I placed my first-ever sports wager while I was in Las Vegas last Sunday. I was getting ready to watch the AFC Championship Game in a casino bar, conveniently located about a hundred feet from the sports book. It seemed like the thing to do. Sports betting in Las Vegas
When Kathryn and I make our regular road trips to Las Vegas, we typically leave Phoenix after work Friday, in the middle of the afternoon. If all goes well, we arrive in Las Vegas in the early evening. Usually we arrive without any specific plans, and we just sort of wing it. There’s no shortage of things to do there, but we often feel like we could have used our arrival evening more wisely. So last week, before leaving Phoenix, I decided to make a dinner reservation for 8:30. This would leave us plenty of time to check in at our hotel and freshen up, and it would also give us something to look forward to along the way. Nora's Cuisine in Las Vegas
Our room has a view of the mountains to the west of Las Vegas. We arrived after dark last night, so we couldn’t see them then. Odd start in Las Vegas
It turns out people use this blog to check in on us when we travel. Kathryn and I hadn’t yet made it to Kingman when she received a text message from a concerned friend wondering if we were okay. Safely arrived in Las Vegas
Well, folks, I’ve had a good, long two-week rest from my blog. It’s time to sit down and catch you up on where I’m going and what I’m doing. For your reading pleasure, here’s the latest installment of my not-quite-monthly “going places” series. Going places, January 2012
There are two easy ways to see the Pope when you’re in Rome. Kathryn and I were able to see him both ways during our visit to Rome earlier this year. As long as the Pope isn’t away from the city for his vacation or for an apostolic visit, you should be able to see him too. See the Pope in Rome
Not a lot of words in this blog post. Just some photos from a recent hike at Shaw Butte. The hike was later in the morning than usual. The sun was bright, which put me in a black-and-white mood. Late morning photos from Shaw Butte
During a hike last weekend at Shaw Butte, I pointed my camera south and took a picture of downtown Phoenix under a thick layer of smog. I converted the photo to black-and-white to bring out the detail of the buildings. Brown cloud choking Phoenix
It turns out I didn’t get the sunrise photos I wanted on our last day in Las Vegas. It was raining when the sun came up and still raining when we left the hotel, although the rain let up early in the morning. However, we did find a decent donut shop, found a beautiful Sunday Mass, and had lunch with our friend Kerrie, with whom we couldn’t seem to connect Friday evening. Leaving Las Vegas
Our weekend trips to Las Vegas tend to be busy. We usually cram everything we possibly can into the less-than-48 hours we’ll be here. Sleep comes only out of necessity. So it’s a little weird that I’m starting a new post at 6:20 am, after getting a full night’s sleep and then some. I think we were in bed by 9 pm. That’s pretty lame. Keeping it relaxed in Las Vegas
It’s just after dawn here in Las Vegas. I’ve been awake for an hour or so, and I’m working on my second cup of shitty in-room coffee. Our room at the Orleans has a view of the Strip. Since we’re west of the Strip, I’ve been watching the sun rise over Luxor, Mandalay Bay, and the McCarran airport. Fresh start in Las Vegas
Roughly halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas is a place — I hesitate to call it a town — called Wikieup. It’s a perfect spot to stop for a bathroom break and a bite to eat. Road trip to Las Vegas
The status of this weekend’s road trip to Las Vegas is now unambiguous. Kathryn’s doctor this morning ordered her to spend the weekend in Las Vegas. Sweet! I’ll submit a health insurance claim when we get home. Road trip to Las Vegas
It’s been touch and go this week.
Kathryn and I have a tradition of road tripping to Las Vegas the weekend before Christmas. We’ve been doing it since 2007.
However, since last weekend, the trip has been growing increasingly uncertain. A certain family health issue — I don’t want to elaborate right now — has been threatening to interfere with the trip. Road trip to Las Vegas
Kuba Kuba is a restaurant that left an impression on me when I lived in Richmond, despite having eaten there only a few times. It was high on my list of places to visit during our recent stay. Kuba Kuba in Richmond
When Kathryn boarded the Charlotte-to-Phoenix leg of our return trip from Richmond, she was already an attractive woman. By the time we landed, though, something had changed. She seemed even sexier. More radiant. Wife upgraded
When I lived in Richmond, I wasn’t much of a church-goer. In the three years I lived there, I can count the number of times I attended Mass on one hand. Zero. Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond
I don’t often splurge on hotels. It just seems like a poor use of my travel budget. As long as a room is reasonably clean, reasonably located, and reasonably priced, I’m happy. It’s rare that I spend more than $100 a night for a room in all but the world’s most expensive cities. In the United States, the major three-star chains are more than adequate. Jefferson Hotel in Richmond
I like to travel light. The easiest way to travel light is to limit the amount of footwear I pack. I typically travel with at most two sets of footwear. More often than not, it’s just the one set I’m wearing when I leave the house. This one set of footwear is often a pair of well worn hiking shoes. If any part of such shoes is going to fail, it’s most likely the laces. I’ve found this out the hard way. Why you should pack shoelaces
When Kathryn and I arrived in Richmond last Saturday, we were hungry. Food on the plane is a ripoff nowadays, and our layover in Charlotte was too short to grab a meal. After we picked up our bag and rental car, we drove straight to Bottoms Up Pizza. Bottoms Up Pizza in Richmond