Grand Canyon Road Trip - PART 2

Jimmy prepared me for a one hour wait to get into the national park.  The South Rim was the most popular and we were attending during peak seasons, but after driving one hour from our motel we arrived.  This is the first sight of the canyon that I saw.

I wore a camel pack and carried large quantities of snacks and bananas for our trip.  I also had fun with the GoPro.  Those videos to come soon.

 This is a better view.  There were many warning signs:  "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO TO BASE AND COME BACK UP IN ON DAY."  Apparently people die from heat exhaustion trying to do this.  You have to go to the bottom, camp, and then climb back up the next day.  And it always takes at least twice as long to go up.  While going down we noticed the folks traveling upward were out of breath.  They looked dead.  We made it to the first pit stop and decided to call it a hike and started to go back up.  It was approaching lunch time any way and the park had other trails to see.

Jimmy doing some stretches in gift stores.

I tried to memorize the bus lines and plan the hikes that I wanted to do.  After the Bright Angel Trail we hugged the rim to get some shots.  This is where older folks and families would spent most of the time since the Rim Trail path along the top of the canyon was paved and quite a nice stroll.

We avoided the first points because that's where all the tourist were and enjoyed many secluded areas with spectacular views.  I learned that "point" infers that there is a good view.

I caught my bae being a nature photographer.  Planning out his next picture for his Shirtless and National Parks series.

We took a handful of pictures together, but we used his nicer camera and tripod.  This one was taken by another hiker.

This is the closest we got to the edge.  I can still feel myself losing my breath.

It's so massive and unreal.

Our third hike was in another corner of the South Rim in the park.  I wanted to see the OOH AHH Point.  This trail had less people, but it was a bit of a struggle because the sun was directly on us at this point.

These folks made it to the point.  They were hanging out there for a while so we couldn't get on top of the rock.  It's time to go back!

We stopped by Yaki Point that was along the shuttle.  We found the perfect spot.   But we were too early for sunset and really tired so we started to headback.

The food was comforting.  We snagged all American bites and got out of there before it got too dark.

Drive home was a bit creepy.  Not many streetlights, but I got this cool photo.

A recap.  

• Parked near Bright Angel Trailhead on the left near the blue line.  
• Had lunch at the Maswik Lodge - mmm PIZZA!
• Walked along the Rim Trail / Trail of Time indicated by the brown dots and stop at many points to take a ton of pictures.  
• Arrived at Yavapai Point to learn more about the canyon.  Probably the best view behind glass
• Took the Gold Shuttle to South Kaibab Trailhead to hike to Ooh Ahh point.
• Stopped by Yaki Point to get the closing photo which will be posted soon!
• Found ourselves at Mather Point which is the most crowded lookout spot and missed the sunset.  Jimmy has a few pictures of us lost in the clusterfuck crowd of people
• Took the blue shuttle back to Maswik Lodge for dinner and to get back into my car

WHEW!  There's a whole Red line that we didn't even touch.  And at the bottom of the canyon there's an amazing suspension bridge... one day!

Grand Canyon Road Trip - PART 1 - Conquering Sedona

Jimmy called me on a Thursday while I was work and said, "get Friday off, let's go to the Grand Canyon."  So I did.  Come with us on our journey through desert heat to arrive one of the natural wonders of the world.

The drive there wasn't too bad.  Jimmy drove most of the time using my car which is newer and gets better mileage than Jimmy's.   We start our trip in the early morning.  Good Bye California, hello Arizona!

GETTING THERE

It was interesting to watch the landscape transform as we drove down what seemed to be endless highway.

SEDONA

We finally arrived at Sedona.  Our first stop!  Jimmy planned to see Cathedral Rock.  AMEN for this sign:

Jimmy prepares for a photoshoot.  It's sexy time.

The area was very picturesque.

We did some hiking.  There was this one point that Jimmy wanted to find, but we didn't know which way to go.  We made a quick decision.  It was getting late, but we travelled all this way so we picked a direction and pushed forward.

The sun was setting so we were getting a bit nervous.  The trail was getting dark as we found ourselves in a forrest.  Then I heard water and suggested that we follow it.  We heard people too!

The Oasis! We did it!  It felt like such an accomplishment.  This picture does not really show how beautiful the area is.  We conquered Sedona!

We rewarded ourselves by eatting at a very popular place called Elote. The wait was 45 minutes and I'm so happy we waited it out. Everything was amazing.

Good Night Everybody!

Eating Out July

July wasn't the best month for food... or at least food documentation.  This is all I found in my cameras.  To compensate I added a little more flavor to my food listings.  Happy eating!

Rock 'N Fish (Manhattan Beach) - When Mony visited I wanted to show him the beach life in LA so I took him to Manhattan Beach.  "It's so white," he declared.  I completely forgot how the percentage of PoCs dropped in this area.  And so does flavoring your food.  VERY overpriced large fish stick and bland, "spicy mac and cheese."  As spicy as my water.. we will be joking about this place for years.
The Bossy Wife (West Hollywood) - We were in the area, why not?  Pretty pricey, but it matched the neighborhood.  I like that this option is available here, but I wouldn't return.  Breakfast and Indomie.
Pa Ord (Thai Town) - A local favorite.  #5 - Tom Yum noodles with pork spare rib and the best crispy pork belly ever.
Tatsu Ramen (Sawtelle) - Though the ramen was one dimensional for my food buddies, my "Naked Ramen was on point.  I'd get this again.
Escala (Ktown) - I blogged about this place.  All about the vibes.
Tatsu Ramen (Sawtelle) - Also got the buns.  It's aiight.
L.A. Chapter (DTLA @Ace Hotel) - It's a hotel restaurant.  But these dumplings were pretty good!
Bourbon Steak (Glendale) - Lobster Pot Pie.  It's a gimmick.  I'd rather go Chinese.
United Bread and Pastry (Silverlake) - This hidden Filipino Grocery and catering place is a hidden gem.  They are known for their Turons - "Filipino snack made of thinly sliced bananas and a slice of jackfruit, dusted with brown sugar, rolled in a spring roll wrapper and fried.  Heaven.  But here is a picture of giant plantains that I thought was amusing.  Places like these are going to be demolished in a few years.  It's sad.
Wexler's Deli (Grand Central Market - DTLA) - Over priced lox.  Yawn.
Cugurt (Los Feliz) - Our new go-to casual Mediterranean place.  Large portions, great flavor and price!

2nd Annual 4th of July in Palm Springs - in GIF Format

The winning group photo

Jimmy finally caught up with his photo editing and posted pictures from Palm Springs onto Facebook.  I snagged a good handful for my blog and realized that there were too many good moments to share.  In order to avoid a long entry I created lower quality GIFs.  lol.   This is the perfect timing as we say good bye to summer....

Andrew and Jlo really did deliver; planning an amazing weekend getaway.  Somehow we crammed 11 guys into a 3 bedroom airbNb.  Not only was the place really cute, but Andrew and Jlo made sure we were fed.  We never had to eat out because these two were constantly slaving away in the kitchen.  They were serving so much good food.

Around the table:  This is where we ate, played games and talked.

Lounging: Sometime times it was hard to relax.  Folks were staked on top of each other.  Andrew and Jlo are trying to figure out a better sleeping arrangement for next year, but everyone was flexible and in good spirits despite the communal sleeping space it seemed.  Of course there was mario kart, karaoke and charades.

Pool time:  The pool was a great size.  Next time I want to look up some more pool games since we spent a large time there that weekend.  But we had a good time just tossing each other around.

Night Swim:  We took advantage of the night heat and stayed wet in the pool

Fireworks!  We celebrated with morning glory sparklers.  Jimmy missed the announcement that we were tossing the used sparklers near the rocks and he accidentally stepped on them burning his foot.  Luckily we had a registered nurse with us who healed him quick enough to go clubbing that evening.

Poolside:  These are some random shots by the pool.  Jimmy thinks he's all cute matching in yellow.  And the hats that I brought really made the weekend fun.  Well, fun for me.

FOOOOD:  I'm not kidding about food.  Andrew and Jlo made us meals the entire time!  It was no joke.  Longanisa, spam, bacon, hamburgers, corn, hotdogs, carne asada.  Others brought curry and Tommy and Martin made French toast with croissants the last morning.  Brilliantly we used up the left over ingredients on the last day for omelets. The only that wasn't used was a giant bottle of jam.  Who eats jam?

WILD THINGS:  This speaks for itself.

Jimmy made a video!
I'm already looking forward to next summer.

321 - Dry Spell and Kickbacks

After I told Andrew that I had no plans Friday night he declared that we should just have a kick back.  So I posted on facebook and gathered some random folks to just hang out in our attic space.

We ended up drinking beer and singing youtube karaoke until 3AM.  I told Steve to bring his ukulele and we had a jam session with Jimmy's electronic keyboard.  I love how talented my friends are.  Hmmm I feel like listing out their musical talents.

Jimmy - Piano
Ryan - Cello
Sean - Shamisen
Steve of course has a music degree and plays ALL instruments
And the Filipinos just sing... or at least just grab the mic.

We did Somewhere over the Rainbow, Amazing Grace, some musicals, diva songs and this gem by Lady: Pussy.


We've held so many themed parties that I feel like it's time to slow it down and just stick to kick backs and hang outs like this.  I need to find more games to be excited about.  The glow in the dark Halloween Party and the epic Christmas party will probably our last for a while.  I do miss having Summer BBQs when we had a functioning patio, but I guess we have parks for that now.

The last party party we had was back in July.  It took us a while to come up with a Summer Theme:  Dry Spell.  Thought it was clever because of the California drought and how thirsty our friends are.  The other options were Heat Stroke, Dehydrated and Parched.   If we have a summer party next year, I want a citrus theme:  Lemonade.  The decorations are a lot easier for that.  I bought this stupid cactus wall decoration for $7 what a rip!

Andrew and Jlo have been killing it with the photo back drop.  Last year's radioactive set and candy crush was simply jaw dropping, but they took creativity to another level with this desert scene.  I couldn't believe it.  Check out our collection of props!

They actually bought black fabric and glued it onto another, but decided it looked too arts and crafts and did a second backdrop attempting using cardboard that had been spray painted back.  The giraffes make me fall in love.  I refused to waste the fabric so we hang it up in the hallway.  The house is becoming quite the hodgepodge of theme party decorations.  I was amused at myself for leaving up the Chinese New Year decorations.

Ernesto was surprised with a birthday cake!  He celebrated his 30th in France which is amazing.  But we thought that it would be good to show him the love at the party with his return.  Cheers Ern!  He admitted that it was the first time he was actually surprised for his birthday!

It was a good comfortable turn out.  Nothing crazy and a lot of good energy.  Just the way I like it.  There were tons of photo booth pictures, but we're the stars!   Let's get out of that drought!

Eating Out August

A little late to the party.  This is what I consumed in August.

Green Zone (San Gabriel) - Mini Spicy Wontons.  I loved this dumplings, but the skin was too thick for my meal-mates.  I loved thick skin so I was pretty happy.
Homemade - Charles made this for Ern/Erik's pre-house warming party. Hiyashi chūka - really great summer dish and a winner at the party.  Pretty easy to make if you can find all the ingredients.
Kim Hua Hue (El Monte) - I made the guys drive all the way here for middle region Vietnamese food.  It wasn't worth the drive, but it was nice to see a place east of LA rather than going to the OC.  That's banh ram it and a sample platter.  More about it in my linked Yelp! review
Green Zone (San Gabriel) - Organic Hainan Chicken Rice.  The star of the show.  Jimmy felt that this dish was cleaner and less oily than Savoy who seems to own the market for Hainan chicken rice.
Auntie Em's Kitchen - (Eagle Rock) - After writing a lukewarm review, the owners reached out to me to give them another shot with a gift card!  This definitely made everything taste better.  The biscuits and gravy were solid... as in solid lard in your gut.  Guilty pleasure and please don't finish it in one sitting.
Teresa's Family Restaurant - I wanted to like this place, but for $10 we got a microwaved breakfast.  Look how sad those sausages are!
Bottega Louie (DTLA) - Burrata and roasted vine - I was blown away at how refined and delicious this simple dish was.  Highly recommend
Pizza Studio (DTLA) - I'm in love with the build your own pizza unlimited toppings revolution.  Always double garlic all the time
Mamita (Glendale) - Lomo saltado!  Yes yes yes.  A little pricey, but a great date spot.
Kim Hua Hue (El Monte) - This bun bo hue was confronting, but nothing to drive to
Bottega Louie (DTLA) - This eggplant parmesan was hard to eat.  Good, but it's aiiiight.
Jist Cafe (Little Toyko) - Chilaquiles.  Wasn't that great, stick to their amazing chashu hash skillet!
Mamita (Glendale) - This mixto ceviche was amazing.  They are very generous with the seafood and I was thrilled.  So happy!
Saap Cafe (Thai town) - Jade noodles.  Yes.  Order this.

I'm getting hungry.

XCIX Portland Trip - City Exploring

 Welcome to Portland.  I was creeping on this Zayn look-a-like after gay clubbing walking along the food carts.  So... Portland.

We've been meaning to take a trip and Portland became the destination.  It was Szeto's birthday and along with a local cake that I bought him, he indulged in artsy overpriced things that Portland has to offer like a wooden plunger.

We ended up at a full frontal gay club where Joe bought him a lap dance from someone who went by the name Aladdin.  We watched as Szeto grabbed the balcony rail for his life while he was getting jackhammered by the straight go-go boy.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Though I think it was more entertaining for us than it was for him.

I stayed with Sandy and surprise! she lives in a really cute 2 bedroom.  She turned her extra bedroom into a craft room slash bike room.  Her pull out bed was really comfortable!

Joe was happy to try the food carts that Portland was known for.  Though we missed out on the pubs and biscuits... which made him pretty upset.  We should have invested in a car because we were pretty downtown'd out.

A little hike with Diana!!!

This Whiskey bar had an amazing library.  It was pretty bougie, but pretty awesome.

 Of course - the boutiques and long haired man with his long haired pet.

Szeto and I got haircuts!

Everyone is so cute here.

These aren't that great.

We ate a lot of terrible places which I coulllld recap... okay.. let me open up my apps.

Howthorne Hophouse - Bar
Swift Lounge - Bar
Bungalow Bar - Bar with Swings?
Lonesome's Pizza - Drunk pizza
Mother's Bistro & Bar - Not that good breakfast and mimosas were not strong enough
Blue Star Donuts - Runs out quickly
Powell's City of Books - A large collections
Scandals - Divey gay bar
Multnomah Whisk{e}y Library - MMM
Departure - Hotel rooftop bougie
Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen - Terrible.  Terrible
The Silverado - Gay Strip Club
Bishops Barbershop - got a haircut!
Irving Street Kitchen - Terrible and over priced
Frank's Noodle House - Asian fair
McMenamins Kennedy School - Second time here.
Teardrop Lounge - Expensive cocktails for yuppies
Ken's Artisan Bakery - Local bakery
Art in the Pearl - Art fair for old people

Sorry Joe.  Next time we're going to pubs and Pine State biscuits.  Promise.  But let's remember the trip for the nature trip we took!