the naval hospital my sister is working at is right in balboa park, which is full of museums, and spanish architecture. and across the street is san diego zoo. it's nice, but my sister's not into the whole mexican spanish culture thing and would much rather be back in japan.
one afternoon we headed south of the border to tijuana mexico. last time i was in another country, i had a 13 hour flight to the other side of the world, this was way too easy.
there were a ton of pharmacies selling prescription drugs without one.
on the bridge that crosses the border, there were a bunch of mexican vendors selling trinkets. it was a blazing hot day, and they were sitting in the sliver of shadows to stay cool.
stupid cocky american... oh, that's me.
this was funny... i had just seen the real one in st. louis a week earlier, and then we stumble across a bootleg one. the most peculier thing were the abundance of wire required to support it. whereas the real one is 10 times larger and freestanding. then again, this one had a flat screen TV suspended in the middle, beat that america.
there was a lively atmosphere of mexicans trying to sell their products. i put my bargaining skills from china to good use. like putting most of my money in one pocket. and when i really wanted something i'd dig really deep and pretend like that was all the money i had. then i wouldn't budge and bargain up and would usually get for that price. or i'd bargain 2 things as low as i think i could possibly go, then ask for a discount if i get them both, that usually works too.

the funniest thing walking around with my sister was that the mexicans kept on using japanese expressions to greet us, like konichiwa. my sister picked up on a bunch of expressions like "cheap". the best one was a guy who went "amigo amigo... tamogochi". hmm, he just called us egg. i guess if asian foreigner visited mexico, they would be japanese, because they are the only ones who could afford to travel.
of course i had to collect my cup.
hmm... that way to USA... and food. what are they trying to say?
we arrived at hollywood and when we got to the street at grauman's chinese theatre, there were a bunch of people dressed as characters who make money off of people who pose with them and take pictures. this guy was lame, i think he was trying to be zoro or something.
next day, we made a short 2.5 hour drive up the coastline to LA. first thing we notice was how the city was literally enshrouded in smog. there was a line in the sky... above the line was blue, under the line was gray... cough.
he's too short to be zoro... what would've been fun was to really duel him.
we took a short tour of the theatre, it was alright, though we didn't realize until after that it would've been only a little more money to actually watch a movie there. the lame thing was that the tourguide was talking about all the premieres that just happened, and the ones that were coming up. it's like we chose the worst day to go.
...but we did get to sit in special chairs...oooooo...
that's just wrong
odd... being there didn't inspire me to think about getting back into film making.
hey look, i'm famous
somebody's hero... what i really am looking forward to is jet li getting a star on the walk of fame.
i thought i wasn't gonna be able to see it, but then as i was driving away, i caught a glimpse of it in my rear view mirror. this picture required me to find the camera, adjust the settings, focus, and frame the picture with one hand, while the other was on the steering wheel speeding through traffic. of course i could've asked my sister, but then then picture probably would've have come out right.
next day, we head out for las vegas... the final leg of the trip, this meant driving back east for 6 hours... why didn't we stop there on the way here? because my sister had to be in san diego for a placement exam. anyways, here's the hotel we stayed at. it has the largest indoor amusement park in the world...
...and an all day circus show for free. best part is that it was only 50 a night and it was right on the strip. jeez... the place we were staying at in san diego was a naval facility which cost more, had no amenities, and i had to put up with the no entering without a military ID ordeal. i was already liking vegas better.
another circus act, this was cool. he did crazy flips on a flexible balance beam hoisted on other guy's shoulders.
that night, we walked a couple miles down las vegas strip to the bellagio, a super fancy hotel, to watch the cirque du soleil show "O". it was awesome, they were doing crazy acrobatics and maneuvers in, out, and above the water which seemlessly appears and disappears below them. but holy crap, it was the most expensive show i've ever been to.
unfortunately no cameras were allowed.
heading back after the show, vegas was aglow in flashing lights. now i've seen two fake versions of the eiffel tower.
in front of the mirage is this bronze sculpture of sigfried and roy.
next morning, i ditch my sister because i like walking in the sun and she doesn't, and i want to gamble, and make it a goal to visit every hotel on the strip. this is in front of the luxor, south end of the strip. it's wierd how before coming here, i was expecting cheap and kitschy, but things are actually really classy and well done. they obviously aren't authentic, but they let you, for a moment, escape reality into something exotic.
everyone's seen those crystals with internal laser etchings. but there was a place that actually scanned you and could put a 3D image of you in it. wicked expensive, but i thought it was awesome, and freaky.
at the mgm grand, there was lion preserve, and they were sleeping on top of a glass walkway. from underneath, they looked so silly... and now i can say i had my hand less than an inch away from a lion's jaws.
hmm? where am i?
i stopped at the m&m museum full of m&m merchandise, candy gifts, an activity center, a 3D movie, and people dressed as m&m's. but no free candy, that was disappointing.
the bellagio, where we saw "O" the night before. this is the hotel that has that water fountain in front that makes an appearance in front of every movie that takes place in las vegas. the cool thing about it it that they play music and synchronize the water spouts to it which leap several stories. so as i was walking by, they were playing that romantic italian song sung by that blind guy and it was very grand and... romantic... then i was suddenly incredibly depressed.
late in the day, i found my sister at the venitian, a hotel with a venice theme. i always imagined this place being really cheesy, but it definitely captured the atmosphere well.
part of the shopping area was modeled after st. mark square and there were always live performers. next time i stay at vegas, i'm definitely staying here... and there WILL be a next time.
dolls scare me, i was scared.
me and my sister did took the gondola ride. it was funny, because the gondolier was singing love songs, so we told him we were brother and sister to make hime stop. then he told me i should row the boat so he could sit next to my sister and "give her many kisses"... ew. it was funny cause he askd me where i was from, and when i said, connecticut, his first response was a sneer the words "you red sox lover"... afterwords, we asked where he was from, and he said originally new jersey, then i said "you yankees lover", then we started trash talking each other's teams, it was funny.
boom. oh yeah, i didn't even mention the gambling. the gambling was awesome. casinos are 24 hours so i was out til 4 in the morning just buying cheap drinks, playing nickel slots, and low stakes tables. the most awesome was blackjack, i put down 20 dollars and played 3 dollar hands at a table full of chinese women for hours. since i played low stakes, i didn't win a lot, but i never lost a lot, but i was there for fun, not to pay off college loans.
later that night, we found a free pirate show in front of the treasure island hotel. we thought it would be cute and family oriented... but it ended up being full of sexual connotations and adult humor... time to explain to the kids why the sailor was at "full mast" when he was tied up by the girl pirates.
these were great, trucks would roll down the street once in a while and play a blowhorn jingle that would automatically get your attention. and plastered on the the sides are these ads. it's like an icecream truck for desperate men. and for men desparate to ruin their lives...
back to san diego... we drove back the next morning, and that evening, i wanted to spend some time relaxing at the beach.
surfer dude. i'd be into it, if i wasn't deathly afraid of the water, especially the ocean.
it was hot and sunny the whole trip. and you know my luck. the one time i really want the sun, it's cloudy and cool.
and the whole point of this trip... my sister going to work. i flew back the next morning. the end.