We Survived, Sorta...

The good news is that everyone has made it home from Vegas. The bad news is that I think we broke Paul. Of course, now that I am home, I might be broken as well.

We had a good time and after realizing that the four of us had not been together like that in about 10 years, it has been decided that we need to do it again soon. But next time I might need some energy drinks to be able to keep up.

B hooked us up with some great rooms at the Aria hotel and we ate steak every night. Could there be anything worse for your heart? Possibly not, but you only live once, right? It goes without saying that we ate like kings. Fat kings, but kings nonetheless.

So here is a quick recap for those interested in living vicariously through some 30-somethings:
Day 1: Greg and I drove from LA while B and Paul drove from SLO. Greg and I pulled off at Zzyzx Road.

 There is some amazing stuff down there. A cool salt flat and some interesting views.

 Then, of course, you hit Baker, CA and the World's Largest Rectal Thermometer. It has seen better days it seems.

Here is where Greg and I made a horrible decision. We have always seen Bun Boy from the road and wondered what it was all about. So we took a risk and headed inside. Huge space and we were 2 of about 6 patrons in the place. We ordered hamburgers. Simple, right? Well, it took about 20 minutes for them to arrive. When they did they were about as hot as the surface of the sun and had been cooked to a near-hockey puck texture. Neither of us finished the world's worst burger and left feeling like putting an hot iron to our tongue would have been a better decision. 2 hours later and it still felt like I had a glowing ember in my gut. So here is our travel top tip: Don't eat at Bun Boy.

Arrival and hanging out. Dinner at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak. Great space, great food. If you want to roll large, try the $265 wagu steak. What goes well with steak? Fireworks! So we head 30 minutes north of Las Vegas into the desert at around 11:30pm to the Moapa Travel Plaza to buy some fireworks. The great thing is that you can light them off just a few seconds down the road.

 We were there until about 1:00am blowing up about $200 worth of fireworks. We did not make all that mess you see out there, it was quite a mess before we got there.

Day 2: "Early" morning wake-up to get some old-fashioned straight edge razor shaves at the Art of Shaving.

Granted, in this picture it does kind of look like a doctor checking a corpse, but trust me, B and Paul are under those towels and very much alive. Afterwards we walked around for a bit and went back to the room to watch some football and relax. B made us get all dressed up and head over to Prime Steakhouse for night 2 of meat. After about 3 hours of expensive gluttony, we moved on and B danced for some Russian girls. That last part may be incorrect as I was not there.

Day 3 came a bit later and we grazed on a muffin while thoughts of grass-fed beef danced in our heads. We headed out to Boulder City. Why? To fly down 1.5 miles of cable dangling over the side of Bootleg Canyon. Yes, we did the Bootleg Canyon Flightlines! You get moving up to around 50 mph while you zip over your impending doom and death.

Your motley crew

Looking down at the first run

The brakes

B getting ready to fly

B is trying to cheat

Masters of the mountain

This was a lot of fun and there was no spinning around in circles involved (inside joke). We all agreed that this was something that we would do again. If you get the chance, head out and do it. It is very safe and a lot of fun.

Our last night was spent doing what else but eating steak! Yes, we did a trifecta of meat and finished off at Delmonico Steakhouse, one of Emeril's places. I really enjoyed the food there a lot and we had a nice time. The service was very warm and friendly. But B might rank some of the patrons as a 3...hard to explain.

We had a great time overall and are looking forward to doing it again before another decade passes us by. There are more pictures and some video out there and once I get them, I will put them on the blog for all 4 people who read this thing to check out.

The Worlds Largest Rectal Thermometer

Today's post is brought to you by Greg Kathol and the letter "R"

Baker, CA – Temperature, 134 degrees under sunny skies. Yes, Baker California is home to the World’s Largest Rectal Thermometer. If you’ve driven or flown over the place, you know just how stunning it is, rocks and dirt everywhere. The approach from the 15 is rather breathtaking. As you drive in to this destination, you see off in the distance the beacon, standing tall and true. A sentinel, a monument of grandeur it is.

A little about the thermometer and B. It stands 134 ft tall (the thermometer), B is only around 6’. Its highest temperature the thermometer reads recalls that profound day when a United States of America record was set for the hottest temperature ever recorded, 134 degrees (Ok, so it was in nearby Death Valley, but who cares) Baker is still located in the southern end of Death Valley so it practically makes them brothers. Old Faithful is situated next to Bun Boy, an old and now shut down restaurant, sigh. It was built by Young Electric Sign Company of Salt Lake City, Utah in 1991 and still stands to this day, remarkable. B still stands to this day too. A wonder, due to his affection of the great temperature stick B has visited this “hot spot” for years. Justin, Paul and myself included, have traveled to this location on many an occasion. If we are ever traveling alone we will call or text each other about it, really we will. I know, it sad, but it keep us entertained, but not out of trouble. My sister Toni (Antoinette) will even call and text about it when she visits. This place really transcends all, doesn’t it!

The World’s Largest Rectal Thermometer (by the way, this is a link to its Facebook Page, Crazy I know!) stands as a testament to our foe-ship; I mean friendship with Brent Lee. Why am I painting such a vivid picture of this place, you ask? Because I suggest we make this place a special place by giving it our patronage and its 900 or so residents something to talk about by hosting B and Corrin’s wedding here. Or at least make it the destination of our bachelor party. We could hit up the 76 gas station, A&W root beer or travel out to the dirt piles of Silurian Valley - Devil’s Playground. I couldn’t finish without giving honorable mention to Zzyzx, a road we always give a nod to as we zoom past at highway speed or fly over. B, don’t worry we’ve got your back!

Incidentally, Baker and it’s thermometer is about 65 miles from Barstow and 50 miles from Stateline, NV, so it really is in the middle of nowhere!