After having a great time in the Pacific Northwest we decided to take our trip to a much warmer climate. On our last trip in the area we took Highway 101 South along the Pacific Coast to Northern California. This time we decided to switch it up a bit and head towards the inland and made a stop off in Redding, CA before hitting Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada for a little rambling and gambling.
Note from Kenin: When we went to LA to visit my brother, one of the great places we checked out was Villain’s Tavern in the LA Arts District. Since Brant is both a resident of LA and an aficionado of bars and cocktails plus writes the whyihateeverything blog we opted to have him guest post a review.
For all the sleek sophistication of the new mixology movement, let’s face it, half of the colorful cocktails out there can taste a bit trashy. The lesson here is that just because you can mix a couple liquors with juices and herbs doesn’t always mean you should. Villain’s Tavern, however, knows exactly how to concoct anachronistic drinks without turning the stomach, serving a variety of flavorful combinations that are enjoyable to imbibe and interesting on the palette at the same time.
We left the hotel this morning and headed out for Sedona, AZ. Kenin was very excited because we were going to drive to the Grand Canyon. Neither of us have ever seen it, and it’s on both of our bucket lists, so this was going to be a real adventure. We had been to Scottsdale earlier this year, and already missed one chance to see it. Who knew our road trip would end up being from Los Angeles to Las Vegas instead?
When we left our hotel in Fresno we knew we were headed for a good time at our next destination. We were going to see my brother, Brant, who’s lived in LA for quite some time, and has been known to party in 4 Continents. What we didn’t know is that by the end of the 4 days we would have had drinks in a warehouse turned into a night club, a meal at a swanky beach-front steakhouse, nursed 2 hangovers, and attend a Space Party. We managed to do all this while also getting in quality time with the family and some time to ourselves. Of course none of these things were planned in advance, that’s just how it goes with us ramblers. We got in the car that morning listening to more Silversun Pickups to keep us company (they always remind Lauren of Brant) and drove to LA .
This trip just keeps getting better and better. Last week we got to see the coastal redwoods and now we are going to see the Giant Sequoia Redwoods! As if that wasn’t enough our relationship has been improving as well. We have both become so relaxed and at ease with each other again. Our plan was to head out to see the Grant and Sherman redwood trees, which are the two largest trees in the US and then take a bit of a hike. We left the doggies in the hotel for the day and headed out to see some more of nature in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park! Continue reading