Awesome dinner date in Carrboro with awesome friends - the newly engaged Kerry and Thiago. Congratulations you two!Monday, May 16, 2011
Picture of the Day (Day 231 - 15th May 2011)
Awesome dinner date in Carrboro with awesome friends - the newly engaged Kerry and Thiago. Congratulations you two!
Picture of the Day (Day 230 - 14th May 2011)
Some Mario Kart action on a Saturday night (followed by a viewing of 'She's All That').Picture of the Day (Day 229 - 13th May 2011)
It certainly was Black Friday today - the storm clouds darkened the sky.We chanced fate by having dinner at Leesville Taproom (but soon gave up on our idea of sitting outside) followed by seeing Fast Five in a leaky cinema. Great movie! So entertaining!
Picture of the Day (Day 227 - 11th May 2011)
This rose bush kind of appeared out of nowhere. We just discovered it under a tree in our front garden, quite hidden. We're going to try and transplant it to our front flower bed. At least, Paul is. I'm too scared of snakes being under there!Picture of the Day (Day 226 - 10th May 2011)
I walk past this every day but only just noticed it. Who knew Durham was the 'City of Medicine'?
Picture of the Day (Day 224 - 8th May 2011)
Mother's Day flowers for Mama Himberger.I hope all the wonderful Mums out there had an amazing day (especially mine!)
Picture of the Day (Day 223 - 7th May 2011)
Today we went to Foggy Bottom to help cut up the tree that fell in the tornadoes a few weeks ago. This is what's left of it. :)
Picture of the Day (Day 220 - 4th May 2011)
These little guys are everywhere! All over our garden. I'm hoping they turn into butterflies soon.Sunday, May 15, 2011
Picture of the Day (Day 218 - 2nd May 2011)
This is my walk to work every day along the Tobacco Trail.
Picture of the Day (Day 217 - 1st May 2011)
Before leaving Wilmington we stopped to have lunch with Lauren. This is her house. It is amazing. 4 floors. Elevator. Huge open kitchen. About a thousand balconies. View of the waterway. Awesome.Picture of the Day (Day 216 - 30th April 2011)
Driving to Wilmington for the night.We stayed with Pam and Phil who fed us enough to last us the entire week, including a strawberry shortcake to die for.
Picture of the Day (Day 215 - 29th April 2011)
A Royal Breakfast.Up at 4am to watch William and Kate's wedding. And so worth it.
Picture of the Day (Day 212 - 26th April 2011)
Our day started with a drive to Flagstaff, Arizona, which also happens to be the sister city of the Blue Mountains. And so began the Great Treasure Hunt of 2011.All I wanted was to find some sort of sign or poster that said something about the Blue Mountains. We began our search at the Visitor Centre, where they gave me an internet printout of information on my home town. Why, thanks.
Our next try was City Hall, where everyone was incredibly helpful. We were directed to a second floor hallway that apparently housed a great deal of sister city artifacts. We wandered that hallway for at least ten minutes but only found a Mexican tapestry. Some ladies interrupted our search to ask us what we were looking for. When we told them, they began hunting too, all over the council offices. They were sure there used to be some Australian things, but thought maybe the previous mayor had taken them with him. They suggested perhaps trying the library.
At the library we were shown a class case filled with a didgeridoo, a map of Australia, and the 'Ode to the Blue Mountains'. I was happy. Flagstaff had finally acknowledged the Blue Mountains' existence. Little did I know that in the meantime, the library staff had been conducting a search of their own for a mysterious plaque they were sure was in the library somewhere that had a list of Flagstaff's sister cities. Lo and behold, it was discovered in a high up darkened window (obviously a great place to show how proud they are of their sisterly ties). A staff member climbed up to get it down for us - and there it was. In writing. Blue Mountains, Australia. Our Sister City. My search was complete!
A successful morning bode well for the rest of the day.
Our next stop was Montezuma's Castle, a house built into the side of a cliff about 800 years ago. It was really cool, we spent quite awhile there, just amazed.
We also drove a part of the Apache Trail where we saw the Superstition Mountains, Canyon Lake, and visited a ghost town and Tortilla Flat, a town with a total population of 6.
We made it to Phoenix just as it was getting dark. Our hotel turned out to be quite plush, with a pool and hydro-spa, and a rooftop bar with great views of the city.
Picture of the Day (Day 211 - 25th April 2011)
We left Las Vegas early. We picked up our rental car and drove to the Hoover Dam, on the border of Nevada and Arizona.We didn't take a tour, but we did walk along the top of it - it's huge!
From there we drove through the Mohave Desert, and along part of Route 66.
There is so much beautiful scenery. We passed by Peach Springs, which was apparently the town that inspired Radiator Springs from the movie Cars.
We had a quick stop at our hotel in Williams before starting the hour drive to the Grand Canyon.
Pictures do not do that place justice. It is so amazing. I honestly cannot describe how wonderful it is. I am in love.
Because we got there late in the afternoon, we weren't able to do much hiking, but we did get to see the phenomenal sunset (although the wind was going crazy, and the temperature dropped as soon as the sun did).
I'm so glad I finally got to see it. The Grand Canyon is definitely on my list of the favourite places I've been.
Picture of the Day (Day 210 - 24th April 2011)
Our last full day in Las Vegas. :(It began with a buffet breakfast with Alesha at the Tropicana - delicious!
Lots of walking followed! Paul and I spent hours visiting as many of the hotels and casinos as we could. I think we hit every one between the Wynn and Mandalay Bay.
My favourites were the Luxor (picture above), Excalibur and the Venetian. I wanted to take a gondola ride at the Ventian but the line was long and it was pretty expensive.
We went to see the Dealertainers at the Imperial Palace, at Hadden's recommendation. Tina Turner and Michael Jackson were really the only two I recognised. (Also, I thought it was funny that the headline act at the Imperial Palace was Human Nature. Apparently they are Australia's premier Motown group. Who knew?)
After hours of walking, we finally got a cab back to our hotel.
I met up with Libby and we went down to the pool, but the wind was a bit chilly so we didn't stay long. We did make a stop at the Cupcakery before going back to our room though!
We ended our day with an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner (but they did have other food including an amazing dessert selection) with Kevin and Libby, Karen (a fellow wedding guest), and my uni girls - Lucy, Hayley, Andrea, Georgie, Tyne and Abby.
Picture of the Day (Day 209 - 23rd April 2011)
Wedding Day!We had a pretty cruisy morning, beginning with breakfast at the Monte Carlo cafe with Meagan and Grant, followed by seeing the lions at the MGM Grand, and watching Grant and Kevin play a little blackjack.
We took a shuttle bus with other guests to the Secret Garden, where the big event was taking place. Everything looked wonderful, with little touches everywhere.
Lisa was a stunning bride. I never saw her or Brandon stop smiling.
They had a funny but touching ceremony, followed by a buffet dinner with lots of dancing and drinking.
We hit the Strip afterwards but couldn't get in anywhere because Lisa didn't have her ID. Who doesn't let a bride into a club?!
Congratulations Lisa and Brandon! You both looked amazing and so happy!
Picture of the Day (Day 208 - 22nd April 2011)
Vegas: Day 2.Paul and I spent the morning wandering around the Strip, checking out some of the casinos - Monte Carlo, The Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Cosmopolitan and Paris.
I played my first pokie machine with the pull lever, and won $10 off of $1. Yay!
At Paris, I met up with some of my awesome uni girls (and Nick!), who happened to be in Las Vegas the same weekend as us. It was so good to see them! We lazed by the Paris pool for a few hours, where I got supremely sunburnt. Kind of forgot we were in the middle of the desert!
In the evening, we met up with Meagan and Grant for dinner and drinks, before checking out the fountain and lights show at the Bellagio.
The fountains were amazing!
We all hit Caesar's Palace afterwards where the others played video poker while I pulled another $20 out of the slots. :)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Picture of the Day (Day 207 - 21st April 2011)
Our first night in Las Vegas! We stayed at the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino.
After a few drinks to start with at Centrifuge at the MGM, and the bar at the Tropicana, we hit the Strip in a stretch hummer for Lisa's bachelorette party. (The boys spent the night partying at Coyote Ugly at the New York New York hotel).
We had a quick detour to pick up some of the girls at the airport, then cruised the streets in our sweet ride (but who knew it's illegal to stand up through the sun roof?) We had a lingerie party in the hummer before we were dropped off at Planet Hollywood, where we spent what seemed like hours wandering around trying to find Krave nightclub.
Of course, we finally got there, discovering that the entertainment for the night was two pretty-much-naked men dancing for the mostly gay crowd.
The girls danced the night away.
I bailed first, at midnight (3am in Raleigh) because my feet were killing me and the staff at Krave wouldn't let me sit anywhere. I got back to the hotel room and found that my key didn't work so had to wait for Paul to get back to let me in.
Eventful night! Crazy, but fun!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Picture of the Day (Day 206 - 20th April 2011)
My attempt at doing zebra print nails so I'd have a bit of 'crazy' in Vegas.Picture of the Day (Day 205 - 19th April 2011)
I captured this amazing sunset just before we ducked into Wal-Mart to pick up some last minute things for Las Vegas.Picture of the Day (Day 204 - 18th April 2011)
Today we went to Foggy Bottom to survey the tornado damage (the Himbergers are on a Mediterranean cruise). This tree had fallen in the back yard, and the street sign on the corner was on its side. There were also pieces of insulation everywhere, but not from their house. It had just been blown there by the wind.Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Picture of the Day (Day 203 - 17th April 2011)
Our first Bulls game of the season.Unfortunately Durham went down to the Gwinnett Braves 18-7.
Picture of the Day (Day 202 - 16th April 2011)
Today tornadoes swept through North Carolina, causing millions of dollars worth of damage and a number of deaths. Even downtown Raleigh was hit.Meanwhile, at our house in Durham, we got a little rain and heard some thunder in the distance. At the end of our street, a small tree fell in the wind.
This is the moon just after the 'storm'.
Picture of the Day (Day 201 - 15th April 2011)
Another Easter surprise has arrived!(Thanks Williams/Sutcliffe family!)
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