I'M BACK!!

lots to tell but i'll keep it as short as i can..

i had major jet lag when i arrived in San Francisco.. i couldnt get any sleep on the plane because this kid behind me keep kicking my chair.. so i ended up watching Hairspray, Order of the Phoenix, Chuck and Larry and Transformers over and over again..

rented a Toyota Highlander.. very spacious.. walked around the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf after checking in.. had clamp chowder.. it was the Thanksgiving weekend so there were loads of people there.. saw Alcatraz from the wharf.. if any of you dont know, Alcatraz was a high security prison on an island just off the coast of San Francisco.. now, it's just a tourist spot.. had dinner at Hooters.. its the only fast food place nearby besides McDonalds so we went there.. the concept of the place was only waitresses.. NO WAITERS.. and the waitresses' uniforms are white sleeveless shirt, and short orange pants.. trust me when i say this to the guys, THIS IS THE WORST PLACE TO GO EAT IF YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS WITH YOU.. when the food came, 1st thing my mum said was "keep your eyes on your food".. wth? and when i was observing the guys behaviours, there is one similarity among all the guys (except my dad and i)... all of them were checking all the waitresses out..

so the next day, we went to Santa Cruz.. a city bout an hour or so away from San Francisco.. wasnt much sights to see so we head to Monterey earlier.. saw the seals.. didnt visit the aquarium though.. it was freakin expensive.. on our way back to SF, we stopped at Giroy.. there were four blocks of outlet stores.. Nike, Adidas, Guess, Coach, you name it.. didnt buy anything for myself.. finished at around 10pm and drove back.. stopped at Santa Clara for dinner at McD.. arrived back in SF arounf 12am..

day 3, sightseeing around SF.. went to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio which is a burrial ground for honoured American soldiers, Crooked Street, Twin Peak, Golden Gate Park.. went downtown after all the sightseeing.. things spotted downtown : HOBART Building, two Dewan Sri Pinang sized Macy's store (1 for men and the other for women), a giant Forever 21 (although i still dont know what's all the hype about), and other stores which were huge were Adidas, Guess, Gap.. walked through Chinatown and had dinner.. went to Ghirardeli Square.. Ghirardeli is a brand who makes chocolate and coffee..

drove to Reno the next morning.. its a small city in Nevada.. on the way there we stopped at a viewing point and saw Donner Lake.. when we arrived, we parked, and walked around the city.. there were casinos everywhere you go.. after we checked in to the hotel, we had dinner.. went to Meadow Wood Mall after that.. Macy's, Sears, and JC Penny were there (these 3 are stores btw).. after like a couple of hours there, we went back to the hotel..

woke up quite early for breakfast.. drove to Lake Tahoe.. the lake was beautiful.. visited Squaw Valley which was where the 1960 winter Olympics were held i think.. played with the man made snow.. more sightseeing afterwards.. went back to hotel straight after dinner..

drove to Las Vegas on day 6.. it took around 7 hours.. reached LV around 5pm.. after checking in, we took a shuttle bus to the Las Vegas Strip where all the main resorts are.. 1st stop was the Bellagio.. the man made mini lake in front of the hotel had a fountain performance every half hour.. it was spectacular.. took pictures at Paris Hotel's replica Eiffel Tower.. went to this mall called the Miracle Mile and bought a few souvenirs.. had dinner at Sbarro (italian).. the interior of the Miracle Mile was made to look like it was outdoors.. went inside the Bellagio after dinner.. i'd give the hotel a 10 diamond rating.. there were also retail stores IN the hotel.. walked over to Caesar's Palace.. it was equally amazing.. there was also a performance.. the stars were mechanical and it was a story about Atlantis.. only my first day in Vegas and i can tell you that when i walked through all those casinos, i think i breathed in more cigarette smoke than one cigarette can give you..

the nexy day we went to another place where there are outlet stores for about 3 blocks.. i bought four shirts.. 1 Timberland, 2 Nike, 1 CSI.. had chinese and japanese food for lunch.. went to Wynn hotel after that.. it was as classy as the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace.. also visited the Venetian, the Mirage, and Treasure Island.. all these hotels have their own theme.. unfortunately we didnt have time to see all the hotels so we drove past New York New York, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur.. went to Fremont Street.. its a fully sheltered street and the ceiling is a giant screen.. checked out and drove towards Grand Canyon.. passed Hoover Dam (the same dam in Transformers).. then continued on to Grand Canyon.. was supposed to catch the sunset at the Canyon bu it was raining heavily.. RAINING! in a freakin dessert.. watched Secrets of the Grand Canyon in an iMax theatre next to the hotel.. the town was practically empty..

woke up at 6.30am the next day to catch the sunrise at Grand Canyon.. it was SNOWING!! the snow was so heavy, we didnt get a proper view of the Grand Canyon.. but we played with the snow and had a blast.. after checking out, i bought a dream catcher at a souvenir store.. drove to Los Angeles after that.. Arrived in LA around 7pm.. had dinner at Panda Express (chinese).. went back to the hotel/ apartment to watch tv..

drove to San Diego the next day and visited this grand hotel which keeps on appearing on the travel channel.. then went to another outlet mall for some retail therapy..

the next morning, my parents took up an offer to attend a talk.. they will try to sell their latest property to you.. those who attend get free ticket to any theme park.. so my parents went for it and i went online at the hotel lobby.. so my parents got 2 free tickes to Disneyland.. we went to a few sport shops after that.. had late lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.. continued shopping and finally had dinner back in the hotel..

so day 12 was Universal Studios day.. it took 2 hours to get to Universal.. i had set my mind on enjoying myself but as you all may have read in my previous post, i sprained my neck on the Jurassic Park ride.. went on to the Revenge of the Mummy.. then there were 3D shows like Terminator, Shrek.. and we get to see how they film certain scenes in movies.. and got to tour the set of some shows.. we saw the set of War of the Worlds, Desperate Housewives, Big Fat Liar..

i'll continue the rest when i have time.. my computer has been confiscated because my results came out ugly.. when i have the chance to update i will.. sorry for not posting any pictures because all the pictures are in my dad's com.. Penang Closed is tomorrow so wish me luck.. haha.. till next time..

Ivan