Enter the Cherry!

Harriet, Heinz, James, Jillian, Joy, Mel, Melissa, and I made our way back the the Red Rock Casino.  We were later joined by Sal and Matt.  The part of the night was spent dropping shots, dancing, and taking pictures...as for the rest...well "What Happens in Vegas...STAYS in Vegas!"...PERIOD!

Mel...the hostess with mostest...told Jen and I that we had to be out the door at 4:45 pm to pick Matt up from Red Rock Casino and get to the Three Angry Wives Pub...we CAN'T be late for the MAIN EVENT!  Mel is such a dedicated member of TB...she even made a laminated standing sign with the TravBuddy logo on it so that attendees to the Meetup can find our party.  Mel was so proud of her sign...she HAD to pose with it! 

5 pm rolls around and YES we are the first ones to arrive.  Our waitress shows us to our spot...a lounge area with a super comfy leather sofa and loveseat, a leather arm chair, two coffee tables, small round tables and chairs...all in front of a wall of large flat screen TVs so sports fanatics could watch the NCAA basketball.  

Jenn and I plop down on the loveseat and sink into its cushions to rest before the masses arrive.  Our rest was cut short by Will's arrival...the guest of honor!  I gave Will 3 hugs...1 from ocwarren...1 from poohstanggt...and 1 from me of course!  More hugs all around!  Mel made sure to bring name tags and so we all ID ourselves accordingly.   All of us order soft drinks as it was way too early in the evening to start drinking especially if we were aiming to party the whole night!  I think it was Will who ordered the food...Angry Nachos and Chili Cheese Fries.  Will sat between Jenn and I and we both rested our head on his shoulders but not for long because the meetup was about to get started.

Shortly after, Sal and RJ arrived with another person following closely behind. ..I dunno who...I assumed it was Sal's brother as they were of similar height and build.  But I was wrong...the other guy was Sven (svenman99) from Germany.  Sven wore a Seattle Seahawks T-shirt so I thought he was an American...what a pleasant surprise...another international TB!  Sven ROCKS...he has been to more US states than I have and I'm an American!  We talked quite a bit about national parks and Alaska.  It is always great to see Sal...he is so sociable and easy going.  I was happy to see that RJ decided to ditch working on his project to hang out with us crazy TBs even more.  I just hope he finishes his project on time!  Soon enough...more TBs filtered in...Nancy (fancynancy) and Kaycee (KayceeDawn), both Las Vegas transplants.   Nancy was very approachable and easy to talk to.  Kaycee was generous...she shared her GINORMOUS slice of chocolate cake with everyone and it was delish!  Yay...more TBs for me to hang out with the next time I'm in Vegas! 

We definitely pissed off the other patrons sitting behind us at the bar by blocking their view of the TVs, by blinding them with our countless camera flashes, and filling the joint with incessant laughter.  We were having so much fun that we didn't care! 

As soon as Harriet and the 3JExpress strolled in fashionably late, we all headed outside for a group shot of the TB gang.  In the parking lot Heinz (jdax57) joined the group while Kaycee's friend volunteered to be our photographer.  The cameras dangling from both his forearms looked liked jewelry. ..it was funny.  After every shot, we switched to different positions in the photo so as not to have 10 copies of the same photo.  After our outdoor photoshoot, we headed back into the pub for more shenanigans. 

Joy told some of her TB friends that couldn't attend the meet that she would have a drink for them...so this girl busts out a stack of papers with "This drink is for....!"  And she took a pic with a glass of dry red for everyone...CRAZY!

Kaycee has to be the tallest girl I have ever met!  Mel wanted to see how she measured up to her and WHOA...too funny!  To top that, Kaycee picked up Matt like a sack of potatoes...we were all rolling with laughter.  The pictures were PRICELESS!   Awh... what great sports they were...thanks for the entertainment!

After much more jovial conversation, more alcohol consumption, and more photo-taking, Mel awarded the "Most Furthest TB" award (I call it the Pinkie) to Sven.  It was HOT pink with Betty Boop as a Vegas cocktail waitress on it.  Photos of Sven receiving the award and wearing it for the rest of the evening were PRICELESS as well.  

Mel was definitely on CRACK...but she was the life of the pary.  At one point she "knight"ed James...as Sir AW...with a whimpy butter knife!  At least now the Queen CW has her minion...hahaha!

Mel was getting worried...we have been waiting for John's arrival but he was still a no-show.  Jenn, Will, Sal, and Matt had made impromptu plans to see the Cirque du Soleil show KA at the MGM and they had to get going soon.   So Mel and Sal presented Will with a TB decorated cake and parting gifts...I have never seen Will smile from ear to ear before...you can just feel the LOVE in the room!  Just before they left, Jenn handed me the bill...in my head I was like WTF...we aren't leaving yet!  A TB (whose name shall remain anonymous)...had paid for the appetizers and all the non-alcoholic drinks for our group...awh such generousity...thank you!  My job was to collect a buck from all the soft drink drinkers as tip to our patient waitress.  Kaycee and her friends followed suit as well as Sven who had to get back to his girlfriend...I hope she won't be jealous of his harem shot!  RJ took off too...I think to get cracking on his project which was due on Wednesday? 

The rest of us (Mel, Joy, Jillian, Harriet, Nancy, James, Heinz, and I) decided to chill because it still was too early to head to the next stop of our wild meetup.   James...decided that it was shot taking time so he bought us a round of Patron Silver shots...thanks James and thanks for not getting Jose Cuervo!  WOO...the shot went down like fire and burned in the belly!  Must eat something to mellow it out!  Ditto for Harriet, Nancy, and Jillian!  Harriet ordered a steak...I love that carnivore!  Nancy, Jillian, and I share sliders, cheese sticks, and artichoke dip...typical bar food but wow it hit the spot. 

Just when you thought that the meetup was winding down, more peeps make an appearance!  Vinnie (vinnd) showed up with 3 friends (Brian, Bryan, and Harry).  Following their arrival was Melissa (melissa919).  Shortly after, Nancy left to meet with some friends on the other side of town.   With the new arrivals, the TB meetup area was buzzing with chatter, more laughter, and even more photo-taking....CRAZY!  We were such a WILD bunch...it must have been the Patron!  I chatted with Melissa a bit...she's a So Cal girl too..plus she's real good friends with a family friend of mine...small world huh?!?

Somewhere amidst all the mischief, John called/texted? Mel that he will not make it out...still working or too tired from work?...um not sure but awh...I hope I get to see John before he heads to Korea.  Since it was creeping on 11 pm, we decided to settle our bill and head out.  Rushing back into the pub was Nancy!?!  She forgot to leave cash for the bill so she DROVE all the way back...in fact...she left too much cash and she left again before I could give her change back!  Thanks Nancy. ..I owe you a drink the next time I see you...perhaps in September?!?  Vinnie and his boys were not dressed for the club scene so they split the same time we left.  The night was still young...and we hard-cores had plenty of energy to burn...so onward we rolled to the club!

I slept or napped? quite well on the air mattress that Mel had blown up for me prior to my arrival...such great service at Casa de Mel.  It kept its firmness which was so cool.  I offically woke up at 8 am because the morning light was filtering through the curtains but I stayed in bed to rest cuz I knew that today was going to be a non-stop whirlwind of fun and craziness.  ERH, ERH, ERH, ERH...damn...Mel's alarm clock is so f@#$ing loud and annoying...I had to get up to shut it off.  9 am...gotta get dressed.  Shortly after Mel arose...we had to be out the door at 9:45 to pick up Matt.  Sleepy head Jenn awoke at the behest of Queen CW.  I was in such a rush and lacked sleep...I almost forgot to brush my teeth. ..luckily seeing Mel brushing reminded me.  My morning breath would have been a major disaster. 

As a former junior Girl Scout...I am always prepared...as it was our motto.  Plus I am a huge fan of Bear Grylls and his show Man vs. Wild.  So since I was dressed and ready to go, I packed up water for me and girls as well as snacks for the trail...ya never know thirst and hunger can creep up unexpectedly....and hello DESERT!:P  Additionally, it would have been very very bad if one of my beloved TravBuddies had starved or suffered from dehydration! 

We were running late again!  As soon as we picked up Matt, Mel called James to see if they were up and ready to go and that we would wait for them in the parking structure next to James' rental.   So we wait...and wait.  Jen was jonesing for a cigarette so she stepped out and lit up away from the car to protect us from second hand smoke.  Mel was talking to someone on the phone and was getting irritated at being late when she noticed that she was running on E...so she pulled out the parking spot...ignoring the fact that Matt and I were yelling at her to stop the car because we were leaving Jenn behind.  As we pulled away...I could see that Jenn had the WTF look on her face...priceless!  Mel then snapped back into lucidity and drove back around to get Jenn...so funny!  Awh...the CW at her finest!

So to the gas station we went.  Jen and I spotted The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sign so we hopped out of the car to grab caffeine while Mel gassed up.    We placed our order and Jenn, being sleep deprived, had forgotten to grab her wallet...no problem I whipped out some cash and was about to pay when Jenn recited her credit card number for the cashier to charge it.  My hazelnut ice blended hit the spot...thanks Jenn! 

Mel was driving like a mad woman all the way to Red Rock Canyon.  As we pulled up to the toll booth, who did we see...none other than the J3Express and Harriet in James' convertible.  Mel...cut in front of James and drove us up to the visitor center...our meeting point.  Waiting for us outside of the center were John, Sal (sincitytraveler), and RJ (rj1982ster).  What a joy to see Sal and RJ again...at the last meetup, they both left early so I was glad this time around we would get a chance to really hangout.  

Even though, James and party followed us to the center, they were no where to be found...where the f@#$ did they go?!?  We waited like 15 minutes before we all set out looking around for them.  Finally...the gang's all here...you would think we would set off on the trails right quick but that was NOT the case.  We hustled a passer-by to take a group photo...well it was like 7 or 8 photos with different cameras.  He was a good sport especially in trying not to get run over by on-coming traffic. 
 
We all got into the cars and caravanned along the the one-way scenic loop through the conservation area.  After a quick photo stop at Calico Tanks parking lot 1 we made our way to the Ice Box Canyon Trailhead.   James and John took off fast...leaving Mel and RJ in the dust...so Mel turned off to the parking area of High Point Overlook to show the Red Rock virgins aka Jenn and Matt.  RJ followed suit and we again became picture whores!  At first we used the timer settings on our cameras.  The other visitors I believe thought it was a hoot to see us run and slip down a slight decline to get into position before the shot timer expired!  They were so nice...they offered to take our group picture...make that PICTURES...hahaha!

Ok...back on the road again towards Ice Box Canyon Trailhead.  We just barely passed the trailhead parking so Mel being the CW that she is decided to BACK UP on a one-way road...CRAZY...because she ALMOST ran over a pedestrian. ..OMG...my heart was racing.  Thank god she didn't hit the woman because attempted vehicular manslaughter would have been a GINORMOUS disaster!   After sighs of relief, Mel backed the car up safely and parked into the lot.  We (Mel, Jenn, Matt, and I) met up with Harriet, Sal, and RJ at the trailhead and waited for John and the J3Express.  Once all there, and after another photoshoot at the trailhead, we finally set off on the Ice Box Canyon Trail. 

From the trailhead, the first section was an easy walk along a distinct trail.  The trail then inclined by way of small rock staircase.  Afterwards, the trail branched to several routes and became an obstacle course where we were walking on stones...some with a firm foundation and some which were loose and threatened to sprain a hiker's ankle.   The stone-littered trail really made traversing it difficult and time-consuming.  The saving graces for this trail were the spectaular views of the canyon entrance and high desert landscape and the interesting desert flora.  As we neared the canyon entrance, the trail that we followed seemed to reach an impasse so we turned back to look for a much easier route. 

On our way back I spotted a HUGE rock formation with a flat surface below...I thought to myself that that would be a fantastic spot for a jumping pic like my profile pic.  We carefully scaled down a rocky embankment into a boulder-ridden wash.  I had fun bolder-hopping.  Eventually we made it to the flat top rock but it seemed impossible to get on top.   Luckily, Sal was the braver man and found a way through the underbrush to the flat rock's backside which had a way up to the top.  I followed closely behind and in no time we were chilling on top.  Mel had awesome photo skills and she got us in mid-air...WOO HOO!  James, Joy, and Harriet ventured up too and we were having our own little desert photoshoot.  The Sin City TravBuddy Calendar should be out soon...hahaha just kidding!  Down below our fellow TravBuddies were resting in the shade cast by the flat rock. 

After resting in the shade a bit longer, we decided to head back because we still had the Official Unofficial TravBuddy Meetup at the Three Angry Wives to attend in...YIKES 3 hours.  The trek back was interesting,,,mostly because we were grilling Matt on English English pronounciation and slang as well as comparing English English with American English and regional differences.   Apparently we didn't get to far in the hike...some estimated we went about a mile or a mile and a half in...oh well...that just leaves us more to see the next time we go hiking at Red Rocks.

We immediately jumped into the cars and set off out of the park...the scenic loop took us past some beautiful scenery.  As we neared Red Rock Casino, Jenn and I requested we stop and get food anywhere...so Mel suggested we should just get something at Red Rock since we were there already.  Jenn wanted something light like sushi...we all agreed but the sushi restaurant was closed so we opted to go next door to the Tides Oyster Bar.  Ordered...ate...left! 

After washing up from the hike I was able to snag a 30-45 minute nap.  Phew...what a day...but it wasn't over yet...not for a long shot!:P