New Adventure #7: Suit up - it's going to be legen - and i hope you're not lactose intolerant because the last word is - dary

Wall Street.

Seeming how I've never had aspirations to be a stock broker, I would have never dreamed I'd be suited up (makes me think of Barney from How I Met Your Mother, hence the legendary title) to go to the New York Stock Exchange. On our walk there from the hotel, we were following the "guy in the suit" who was leading our group... which got increasingly difficult to do as we mixed in with the swarms of New York madness. Apparently following the "guy in the suit" doesn't really work in New York where if you aren't in a suit, you're probably homeless.

But there we are... on the NYSE floor.

Really random observation I made - it is so dirty on the NYSE floor. All of these money-making men (and women, but mostly men) in Armani suits, and they just throw their papers and wrappers and styrofoam coffee cups on the floor. Was it because there was a lack of trash cans? No... Apparently the extra foot and a half it would require to throw their coffee cup into the trash can was too much exerted effort. And maybe - you say - they are just working so fast and so hard that they don't have the spare second to throw it away. A good theory, but invalid based on the number of guys playing solitaire or just chillin' at their work stations.

I tried to understand all of the numbers on the screens. And the process of buying and selling. I was glad that the Finance kids were just as confused as I was.

And I tried to imagine what I would possibly say if this phone actually rang. :)

Below is where they ring the bell. I never knew it would be so small.

I was hoping they would let me ring the bell. Apparently there is a very long waiting list - unless of course you are Jersey Shore.

I hope I didn't look as bored as Snooki and J-Woww or whatever ridiculous names they go by.

Of course we got a picture with the Charging Bull at Battery Park. It apparently represents the "energy, strength, and unpredictability of the stock market."

A beautiful couple of days in NYC. If you really squint, you can see the Statue of Liberty below. I didn't realize it until after I took the photo, to be honest. I'm just a little obsessed with taking photos of lamp posts, so I guess the Statue of Liberty was an added bonus.

New Adventure #5: Ready, Aim, Fire

As often as I made fun of my dad for never quite being able to hit that groundhog in the field, I personally had never shot a gun myself.

So when Phi Sigma Pi offered a pistol shooting class at the Ohio State ROTC gun range, I decided to give it a try.

I'll be honest. I was previously a little terrified of shooting a gun. Not really for any reason in particular. It just made me a little nervous, a little uncomfortable.

But this year is about new adventures and new challenges... so I challenged myself to actually do it. And it was pretty rewarding. They taught me the correct way to remove the safety, hold it, load the bullets, AIM - and ultimately shoot the pistol. The aiming part took a little getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't half bad. I did hit the bulls-eye right in the center once - and kept the rest of the shots within the circles. I considered that a success. :)

As I was leaving that day, I called home to report my success. My dad answered, and an ambulance with full sirens drives by as I open saying, "Dad, I'm leaving a pistol shooting class. I learned how to shoot a gun today." Luckily, I was able to explain that the ambulance had zero correlation to my pistol class before any panic set in.

Maybe next I'll try a rifle. :)

New Adventure #8 and #9: A long DAM drive to see wonders of the world

I don't believe I'll ever see all the wonders of the world - especially since there seems to be an obnoxious number of lists of wonders. Wonders of the ancient world, wonders of the medeival world, the new seven wonders, the seven natural wonders... and even a few lists of wonders I didn't even know existed, but I found on wikipedia - the seven wonders of the underwater world, the seven wonders of the industrial world.

Well according to these lists, in my adventure with Amy, I saw two wonders from two different lists: The Hoover Dam - which is on the seven wonders of the industrial world list - and the Grand Canyon - which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

To be completely honest, I had no idea I would see both. We stopped in Vegas to visit Marie and then started driving to Arizona to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and along the way, suddenly I saw signs for the Hoover Dam - and I said, well dam, we should probably stop. (I know, I'm punny. Pun + funny = punny, it's not as great if I have to explain it, but since you are an audience that is reading this and I can't gauge your reaction, I thought it best to break it down).

So we did stop at the Hoover Dam- we hopped out for a few photo opps.
Unfortunately, there wasn't actually any water coming out. Amy had visited before and she said that the noise was deafening. It was a sight to see either way - hard to believe it was constructed during the Great Depression - but I would have been even more in awe with thundering water.

The Hoover Dam rests on the border of Arizona and Nevada. Below, Amy and I are in different states as we stand on either side of the state line.

We didn't take an official tour, but I did try to overhear what the guide was saying about the winged sculpture. Since that mostly failed, I decided to just google it when I got home. The Bureau of Reclamation website explains:
"The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring. The winged bronzes which guard the flag, therefore, wear the look of eagles. To them also was given the vital upward thrust of an aspirational gesture - to symbolize the readiness for defense of our institutions and keeping of our spiritual eagles ever ready to be on the wing."

The building of the Hoover Dam was the sagas of the daring. According to Wikipedia, there were 112 construction deaths - and I'm not even sure that counts the death of the Hoover Dam dog.

It is a beautiful morning, we're pumped for our trip to the Grand Canyon, and since we didn't purchase an official tour, we are making sure to read all of the plaques that are posted. We spot one over in this grove of trees and upon reading it, surely regret it...

It tells the story of the Hoover Dam dog, how he was a loyal friend to the construction workers and he was the mascot during the building of the dam. And ends by casually mentioning that he died when a worker backed a truck over him while he was sleeping.

I think I would have been satisfied with a "he rests here" placque so I could think he died a peaceful death of old age or a noble death attempting to rescue a construction worker, but this careless death seems too cruel to post on a plaque.

On that happy note, we start the adventure to the Grand Canyon - driving over the new Hoover Dam bypass (in the background of the photo below)- which I had no idea had only been opened since Oct. 19 of this year. Not even a month old and we are driving over it. My sister hates bridges - we probably could have never gotten her onto it.

It was a drive through nothingness. Literally. They think Ohio's cornfields are bad, at least we have exits with McDonald's and gas stations. Wanting breakfast, we passed a Ruby's diner and thought - we'll see what else there is up ahead. Big mistake. We drove through miles and miles of desert - vast desert, empty desert. Luckily, Amy had cheese pretzel snacks to tie us over until we eventually found civilization and a Wendy's.

I suppose had we gotten desperate we could have gone hunting for some desert wildlife. I'm not sure Amy's car Rosie could have won in a competition with a wild animal, but we did see a lot of "mooselope crossing" signs on our drive there.

So I shall explain the name.

We saw these signs and couldn't figure out what kind of animal it could be. Too big of antlers for an antelope, too small of a body for a moose, obviously a mooselope. We stopped at a gas station along the way and learned from a post card that it is actually a bull elk. They even had a statue of one in the gas station parking lot.


I did a google search for mooselopes when I got home, assuming it would turn up nothing. Ironically, if you play the National Park Service's Antlers vs. Horns game (http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/antlerhorngame.htm), you can create a mooselope. :)

We ended up seeing lots of mooselopes - and eventually a live one (not a statue) in a gas station parking lot! Just munching on some grass as we filled up the car for the haul home. And we saw a whole herd of them as we entered the park.

On our drive in, we saw a sign that said "We rescue 250 people from the Grand Canyon every year. People who look just like this." (It has an image of a 20-year-old guy).

We later understood why. First, with the mooselopes. We are driving in and see lots of cars pulling over and see a herd of probably 40 - 50 mooselopes. Amy and I and other 20-somethings scramble out of our cars for a first-hand look and photographs of the mooselopes.

All of the 40 plus-ers have stayed comfortable and safe within their cars - where no mooselope can gore them with their antlers. Probably a wise move, but I doubt they got as good of pictures.

I was willing to take my chances with the wild animals - but not the edges of the canyon. We later learned how ignorant 20-somethings truly can be. They were crawling over and around the barricades to get pictures on the rock at the very rim of the canyon. If that rock is loose and tumbles or they lose their balance and fall, it is only a mile long drop. No sweat, right? People are crazy. Actually, I'm pretty sure they were all male. Men are crazy.

The most wild shots we took were jumping ones - but on the safe side of the barricade.

We had great views - and the pictures simply cannot do justice to the Canyon. It is Beautiful. Magnificent. Impressive.

It seems simply unconceivable how massive the Grand Canyon is. The eye cannot fully take in that it is a mile deep and the brain cannot fully understand that the Canyon stretches for 277 miles.

Can you imagine being a pioneer coming across the desert in a covered wagon and running into this impassable Canyon?

We made sure to stay at the Canyon until sunset. Definitely worth the wait to see the blues and reds and yellows of the sunset reflect off the rocks.

We had such a fun trip. Two more world wonders down.

That makes 9 total wonders I've seen as listed on the Wikipedia site. Well, sort of 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_World

3 from the Medeival world - StoneHenge, the Colesseum, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
3 from the Modern world - Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, and the CN Tower
2 from the Natural world - Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef
and 1 - well I guess technically 2 - from the Industrial - the Hoover Dam and the London Sewerage System? While I suppose I have never seen the London Sewerage system, I have used it...

I find it hard to believe the London Sewerage system is on the list, but I can't make this stuff up. Fact is in fact stranger than fiction. :)

Apparently, there is also a "Seven Wonders of Poland" list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_Poland

I've seen three of those - the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Wawel Castle, and Krawkow Market Square.
Working my way around the world. Where will my next new adventure be?

I retract previous statements

Remember how I said I missed cold weather... cool, crisp autumn air and snow?

I take it back. There is something seriously satisfying about spending a mid-November afternoon sunbathing followed by a bike ride along the beach until the sun sets beautifully over the ocean.

Wish you were here?

I do too. So come visit. :)

New Adventure #4: Viva Las Vegas

First (and second) time to Fabulous Las Vegas this year...

My first Vegas visit was in April with Marie. Didn't tell my mom I was going because after my New Orleans Mardi Gras trip she said, "These trips stress me out, I'd rather not know about them because then I just worry." So I took that as literal suggestion. She ended up finding out I was in Vegas from my sister (gotta love older sibs), and I got a voicemail while on the Strip that said, "This is your mother.... I heard you are in Las Vegas... I suggest you give me a call." (Sorry, mom). She retracted her "don't tell me" policy after.

Marie and I made sure to visit the most iconic image in Vegas - which is little more than a tacky tourist trap in the middle of the road, but of course a necessary stop. We were in line right behind a gothic wedding party. In my yellow flower dress next to their tattoos and piercings and black attire, I felt like I should be skipping through a field of daisies rather than stalking through Sin City.


I told my mom about the second trip with Amy last week. We stopped to spend a night with Marie (who now lives in Vegas) on our way to the Grand Canyon. Amy had never been before, so of course, we again went for a photo opp at the sign.

And in our first 15 seconds on the Strip we already had our first Elvis impersonator sighting.

Amy's parents weren't too concerned about us being in Vegas. They told her, "Amy, we aren't worried about you two. Most people go to the Grand Canyon because it is close to Vegas. You're stopping by Vegas because it is close to the Grand Canyon."

And it was soooo true. Vegas is one of those cities that I think you have to see once, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly fond of. Yes, it is awesome to see the famous hotels that you see in all the movies- like Caesar's Palace. I wonder how much they hated the movie The Hangover.

"This isn't the real Caesar's Palace, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did Caesar live here?"
"No."
"I didn't think so."

And yes, I love the many hotels themed in the cities I've either visited or desperately want to. Like the Venetian -it brings back fond memories from my family trip in Venice.

I love the shops in the Venetian. Mostly because they aren't that dissimilar from the shops in Venice, and the blown glass and masks are so beautiful.

Love Vegas' Eiffel Tower. Paris is high on my list of places I've never been but want to go to:

Lucky I took French in high school and college so I could more easily shop in Vegas. :P This sign says "water."

My favorite hotel, however, is across from the Paris - the Bellagio. If for no reason other than the Bellagio fountains.

Day or night, there is an unbelievable beauty in their choreography. I took possibly like 100 photos of the fountains. Just a continuous stream. Amy was smart. She just took a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_3Rzmpct6g

I also love the Chihuly glass ceiling.

And the Conservatory, which is themed based on the season. In the spring there were butterflies, bees, and flowers...

And in the fall, the Conservatory sported falling leaves and giant real pumpkins. Some were over 1,000 pounds.

And this cool, but creepy-looking tree man.

Amy and I both love the Bellagio.

Marie and I had an obnoxiously expensive, but unbelievably delicious dinner at the Bellagio during our visit. The next time I'm in town, I desperately want to eat at the Jasmine, which overlooks the fountains... If you haven't caught on, I really love those fountains. I could sit there all day just watching them.

The other good thing about Vegas is the availability of shows. From the Lion King to the Blue Man group - plus all of the Cirque Du Soleil shows. Marie and I went to see one Cirque show - Zumanity. The abilities of some of those acrobats are impressive and the show was definitely unique. Maybe a little too unique... a little too artistic for my taste - like an independent film.

I think the next time I'd rather see one of the more commercial Cirque shows. Like Beatles Love. Combine the artistic and acrobatic talent with pop music. I think the result would be positive.

Not enough time for a show in my most recent visit, but we did hit the Strip for a night out - for free... Met a promoter for Haze in the Aria and he hooked us up with free cover and no line - for the ladies AND gent in our party, which saved Marie's friend Jon $80 cover and a lot of time in line - and getting both waived almost never happens for men. I can't believe any guy is willing to pay that much to get into a night club - or the prices they ask for a drink. I'm not normally one to let guys pay for my drinks, but in a city where its $20 for well liquor, I'm willing to muster up a cute smile for a free beverage - especially if it is Grey Goose bottle service. It is one time it is to my advantage that men don't think solely with their brain.

So yes, I think Vegas is a city that is good to see. But I don't gamble (I spent $20 in video Roulette while on the Strip, and maybe a quarter or two in a slot machine), and I'm just as happy with a $3.99 bottle of Sutter Home White Zifandel at home or a Hennessey's Vodka Lemonade on the pier as I am an overpriced, sweaty night club. And Amy and I both had to work pretty hard to not be offended by the City of Sin. But I can appreciate Vegas for the fun I had during my two adventures there...