May 6: Salina, UT to Las Vegas, NV

You may not know this about me, but I have a gambling problem. My original plan for today had been to drive to Zion National Park in Utah, then drive down to Vegas at night. Instead, I scrapped Zion so I could get to Vegas early. Why did I want to get to Vegas early? So I could do some in-game betting on the Hawks-Magic game, of course.

First things first, I did get lunch in St. George, UT at a place called Twentyfive Main Cafe, conveniently located at 25 Main St. It's weird how that worked out. I enjoyed my club sandwich, simple but good. They also had cupcakes, and I thought mine was quite tasty. But I feel like $1.75 is expensive for a cupcake. But maybe not, I don't really eat cupcakes, they may actually be very reasonably priced.



Then it was time for Vegas. Drove to the M casino, one of two places in Vegas that does in-game betting. I had a hunch that I should take Orlando (-9.5) for the game, and Atlanta for the first half spread. But what did I actually do? I hedged on the final score, and took Orlando in the first half. Net result - lost $5.45 when I should've won $9.10. Lesson one on the day: trust your instincts. Other lesson learned: don't bet on free throws. Way too tempting when it pops on screen, and a really easy way to lose money. Although when Dwight Howard got a nosebleed right before a free throw, I had to get back in the game and bet on a miss. So one of my 4 free throw bets worked out. Rough first half but I rallied with the second half over/under. Ended up down a little less than $10.

Dinner was a Vegas rarity for me: I did not eat inside a casino. Went to Raising Cane's, which specializes in chicken fingers. The chicken was good, pretty tender, and I really liked their sauce.



Other things of note.
Except for the 6 Asian people I saw at Arches (4 of whom were one family), it was 100% white people between Denver and Vegas.
Today, Arizona joined Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania as the only states that I traveled through twice. 15 takes you through Arizona for about 25 minutes before you get to Nevada.

Now, I'm just hanging out in my hotel room waiting for the madness that starts tomorrow. It's been an awesome trip, and this will be my last post. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

May 5: Denver, CO to Salina, UT

Going west through Colorado is a very pretty drive. You get to the Rockies, and some of the mountains still have snow on them. According to one of the guys at New Belgium, there's even one mountain still open for skiing. In May. After the snow, with almost no transition, you switch to the desert-type mountains and rock formations that are reminiscent of Arizona and New Mexico.

By mid afternoon, I'd made it to Arches National Park near Moab, UT. Of the three national parks I've been to on this trip, Arches would have to be my favorite. All sorts of great scenery. I loved the contrast of the desert landscapes with the snow-capped mountains in the background. There's a bunch of trails and viewpoints that are actually pretty distinct from each other. Anyway, here's pictures.

Balance Rock (I think)

Petrified Dunes

Delicate Arch

Skyline Arch

Tunnel Arch

Pine Tree Arch

Landscape Arch

Leaving the park, I got back onto I-70 headed west. I passed by an exit with gas, food, etc. I knew I'd need gas before getting to my hotel that night, but I figured I could wait a while longer. A few miles down the road, I see a sign that says "No services on I-70 next 100 miles." Fuuuuck. I get off at the next exit and backtrack 11 miles to get gas so that I don't get stranded in the desert somewhere.

Hey Utah, here's a thought. Actually, two. First, build some goddamn gas stations. Second, if you're not going to have a gas station for 100 miles, maybe you should let people know about it before they pass the last exit with a gas station.

Also, we appear to be on the verge of a tornado here in Salina. Earlier tonight, I pulled up to my hotel room and tried to get out of the car. But the wind wasn't really down with that plan. I push the door open, which required some force, but as soon as I let go, the wind slams it shut. Hopefully my car will still be there in the morning.

May 4: Denver, CO

I may have mentioned this before, but I've been getting progressively lazier as this trip has gone on. Ajay planned on cutting out of lab early so we could check out some local breweries in the afternoon. I could've spent my morning exploring Denver on my own, but instead I sat on the couch, caught up on this thing, booked some hotels, and lazed around.

So in the afternoon, we headed out. First, we got lunch at a nearby taqueria.



My carne asada burrito was kind of heavy on the lettuce, but otherwise ok. I got a tripe taco, because I'd never tried it before. It's a little weird, probably not something I'd order again.

Then we got gas at the oddest looking gas station I've ever seen. You pull in, and there are gas pumps randomly strewn about the lot. If it's crowded, easy to get trapped in there.



Next we were off to Ft. Collins for some beer. Our first stop was New Belgium. You might be familiar with their Fat Tire, but they do a lot of other stuff that I guess doesn't make it out to California. They have an extensive 90 minute tour, which is quite informative, and has 5 different tastings. You also get another one out at their tasting room.

Tasty beers all around, and they are also a very environmentally and socially responsible company. Makes me want to drink more of their beer.

After that, we went to O'Dell's. We were too late for any of the tours, but we did get a couple of tasting trays, which allow you to sample 6 of their beers at a time. By the end of this, Ajay and I were a bit intoxicated. Luckily we had his girlfriend to DD for us.



Headed over to Coopersmith's for another in a long line of great burgers I've had on this trip. And of course, another beer. For some unknown reason, instead of India Pale Ale, they have Punjabi Pale Ale. Which left us wondering, why isn't it Keralite Pale Ale?

regular vs. cask conditioned

artichoke dip on the burger

Something I learned about Colorado. They love their beer here. At O'Dells, we saw parents who brought their kids in. The kids colored while mom and dad had a beer. Also, Sruthi was discussing how one of the other girls in her lab doesn't really like hoppy beer. This, I feel, is just a conversation that wouldn't happen in California. It's hard enough to find girls who like beer at all, let alone have preferences about specific styles/tastes. It's a different culture out here. Also, Ft. Collins has a bike library, where you can borrow a bike for up to a week for free. Dirty hippies...

May 3: Kansas City, MO to Denver, CO

Today was another long drive. Took off from the hotel around 11, stopped at a Steak 'n' Shake in Kansas. Pretty good, nothing special. One interesting thing about Kansas, there are at least two big adult video stores with billboards on the highway. I guess people in Kansas like their porn.

As I was driving along, I started seeing some other interesting billboards advertising six-legged cattle and the biggest prairie dog in the world. Intrigued, I got off the exit, but didn't see any more signs directing me where to go. I took a right and started driving. But as the houses became more sparse, I thought this had a good chance of becoming Anvil Rock Rd part 2, so I turned around and got back on the highway.

Got into Denver, where I'm staying with my cousin Ajay. For dinner, we went to the Buckhorn Exchange, the oldest restaurant in Denver. Remember the Roadkill Cafe, with all the animal heads on the wall? Well, they've got nothing on this place. I didn't have my camera so I'll get pictures once Ajay emails them to me. Buckhorn Exchange is also famous for serving the more off-beat meat choices. Options on their menu include buffalo, elk, quail, ostrich, and yak (although they were out of the yak).

Our waitress was very nice. I asked her which soup she recommended, and she just said she'll bring me 1/2 a bowl of each. Which ended up being 3/4 bowl of each. Score. I had the elk and cornish game hen combo plate. Turns out, elk is ridiculously good. Like, I need to find out where to get some elk in California good. It's a little pricey, but you get a lot of food.

May 2: Chicago, IL to Kansas City, MO

After failing yesterday, I was able to finally get my Jordan picture this morning.



Then I headed out to the suburbs to visit my grandma. Afterward, it was a long drive to KC, made extra awesome by the fact that I had developed a cold. Repeatedly sneezing and blowing your nose is not the best thing to do while driving, but I made it there alive. Got some BBQ from Jack's Stack, which was pretty good, but I thought the ribs were lacking a bit in the meat department.

Took it back to my hotel and found... the nicest room I've stayed in so far.

May 1: Chicago, IL

I was staying at my cousin Jamie's place, and she lives pretty close to the United Center. So I thought a good first stop would be the Michael Jordan statue out front. I hop on the bus, walk over there... and realize I forgot to put the battery back in my camera. 2 buses back to the apartment, and now I'm running late so no time to go back. I head downtown to check out the Sears Tower (I'm aware it's now Willis Tower, but I will continue to refer to it by the original name). Unlike when I went to the Empire State Building last year, the wait was actually fairly short, and they have a bunch of stuff to keep you entertained as you move toward the elevators.



And the views are pretty spectacular.


After that, quick lunch at Potbelly's, which I only know of in Chicago, but it may be in other places as well. Great sandwiches.


In the afternoon, I decided to do a bike tour of the city. I haven't ridden a bike in about 10 years, so there was definitely an adjustment period. My main problem was keeping my balance when going slow. Anyway, the tour was pretty good, some interesting info, etc. But I just really liked riding a bike around the city. If you find yourself in Chicago, I'd recommend doing that, with or without the tour.

The original Playboy Mansion (seriously)

Other interesting things that happened on this tour. At one of our stops, I randomly ran into fellow Bellarmine alum Eric Adamson. He just happened to be walking into the pub we stopped in front of. Hadn't seen Eric in years, so it was cool to catch up.

Also had my first Chicago style hot dog. While I appreciate the "salad on bun" strategy, I thought it was just ok. I'd take some Top Dog over this any day.


After the tour, it was off to Millenium Park to see the big bean aka Cloud Gate. It really is pretty spectacular, I think the best public art I've ever seen.

See if you can find me in this picture

Then wandered up the Magnificent Mile, stopped at Water Tower Place, which is an interesting building. 8 floors of mall, then a Ritz Carlton on top of that, then condos on top of that. And Oprah owns the entire top 2 floors.

Dashed to Wrigley Field...


Then dinner at Five Guys. Now, I've heard some big talk about this place. The phrase "better than In-n-Out" has been thrown around. Let's be clear, it is good, but not better than In-n-Out. The fries, though, definitely better, but then again I'm not really big on In-n-Out fries. One thing I really like about their menu, if you order a "cheeseburger", that's a double cheeseburger. If you order a "little cheeseburger", then you get a single. That's my kind of menu.






And here's some Kanye, with the Cloud Gate in a supporting role.