a trip worth remembering

we went to vegas during the second week of our US trip with me behind the wheel of our rented kia sorento suv. the only thing keeping me awake was a can of "rockstar" energy drink, after too much partying the night before in scottsdale. the 6 hour drive breezed through quite fine with occasional restroom stops and some architectural sightseeing at hoover dam. lots of pictures snapped here and there. our day in vegas went by quickly after having a feast at the alladin buffet and some touring of bellagio and caesar's palace, we were beat from all of the walking. it was surprising to bump into the tensuan family with the strip being that long and with that many people but you know pinoys --- "we find each other. wherever." there were more pictures taken during our leisurely walk that night with bel & car exchanging ohh's & ahh's at how lovely the strip seemed with all the lights and sounds. vegas is a truly a sight to behold, it lives up to its reputation as sin city and the city that never sleeps. i wish though next time i'm here, that there'd be less hotel viewing and more partying.

after vegas week, the days seemed pretty much to breeze through with the face-to-face (what we really came for) coming full-blown beginning wednesday and lasting through half of friday. we did go through another round of teambuilding & org stuff with new leadership and all. like all these face-to-face that deals with this kind of stuff, we were pretty much bored during the 2nd day that the after-office get together (dinner & hanging out) was a welcome change. we went to "rawhide" which is a western-themed amusement town with shows, carriage & train rides and animals and an old-fashioned restaurant where we had our dinner. we were treated to some western "delicacies" which did not freak me out at the very least - first taste of rattlesnake (eww!) and rocky mountain oysters (which turned out to be not seafood at all but bull testicles, double eww!) - believe me, they weren't that bad at all. we watched some shows and hanged out a little, even trying out the carriage ride (hmmm we wondered if it was that bumpy in the olden days). it was fun to be outside of work with people you work with all the time.

at the end of the face-to-face week, bel & i left phoenix to go to california. it was a 5 hour drive that wasn't as bad as it seemed and we managed to reach ron & rudy's house around 10pm or so. the house was awesome - it was big & spacious and well decorated. r&r also had 2 bmw's and an accura suv, ugh!

rudy brough bel & i to disney around 9am the following day. we got in for free since rudy was an employee of disney. i'd have to say, disney was fantastic - i really felt like a kid again. i'm right now excited to bring my nephew to hk disneyland this august for his 4th birthday. we were able to enjoy star tours, bobsleds, space mountain, pirates of the carribbean @ disneyland and soarin' high and the big rollercoaster at california adventure. and to top it off, disney had twice the eye candy than vegas that time. we managed to buy some souvenirs @ 35% discount so we were quite happy that day. we spent sunday visiting carlo & mark at orange county. i have to say OC is so much different it leaves me speechless. we had lunch there where afterwards we went ahead and looked at the new houses/condo's (Vantis by Shea Homes) which totally blew me away. the model houses were awesome that we spent the better part of the afternoon just moving from one model house to another trying to figure out which we liked best. right there, i wish i lived in the US and could afford such a great place. truly, an american dream i wish i shared.

pictures here are posted in my multiply account. check it out at the following :
www.yuan1025.multiply.com