Hoover... Dehm!!!

On our way from Vegas back to LA, we stopped at Hoover Dam. And dehm, it was high! Thinking of that waist high wall and that deep deep dam just below me was not a very good feeling. I did manage to give (nervous) smiles in my pictures so I think I did well.

It was just a quick stop since there wasn't much to see during that time. The skies were gloomy and there were mega-bridge construction ongoing nearby. The winter weather was also not friendly. Hoover dam is still best viewed from a plane. We did manage to get good shots though:

Pit Stop # 4: Las Vegaaaaaaahhhhhs!!!

After our overnight escapade in Arizona, Pit Stop # 3, it was finally time to drive 5 more hours to Las Vegas where we are staying for the next 4 days. Yes, indeed, 4 days in Las Vegas! Woopee!!!

It was my 2nd time in Vegas but almost nothing looked familiar. Well, it has been 4 years since, it should be expected. There were so many new hotel resorts now, and a lot more under construction. I didn't think it had that much space. The once very walkable "Strip" is not so walkable now. It has expanded everywhere. Though the day pass bus ticket was just 5 dollars, the group opted for the "walking for fitness" type of touring. A typical day would be: buffet brunch, then walk in and out of the hotels for the next 5 hours, walk back to our hotel and take a nap. After a quick nap would be another few more hours of walking/touring. Add to that the chilly wind of the desert.

We also watched Cirque Du Solei, the best stage production you will ever see in your life! The stage was literally moving and spinning everywhere! People flying here and there. Too bad I can't show you how it looked like, no photography allowed inside the theater. There are some videos in youtube though: www.youtube.com/watch. I would also like to commend their security staff for finding my lost scarf in about two minutes. Great job!

All that walking did not lose us some pounds because of all the eating we did, instead gave me some blisters but that doesn't really matter when you've got yourself the opportunity to experience these magnificent architecture. Below is the photo taken from our hotel room window. Pretty neat huh? ;) We got to watch the Belagio fountain show every time.

Here's the whole set from Flickr:

Pit Stop # 3: THE Grand Canyon

We drove from Los Angeles at 3 AM and arrived in Arizona by sunrise.

I am (almost) out of words. It was BREATHTAKING!!! Let the pictures speak for me...

Complete set of pics and slideshow here:

Couldn't do any hiking during this time of the year. Snow and wind... not a very friendly combination. Next time, we plan to go back during Spring and hike down to the Colorado River.

Pit Stop # 2: Los Angeles

Pit Stop # 1... done.

We arrived in LA on December 13. After being in the windy-chilly San Antonio TX air for 2 weeks; the breezy-sunny weather in Los Angeles was very much appreciated.

This is actually the 3rd time this year that I met with my sister and brother in law! Wow. ;) As always, I enjoy the views made by the hills and mountains in their side of LA. Added to that is the snowy mountains that seemed to be paintings from the sky. Imagine driving to office everyday with this view:

Above pictures were was taken along Chino Hills. And that is one of the reasons my sister loves LA. :)

We spent our days eating BUFFETs everywhere, shopping, watching DVDs, eating again, and preparing for our roadtrip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. ;) Woohooo!!!

Tower of the Americas

It was Friday, our last night in San Antonio. Coincidentally, it is also one of those rare astronomic nights where the moon will be closest to Earth, thus will appear biggest. It was a perfect excuse for us to try out the Tower of the Americas:

Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot (229 m) observation tower with a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. Tower of the Americas, designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford, was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68.

The tower is located in the middle of HemisFair Park and has an observation deck that is accessible by elevator for a fee. In addition, there is also a lounge and revolving restaurant at the top of the tower that provides panoramic views of the city.
*Excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Americas

The feeling of fine dining is unfamiliar to us, but the oh-so-melts-in-your-mouth-delicious food, the sunset, the view, the rotating restaurant, made the prices definitely worth it!

The Alamodome, home of the Spurs.

Big Moon


Mac enjoying his lobster and steak.


Inverse sunset.

Night lights, slow shutter.

Moments you need a point and shoot camera. Hehehe. Taken by the waiter, using aperture priority. :P


From the viewing deck on top of the restaurant.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~
More pictures from: http://flickr.com/iamkayan

<

The Riverwalk, Texas

We went back to Riverwalk and rode their much recommended Tour Boats to show us some parts (and some history) of the river. It was 30 minute long but I did not get a good shot of it. Or perhaps did not find a lot of interesting shots. I was really anticipating the night shots because what they did to the San Antonio River area (AKA Riverwalk) is absolutely amazing.It does bloom into a charming place at night!

We were having a hard time looking for a good parking slot that we decided to drive back to the hotel and walk the whole 6+ blocks going to the Riverwalk to take some night shots. These are photos taken on the night of Pacman and Dela Hoya’s DREAM Fight. We were planning to drive 30 minutes away from downtown just to watch the fight for free at some bar but at the end my husband did not like to drive that long after walking around the Riverwalk area for more than 1.5 hours already. We did try to check out bars along the river but no one seemed to be showing the fight in this classy area. (Anyway, we were able to watch it online for free! Woopee!)

Okay going back to the Riverwalk blog...here are some of my favorite photos:

This was literally at the corner of where we entered the Riverwalk strip. We got so excited with the view that we spent 15 minutes here taking photos, when we have a few more miles of even better lighting as we walk deeper into the strip.

This one was 10 meters from the previous photo. We spent another 10 minutes taking photos on this spot.

This is my favorite. :) I forgot what they call those lovely flowers though.

I had Mac stand under the spotlight under the bridge. I took the shot while the tour boat was passing by.

This shot I call the "Merry Christmas Photo." Hehehe.

For this one, there was too much mood lighting everywhere that the whole place turned into a beautiful red.

More photos from:

Pit Stop # 1

My birthday kicked off Amazing Race - Kayan & Mac version.

We woke up at 4:00 AM and were at the airport at 5:30 AM. The whole morning was spent at the airport, boarding the planes to our first ‘pit stop’ – Texas. 10+ hours later, no thanks to a 2 hour delay, we arrived in San Antonio. The weather was great. Not too cold, and just enough sun. Perfect for people like me who are still on tourist mode. ;)


Grabbed the rental car, stopped by the hotel to check in, and then went straight to find of course, what else, but FOOD.

We celebrated my birthday over a romantic dinner – steak and salmon. Yum yum! We picked a cozy restaurant overlooking San Antonio River. The area was really romantic, perfect for couples like us. Hehehe. The whole Riverwalk is a really lovely place; it felt like I was in a little village in Europe. The fact that the locals seemed to be light hearted and happy people did add to the charm. The wind was chilly but it didn’t stop me from ordering vanilla ice cream for dessert. Perfect way to end our date. =P