Sleeping
in felt good. All of us had a fresh start and were looking forward to
having a fun day in Las Vegas. Coffee and bagel gave us a good start,
that's when Don and his wife told us about the buffet place called
“Imperial Palace” which was supposed to be inexpensive and good – a rare
combination indeed. We went straight to Mirage for some gambling and to
be inside since the temperature was a bit too extreme to tolerate.
After spending a few dollars on slot machines, I decided to take my
chances on a blackjack table. Rick and Claire have a blackjack table in
their basement back in Fort Collins and I had played blackjack with them
several times. But this was different. I was still rusty with the rules
and the grandeur of Mirage didn't exactly help my confidence. A little
nervous, I sat at this empty table that was upholding a sign that said
“Min Bet: $10.” That was the cheapest I could find. A sheer luck or a
playing skill – I was up $40 in a hurry. I couldn't trust myself to keep
going, so I stopped. I was happy that I got back my money I lost a day
earlier and I was still up $20. Then on, apart from a few dollars here
and there on different slot machines, I didn't really gamble. We were
there for sightseeing and that's exactly what we did for the rest of the
day. Amy was in a pool in the mean time. After she came back, we
decided to go to see the dolphins but somehow got sidetracked into a
poker room. People were sitting in small groups around round tables,
being served free alcohol and waiting for the world poker championship
to begin on TV. Amy, Chris and Sean decided to just sit there and enjoy
some free alcohol. I thought I'd rather see the dolphins, so I asked
Divyani if she wanted to come along. She did, and I was thankful to be
able to leave the closed walls. On our way we saw these irresistible
pastries behind the counter and we had to try one of those. It was a
little past lunch time and our tummies were growling a bit already. I
found out Divyani is in love with white chocolate. She picked a piece of
cake smothered in white chocolate and I have to agree it looked really
good. Everything was sort of expensive in there and so we just bought a
piece and split. Off we went to the dolphin place but unfortunately it
wasn't a free show as we were expecting. $15 was little too much to just
walk through the retro and see dolphins as opposed to either petting
them or watching them perform a show. Since we were planning to go to
Sea World later in San Diego anyways, we restrained ourselves from
spending precious fifteen bucks. We hung around for a while but there
was still no sign of the rest of our group. We assumed they were still
having a good time in the poker room, while I was craving for some
alcohol in my system to feel just right given the place and the crowd.
Divyani had been talking about this humungous margarita served in a
football shaped container for days and that's what we started looking
for. Along with that we also wanted to see other places in Vegas. I
remember walking into this place called “Margaritaville” but it was all
reserved for a private party. People who go to Vegas are no doubt rich,
but not us. It was scorching hot outside but all the hotels were air
conditioned. Walking through Paris was mind blowing. The sky looked half
real and the theme was nice. I can't really compare it to Paris since I
haven't been there. A store in the corner was selling margarita and
daiquiri. We were hoping for some kick, and that daiquiri was a poor
choice. To this day I'm not sure if the daiquiri they served had any
alcohol in it. It sure tasted good and kept us hydrated in that Vegas
heat. In the mean time, we got a call from Sean about going to lunch (or
dinner as it was pretty late by then) and we started to head back but
not before getting a little confused about finding the Paris exit. Lunch
was served and I could feel a little tension in the air. I just wanted
to see as much as I could of Vegas since it was my first time there and I
just felt like there was so much to see, but everyone except Divyani
seemed a little disinterested. I was a little disheartened. Even Chris,
the only other guy who hadn't seen Vegas before, wasn't too thrilled
about exploring every inch of the city. Lunch wasn't quite what I
expected either but it was not too bad and I hardly ever pick and choose
when it comes to food. My philosophy is I get hungry and I eat. Full,
we started walking out the door where I and Chris stopped by to play a
few rounds of one-dollar-blackjack on the slot machine. One more dollar
down the drain. We were back in the middle of all the happenings after
that. A few hours went by just walking here and there. Belagio water
show lasted for about 10 minutes or less but very impressive. I had to
tell somebody about it right away. So I woke up my girlfriend in the
middle of her night (PST vs CMT) just to tell her how cool the water
show was. Sean went to collect the money he won by betting on a
basketball game (Pistons vs. some team). Divyani and I wandered off to
Paris again to get to the top of Eiffel tower and check out the night
lights in Vegas. It was supposedly the tallest structure in Vegas. After
12 dollars and 12 minutes of waiting in line, we were at the top of
Vegas and Divyani was snapping away her camera. I loved the view and
absolutely no regrets whatsoever. Sean called to tell us Amy and Chris
were still enjoying the free drinks and the poker game. So three of us
wandered off to New York. The beauty of Vegas lies in being able to get
to New York from Paris in a matter of 10 minutes. Brooklyn Bridge and
the statue of liberty in front of New York building gave it an authentic
feel but I was a little disappointed in their theme inside the
building. The disappointment washed away when we entered this bar where
two guys were on a piano and singing one song after another. I grabbed a
beer, Divyani ordered a glass of merlot and Sean decided to just chill.
All three of us definitely had a wonderful time singing along while two
of those guys sang classics like Hotel California, Living on a Prayer,
Devil went to Georgia, Hey Ya and so on. We spent less than an hour in
that place but it was one of the most memorable moments in Vegas in line
with Eiffel tower and Belagio water show. Sean, Amy and Chris went back
to New York later while Divyani and I wanted to see Venutian. We were
too late to ride in the gondolas or boats and all the streets of Venice
were empty. It was still nice. A quiet walk down the Venutian downtown, a
hop onto an anchored boat and a short meditation in front of Buddha
statue were some of the highlights of Venice. Earlier we had stopped by a
hip-hop concert for a few minutes. That's when we found out the other
group was spending time in Coyote Ugly in New York. We grabbed a drink
each, scotch on the rocks for me and margarita for Divyani, before
heading back to the rest of the guys and then back to my water bed. All
in all yet another wonderful day came to an end.

Road
trip is mostly driving. After Grand Canyon, Zion, and Las Vegas, we
were ready to drive some more and explore some more new places. We left
some thank you notes for Don and company before leaving and I loved how
Amy welcomed Don and his family to Denmark, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Nice
and clever! Just the thought that we were driving to San Diego made me
happy on this fourth day of our trip. I do have to admit that I was a
little concerned about places to stay in San Diego since Amy hadn't made
any arrangements until a day earlier. On top of that I wasn't
particularly excited by the sounds of party after the final exam. The
drive wasn't too long and we were in San Diego when the sun was still
out. We drove straight to the ocean. I haven't seen much of ocean in my
life; Nepal is a landlocked country. Divyani had said “Can you smell
it?” outside a burger joint close to the ocean and I, clueless, had said
“Yeah, it smells good.” I thought she was referring to the fries and
the burger, but what do I know. People who know ocean usually talk about
the smell of the sea. San Diego is famous for its white sand beach and
we could see why. It was also evident that the surfers love the beaches
in San Diego. I'm sure it has something to do with the waves but don't
ask me. I was quite happy to walk barefooted on white sand with
occasional splash of salty water on my feet. Quite an experience. After
the ocean walk, we headed towards the old town of San Diego. San Diego
originally founded by Spaniards, used to belong to Mexico until 1848,
and the old town still has that Spanish culture in its air or so we were
told by the Fodor's guide. A walk in the old town ended up with a
dinner in a Mexican restaurant. Everybody seemed to have fallen in love
with San Diego. I picked up two post cards in a little store which stood
right next to a gallery which had the photograph of “the famous Afghani
girl with green eyes,” peering out the gallery window. Sean's friend
recommended the restaurant we went to and thanks to him, it was one of
the best Mexican restaurants I have ever been to. I loved my Chille
relleno, enchilada, and tamale along with a smooth Mexican beer. I
scribbled some notes on the back of the postcards-- one for Kalpana and
one for Peter and Beatrice. We then drove to Amy's friend's place where
she got dropped off. Chris was reluctant to take a chance with sleeping
conditions and I don't blame him. The rest of us went to Sean's friend's
place which was a university housing of UCSD. They had an amazingly big
balcony and a lovely apartment. The valedictorian was a friendly guy,
and we found the floor and the couch very comfortable after being on the
road for a while. I noticed Mitch Albom's “Tuesdays with Morrie” lying
around and told Divyani about it. She read a few pages and seemed to
love it. It is impossible not to like that book unless you're made out
of stone.

The
plan was to get to LA before the day was over. Of course we had to spend
the whole day in Sea World, the plan we've been plotting from the
beginning of the trip. The story of Shamu as told by our best friend
Fodor and generous Don in Vegas was in the back of our head and there
was no way in hell we were going to miss Sea World. We paid a handsome
entry fee of $53 for a day of fun at Sea World and thus the day began.