A Sunset So Spectacular That You Hang Up On Your Best Friend

Sorry no post after I left you hanging!  We've been in zero internet territory for a while.  Now we are in Las Vegas for a few nights.  Not sure you can call Vegas civilization... I mean, this much gambling and bared skin surely aren't the mark of high society... but it's still a good time.  The night after I wrote about Bodie and Mono Lake, we saw the most spectacular sunset over Mono Lake.  I was on the phone with one of my best friends (we had two bars of service, and only when I stood in the middle of the lodge parking lot) and actually said "Hey, sorry.  This sunset is so gorgeous that I think I'd shoot myself if I didn't take pictures."  You know you have a great friend when the response to that is, " I totally get it.  Just send me pictures."  So this one goes out to Adam.  Well, these several go out to Adam.  I really couldn't narrow it down.

Yosemite was a bit of a killer.  As I mentioned in the previous post, it was about a 5 hour drive if you don't include stops for lunch and the occasional break for nausea to pass.  You probably think you'd have to be a total nutter to you drive 6 hours, spend 6 hours at a place, then drive 6 hours back to the hotel.  Well, you and Doc are on the same page.  We ended up not being ready to leave until around 7 PM, and Doc thought navigating the sinuous mountain pass would be a near-suicidal experience in the dark.  Instead, we got a hotel near Yosemite (my computer was in the room back at Lee Vining, incidentally) and left in the morning for Mono.

Spent the rest of that day shopping and meandering around June Lake (a short drive from Lee Vining, not another 6 hours).  As per our usual, Mom and I wandered off the beaten path and found a thrift store.  I ended up getting a really beautiful Chinese silk jacket for $2.50 and a really awesome coffee table book about Clark Gable (the most debonair man in the history of history) for $1.  Mom and Doc also ended up finding some things, but I think I walked away with the most (2 bags full).  All the money want to a charitable organization, so it's hard to say "no."  I mean, it's hard to say no when hardback books are $1 under any circumstance, but that's really neither here nor there.

When we left Lee Vining for Las Vegas, we had to cross Death Valley.  Let me tell you, it is immense.  When your air conditioner is cutting in and out, it seems like the paved road to Hell.  It was around 100 degrees and direct sun as we crossed it, and I am fairly confident it took us about 8 hours of drive time.  Three brief words of advice:  DON'T DO IT!  There were a few very beautiful vistas, pics perhaps in the next blog (gotta keep you coming back for something!), but on the whole it was not pleasant.  The only saving grace was having some family chatting time.

Took Mom out for her first time in Vegas today.  Went to the Wicked Spoon buffet at The Cosmopolitan for lunch/dinner and enjoyed a completely gourmet experience.  We all had trouble deciding which savory and which sweet foods were our favorite, but I maintain that the Lemon Custard was the most superbly done I've ever eaten, and this from a Lemon Custard groupie.  Afterwards, we blew our obligatory money at the casino (my assistance won Doc $275!) and watched three different fountain shows at the Bellagio.  We are trying to walk thru a few casinos a night so that Mom gets the full Vegas experience while not getting entirely burnt out on walking The Strip.  Intending to take a Limo to Mandalay Bay in order to see The Lion King tomorrow.  It will be my first Vegas show if it works out (getting the tickets from our hotel virtually for free) and also my first ride in a Limo.  Okay, so maybe Las Vegas IS civilization.

This is an inside joke that you will have the privilege of being let in on - consider it a perk for reading the blog.  So basically we have a running joke about how I have some kind of doggy-dar where I can spot friendly dogs from about a mile away.  Further, I have a tendency to acquire hard-luck animals.  Theo, my first Cocker Spaniel, was on sale at the pet store, because all the crazy and ignorant people who saw him for some reason couldn't see that he's pretty much the best dog in the Universe.  My boyfriend and I rescued a starved kitten, Gibson Girl, from my neighborhood a few days before Christmas, and the day before I left for this trip I acquired a second Cocker Spaniel, Bruce, who will be taken care of by aforementioned boyfriend until I return.  So the people who had this dog teased me -I should mention they hadn't even ever met me- about renting their dog to take pictures at this vista in Yosemite.  My Mom joked that my boyfriend would say, "Not again!" if he saw me in a photo with yet another dog, so we let the lady take our photo just for the fun of it.  So, this is Mya, and NO, she is not currently residing in either the Safari or my suitcase!