Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Viva Las Baby February 25, 2013

Filed under: Baby,Las Vegas,Theater,Travel — Kelocity @ 2:33 pm
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My sister, Laurie, was in Las Vegas with friends this week and she wanted to extend her trip to visit us in LA too! We looked into flights from Vegas to LA, but in the end, we decided it was a better idea to just go there, spend the weekend and drive her back with us.
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Best idea ever. I miss this girl.
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We had a blast hanging out. Since it was a last minute trip for us, we didn’t have a set agenda so it was nice to roll with the punches.
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On Saturday, we met up with Laurie at the Excalibur pool. What a lucky girl.
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We people watched and lounged poolside and then one of us took a nap.
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Irving, Adele and I spent the rest of the day doing some outlet shopping while the cool kids hit the clubs. After shopping, we grabbed dinner at Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast casino. And by “we” I meanĀ Irving. I got TGIFridays to go. haha (Irving’s Side Note: Ping Pang Pong was recently rated one of the countries best Chinese food in the country by Travel + Leisure Magazine. Apparently I’m missing out.)

Sunday morning, we picked up Laurie and Jim and headed off the strip. Way off. All the way to the mountains to check out Red Rock Canyon. We loved it when we were there a couple of years ago and were excited to go back. Plus since Laurie and Jim live in Chicago, they don’t see mountains much.
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We didn’t get a chance to do much hiking, but the views were still stellar.
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Love this candid shot. haha
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We did the 13 mile drivable loop and saw the whole valley. They got out and took fun pictures on the cliffs, but it was wayyyy too windy for Adele. I tried once and poor girl nearly blew away.
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After that, we drove back to the strip for some more sight seeing. First stop was the Stratosphere. Come to think about it, that was my first time there! Then we jumped over to the Mirage.
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We were actually looking for the lions, didnt they used to have a free exhibit? Am I making this up? Was that years ago? I thought there were free lions or tigers or something somewhere in vegas. Oh well.
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After that, we were all tired and headed back to our hotel for some much needed rest.

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And then Irving and I were excited to take advantage of our free babysitters for the evening and we headed out to seeĀ Mystere!
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Bye Adele. Bye Laurie. Um, good luck with that. hahahaha
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Just kidding, I heard the night went well. Lots of playing, lots of cuddles and Adele was in bed by 8pm. Wheeee! What a good Aunty.
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We loved Mystere. Not the best Cirque show in Vegas, but I heard it was the first one which in itself makes it special. You can see how the troupes have evolved over the years. This one was a little circus-y but the stage and lighting were great. And the acts were excellent too. (My #1 Cirque show isĀ KA. But then again, I have yet to seeĀ O.

We’re currently en route back to Los Angeles. Irving’s driving, Adele’s sleeping and Laurie and I are chatting (while blogging). Excited for a few days of adventures with her this week! I’ve got a lot of fun things with Adele planned too. Can’t wait!
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And PS… just for fun… this photo was from the last time we were in Vegas! A lot changes in 10 Months! I was bummed she was asleep in the car when we took our iconic vegas sign pictures this weekend. Next time!

 

Don’t Ever Fly Spirit Airlines On Your Birthday! August 18, 2011

Filed under: Travel — Kelocity @ 7:00 am
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Ok, remember last week when I wrote about how I was nervous about flying Spirit Airlines again? Well, let’s just say that my instincts were right. Although I had no problems on my flight TO Chicago, the seats are disgusting, they don’t clean the planes in between flights and it’s just plain gross in there. Also, I think since the prices are ā€œlowā€, they attract a clientele that you don’t usually see on other carriers. (I know that is judgmental, but seriously, some of those people looked homeless.)

When I was checking in with TSA, the guy made some comment about how their boarding passes actually don’t comply with FAA standards, but they continue to print them that way. The information is hard to read on them and the agents hate them. (Way to piss off your airports, Spirit!)

My flight back to LA had a scheduled three hour layover in Las Vegas. I wasn’t happy about this, but at least I got a good deal on it, so I made the most of it. I get to Las Vegas, have a nice dinner by myself and read a bit of ā€œThe Helpā€ in the terminal. They had slot machines there since it was Vegas, but I wasn’t feeling very lucky.

Yep. Not lucky indeed. Right when the flight was supposed to be boarding, they quietly announced that the flight was delayed for TWO hours! Now my 3 hour layover had turned into FIVE hours! I could have driven home to LA in less time than that. Ugh! And right after they made that announcement, their counters looked like this…
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Yep. No staff. No one to ask your questions to or anything. And now I wouldn’t be getting back to LA until 1:45am. I called Irving, we chatted for a bit and then I read more of my book.
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So 12:30a rolls around and they announce that the flight had been cancelled since the crew couldn’t work that many hours. Whhhaaattt??? Didn’t know you know that would have been the case, oh, I don’t know, FIVE HOURS AGO?! The way they announced it was almost like WE were an inconvenience to THEM. Ugh!

So many people at the gate were drunk (they’d been drinking for five hours in the airport bars for crying out loud!) I was already annoyed that I had to listen to them screaming and laughing way louder than anyone should in the middle of the night. I was the first one in line and they gave me a hotel and meal voucher and a ticket on an 8am flight the next day. They said they had nothing any earlier.

I asked if they could put me on another airline so I’d make it to work on time, but they guy laughed and said ā€œoh, no other airline will accept our vouchersā€. HAHA Seriously? That alone speaks volumes.

Want a few other reasons why Spirit is the worst? They charge for Carry On bags and water during the flight. (PS… water in the airport was cheaper than the water on board!)

So I called Irving and asked if he could find me any other flights leaving earlier, and Southwest had one leaving at 6am. He booked it for me and I got BACK in line and waited another 40 minutes or so to talk to the agent. When I got up there I said rather loudly I wanted a refund because Southwest was better, cheaper and more convenient. The agreed to give me my money back, but I had to surrender my hotel voucher first. I laughed and told him no. He argued with me for a few minutes but I won. Thank you very much. Jerk.

And since it was past midnight, it is now officially my birthday. Guess I can’t say that I never celebrated my birthday in Vegas, huh?

So the good news is that it is now 1:30am and I have a place to stay for the night.
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But the bad news is that it is 1:30am and I have to get up at 3:30a to make my Southwest Flight.
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And to top it off, I missed the hotel shuttle and had to wait 15 more minutes for it to come back. In the meantime, Mr. Vegas Drunk from the airport terminal decides that now is a good time to strike up a conversation and ā€œget to know each otherā€. Ew, gross. I tried to ignore him.

When the bus finally came, he SAT NEXT TO ME. ugh! He was wearing a bathing suit and a wife beater and had zero luggage. I’m pretty sure he was so drunk that he lost it somewhere. He was all sweaty and gross and practically sitting on me naming off reasons why we should be get rooms next to each other and eat out of the mini bar.

When we got to the hotel, I told the guy to give me a room as far away from that creep as possible.

After a 1.5 hour ā€œnapā€ in the hotel, I made it back to the airport and had an uneventful 42 minute flight home. Yep. After all that, the flight was only 42 minutes.

If you’re counting, I think I got 9 total hours of sleep in three nights. Somehow I made it through the workday, but when I got home at 5:15, I had just enough energy to open my birthday presents! But I was asleep by 5:30pm!

I am NEVER flying Spirit Again! When I called today to ask about my refund, they had the gall to ask me if I’d like to apply for their credit card. I thought they were kidding! NEVER EVER EVER.

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In other news, BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!!!!
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I was in love with Irving’s super awesome ā€œgirls ruleā€ wrapping paper.
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I got some really fun gifts including the LA Noire Game for the xbox!! It should be arriving this week and I can’t wait!!!
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I’m pretty sure Irving has been waiting for 10 years to be able to buy me a video game. Can’t wait to play it! Thanks, love!

So I’m officially 28 years old now. People keep telling me that 28 is a great year. I’m sure it will be. Looking forward to it!

 

(GUEST POST) 2010: A Golf Odyssey December 31, 2010

Filed under: Christmas,Guest Post,Happy,Las Vegas,Mom — Kelocity @ 4:57 pm
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Since the day Kelocity launched, Kelley has been asking me to provide a guest post.
This is my first.

There is nothing I love more than my wife.Ā  Unfortunately, my work schedule last weekend kept us apart for the holiday.
With her braving the winter weather blast in Boston I took the opportunity to rendezvous with my other loves, travel and golf… not necessarily in that order.

But this wasn’t just a trip… it was an odyssey.
54 holes in 72 hours on some of the best courses in the West!

My mom didn’t want me to be alone for the holiday, so she tagged along.

Yellow & Black Golf Bag + Yellow & Black Travel Bag = 100% Intentional
Yellow & Black Golf Bag + Yellow & Black Travel Bag + Yellow & Black VW Beatle = 100% Luck… it was a rental car.
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My first round was at Primm Valley Golf Club, just on the border of California and Nevada.
They have two courses, Desert and Lakes.Ā  I played the Lakes course.

Warming up…
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This was our view while we grabbed a bite to eat at the club house.Ā  Stunning!
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1st Tee.

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Fantastic conditions on a fantastic course.

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We stayed the first night in Las Vegas.

Day 2 (Christmas Day) was at Badlands Golf Course in Summerlin, just a few miles North West of the Las Vegas Strip.

Not only was the course amazing, so were the homes that looked down on it…
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Stay focused Irving.Ā  You are here to golf, not daydream.
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Check out the view from the tee box.
It’s a long carry over the desert to hit the fairway, good thing I am focused.
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After that shot, your travel down the path to find this…
The octagon building is a workout room.Ā  Just past the workout room is a helicopter.
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Wait, what?Ā  A HELICOPTER?!?!
I thought about this for a while.Ā  This guy has a helicopter parked in his backyard.
Truth is, if I had a home in Vegas on an amazing golf course… with a helicopter, I too would park it in the backyard.
I mean where else would you park it?Ā  In the front yard?Ā  That would be such an eyesore.

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Oh no!Ā  The temperature started to drop into the 60s, time to pull out the sweatshirt.
(I think this was they day that Kel called me to tell me she had to shovel snow twice.)
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After the round we got in the car and drove to Mesquite, Nevada.

It’s about an hour North of Vegas just before you hit Arizona and Utah.

We stayed that night in Mesquite and woke up for an early round.
This was actually the course that I was most excited for.

Wolf Creek Golf Course in Mesquite is listed as one of the top 50 courses in the country.
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It has been described as ā€œthe Disneyland of golf courses.ā€
And ā€œthe Pebble Beach of desert golf.ā€
I agree with both.

Just have a look at this place…
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Time to warm up…
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1st hole…

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And here we go…
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Here is the view from the back tee’s on the 2nd hole.

The fairway is over the ridge to the left side of this picture.
Look just right of center in this picture.Ā  My mom is standing at the white tees, where I played from.

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A closer look…

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Here is the view from the white tees.

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I’m going for it…
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The conditions were perfect…

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Here are two of the best Par 3 holes that I have ever played…

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I have never seen views like this on a golf course…

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This is about as close to other golfers that I got that day.
See them on the ridge?Ā  That is a tee box!
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What a way to end the year!
Have a very Happy New Year everyone.Ā  See you in 2011!
Cheers,
-Irving

 

 
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