Epilogue! Thanks for following!

So guys, thanks for reading along as we traveled down the highways. It was an awesome experience! Other than the lack of sleep I got from all of Ruti's snoring, it was excellent (FYI, Breathe Right nasal strips do NOT work!).

Just in case you were wondering what Avis thought about our road trip, they weren't too happy... you see, we started off driving with around 7,600 miles on the car. And we returned it with around 13,000. The guy just looked at me and said,
"I know you didn't just put 5,000 miles on this car." What else was I gonna say? I just acted dumb.
"What? Huh?"

Anyway, it said "unlimited" miles, and Ruti and I were nice enough to clean it for them! Somewhat, anyway...

But hey, we paid our hard earned money for that car! Granted we were able to priceline it for just $17/day, it was a hard earned $17!

Well that's it for me. I don't have anything else to say. Ruti?

The journey home

We got up the next morning, somewhat somber. We knew this would be our last time outside of North Carolina, but the road trip had been a great one, and we knew the pictures we had gathered would be helpful during our EXTREMELY boring classes.

Back on the road, we stopped in Nashville, TN. After being impressed at Memphis and its surprises, we were hoping for the same in Nashville. But there wasn't really much surprising there. It was just... Country! And lots of it! Fortunately, we did realize that the Duke vs. Hampton game was on, and was able to stop in a bar to watch Duke whoop some butt.

Then we continued our trek back through the plains, and then mountains of Tennessee. We knew we were close to home when our phones switched from Central to Eastern time zone. We hit Asheville around 10:00 that night, and since it was our last night, we decided to splurge a bit and stay at a Courtyard hotel. (hey for us, that is splurging!)

After walking to a nearby Waffle House, we called it a night.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel, and headed to Downtown Asheville, where there were more hippies than parking spaces. Each store was "organic" this, and "Tofurkey" that. Made you wonder if these people had anything tasty to eat! But after chilling at a cafe for awhile, we took the four hour trek back to Durham.

Our road trip, folks, was over...

Of the blues, the lights and walkabouts

It's St. Party's Day and we reach Memphis at a reasonable hour and with some energy in reserve, a welcome change from the past few days. Determined to have a few drinks to celebrate we headed to downtown Memphis not expecting to see too much.

We were greeted however by Beale street dressed up in bright florescent hues, blocked off to traffic but carrying an army of youth enjoying their drinks on the street. It was a flashback to Mardi Gras (without the flashing). All our weariness disappeared as we couldn't help but be infected by the high energy environment.

Sauntering into BB Kings Blues Cafe we were treated to an outstanding performance by the band which had the whole club dancing clapping and hooting. The Guinness and Whiskey only further fueled the crowd. When the club closed we headed out into the streets to listen to a few more bands who were good, but what caught our attention was a four foot tall glass filled with an electric blue and apparently potent libation(everyone who had one was pleasantly stumbling along the road. We had to have one, armed with our own walkabout we continued our exploration of Beale street where we bumped into a variety of interesting people.

Mel in particular seemed to be in luck, a blonde dressed in green stuck to him, now feeling his muscles, now laughing at his jokes. If she were 30 years younger and an equal no of pounds lighter she may have been quite a catch. But Mel seemed pretty engrossed in deep conversation leaving me alone with the drink, not a good idea. Having consumed a sufficient amount I mustered up the courage to break up their love chat, after all I needed someone to drive me to the hotel.

Memphis really was a pleasant surprise!


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Location:Memphis

Driving, Driving, and... Uh... Driving

After our brush with the law at the Grand Canyon, things slowed down a bit. We finally arrived in Albuquerque that night, completely worn out and 12 hours after we left Vegas.

The next morning, we were back up again, heading toward Oklahoma City. Here, we had an extra 8-hour drive. For those who have never driven through the Midwest, there really isn't much. Desert everywhere you look, and very few cars on the road except in major cities. Our one major highlight was going running in Groom, New Mexico.

Once again, fears of being in a place you don't belong had Ruti shaking like that kid from "The Sitxth Sense". But I told him there was nothing to worry about. As long as you keep running they can't catch you :D! So just use it as motivation!

We arrived in Oklahoma City Wednesday night, once again worn out. But we knew we had 3 days to get the car back in time. So that meant hitting the road for another long drive the next morning...


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Location:Albuquerque to Oklahoma City

"You have 5 minutes to get off this property!"

After leaving Vegas, we began our travel back to NC. For this part of the road trip, we hadn't exactly figured out how we would get back to Durham in time. According to Avis, we need to return the Focus by Sunday at 12 pm. In order to do this, we realize we have to drive a pretty good portion each day. So this is our new goal:

Tuesday: end in Albuquerque
Wednesday: in Oklahoma City
Thursday: in Memphis
Friday: in Asheville
Saturday: in Durham
Sunday: return the car

We look at this itinerary and realize we will need to drive around 8 hours each day. It's all good though. We head toward New Mexico, by first stopping at The Grand Canyon. Although I had been before, I was thrown by how to get there. We were driving through deserts, dirt roads, and other terrain for miles just to get to the top of the canyon.






After perhaps 30 minutes, we finally reach within sight of the mouth of the canyon when we are stopped by a worker at the canyon. "Have you guys been here before?"
"No. "
"Well, I'm going to need you guys to park in this lot, and head inside the building."

Now I sure don't remember this happening last time, but we were on the part of the canyon owned by an Indian reservation, so perhaps they would try to get us to buy stuff. And boy was I right!

We found out we wouldn't even get to see the canyon unless we paid at least $100 per person in mandatory tours, gas fees, and taxes! Ruti and I looked at each other and dipped out of there. But we were still determined to see the canyon. I mean, we were right there!

We spotted a ranch a mile down the road and stopped there. Here, more souvenirs were sold and a dirt road led to the mouth of the canyon. BUT the entrance to the road had a huge "No Trespassing" sign. Well clearly they didnt mean us...



So we get out of the car, wait until no one is looking and hightail it down the road. Five minutes into our walk, we look to the right, and...

"oh no..."

A worker is rushing toward us on horseback. And we are so close to the edge! I look at Ruti.

"Hurry up and take a picture of me!" I said as I ran in front of him and turned my back to the canyon. Just as he took my picture, the big bad sheriff came up.

"Did you not see the sign up front saying not to enter! What are you doing out here?!"

Ruti looked like he was about to pee in his pants... "I don't know," he said.

"Did you come in a car?"
"yes"
" Well you have five minutes to get in your car and get off this property, before I have security escort you off!"

So we left, a bit dejected... But at least we got our picture :p.
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Location:Grand Canyon

All of the lights! Part 3

We walk into the Bellagio. Spot our table and head toward it. The game plan: "Ok guys. Were gonna take this $100, turn it into $200 and leave the second we got it."

With our powers combined, we began slowly increasing our wins. As our stacks grew, we couldn't help but get more excited at our good luck! We weren't just being lucky! We were being smart! I look over at the growing stack, and while Ruti keeps playing I start counting.

Ok $205. Time to quit. And just as I tell Ruti to pull the chips off the table, we lose $30 on the table. Well that's ok. Just one more win, and we can go home.

Except something happened. We never recovered. $205 became $105, became $55, and before we knew it all of our chips were gone. All we could do is start at each other in disbelief. Did that really happen?!

The next morning, we bid farewell to the Caramelo Loco, took one last look at Sin City in our rearview mirror and said "Good riddance!"


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Location:Vegas

All of the lights! Part 2

Well the answer is, not so good...

On the night that we arrived, we mostly played around with little games, making a bit here and losing a bit there. But in the end, we ended up losing $30 each for a total of $60.

So the next day, we were determined! We were getting our money back! The first thing we did was stake out our prime location: The Bellagio. But not really to play. Instead it was to eat. And boy was it a good buffet! Imagine your favorite BBQ, Italian, Asian, and American food places put together under one roof. That's the Bellagio Buffet.

So after eating so much that we thought we would have to puke just to start walking, we staked our second prime location: the Bellagio Casino.

We walk into the place, and spot the Craps table.

"How do you play?" I ask the dealer
"Well, you put money down, he throws the dice, and you win money."

Hmm, sounds easy enough. So, Ruti, Alfonso and I pull out $100 and say "Chip me!"

Well it turns out its not all that easy. BUT, somehow we ended with over $200 walking away! Not only that, we were getting free drinks the whole time! This was the most awesome day ever!

We take our winnings, and head over to the discount tickets place. Still high over our winnings, we drop $70 each on a Cirque du Soleil performance. So how was it? Interesting question... It was kind of a cross between really awesome gymnastics, really boring music, and really weird characters. For example, one was a 200 pound baby. But there were amazing acts. In one awesome act, one man balanced another man on his feet, while moving from lying on his back to his stomach. Very weird, yet strangely awesome.

So, still high from our wins, we decide to play Craps again! Bad mistake. Within 30 minutes we lost all of our profits. Even now, four days later, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how that happened...

Dejected, we walked out of Treasure Island. But as we exited the door, a strange resolve came over us. We came to Vegas to be winners! Not losers! We were going back one last time. And this time we would take our money from Bellagio! We marched toward the entrance, blasting the Black Eyed Peas "Just Can't Get Enough" the entire way. Then we pushed open the doors...

So how did we do? Read the next post to find out ;)




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Location:Vegas