the rest of the trip! finally!
01/09/02 ~ 3:30 p.m.
i spent time on 2 different days to finally bring you this. i *am* scanning pictures to go along, hopefully in the next entry. so check back, kay? without futher ado~~~~~~
okay. so i left off on saturday, right?
sunday was a relatively lazy day - we rented some movies and watched them, did some errands, and went out to dinner. ned also practiced driving my stickshift, which doubled as seeing christmas lights. yay.
monday we slept in some, then we went to my grandmother's house to say merry christmas, and then it was off to my mom's house for christmas eve dinner and presents. we decorated the windows with snowflakes, watched a movie, and ate dinner. then i got most of the presents, cuz of my birthday and all. the big thing i got was a littler maid for jasmine, so i don't have to clean the litter box. very cool. we came back here, and stayed up till 12, when louise was supposed to get us. she wasn't there, so we called and she was asleep. so we went to sleep for a couple hours.
she picked us up at about 2:30 and we hit the road. there was some snow in northern CA, so that was cool to see. the ride was not pleasant at all, as i thought i was getting carsick and louise was bitchy cuz she was tired. i got some Dramamine, which helped, and she took a nap. we continued on. we finally arrived in seattle at about 6 pm, at which point we were all grouchy. but we unpacked, went and ate dinner, and opened tons of gifts. louise really went overboard. like i said earlier, ned got me a scanner. louise's big gift to me was a breadmaker. i got lots of other little gifts from them too. then we went to sleep cuz we were all tired.
wednesday we saw seattle. all day. we went to the waterfront, went in the aquarium, saw an imax on ocean life in baja california, and had a big crab feast at an awesome restaurant. by this time, my "car sickness" was coming back in a big way and i only picked at my food. i kept trying to go to the bathroom, but i couldn't. ned and louise figured out i wasn't feeling well, but i didn't want to ruin things. we then went to the space needle, and this time we got to go on the outer deck (unlike last time i was there) and that was pretty cool. then we went back to the room and went to bed. i was up a lot in the night, trying to go to the bathroom, and getting sick a few times. i woke them up by yelling in my sleep cuz i was delirious. not pretty.
thursday i still felt like shit but it was game day. ned and louise got me pepto bismol pills, saltines, and water and we headed off to the pre-game tailgate party. i nibbled on my crackers, avoided the food and beer (although we were sitting in the beer garden) and made frequent trips to the bathroom. the ID checking security guard knew me after a little bit. well, i ended up getting sick one last time and then the pills kicked in. we went to the game, which was awesome. georgia tech beat stanford 24-14, and it was very exciting. the pills worked enough so that i enjoyed myself. we had a sign we were holding up for ESPN that said "Engineers Send their Problems to Notre dame." it was funny stuff. anyways, then after the game we went back to the hotel, ate chinese food, and then ned and i headed over to oblivia's apartment. we hung out and watched american beauty. she's the nicest person ever! we chatted and i got to meet nicole, who is feisty and funny. and can you believe i brought my camera in my jacket pocket and didn't take a picture???? i must have been sick. but no worries, i totally want to see her again.
friday we spent driving back. not much fun. we got home at 3 am. i was still broken. (as in, no bathroom success stories).
saturday we drove to bakersfield, arriving at 7 pm. we ate dinner at heather's parent's house, and then went to travers' parent's house for drinking and cards. that was a good time.
sunday we piled into 2 cars - mike driving the convertible, travers driving a minivan, and headed off. it was a bit of a long drive, but we got to vegas about noon and picked up jenny's friends al and shaun (both girls) at the bus station. then we went to check in at circus circus, and it was after waiting in line forever to check in that i realized i didn't have my wallet. with my money. and credit cards. and ID proving i'm 21. so i'm freaking out, but we still manage to check in, putting the whole bill on travers' credit card. we try to figure out plans to get the wallet fed-exed to me, like having heather's parents break into my car (i knew i left it in the backseat) but they weren't home and it just wasn't working. so i settled in to having everyone pay for me and to not getting to gamble or buy alcohol. sigh. we ate at the buffet and then went down the strip. this night, we saw about 1/3 of the strip, the main points being the venetian, treasure island, mirage, bellagio, ceaser's palace, and paris. we watched an awesome water show in front of the bellagio, which was pretty and romantic and stuff. that was it for our first night.
monday we started the day off by driving to hoover dam, which, although cool.... was just a dam. we took pictures and video, and the most exciting part was being over the nevada-arizona state line. then we went back to the rooms and got dressed up. we ate dinner at a mexican restaurant where they carded only the 5 people who had their IDs and served us all pitchers of margaritas. then we hit the strip and made it to the front of the bellagio for the countdown. we saw a bunch of water shows, watched the countdown on the streets, and saw an amazing fireworks show off the top of the casinos. and ned and i had some very romantic kisses... which were actually my first new year's kisses. (he left early last year.) the funny part of the night is that al, who was there without her boyfriend, got asked by this random guy for a new year's kiss and she did it! it was really funny. so that night was perfect.
i'm trying to keep this short. sorry it's not working too well.
tuesday we slept in a bit, and then drove to the other end of the strip to see the casinos we hadn't seen yet. we got tickets to see the medieval show and then saw mandalay bay, the luxor, excalibur, and new york new york. the luxor was my favorite -- an eqyptian one. we had to kill some time so we gambled a bit (yes, i threw in some nickels even though i didn't have my ID!). then we went and saw the show, which was really fun. we get to eat with our hands and they didn't card me so i got a daiquiri. then we went home after that.
wednesday we got up and saw the stratosphere before we left. mike, jenny, ned and i rode the rollercoaster on the top. that was very cool! then we headed for home. because of stops we made on the way, ned and i got back to davis at about midnight and went to sleep.
thursday ned and i went to visit samantha (yuck). it wasn't so bad this time though, and we didn't spend the night. we watched a football game, ate pizza, and watched shrek. it was ok.
friday was a lazy day, which was much needed. ned and i slept in, and then went grocery shopping so we could cook a nice dinner. we cooked a big thai meal and watched traffic.
saturday we got up and drove to ned's mom's house. she made us a turkey dinner and then we took a nap. we got up and watched GI Jane. then we went to sleep.
sunday we got up, went out to breakfast, and went to the airport. i hate saying goodbye... but we kissed and hugged and we know we'll see each other in march.
monday i started school, and my classes won't be that bad. even without andy. i also started my new job at the brokerage firm, which is going to be no problem. i might not get as many hours as i'd like, which sucks for $$ but is cool for the low stress level.
yesterday i had one class, and i worked a little, and then jenn came over. she made dinner for heather, travers, and i, and we watched my friends tapes.
i had my 3 classes again today and now jenny and mike will be here in about 30 minutes for dawson's night, even though we think it's a rerun. we will probably watch moulin rouge instead.
ta da! all caught up!!!
~holly~p.s. i still have to read everyone else's diaries. when i catch up, i'll leave you a guestbook message kay? love you all!
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