Sandy's parent playing machine roulette
Outside of the strip - Vegas is like any other american city and the only reminder that you are in Vegas are the massive buildings on the strip that catch your eye from wherever you are. I've got a new favorite store now - Trader Joe's - the smells are amazing and they have a nice selection of production. Veni introduced me to a Japanese ice cream called 'Mochi' and I am hooked.
I made DVD's of the US intrepid trip photos and decided to post them off to the rest of the group - so that it was one less thing to worry about after I came back to NZ. Post office there was pretty similar to a NZ Post office except that the lines were massive. And I figured posting something from US to UK and Germany would be cheaper than posting from NZ to those places - but not really - it cost me about the same. Walking back home from the post office in the nice burning sun was a pleasant change and I really enjoyed it.
One of the nights Veni and Sandy introduced me to some of the most amazing sushi I've had in a long long time. I usually don't like Salmon in Sushi because you don't wanna end up with a bad salmon but oh my - the salmon sushi was amazing and so were all the other different kinds of sushi that we had.
Sandy's parents left on the 18th morning and that left room open for some small brother-sister fights.And as usually is the case - I come off at the losing end of it. There were points were I got punished by Veni to the point where I was pleading for mercy and apologized for my stupidity. It was heaps of fun. :-) We also watched a couple of episodes of 'Castle'- which was entertaining, so much so because of Nathan Fillion, who is fantastic in it and after that it was a whole heap of 'The Office' episodes. It is compulsively watchable and I think they got the casting spot on in the american version.
Veni also introduced me to an electric closer shaver and that was on my to-buy list along with a case for the ipod nano. Sandy took us electronic shopping and I managed to get myself both the items. The electronics shop was huge and it's nuts to have that much choice. :-)
Another thing I'll remember for a long time is the dinner with Sandy and Veni at a gourmet burger joint. The burger was tasty and they have a bottomless glass of coke and bottomless plate of french fries with the order but could barely finish the first round.
It was sad saying goodbye again. I positively hate goodbyes. It was awesome spending time with Veni and Sandy and Raja Mavaiya and family and Sandy Chauhan and family. I really enjoyed my time in the US and this final good bye was definitely the hardest one. The trip went too fast and next time I'll probably plan for a longer stay.
The last couple of days was again kind of tense with the air flight schedules up in the air because of more volcanic eruption in Iceland. Luckily the schedule for my flight was back on track and it meant I could fly back to NZ without any hiccups. Sandy and Veni dropped me off at the airport. And just like that - with a hug and a kiss - the US leg of the journey is finished.
Almost.
Amit
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The mad rush to Vegas Surprise
Another early start to the day but it is just awesome weather and it's great ending the trip on a high note. We packed up our tents and our main stop today is at Joshua Tree National Park. We took a short stop at a gas station to buy some water and stuff and Casey also told us that we should take our toilet break there as it'd be nice to have a good long uninterrupted drive, so we could spend more time at Joshua Tree.
10 minutes later, Chris wanted to know when the next toilet stop was and everyone cracked up when Casey said that it wouldn't be for atleast another couple of hours. The tone in Chris' voice was bordering on pleading and when the pleas turned verbal, Casey just pulled over on side of the road and Chris made a run for it in the empty landscape. I think Antonia wanted to go as well but seeing how public the view was, she decided that she could hold onto it.
We stopped over at a gas station just before heading into Joshua Tree National Park and there was only one toilet, so we queued up and were busy chatting away when we realized that there was a lady sitting right behind us monitoring security tapes of the store. Rosie also found some stretching exercises chart on the freezer door, so we did that for a while before the toilet came free.
Casey lost us in Joshua Tree and we had to turn around and head back another 30 minutes before we got to the spot we wanted. Joshua Tree is spectacular and it's a very different kind of beauty. It's raw and hot and rocky. We were soon jumping rocks and following Casey deeper into the rocks. After 30 odd minutes seeing how some people from the group were struggling with the climbing bit, we decided to head back to the base to grab a quick lunch before we headed into LA.
By the time we finished lunch and were ready to go it was 2.45 and it was supposed to take about 2-2.5 hours to get to our finish point in LA. Casey kept saying that a lot also depended on how the LA traffic was gonna be. The challenge was to get to our finishing point around 5.30 PM as my flight from LA to Vegas was at 7.30 PM. Today is Veni's birthday and this trip to US had been planned around me giving her surprise birthday visit today and it'd suck if I couldn't make the flight.
Everyone was quieter than usual on the last stretch of the journey and it was kind of sad that the trip was coming to an end. En route Rosie asked another question about wind energy and turbines - luckily for us Chris is into physics and stuff, so he drew up mathematical equations to explain the solution and it was funny to see someone go to such deep trouble when obviously a layman language answer would've sufficed. Katrina and Olivia composed a song called 'Salty Dogs' as a way of summarizing our experiences and saying thank you to Casey. It was cleverly done even though some rhymes didn't match. We all shared emails and addresses and also wrote in Casey's notebook.
The traffic in LA is TERRIBLE. We were crawling for a good chunk of the time and as the clock ticked past 5.30PM some of the members in the group started getting tense on my behalf. They asked me how I could keep so calm - well, the truth is that there is nothing you can do in the circumstance. I could only do something once we were at the finishing point but till then the only thing you could do was pray that the traffic didn't have any bottlenecks.
By the time we got to the finishing point near LAX it was 6.30PM. Casey parked the van illegally so we could get my stuff out from the trailer. The team was incredibly nice and got out of the car to help Casey get out my baggage and were very surprised when all that came out was one day pack. I gave everyone quick hugs and said bye before running towards the hotel lobby to catch the free shuttle bus. Again there is this profound sense of sadness as I might never see these people again but don't have enough time to say farewell. The last thing I heard was the group yelling 'Run amit, run'. Well run I did but the shuttle bus had gone, so I jumped into a cab and got the cab driver to take me to airlines terminal I was supposed to be boarding at.
I quickly got my boarding pass from a kiosk and went through the security checks process. The security officers were chuckling as I was doing stuff so quickly that I was dropping stuff left, right and center. I ran to the boarding gate and got there 10 minutes before boarding started - which was a huge relief. This running across airports is turning into a habit and I'm really glad that I just have my one bag.
The Delta airlines plane was a lot smaller than I'd imagined but the seats were so comfortable. We left on time and I had a good chat with the lady named Donna, sitting next to me. There were a fair few Australians on the flight and it turned out that all of them were going to Vegas to celebrate one of their family's 21st birthday there.
Vegas from air at night is something. It's stunning and the strip really stands out. The shock I got at Vegas airport was finding gambling machines installed all over - they really want your money. Sandy came to pick me up at the airport and it was awesome meeting him for the first time. I still feel guilty that I missed Veni and Sandy's wedding but the circumstances at that point didn't allow me to leave NZ.
Sandy had told Veni that he was going to work as he was working on this extra project. It was only a 10 minute drive from airport to Veni's place. By the time we got there Veni had already retired to their room, so Sandy went in and said 'Surprise'. And then I walked into the room.
I'll always remember that expression on Veni's face. She was talking on the phone but she stopped talking and gaped at me for a few moments. After it finally registered that I was real, she hugged me and screamed for a while. By my account - she went into a shock after that, as she kept recounting how everyone in the family had rung up to wish her a happy birthday but hadn't talked much. For her everything started clicking into place and she kept saying how terrible it was of the family to have kept such a huge secret.
This was by far the biggest secret that the family had indeed kept to themselves for ages. I'd planned this trip and booked everything in September'09 - so for it to stay a complete surprise and a secret was a surprise even to me. And I am ecstatic that it worked.
I met Sandy's parents for the first time that night - as they are staying with Veni as well and after that we went to visit one of Sandy's colleague and her family, who lived just around the corner. She knew of the secret as well but had again kept it to herself and for Veni - that was an even bigger shock as usually Suchi is known for not keeping secrets. After a good chat, we returned home and then retired for the night.
It's hard to put into words the feelings and emotions of reconnecting and connecting with your loved ones. All I can do right now is thank God for making sure that there were no hiccups in the plan today.
Till tomorrow,
Amit
Packing up our tents
Chris, Nick and Vanessa
Antonia and Olivia
10 minutes later, Chris wanted to know when the next toilet stop was and everyone cracked up when Casey said that it wouldn't be for atleast another couple of hours. The tone in Chris' voice was bordering on pleading and when the pleas turned verbal, Casey just pulled over on side of the road and Chris made a run for it in the empty landscape. I think Antonia wanted to go as well but seeing how public the view was, she decided that she could hold onto it.
Chris making a run for it
Empty road
Easing his way back to the van
We stopped over at a gas station just before heading into Joshua Tree National Park and there was only one toilet, so we queued up and were busy chatting away when we realized that there was a lady sitting right behind us monitoring security tapes of the store. Rosie also found some stretching exercises chart on the freezer door, so we did that for a while before the toilet came free.
Emily taking a stretch at the gas station
Olivia waiting for her turn
Rosie and Vanessa demonstrating the stretching exercises
Casey lost us in Joshua Tree and we had to turn around and head back another 30 minutes before we got to the spot we wanted. Joshua Tree is spectacular and it's a very different kind of beauty. It's raw and hot and rocky. We were soon jumping rocks and following Casey deeper into the rocks. After 30 odd minutes seeing how some people from the group were struggling with the climbing bit, we decided to head back to the base to grab a quick lunch before we headed into LA.
Joshua Tree National Park
Walking into the desert
Casey leading us off the trail
The team surrounded by rocks
Making our way back
Checking directions
Everyone was quieter than usual on the last stretch of the journey and it was kind of sad that the trip was coming to an end. En route Rosie asked another question about wind energy and turbines - luckily for us Chris is into physics and stuff, so he drew up mathematical equations to explain the solution and it was funny to see someone go to such deep trouble when obviously a layman language answer would've sufficed. Katrina and Olivia composed a song called 'Salty Dogs' as a way of summarizing our experiences and saying thank you to Casey. It was cleverly done even though some rhymes didn't match. We all shared emails and addresses and also wrote in Casey's notebook.
The traffic in LA is TERRIBLE. We were crawling for a good chunk of the time and as the clock ticked past 5.30PM some of the members in the group started getting tense on my behalf. They asked me how I could keep so calm - well, the truth is that there is nothing you can do in the circumstance. I could only do something once we were at the finishing point but till then the only thing you could do was pray that the traffic didn't have any bottlenecks.
By the time we got to the finishing point near LAX it was 6.30PM. Casey parked the van illegally so we could get my stuff out from the trailer. The team was incredibly nice and got out of the car to help Casey get out my baggage and were very surprised when all that came out was one day pack. I gave everyone quick hugs and said bye before running towards the hotel lobby to catch the free shuttle bus. Again there is this profound sense of sadness as I might never see these people again but don't have enough time to say farewell. The last thing I heard was the group yelling 'Run amit, run'. Well run I did but the shuttle bus had gone, so I jumped into a cab and got the cab driver to take me to airlines terminal I was supposed to be boarding at.
I quickly got my boarding pass from a kiosk and went through the security checks process. The security officers were chuckling as I was doing stuff so quickly that I was dropping stuff left, right and center. I ran to the boarding gate and got there 10 minutes before boarding started - which was a huge relief. This running across airports is turning into a habit and I'm really glad that I just have my one bag.
The Delta airlines plane was a lot smaller than I'd imagined but the seats were so comfortable. We left on time and I had a good chat with the lady named Donna, sitting next to me. There were a fair few Australians on the flight and it turned out that all of them were going to Vegas to celebrate one of their family's 21st birthday there.
Vegas from air at night is something. It's stunning and the strip really stands out. The shock I got at Vegas airport was finding gambling machines installed all over - they really want your money. Sandy came to pick me up at the airport and it was awesome meeting him for the first time. I still feel guilty that I missed Veni and Sandy's wedding but the circumstances at that point didn't allow me to leave NZ.
Sandy had told Veni that he was going to work as he was working on this extra project. It was only a 10 minute drive from airport to Veni's place. By the time we got there Veni had already retired to their room, so Sandy went in and said 'Surprise'. And then I walked into the room.
I'll always remember that expression on Veni's face. She was talking on the phone but she stopped talking and gaped at me for a few moments. After it finally registered that I was real, she hugged me and screamed for a while. By my account - she went into a shock after that, as she kept recounting how everyone in the family had rung up to wish her a happy birthday but hadn't talked much. For her everything started clicking into place and she kept saying how terrible it was of the family to have kept such a huge secret.
Veni still in disbelief
This was by far the biggest secret that the family had indeed kept to themselves for ages. I'd planned this trip and booked everything in September'09 - so for it to stay a complete surprise and a secret was a surprise even to me. And I am ecstatic that it worked.
I met Sandy's parents for the first time that night - as they are staying with Veni as well and after that we went to visit one of Sandy's colleague and her family, who lived just around the corner. She knew of the secret as well but had again kept it to herself and for Veni - that was an even bigger shock as usually Suchi is known for not keeping secrets. After a good chat, we returned home and then retired for the night.
It's hard to put into words the feelings and emotions of reconnecting and connecting with your loved ones. All I can do right now is thank God for making sure that there were no hiccups in the plan today.
Till tomorrow,
Amit
Friday, May 14, 2010
Route 66 to Lake Havasu
I couldn't be bothered changing into my night clothes as I knew that waking up that early would be a chore - especially with all of us going to bed around 1.00 AM. It was a long wait for the sunrise but when it did eventually happen it was disappointing and the sunset was way more awesome than the sunrise. We walked back to our camp site and had our breakfast.
The other group was jealous as we had planned for our meals and had a good breakfast. They were even more jealous that we told them that we actually got to choose and make our own meals as Casey gave us that freedom. Their group leader would do all the shopping and they basically had to cook whatever dishes had been pre decided by the group leader - which I reckon would've sucked for them as they were missing out on a lot of fun. After breakfast we packed up our tents and stuff and caught a shuttle bus to Powell point which apparently had way better views and it turned out to be true - the views were stunning and we did a jump shot over the Canyon.
We caught the shuttle back and stopped over for a hot drink at the local shops before driving onto Seligman. Since everyone had been partying and drinking hard over the past few nights - it finally caught up with them as everyone slept most of the way to Seligman. I again got to sit in the front and it was a fantastic day to sit in the front as the views were again stunning.
The deal with Seligman is that it's the start of the famous Route 66 and is a historic town plus the animated movie 'Cars' had it's birth in this small town - atleast that's what they say. It is tacky but it has it's charm. We stopped for lunch there and I got myself a spicy burger from one of the burger joints, which had awesome memorabilia all over it's property.
After the quick bite I went exploring the town and it was an interesting walk - one of the locals crossed paths and he was soon talking to me about conspiracy theories when I told that I was from New Zealand. The reason being a New Zealander had written a book which the US government bought out and destroyed all copies. I promised that I'd check it out but couldn't remember the name of the author.
The drive to Lake Havasu was long but didn't feel too long. I guess mainly because the topography kept changing and it was a nice day outside as well. We also kept an eye out for Burma Shave signs that were still existing on the route. As a policy I don't like sleeping if I am in the front passenger seat as it impacts on the driver but I started feeling droopy towards the end of the drive. I probably had a 5 minute semi-conscious sleep before I got woken by some question that Rosie asked Casey. Rosie is funny and asks the most unexpected of questions {like - why do trees fall down?} and I guess it was another of those but I missed it as I was dozing.
We stopped in Lake Havasu city in between as Emily and Rosie (being from UK) wanted to see the London bridge which is located in the city. There was nothing to the bridge but have to say that the weather was awesome. We were back in our shorts and t-shirts as it was baking.
With a quick stop at the supermarket to buy some more alcohol and also some firewood for the night - we headed out to our camping spot. And it turned out to be an awesome camping spot as we were the only ones there plus it was right by Colorado river. Everyone setup their tents and the plan was to go swimming in the river as it was very hot otherwise. I'm the only one in the group who doesn't know how to swim (why does this sound so familiar??) and was left in knee deep water by rest of the group. Vanessa tried teaching me how to swim and then Casey tried giving me tips as well and I tried learning how to float. Not much luck there and I think I do need to take some swimming lessons - even if it is just to learn how to float or doggy paddle.
Out of the water, everyone was soaking up the sun but since we had a frisbee and no people around I asked if anyone was interested in playing frisbee golf to which Olivia volunteered and I did a quick run down of the way to play and set ourselves 3 holes to play. As we finished our game Antonia got interested and the plan was to take a quick shower and then convince more people to play but we got sidetracked as it was getting dark pretty quick and I realized that I was part of the cooking crew.
Dinner was Teriyaki Beef and Vegetable Stew with rice. Emily and Katrina helped in helping prepare the ingredients while I deviated from the recipe I was working from and did my own little variations with spices and herbs. Instead of cooking rice from scratch we got some quick-cook rice and soon we were feasting on some hot food. The compliment that our team got was that it was the best dinner we've had on the trip- which I can debate against as I liked the pasta that the cooking team cooked as our second dinner, equally.
Antonia, Chris, Nick, Olivia, Vanessa and Casey talked relationships. When I told them I was single, the guys said that I was a nice guy and that I could have any girl I wanted to which I scoffed. It lead to a few realizations - first, I don't like talking about relationships as it brings a sense of sadness and despair in me; second, my being a nice guy is probably the root cause of it all; and lastly I wanna connect with someone but at the same time I am afraid - maybe of rejection, maybe of pain- who knows what because even if I like a girl I usually don't have the balls to ask her out. Anyway it was an interesting time as we all shared our stories.
It was around that time that another intrepid group came to the camping spot and took up camping besides us. They had apparently lost the route while getting to Lake Havasu and they ended up being 4 hours behind their schedule - what they had missed was an awesome sunset and a swim in the river. By the time they had setup their tents and started cooking we were all ready for our drinking games.
The drinking game was heaps of fun but we soon ran out of alcohol, so Casey and then Chris tried asking the other group if we could buy alcohol off them but they weren't ready to part with their alcohol - so we had to stop the drinking game. We sat around and talked for ages before deciding that it was time to go to bed.
Tomorrow is the last day on the trip and it feels weird that it's ending just as the group has really started having fun.
Amit
Waiting for the sunrise
The sunrise
The other group was jealous as we had planned for our meals and had a good breakfast. They were even more jealous that we told them that we actually got to choose and make our own meals as Casey gave us that freedom. Their group leader would do all the shopping and they basically had to cook whatever dishes had been pre decided by the group leader - which I reckon would've sucked for them as they were missing out on a lot of fun. After breakfast we packed up our tents and stuff and caught a shuttle bus to Powell point which apparently had way better views and it turned out to be true - the views were stunning and we did a jump shot over the Canyon.
Waiting for the shuttle bus
Emily posing
We caught the shuttle back and stopped over for a hot drink at the local shops before driving onto Seligman. Since everyone had been partying and drinking hard over the past few nights - it finally caught up with them as everyone slept most of the way to Seligman. I again got to sit in the front and it was a fantastic day to sit in the front as the views were again stunning.
The deal with Seligman is that it's the start of the famous Route 66 and is a historic town plus the animated movie 'Cars' had it's birth in this small town - atleast that's what they say. It is tacky but it has it's charm. We stopped for lunch there and I got myself a spicy burger from one of the burger joints, which had awesome memorabilia all over it's property.
A sign inside the toilet
The drive to Lake Havasu was long but didn't feel too long. I guess mainly because the topography kept changing and it was a nice day outside as well. We also kept an eye out for Burma Shave signs that were still existing on the route. As a policy I don't like sleeping if I am in the front passenger seat as it impacts on the driver but I started feeling droopy towards the end of the drive. I probably had a 5 minute semi-conscious sleep before I got woken by some question that Rosie asked Casey. Rosie is funny and asks the most unexpected of questions {like - why do trees fall down?} and I guess it was another of those but I missed it as I was dozing.
Burma Shave signs
We stopped in Lake Havasu city in between as Emily and Rosie (being from UK) wanted to see the London bridge which is located in the city. There was nothing to the bridge but have to say that the weather was awesome. We were back in our shorts and t-shirts as it was baking.
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City
With a quick stop at the supermarket to buy some more alcohol and also some firewood for the night - we headed out to our camping spot. And it turned out to be an awesome camping spot as we were the only ones there plus it was right by Colorado river. Everyone setup their tents and the plan was to go swimming in the river as it was very hot otherwise. I'm the only one in the group who doesn't know how to swim (why does this sound so familiar??) and was left in knee deep water by rest of the group. Vanessa tried teaching me how to swim and then Casey tried giving me tips as well and I tried learning how to float. Not much luck there and I think I do need to take some swimming lessons - even if it is just to learn how to float or doggy paddle.
Onwards to the camping site
Trying to swim (photo courtesy: Emily)
Out of the water, everyone was soaking up the sun but since we had a frisbee and no people around I asked if anyone was interested in playing frisbee golf to which Olivia volunteered and I did a quick run down of the way to play and set ourselves 3 holes to play. As we finished our game Antonia got interested and the plan was to take a quick shower and then convince more people to play but we got sidetracked as it was getting dark pretty quick and I realized that I was part of the cooking crew.
Dinner was Teriyaki Beef and Vegetable Stew with rice. Emily and Katrina helped in helping prepare the ingredients while I deviated from the recipe I was working from and did my own little variations with spices and herbs. Instead of cooking rice from scratch we got some quick-cook rice and soon we were feasting on some hot food. The compliment that our team got was that it was the best dinner we've had on the trip- which I can debate against as I liked the pasta that the cooking team cooked as our second dinner, equally.
Antonia, Chris, Nick, Olivia, Vanessa and Casey talked relationships. When I told them I was single, the guys said that I was a nice guy and that I could have any girl I wanted to which I scoffed. It lead to a few realizations - first, I don't like talking about relationships as it brings a sense of sadness and despair in me; second, my being a nice guy is probably the root cause of it all; and lastly I wanna connect with someone but at the same time I am afraid - maybe of rejection, maybe of pain- who knows what because even if I like a girl I usually don't have the balls to ask her out. Anyway it was an interesting time as we all shared our stories.
It was around that time that another intrepid group came to the camping spot and took up camping besides us. They had apparently lost the route while getting to Lake Havasu and they ended up being 4 hours behind their schedule - what they had missed was an awesome sunset and a swim in the river. By the time they had setup their tents and started cooking we were all ready for our drinking games.
The drinking game was heaps of fun but we soon ran out of alcohol, so Casey and then Chris tried asking the other group if we could buy alcohol off them but they weren't ready to part with their alcohol - so we had to stop the drinking game. We sat around and talked for ages before deciding that it was time to go to bed.
Drinking game (photo courtesy: Emily)
Tomorrow is the last day on the trip and it feels weird that it's ending just as the group has really started having fun.
Amit
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