TheTravelingMan

Love is in the air! Today is the wedding day. Ana's mom and Dennis are very excited. However, before the festivities started Rob and I pressed are luck in the Casino yet again where I had my most epic Blackjack hand of my life. We walked up to a table down a hundred for the day and immediately lost another hundred making me down $200. Now I should have just walked away but hey that is why they call it gambling right? I buy in for $100 more and up my bets. Now I have been having terrible luck. I had $150 on the board with two hands, one at 20 the other at 21 and the dealer showing a 5. The dealer manages to nail 21 so I push the first hand and lose on ... read more

Ughhh....I'm never drinking again. Yesterday was a rough one but I pushed through the hangover in the name of the trip. Was it the heat? Was it the Mai Tai? Was it the Rye and Gingers that are slowly becoming my trademark cocktail of choice? Too hard to say, but what I do know is that I need the only hangover cure strong enough to combat all three...BREAKFAST! It was on this day that I discovered the Tropical Cafe, all breakfast all day! Oh sure it was gloriously over priced but gloriously worth it! I did get a small total rewards discount which reduced my eggs, sausage links, and potatoes to a mere $10 though haha. After refueling, I ran into my friend Dave who was exploring the nearby suburb of Henderson; home to his girlfriend's ... read more

There is nothing more disorienting than waking up in a dark empty hotel room with no sense of time or knowledge of the whereabouts of your roommates. However, once the disorientation wore off excitement began to mount as I remembered...this is pool day! The Flamingo is renown as having one of the best pools in Las Vegas. The pool is actually more like a tropical paradise, with an artificial grotto and waterfall that creates an intimate cave experience. I quickly got ready and hurried down to meet the gang, who had been camped out on lounge chairs since 10am. One bucket of beers and a $20 Mai Tai later...NOW ITS A PARTY! The DJ played popular dance music and everyone was having a great time. The sun was strong and I accidentally applied a firm layer ... read more

Well I must say there are few greater excitements than touching down in Mccarran Airport, Las Vegas. It's as if the city just appears in the middle of the desert, as you get a birds eye view of the mega resorts that rest on the strip. As you exit the plane the sounds of slot machines hum all around you, almost hypnotizing you. Yes this quite possibly is the coolest airport ever, but we didn't come all this way to hang out with the TSA now did we! A quick shuttle ride and I was dropped off in The Flamingo. The Flamingo is the oldest, still functioning hotel, on the strip with the recent closing of the Sahara and a throw back to the Art Deco theme of Miami in the 1930s. It was formerly owned ... read more

Ahhhh...beer. As Benjamin Franklin so majestically stated oh so long ago, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." To celebrate this divine beverage, Atlantic City hosted its 6th annual Beerfest this weekend. The event has garnered support from the bigger players in the industry, like Anheuser Busch, but the real thrill is sampling the numerous American microbreweries that proudly display their craft in one of the states largest collections and for five childhood friends the terms could not be simpler...sample away! The festivities started Saturday afternoon. Everyone tied up all the loose ends of our ever increasingly busy lives and by noon we were on our way. While I cannot remember the last time "the gang" was all together at the same time, we didn't seem to miss a ... read more

Ahh... Amalfi. And we thought driving into Sorrento was scary. Imaging hugging a winding mountain road with hairpin turns and cliffside drop-offs straight down to the sea below. We’re grateful to the generations of men who labored to build the rock walls which guard the edge of the roadway. We quickly learned that every half inch counts and folded in our side-view mirrors after a close encounter with an oncoming bus. The coast itself is beautiful. Breathtaking limestone cliffs, lush Mediterranean foliage, and the sporadic Saracen guard towers sprinkled in between offer an unparalleled sight. The coastal town of Amalfi starts at the base of the cliffside. Our arrival time was perfect. We got to sample some of daily life in Amalfi as we walked uphill into the town. We were able to pay our respects ... read more

Our first day trip from Sorrento was the ancient ruined city of Pompeii. Having both been to Rome and seen the ruins of the Colosseum and the Forum, we were struck by the grandeur of the city and the condition in which it is preserved. We spent a long afternoon on foot touring the city and - with nearly no tourists around - were able to get a fairly intimate look at ancient Roman life. To put Pompeii into words is challenging, as it’s an experience that is easy to live, but difficult to describe. Our second day trip took us to the resort island of Capri. With Joe having been in Europe for 10 days now, and Mike much longer, we had had enough of the ‘continental‘ breakfast and decided we needed some real sustenance. ... read more

Attempt, if you dare, the drive into Sorrento. We felt like we were on a bombing run in the Death Star trench, with tie-fighters (aka high-speed mopeds) whizzing past us on all sides. The directions we had were very basic: take “this” highway to “this” exit and follow the signs to Sorrento. So we did... until we arrived at the first intersection. We checked for the sign toward Sorrento, but unfortunately, it was mixed in with 19 other signs all pointing in different directions. So, we went right and followed the coastal road. By the grace of God we made it. We were very happy to call Sorrento our home base for several days. Our hotel was nestled in the hills above the city, offering a great view and easy access to the town center. The ... read more