got on the hop on hop off tour of nyc, much like the chicago tour i took. walked along 5th avenue to times square, shopped till i burned a hole in my pocket. the day was too cold for sight seeing, and the tickets got sold out at the battery park. tomorrow we’ll visit the empire state and lady liberty, and of course, do more shopping. i’ll be back in the summer and check out central park and see niagara falls from this side of the world.

i have a penchant for bridges, took some nice still shots of the brooklyn bridge from the south seaport, can’t wait to see the golden gate and add it to my photo collection. my fave is mandaue – mactan for sentimental reasons, and akashi kaikyo, the longest suspension bridge, located in kobe.

toured washington dc – smithsonian institute, museum of air and space, potomac river, lincoln memorial, capitol, reagan airport, and the white house. had lunch at chinatown and caught the amtrak train to newark. checked in at the hilton and called it a day, tomorrow – new york city.

“i wanna be a part of it..”

arrived at bwi at around 9am, good thing the connecting flight waited for the rest of us who got stranded. the passengers were giving us mean looks when we finally boarded, especially since the flight crew announced that “finally the passengers we are waiting for has arrived” hehe, makes me wonder what happened to the ground personnel that comitted the mistake.

mavic’s relatives were waiting for us at the terminal, we drove straight to their place and had brunch. slept for most part of the day, recharging my batteries, we’re scheduled to do shopping tomorrow at dawn – my first black friday shopping. hmmm what to buy?

seatac: flight to detroit got moved out. we were at the middle of the runway when they asked the pilot to go back to the gates. apparently the ground crew loaded the wrong luggage to the cargo bay; we had to go back so they could sort it out. it took a good one hour until everything was fine. we also had to do another refueling since we lost gas while waiting for take off at the runway.

this is the first time my flight retreated from take off; how very opportune when the connecting flight – detroit to baltimore – is just an hour and a half away. it’s God’s way of saying: sit back, relax, not everything is in your control. sometimes you just have to let go and let God, everyhing will be alright.

sunday is for shopping. we went to the fashion show mall and visited our favorite tech destination – apple store. of course, can’t go there without buying gadgets or acessories, it’s a miracle though that i didn’t end up buying anything. still sticking to my last tech item purchase of the year. vin brought a macbook, i’m dying of envy.

went to ceasar’s palace and had another photo op beside the replicas of european statues. had lunch at cheesecake factory – their beef ribs serving is huge, and godiva cheesecake is to die for. strolled by the forum shops where ferragamo is just beside coach and fendi – a shopaholic’s heaven, mavic momentarily forgot her woes when she saw the designer labels lined up before her =)

by 3pm, we were on the way back to the airport, another weekend over and done with. time flies so fast, 2 days is not enough for this place. on the plane, we entertained ourselves by playing pai gao, still can’t get enough of that game, it’s so addictive.

i wish my wish on the falling star would come true, but then i saw how hopeless it all seems now, so i just closed my eyes and blinked back a teardrop. i know i could have asked, but i can’t handle the truth, so the moment just passed in silence. don’t know which is worse – leaving 24C of soulless nevada sun or coming home to 5C of heartless vancouver clouds – maybe both, compounded with the feeling of being left behind. wish i could go home soon. i need a hug.

started the day early to visit hoover dam and the grand canyon. passed by the big clocks that showed nevada and arizona time, also saw lake mead and the site of that last transformers movie. a new bridge is being constructed in that part of town, from the looks of it, its not for the people with fear of heights. we had a brief stopover at route 66 and had lunch at popeyes.

on the way back from arizona, a magnificent sunset followed our trail until dusk settled and found me – a lonesome wanderer on the deserts of mojave. saw a falling star, wished with all my might…

by night time, part of the rat pack caught phantom of the opera at the venetian while the rest burned a hole in their pocket playing slots and pai gao poker at the mgm grand.

las vegas is a sight to behold at night, the lights left us awe stricken and mesmerized. it’s a city where good looking people are a dozen a dime, and shows are on left and right. liquor is obscenely cheap and even 7-11 has slot machines installed. vin almost opted to stay behind ^_^.

yvr; waiting for the plane to board. got picked for secondary security check for the nth time. it must be my name. do i look like a terrorist? escaped rainy vancouver in search of the sun in nevada. hope i won’t be disappointed.

the usual suspects on this trip, plus one new recruit. can’t hardly wait.