Vegan delights

No, I am not changing my food habits all of a sudden. I am perfectly happy eating vegetarian food interspersed with omlettes, cakes and other delicacies that egg has to offer. I am referring to Vegas. Yes, I am back from my 8-day trip that inlcuded San Diego, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The trip was awesome. Totally energizing, rejuvenating, and all the related adjectives. I am half tempted to write a travelogue, but I am still settling back into my groove (i.e. I am feeling too lazy right now). So, here are a few highlights that stood out for me in the trip

1. There is an exit called 'The Zzyzx Road' en route to Las Vegas from San Diego. I am not kidding. Apparently, someone else was as intrigued and did some research of his own. Another has a picture of the same
2. I started off with one dollar and promptly converted it to $50 in a matter of 15 minutes over slot machines and Russian roulette
3. I promptly lost all that money the next night
4. I like the false skies that they create in casinos in vegas
5. I'd like to stay once in the Bellagio or the Venetian
6. I'd like a lot of money to pay off the bills for the above venture
7. Hoover dam reminded me solely of the opening scene in Golden Eye
8. The musical fountains in Bellagio rock. I saw them from the Eiffel Tower.
9. For those who wonder what the Eiffel Tower is doing in Vegas, you can visit Paris, New York, Venice and several wondrous cultures of the world without having to step outside the 3 mile strip.
10. I'd like to thank all the Americans who stayed back home with their families on the 24th of December so that there were no queues at the Universal studio theme park.
11. The Universal studio tour was fun, especially seeing the sets where the movies have been shot and seeing the same place in a scene of the movie
12. I drove up Beverly Hills through Mulholland Drive. A movie by that name is right up there with Memento in its complexity
13. Californians deserve the high prices they have to pay for everything. It was 70 degrees, sunny with people playing beach volleyball in shorts and much lesser clothes.
14. The beaches in La Jolla were terrific. For that matter, all beaches were terrific. Readers of this blog already know my weaknesses for seashores.
15. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was a letdown. I did enjoy seeing the Kodak theater, the place where the Oscars are held.
16. The dolphins in Sea World are amazing. I think their trainers must be commended even more.

All said and done, I was very glad to be back in Seattle, back to my home, back to the gloom, back to the rain, and though I must mention this grudgingly, back to my work too!!!