Yesterday, I got to break some tension in San Francisco by attending the Tension Tour featuring pop icon Kylie Minogue! While I got to see her for the first time a year ago, it’s not every year she tours the States. Let’s get to it with the pics!
(Note: there are no pics of her opening act Rita Ora, but only because I was in a long-ass line for Kylie merch while she was performing. Sorry!)
(Side note: I notice that many of my pics from past installments of this series is no longer showing up. I recently had an issue with the photo hosting site I uploaded my pics to (they blocked my account for no good reason and I still haven’t heard back from them), so I moved all my pics to a new site and y’all should see them now!)
I didn’t expect my Vegas trip to get political. I had already voted prior to my trip, and while I knew I couldn’t escape it given that my trip occurred the week before Election Day, I thought my trip would involve politics, aside from flipping off all those unsightly Trump ads. I even had my Halloween plans set: go people-watching around the Strip and Fremont Street while dressed as Regina George from Mean Girls.
Then I found out that thee VP herself Kamala Harris was going to appear at a rally in North Las Vegas. On Halloween. My janky Regina George can wait another year, for I wasn’t going to pass up on a historic opportunity!
I turned 10, 18, and 20 at home in the city I was born in. I celebrated my 21st at some waterfront restaurant in SF with my first-ever drink, my 25th in Santa Cruz, and my 30th in LA, trolling Dodger fans after another SF Giants World Series victory the day before. I had plans for my 40th since 2022, but none of them didn’t involve Vegas. I thought I’d go to Hawaii, or Europe on one of those seven-day European tour specials I’d see on Travelzoo. Some plans don’t come to fruition due to life’s curveballs hitting my head, however. (I felt like I’ve taken a lot of those curveballs to my head this year.) And then there are the rare times in life when I hit a grand slam. Finding a great place in Vegas at an amazing weekly rate on my exact travel dates was one of them.
I usually stay home on my born days, simply to avoid my special day being potentially ruined by assholes being assholes. But I also have this thing where I need to get a massage wherever I travel. In-home massage is costly as hell, so I found a good deal via Groupon at a massage clinic in Summerlin. The soonest opening they had on their schedule was, yep, on my birthday, so I ended up going out. The drive wasn’t bad, I didn’t encounter any assholes, and the massage was amazing.
I stayed home the rest of the time, though I took some time to explore the rest of the hotel.
My suite is up there. No, UP there!
It looks like Vegas paradise, but trust me, it was coooooold that day.
I had the option to go to LA again for my 40th, but there was that pesky blue baseball team and its fans. Naturally, there just had to be a World Series game on my born day, and a closeout game, too. Ten years ago, I sported my Giants hat while roaming the streets of LA, proud to be repping the winners. (Not once did I get jumped, if you can believe that.) I guess the evil gods of that blue baseball team must’ve remembered that because ten years later, guess who would win the World Series, and on my 40th, too? (And thus begins my revenge story!)
I eased my nerves in my private, jacuzzi-style bathtub, and it was a huge bathtub. With actual jacuzzi jets! The lights were mine, by the way.
The behemoth sight of The Sphere, taken from my ride on The High Roller.
After my last visit to Vegas back in 2018, I thought the city had everything and the kitchen sink. Sprawling buffets, 24-hour weed dispensaries, replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Brooklyn Bridge, fountain shows at the Bellagio, light shows at Fremont Street, and “Elvis” posing with families on the Strip sidewalks while trucks advertising near-nude escorts drive past. I guess I underestimated Vegas and its penchant for excess for they added more things since my last visit, namely The High Roller and The Sphere. Sooooo many more things to see, and yet…
…with a view like this from my room, it was kind of tough getting out. (That’s how much of a slut I am for pretty views from my home.)
By the way, after seeing more Trump ads on those digital billboards and on every other street corner, I think the next time I visit Vegas, it will be on a non-Presidental election year. It’s bad enough the convicted felon’s hotel is there, although it was also easy to miss since other buildings caught my eye. (In fairness, there were more Kamala ads around, including one on that big-ass Sphere.)
This was taken from observation deck at The Strat (more on this later), and I found out earlier that day that her ads would be featured on that Sphere. So glorious! 🥹
Not so glorious but amusing is seeing a gold-plated eyesore pull up to the Dollar Tree, of all places. Only in Vegas. I’d say people who voluntarily buy those abominations on wheels (after all the batshit crazy things its creator has said and done) have Dollar Tree morals, but that would be insulting to Dollar Tree.
A month ago, I was in Las Vegas, a few days fresh into my forties. Life seemed to be good; I was having fun and feeling some actual hope for the future. I wish I could say the same thing today, but that’s a rant for another day.
I didn’t plan nor expect to enter my forties in Vegas. With the budget I had at the time, I thought I’d take another LA trip (and risk my well-being being potentially rattled due to that blue team being in the World Series) or just celebrate my birthday close to home (I thought about staying at an upscale hotel in SF for a couple nights). Four days before my birthday, with still no place to go, I checked out Airbnb on a whim and saw an offering I couldn’t refuse: a high-rise suite at Palms Place with strip-facing views, going for under $700 for a week’s stay during my exact travel dates. The lone catch was that the reservation was “non-refundable” and, to save all my coins, I’d have to drive what would end up being over 1200 miles for a round trip. And I had only two days to prepare for my trip. They were small prices to pay to enjoy myself, however.
Vacations!!!
Speaking of which, I’m currently on one at the moment, thus this short post. Where am I? Find out on my Twitter and IG!
Road Trips!
Images from two of my past road trips, from 2022 (in the Central Valley), and from this past summer (at Lancaster).
Whether it’s for a day trip or as part of a week-long getaway, I just enjoy traveling by car. I have a slight fear of flying and while I don’t mind train travels, I just prefer being behind the wheel instead of someone else. Yes, I’d have to do all the work and spend the money and worry over shit like flat tires and gas. But I get full control of my itinerary, I don’t have to worry about strangers sitting next to me, and that’s all that matters.
All my road trips I’ve taken so far have been within my state borders. I’m hoping to take a road trip up and down the West Coast, as well as through the Southwest one day!
State/Regional Parks!
I’ve always had appreciation for state and regional parks, and that appreciation grew ten-fold during the pandemic lockdown four years ago. Stores that were not essential business were closed for a while, and parks were the one place where I didn’t have to entirely worry about crowds and masking. (Although I always had my face mask on me just in case.) I’m lucky to live within driving distance of plenty of regional parks and beaches, and I hope to return to that park in the header pics soon (that’s Mt. Tamalpais State Park and the amazing views from there, taken from July 2022).
I would’ve posted this on my socials yesterday, but various things kept me from doing that. Plus, I keep losing followers on IG/the bird app (was it something I said?), so looks like I’ll be posting exclusives here first, haha. (I also happen to be gaining followers here, much to my surprise.)
From the Willie Mays Experience pop-up museum, across the ballpark. Went there before heading over to the event.
Outside Oracle Park. The event was free to the public.
Turnout was decent, though I expected more fans. This is Willie Mays we’re paying tribute here! Probably the Monday afternoon start time kept some people away from the event. (It was also an off-day for the Giants.) The second pic is one of the many tributes to the GOAT around the park, as well as a tribute to another Giants great, Orlando Cepeda, who passed away a week after Mays. (Side note: go after the evil ones instead of the good guy legends, Grim Reaper!)
Some of the guests at the tribute. I didn’t expect to see former President Bill Clinton (1st pic), Spike Lee (4th pic), and members of the championship teams like Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, and Sergio Romo (all not pictured) there. Jumbotron pics are of (from left to right) Michael Mays (Willie’s son), Barry Bonds, and Juan Marichal (2nd pic), and former President Barack Obama (3rd pic).
Michael Mays, giving the last speech of the tribute to his dad.
You’ll be forever in our hearts and forever missed, Mr. Mays! 🧡🖤
There was more to my LA vacay than a fabulous music festival and seeing one of my idols in person. More images from another fun road trip!
I’ve longed to visit this place! And when I finally arrived on a hot May day…
There are not enough😆s for this. I missed out on the poppies, but, nonetheless, I still made the most out of my visit. It’s quite fascinating to see desert land and Joshua trees up close. (Just don’t touch their tips.)
I had quite the day in the Lancaster/Palmdale region. I’d never visited the area before, and I wasn’t surprised to see some MAGA folk running around. (Bumper stickers tell all.) I’m sure they were feeling fine that day as that Thursday was the very same day their dear leader became a convicted felon. (There are not enough😆s for that, either.)
Wild how it was so hot during the day, but when the sun started to set, the winds picked up. I definitely felt them when I took this pic at a vista point near the mountains.
More pics after the cut…
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