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Over Labor Day weekend, Joe and I were invited to see his HS friend, Alex get married.  It was a cute wedding up in Hot Sulphur Springs, CO.  They wanted it to be very reflective of their personality (as all couples do) and so they decided to have a woodsy/country kind of theme.  Joe was to play the accordion doing the Wedding March and then sing songs with his guitar around the campfire during the reception.

The spot they picked was decorated with tents, campfire and was splashed with lots of oranges and other autumn colors. My favorite thing about their wedding was the cake topper.

We arrived early so I could get some shots of their surrounding environment.  Quickly, I realized that due to budgeting, they had not hired an official photographer.  Being the photo enthusiast I am, I just so happened to bring ALL the photo equipment I had with me.  So, without hesitation, I unofficially volunteered for he task.  Everyone was asking me anyway if I was the official photographer cuz i had to cameras strapped around my neck and was bouncing back and forth to get all the best shots I could.  Not having any experience with weddings, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, but I think for the most part it all came out okay.

Here are some other shots I took during the day and the rest can be seen here

For all you photogs. out there, I need criticism!  I have another wedding I am doing next week and it will only be my second one.  I’d really like some input on how my shots came out and if I’m doing everything right!

Last weekend Joe and I headed up the mountains for our three day holiday weekend.  His high school friend Alex was getting married in Hot Sulphur Springs (pics to come) and Joe was to play music for the wedding.

Joe’s parents were out of town and let us stay at their place in Winter Park.   Tons of fun was had.  The wedding was cute and woodsy.  Up in the mountains with a camp fire and everything.  They didn’t hire an official photographer so I volunteered and put my skills to the test.  Shooting my first wedding was scary but they were easy going people so it was no big deal after all.

Joe and I also went on a photo shooting hunt that weekend.  We drove all over trying to find pics to take that fit the them of Old Country…its a school assignment I’m workign on.  We had a lot of fun driving through the mountains, discoverying abandoned barns and shacks and perusing through antique stores.

We pigged out tons and sat around watching movies and CABLE!!!  Joe also taught me how to shoot bee bee guns (how do you spell that?) and we took some old timey pics.  Heres a couple of them…the first by me and the second by Joe.  He wanted to get a real old timey feel so he purposely blurred the shot.

Just your typical outlaws

Photo by Joe Durand

it’s raining today.

matthew and i finally fought.

we walked in the rain all day.

i am cranky and tired.

we went shopping.

we saw the public market at Granville Island

we saw Shrek 4 in 3D.

we went to this veggie chinese food restaurant and it had AWFUL service.

i went for a run this morning.

i was told the bums and the police have an unwritten law.  they can do all the drugs they want as long as they don’t do any violence.  people are doing drugs on the street.

vancouver is A LOT like sydney.

i am cold and wet and want a jacuzzi.

i also want joe.

fin.

So the morning started off pretty rough.  I was really queasy and panicky to start things off.  Ended up with me having a panic attack in the airport bathroom and waiting it out in the Denver USO.  On the upside, the Denver USO is really fancy.  Probably the best one I’ve seen yet.  It was super comfortable so that helped.

Slept most of the first flight and by the time we landed in Seattle I was feeling much, much better.  After getting some lunch I perked up quite a bit.  Second flight was worse.  Shakey and some really annoying people surrounding us.  But we pulled through.

Still not at our final destination.  We had to take two trains to finally reach our hostel.  It’s not the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in, but certainly not the worse.  Very close to China Town and has kitchens and bathrooms.  What more can you ask for?

Matthew and I spent the evening exploring the nearby neighborhoods and found a quaint little Indian restaurant for dinner.  I had my usual chana masala and by the time we were through, we both decided we were too pooped from a day of travel to do anything fun for the evenin.

Tomorrow I think our plan is going to be to check out Granville Island and visit the public market.  Maybe even rent some bikes and cruise the town.  Also on my list is hitting up at least one vegan restaurant.

Cheers!

So we arrived back from Vegas very, very early yesterday morning.  Overall, even with all the driving and the massive rain storm we hit on the way out there, it was a blast!

Before we started our drive!

We arrived in Vegas at about 5:30 AM on Saturday morning only to find out that we couldn’t check into our hotel until 8:00 AM at the earliest.  So off to breakfast we went.  We drove down the strip some until we found the Peppermill.  We had a quaint little breakfast and decided to kill time with a comedic photo shoot.  Outside we found a trashcan labeled internet access.  Needless to say, we couldn’t connect

No Internet Access?!?!

After spending several hours waiting for our hotel, we finally got to check in and have an epic nap!  We didn’t want to sleep the day away though so we set our alarm to 1 PM.  Once we woke up we were on a mission.  We needed food and tickets!  We headed to the MGM where they have a Tix for Less booth and bought discounted Lance Burton tickets.  Next stop was P.F. Changs for a delightful meal.  Afterwards, we headed back to the Luxor where we were able to purchase Cris Angel tix for 35% off!!! With all the running around (walking Las Vegas blocks is not the same as walking Downtown Denver blocks) it was time to get ready for the shows!

All Dolled Up in Front of the Luxor

We got all dolled up to see the shows because we wanted to look our best.  Lance Burton still puts on a great show!  His best tricks were the smaller ones and he had a lot of audience participation.  Cris Angel uses Cirque de Soleil dancers and it was a really beautiful production.  However, I’m not sure about this guys tricks.  Not to mention he’s not all that great of a presenter.

After seeing two shows in one night we were exhausted.  So we ordered a pizza and headed back up to the room where we pretty much just passed out.  Early to sleep means early to rise though.  When we woke up we headed straight to the gym.  (Who works out on vacation?!) After a quick 2 mile jog we had to put all those calories back on our bodies so we drove to Ronald’s and got a dozen of the best vegan donuts you’ll ever find!

Ronald's Vegan Donuts

So Sunday was a day for shopping.  We hit up the Betty Paige store where I tried on a million different dresses and got so exhausted and cranky.  In the end, I ended up with a lovely grey dress and some plaid, high-waited shorts.  Then we went straight to Pink’s…a hot dog haven.  Luckily, they have really delicious vegan franks.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Bellagio and the Venetian.  We lost some dough at the Bellagio playing the slots but nothing to horrible.  The Venetian had a nice restaurant that we ate a pasta dinner at and then we tucked back to the Luxor for an early night.

Downtown Las Vegas

Monday morning we checked out the pool and got some laps in.  After packing the room all up for check-out, we headed downtown to the Golden Nugget.  Joe taught me how to play Blackjack, the Las Vegas way.  I got to play for about an hour, always goin up and down on my chips but in the end, I came out ahead $15. WOOT!

Our Vegas Vacation ended there and we headed back out of town.  Both exhausted, the drive home was a bit much for us to handle.  In the end though, we both had a great time and are happy to find out we make a great traveling duo!

Also, next week is Denver Lindy Exchange.

Then the week after that Matthew and I are off to Vancouver and then we’ll take the train down to Seattle to meet Joe for Camp Jitterbug.  Yaaaa!

Good news first, bad news later. 

Yesterday we spent an amazing day full of physica activity.  Started off with a 4 mile morning jog in a beautiful park near my Tio Rafael´s house.  Ran through endless trails of hills in a forest near a river.  Was quite spectacular.  As much as the rest of the family wanted to run with me, well…they just didn´t. I think the taquitos from the previous night put them over the edge.  So Brian ran with me but of course, he only lasted about one mile. 

Anyways, afterwards we headed to Teotihuacan to climb the pyramids.  Was super impressive and charming.  The town is bigger than I remembered and the walk to the pyramids was actually much further.  The climb to the top however was surprisingly easy. 

It was super hot that day and we both ended up sunburned because we are too dumb to actually use sunscreen. 

So anyhow, on the way home Brian starts feeling sick.  At first I thought it was just a combination of the heat, being in a different country, and the amount of food he ate the previous night.  I suggested he get some food in him, chug some water and go lay down. 

Well…he did all that and some more.  Without too many disgusting details, lets just say we spent the rest of that evening in clinics, ambulances and hospitals.  It took us about 3 hours total to pick him off the floor he passed out on, get him to a doctor, round him up in an ambulance and checked into a hospital.  Another couple hours passed before I even got to see him in the hospital and then FINALLY he got a room to himself. 

Today we find out that the poor kid has Typhoid.  Tell me…WHO THE FUCK GETS TYPHOID?!?! Aside from the pioneers on the Oregon Trail, is this disease even real? We have no idea where or how he got it but man I thought he was gonna die.  HE was so white you could see every vein in his body.  Was prettty bad.

So now Brian is doing better.  We are still in the hospital and he will hopefuly be released in the morning.  After that we are headed back to the freezing ass Colorado.

After a super late night of dancing and packing, I managed to get about 2 hours of sleep and roll out of bed at 3:30 this morning.  Brian and I were soon on our way to the airport to wait around and see if our stand by ticket purchase would be worth it.  Thankfully we got on the flights of our choice and landed in Mexico with a breeze.

Oh man do we look train wrecked!

Business Brian - can't ever get away from his work

Most disgusting breakfast at PHX Sky Harbour

Tia Mago and Tio Rafael were there at the airport waiting for us.  It was great to be able to see my Tia and know that she was in good shape back here in the muthaland.  Tio drove us around town in his taxi and took us to the MEGA shopping center to buy some essential vegan goodies (choco krispies and soya milk) and a sim card for the phone.  :)

Finally arrived in D.F.

Tio is the smartest Taxi driver ever...lockin it up with uber tuffness

So we show up at Tio Rafael’s house and we are greeted with an overwhelming amount of delicious goodness that is home-made Mexican food.  Vegetable soup, green chili, red chili, Squirt, and of course…taquitos.  But not just any taquitos!  Oh no, these were made with Mexican love…deep fried and filled with papas, frijoles and soya meat.  Yes, that is right…soya meat.  Delicious, oily-dripping mock carnitay goodness!  Bellies were filled!  Food comas were had and we soon passed out for a much needed siesta.

VEGAN TAQUITOS MUTHA FUCKA!

Brian basking in the goodness...TAQUITO WIN!

And now here we sit, awakened from our long nap, waiting for some postre to finish baking in the oven.  I’m not quite sure how we will be able to put MORE food down but I assure you, we are both determined to gain at least 10 lbs of fat here on this trip!!! Bring it on!

Tomorrow’s plan?  Everyone will be joining me at 6:30AM to run 4 miles at some park.  I’m fairly certain this family lacks running skills but I’m sure they’ll be pumping their arms and power walking their little buts off…how else are they gonna burn off all these calories we just consumed?  Anyhow, afterwards we are off on our adventure in Teotihuacan to see some kick ass pyramids!!!

WOOT! Platypak Attack!

Kick ass bags we had custom made for our trip

Co-traveler Commentary (by Brian McGuire)

Its quite an overwhelming and fascinating experience  to be dropped into Mexico City with a native family and chartered around.  I’m completely in love with the food as its only a better version of what I’m used to in the Mexicano areas of Denver.  It seems that my tongue is quite eager to join in the conversation around me though simply a lack of words seem to be holding me back.  I hope to resolve this with a crash course and some Tequila soon enough.

Tomorrow sounds exhausting though I’m eager to get to it after a bit more food and libations with Lolly’s wonderful family.