The End (Or, perhaps more accurately, I still hate California)

Our trip officially reached its destination a few days ago, when we pulled into Los Angeles, California. We visited Skippy, who is a very pretty girl, and also a friend of Pixel, for a few days. We quickly came to hate actually driving through California. For starters, there's about two good hours worth of driving to get through the Tehachapi Mountains the eastern edge of the state. You're constantly going up and down thousands of feet, and by the end of the mountains my ears were crying out for mercy. Secondly, the concept of leaving space in between vehicles apparently hasn't reached the good people of Los Angeles yet, and ergo they drive pretty much bumper to bumper to bumper et cetera. They're also entirely too fond of using their horns, and will gladly use them vigorously when even the slightest delay in traffic occurs. Furthermore, there is absolutely no standard for how exit and entrance ramps are placed on the highway...you will often have to quickly cross through four or more lanes of said bumper to bumper traffic to get to your exit, because there are usually no signs for your exit until twenty feet in front of it. Oh, and it's freaky HOT here.

So we've got that going for us.

Combine that with my complete lack of knowledge of the layout of LA and it's no wonder I was on the edge of letting out a string of obscenities most of the time I was on the road.

California does have it's redeeming qualities, however. Namely, Sheila (Pixel's friend) is a very nice girl who is also happens to be very pretty. My interactions with her were quite fun, especially since Pixel is quite obviously smitten with her. (Look for his denial of this in his post.) We went to the fabulous burger join In n' Out, who are known for using super-fresh ingredients and and hand-making just about everything. (You can actually watch them peel and slice their french-fry potatoes.) We went to see the new Harry Potter movie (Order of the Phoenix) which was also very good, and got Pixel to try some new food at a Japanese restaurant. We also went to the beach, where I not only got to see the ocean for the first time, but swim in it too. Also, body surfing is fun. Just watch out for those darn surfboarders. Good times.

Anyways, California is behind us now.

Currently, we're staying at the Las Vegas Hilton, where Star Trek: The Experience is housed. Yes, I'm an uber-nerd, but The Experience is pretty darn cool. They've got three huge ships hanging in the lobby, and the waiting line for the simulated shuttle rides are lined with all sorts of props. There's costumed characters lurking about, too, always in character. During dinner, Pixel happened to glance up at a Klingon who was standing across the room, catching her eye.

Pixel: Oh look, a Klingon.
Klingon lady: (Shouting from across the room) What are you looking at, human? Haven't you ever seen a Klingon before?

That's awesome. Oh, and if anybody wants any Star Trek stuff, this is the time to ask. They have just about everything here, and I'll gladly pick up whatever.

Las Vegas is very cool in and of itself, too. (Amusingly enough, las vegas is Spanish for "The Meadows" or "The Grasslands", of which there are none here. Apparently, it did when it was named in the 1800's.) It's a very pretty city, especially at night, when all the casinos and shops are lit up in the blinky light glory.

Anyways, since bandwidth where we're staying is, frankly, craptacular, I will leave you with only one photograph.

Enjoy.

Exit, stage left.
Sparks