6 1/2 weeks

8:05pm

Las Vegas, NV

Andrea

Larry just pointed out something to me that makes me quite happy. Larry stated that we have been at each other's side for six and a half weeks straight. The farthest apart we've ever been from each other (in these over 6 wks) is when he ran to Panera Bread and got us lunch so I could stay in bed right after my brother died. That's impressive. It's nice to know that we can handle being around one another for six and a half weeks without a break, yet also be able to handle being a world apart from each other because of deployments. It's safe to say that we are going to have a lot of fun living together in NJ. We've pretty much been running around the country since he's been home from Iraq so it'll be nice to have a house together, settle down a bit, and form a home together. Our housing searches are going quite well so it looks like in September we'll be moving into a house on the Jersey Shore. I'm so appreciative to have such an indescribably amazing manfriend.

Tattoo

7:46pm

Las Vegas, NV

Andrea

Larry and I are sitting here at the airport waiting for our flight. Our flight is at 10pm-something and we had to check out of our hotel at 11am so needless to say we've had plenty of time to waste this afternoon. Today we saw the Bodies Exhibit which 

was pretty amazing. With my love for human anatomy and biology in general, well, I was loving it. All the dead babies in jars was kinda creepy but they were natural death so it was okay by my standards. 

It's not under the greatest circumstance

s why we have gone on vacation with my brother's death, but regardless we have had a lot of fun. I'm in a really bad flare so I'm quite sick with my diseases yet Larry has been wonderful and hasn't complained. This trip has had the right balance of relaxation and planned activities. Oh so anyways on August 1st, 2009 I got my tattoo at Starlight Tattoo in Las Vegas. It looks great. Here are pictures of me getting it but once it heals a little more I'll have a better image of it. It cost a little more than what I planned on spending but the artist was well worth it. My tattoo takes my left inner arm up to my elbow to wrist. It says, "memento mori," which means remember your mortality. It's a cousin of carpe diem. In two of the m's I put a red star in it signifying the death of my father and brother and what they have taught me about what it means to live by that phrase. I'm quite pleased with it. Well, Larry and I will be posting mor

e pictures later of our Grand Canyon helicopter tour and of my tattoo so feel free to check back in. It was a wonderful trip but we are both really looking forward to coming home and starting our lives in New Jersey. Hugs.

Love,

Andi & Larry

Approaching the Final Leg of the Journey: Saying goodbye to a much needed week in Las Vegas

7:43pm
Las Vegas, NV
Larry

So here we sit upon metallic chairs facing a wall of outlets, and with little else to do our thoughts reminisce the week that has now passed. My thoughts are delightful, a welcome change from the realism that my life has took on since my return from Iraq. To see a city where people are no longer in reality but rather in the land of shimmering wishes and drunken hopes. I cannot help but to feel as though I have stepped into the adult version of Fantasy Island from Pinnochio, where boys are allowed to follow their fancy and drink and smoke. In the end it turns that they were all being tricked into drinking a beer which would turn them into donkeys, which were then sold as pack animals. Seems so true then that we should should sit in a place where beer seems to turn men and women into Asses. Here people gamble away what little they have in an economy that can break anyone who is not wary with their expenditures. Still though, even with the enviornment of sin there lies another feeling, one which can not be truly captured by word alone. This city, above any that I have traveled to before, is Alive. There is a pulse to this place, one which can drive even the most cautious person to step up to one armed bandit and take a swing at whatever prize it was claiming was waiting for you.

As many people around me know, I do not gamble, however even I caught my self staring at the cars and millions in prizes and thinking what I would do with the money. I know that had I been an average person I would have walked up, popped my pocket change into the machine, and taken luck for a spin. However, I know that once I start, I don't know that I could stop. This is a place that will cost you plenty to exist, and then nickle and dime you to death.

Fortunately, Andrea and I did not gamble, we instead focused on our true intent here, which was to see attractions that genuinely interested us. Since the last post, we have taken a Helicopter ride to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (Photos to follow), have seen the Phantom of the Opera, and seen Bodies: The Exhibition.

Andrea and I have now spent 6 1/2 weeks at one another's side continuously, with the farthest distance between us being my going to the store while she was in the apartment for 20 mins. This is the longest in my adult life that I have spent with a single person, and the only one that I have not wanted to take a break from after 3 weeks. This time that we have spent together has been full of a very diverse and dynamic emotional and physical roller coaster for us both. Whether it was the tragedy of Andrea's brother's death or the pain the we both have daily, we have gotten through with one another. I will not get too gooey since this isn't just about how much I love Andrea, but I have to say that talk it cheap, and when through action it has been proven to you that you love a person and that you are willing to stand by them, nothing can stop that. Andrea has told me that these weeks I have seen her life at the worst, which while it may be true only means to me two things: 1) that her life can only go up from here, and for that I am glad, and 2) that I can stand by her through anything that our life throws at us.

I was thinking as I walked our dinner back up to our room while Andrea was sleeping off a bout of pain, that Love is not the feeling that you get from being with a person, or the feeling you get when you kiss them after a nice dinner out. Love is when life is upside down, and people are asking you why you are willingly putting yourself through other person's pain, all you can answer with is that even if their hair is a mess and is having the worst day of their life, you still see how beautiful and special they are. When you see that person and you are happy to be with them regardless of the circumstances, then you know that you are in Love. With that being said, I can tell you that I Love Andrea.

Well, I went and got all soft and thoughtful on the blog, oh well. I hope that you have all enjoyed following our blog through the legs of the journey, through the ups and downs and across this stretch of time we call life. Look for a blog whenever Andrea and I travel, which according to our aspirations, should be often. We love and miss you all, and until the next and seemingly the final post of the trip, stay safe and healthy.

Andi & Larry

Filler Up: Filling you in on what you've missed

12:35 pm
Las Vegas, NV
Larry

Hello All, Hope all is well!!

So as you may have noticed there has been a lack of posts from Andrea and I, mainly because there is a lack of internet in the hotel room. (Well, you can get it for 14.99 a day on one computer, so basically, no internet) Well, her and I finally broke down and got internet so that we could use the computer to access our online banking and what not. Any way, in this entry I will attempt to catch you all the way up to now as well as give insight as to what we have in store for the remainder of our trip. Hope you enjoy it!!

Andi & Larry

Day 01 - July 28th 2009 -

We miss our first scheduled flight, and for a small added fee catch a shorter more direct flight through Minneapolis. Woo Hoo!! On our way!

* We were not sitting adjacent one another, and so scrambling at the last minute we get up to the gate counter and stand in line. The woman in front of us over hears us talking about how we would like to sit together and turns and asks what seats we have. Our seats are closer to the front of the plane and therefore better for the couple who had an extremely tight connecting flight. So we gladly switch our seating and while in line to board the aircraft I notice he is wearing an army Physical Fitness T-Shirt. I ask if he has served and come to find out that he worked on a little base in Baghdad called Camp Cropper!! Turns out that my Brigade had been the one that replaced his! After conversation on the subject and marveling in the odds of meeting someone else from what is termed a secret facility we got on our plane and "enjoyed" the company of having a senior citizen who snored very loud sit next to us. What Fun!!

So we check into out hotel, the Luxor, which is shaped like a pyramid and has the Egyptian motif throughout. Looks to be the start of a very nice stay here in Las Vegas, NV.

Day 02- July 29th, 2009 -



Above - Andrea tries the bitter soda Beverly from the country of Italy.

So we decided to take a stroll down the strip, and what did we run into? How about the M&M Store and the Coca Cola Store? Oh, and to make matters worse, they are in the same building!! So there we are Tasting Soda's (Pop for all the non New Jersey folks who follow us) from around the world, and purchasing gratuitous amounts of M&M candies. Although the day was not a traditional Las Vegas day, we had a lot of fun as we explored our hotel and the surrounding area. Who knew that staying in a hotel that is shaped like a pyramid could be so fun?

Day 03 - July 3oth, 2009 -




As Andrea and I are both fans of learning, we decided to start the day going through something particularly special to me, the Titanic Artifacts Exhibit. This is special to me because it has long been among my favorite things to learn about, how the most elegant and largest ship of its time which was deemed "unsinkable" could set sail on a glorious maiden voyage only to have an ending befitting a Greek tragedy play out. The artifacts brought both of us a sense of realism to the event, a sense of personal connection. It is one thing to look at a photograph of a person, it is quite another to see a pair or trousers which had once belonged to a person attempting to get a new life in our great country. Through the stories we learned that many of the passengers had originally been booked on other ships, but due to a coal miners strike they were forced to transfer to the Titanic, and for many, their death. Also in the Exhibit were life size recreations of the ship, making the accommodations afforded each class shown in a way that I had never seen. When you finally got to the part of the story where the fateful strike with an ice burg occurs, they have an actual chunk of ice that you can touch, which although having little to do with the Titanic itself, was a very cool addition to creating the aura of realism this tour provided. On then to a model of how the ship now looks on the bottom of the Atlantic that was no less than 25' long, and it was only the front half!!! The crown jewel of the collection waited in the next room as Andrea and I were greeted by the "Big Piece", the largest of the pieces to be recovered from the Titanic. It really showed the size of the ship as it was roughly the size of a dump truck, and yet only had three portholes from the C Deck, which were luxury suites. The size of the entire ship had to be a sight to see, and something that I can only imagine was breath taking in its day and would still be awe inspiring to us today. This reminder of the awesome creative powers of our race is moving, as it the heart break that befell it.

In keeping with our nautical theme for the day, Andrea and I took the short walk to the Hotel, Mandalay Bay, which housed the worlds largest predator based Aquarium. In it we saw sharks, skates, Rays, Octupi, Jelly Fish, Piranha, and many other salt and fresh water predators. Until you have stared into the eye of a Sand Tiger Shark or marveled at the Golden Crocadile, I don't know that you will ever be able to feel where humans truly are on the food chain. Andrea and I were fortunate to survive what could have been a very unpleasant run in with a Sand Tiger, as you can see here.



Of course there is no better way to end a day of learning and discovery than to sit down to a nice meal at an Italian eatery, and for us, that was Cafe Giorgio at Mandalay Bay.


Day 04 - July 31st, 2009 -

As the sun peaks through our curtains we rise to another day in a city which truly does not sleep. We decide that for tonight we are going to see Reknown Prop Comedian Carrot Top, which although seems semi-annoying in his TV spots, looked intriguing on the video spots that we had seen in the hotel. I have to say that I was impressed with him as a first rate entertainer who poked fun at his own act as much as anything else. Genuinely funny and energetic, I have to say that I have not laughed as hard as I did at his show in a long time. With recent events in mind this was a welcome break from seriousness for both of us.


For dinner, since we were already in semi nice attire, we decided that we should go to Lupo, which is a Trattoria di Wolfgang Puck, who is a famous Chef and restrauntueur. I have to say that from the bread sticks to the Margherita Pizza to the Gnocchi di Ricotta, this place was extremely good. I have to say that as an aspiring fat person I love Italian food, and this place had some of the best I have ever had, to include when I was in the country.


So, now you are all caught up on what we have done, look for our next post where we talk about Criss Angel's Believe, the performance we are seeing on Aug 1st, 2009. As always we love and miss you all, but we are having a blast here. We will see you soon after we finish this wonderful trip.


Love you all,

Andi & Larry

Day 05: Playing Ketchup

7:37 pm
Renton, WA
Larry
So here we are on Day 01, waiting for Adam to pick us up at the local McDonald's. A little late in the upload but here none the less. Andrea and I miss you all, but while here we are having a blast. We are heading up to the Space Needle in a few days after which we will certainly post more photos.

Andi & Larry

Day 05: Firmware

4:23pm
Renton, WA
Andrea

Larry and I updated our Canon 5D Mark II's to have the updated 1.1.0 firmware. Thanks to the firmware we can now manually expose our videos, yay! Pretty cool. I was also messing with Larry's new Lensbaby Composer that he got when we went to BH in NYC right before we started our trip. It's a lot of fun. Currently the guys are just eating and playing video games. Five guys in their mid to early twenties, what do you expect? So not much more to write currently but Larry has plenty to write and pics and videos to post so he'll post more soon.

Andi & Larry

Day 04: Pike Place

4:15pm
Seattle, WA
Andrea

We finally went into Seattle. Mostly we just went to Pike's Place Market which of course was a lot of fun. We ended up not seeing more as Jason called and couldn't get to work as he didn't have enough money for gas. We drove back to Renton so that Larry could save the day and get gas for Jason. Although the main reason why we didn't spend more time in Seattle is that Larry and I are kind of old. With my autoimmune diseases I couldn't be on my feet all day because of the pain and neither could Larry as he has such a bad back being a soldier and all. Regardless we had a lot of fun today. I hope that now Larry can understand why Seattle will always be my second home. I love Seattle. Today we made more plans for this week so keep posted. 

Andi & Larry

Day 03: Clean

10:56pm
Renton, WA
Andrea

Adam's dining area and kitchen are now finallyyyy clean due to the sexy manfriend. We also convinced Adam to not eat honey that had ants in it. ew! lol.

** Update - Day 05** Not entirely surprising but the bathroom remains uncleaned save the toilet which was in need of drastic attention**

Andi & Larry

Day 03: Jump Start

2:29 pm

Renton, WA

Andrea

Sadly Angie had to leave first thing this morning as she has college classes during the week. That means that it's me chilling with the five guys. lol. Today was very guyish in nature as it revolved mostly around getting Adam's Mitsubishi Eclipse running, aka jump starting it, new lights, and a new battery. I chilled inside in my tank top and pajama bottoms this morning as the guys did their thing trying to get the car to start. While trying to jump start the car it automatically locked the door with the keys still in it. Of course the men try to do it themselves with random wires and sticks off the ground? lol. Ah, I love them. Finally I come out in my pajamas and say that I have AAA and can just have them unlock and jump start it for us. In girl code you are not supposed to do that as it's kind of like the stopping for directions thing, you have to let the guys figure it out themselves so they can feel like men, ...but AAA is faster? lol. Today has just been pretty chill and amusing in nature. Oh and I got into a conversation with the guys whether or not to bring your girlfriend to the strip clubs with you or not. That was interesting. Then later when we were buying a car battery at Walmart some Indian guy came over and started talking to Adam, Larry, and I. He gave us a lot of books about their religious practices and invited us to a free vegetarian dinner they host five days a week in Seattle. 

I say tomorrow we try to make an effort to see Downtown Seattle and also Capital Hill (the district of Downtown Seattle I used to live in.) For now Adam is leaving to buy groceries so we can make dinner while Larry and I stay here and clean his apartment. lol. So I gotta go. 

(Aaron and Adam waiting for AAA)

Andi & Larry

Day 02: Reunited

4:45 pm
Renton, WA
Andrea

We are finally in Seattle! Well, technically we are now currently in Renton, WA (a suburb of Seattle) chilling at Adam's apartment. Today is such a beautiful day and reminds me of how much I love Seattle. Holy catfish, we just walked forever to go to the store and I really miss that healthier lifestyle that's embraced on the entire west coast. When we first got here I attacked Angie and Adam with hugs. Larry just kinda fit in perfectly as expected as if he never was gone a year in Iraq. It was a long year without him in our lives, but no amount of time or distance can ruin the friendship of the Four (aka Larry and I, Angie and Adam) Then we walked to the grocery store, all four guys and two chicklets. Larry still hasn't been to a QFC but we'll get to it later on. (A QFC is basically a grocery store that is open 24/7 that they have all over Seattle.) The guys pretty much did there own thing while Angie and I walked ahead and caught up on life, you know, the whole take your mask off and be real convos mixed with total insanity. hehe. This is a pretty random blog but I'm having difficulty concentrating as all four guys are playing wii together. lol. I'm so excited that we are actually here and it should be a great time. We have a lot planned from visiting Larry's biological cousin for the first time to going to dinner together at the Space Needle together for the first time to a photo shoot in Pioneer Square, et cetera. I'm so happy to be here all together for the first time in over a year. We'll be posting photos and videos soon. hugs.

Andi & Larry

Day 02: Up and Moving

4:45 am
Essington, PA
Larry

Well, now we are up and running, showers and stuff, then on to the airport for try #2 to get to Seattle. We shall see what we can do. Hopefully in a few hours we will be in Salt Lake City, where I can give you an update on how we are doing. Other than that all has been well, the king bed swallowed the two of us as predicted, with Andrea getting lost more than once in its enormity.

We look forward to seeing you all again, but right now are excited for the trip. Yay!!

Andi & Larry

Day 02: Wake Up...or not

4:30am
Essington, PA
Larry

Alarm went off, Andi and Larry are still tired, time for snooze.

Day 01: USO

7:39pm
Philadelphia, PA
Andrea

Larry is still active duty since he is technically still on leave from Iraq, terminal leave that is. Since he is still active duty we were able to go to the USO at the Philadelphia International Airport. I never heard about USO's until today. The USO was in the basement of the airport. It had beds, free food, a movie theater, the whole bit. I thought they wouldn't let me in but since I'm only one person I was considered Larry's dependent and I got to enter into the holy USO. First we ate there, all free food, no joke. We ate hotdogs because it's the Fourth of July. Yes, we ate military hotdogs in the basement of the airport in Philadelphia on Independence Day. Tis so cool. Then we went to the movie theater the USO has and watched School of Rock in huge uber reclining seats with drink holders. It was amazing. We also could have taken a nap in the beds they had but we decided to obviously leave the airport and go to the hotel Delta provided us. Going to the USO was a really cool experience. You civilians are really missing out. Goodnight Everyone.

Andi & Larry

Day 01: Getting Even

9:52 pm
Essington, PA (near Philadelphia)
Larry

The woes which have been bestowed upon Andrea and me seem to have subsided with the deal that Delta has cut with us. They paid ($7 ea) for our dinner, same for breakfast in the morning, as well as a night in a near-by Quality Hotel, which seems to be working out well, save perhaps the King size bed which is a tad large for my taste as you can clearly fit 4 people comfortably upon it. Our flight path has been re-directed from the original route which would have taken us to Atlanta, GA to Salt Lake City, UT. From there we will hopefully arrive in Seattle around 12:26pm local time, but at this rate a stay in SLC would not suprise me. Since we are here in a decent hotel we may check out the bar, although I don't know that Andrea would find it all that appealing given her inability to purchase alcohol. Other than that we saw what we believe to be a swallow deficate upon a man in the parking lot, and good times were had by all, except the man who was the litter box. Well, time to rest up and hopefully have a good day of flying tomorrow, so we can finally be reunited with friends who have been for too long absent in my life. With all the love and happiness that we can have, Andrea and I send it to you, in hopes that you will follow the trip here and let us know what you think about what is going on.

Andi & Larry

Day 01: Adventure

7:09pm
Philadelphia, PA
Larry


So here Andrea and I sit, at the Philadelphia International Airport, staring at what should have been our ride to Atlanta, but instead is as useful to us as a used aluminum can. Apparently our aviation community cannot properly maintain an aircraft to be flight worthy, yet can justify a $90 charge for your 1 check bag being over the 50 lb limit. Our day did not start this way, it was bright and full of hope as we awoke in our Microtel room we had rented for the evening. It started with seeing a Sea Gull, our counter girl was cheerful and helpful as we prepared to face the day of travel and fun, however, no sooner than we had cleared our one night haven did we find that we were in fact going to be the subject of the worlds whims, taking us to not only very beautiful sights, but political uprisings as well as arrogant Honda owners.

After parking in the city and taking a walk to a cafe for a nice Chicken Ceasar lunch, we decided to wander over to Love Park, where we inadvertently became part of a tea party. I had been in Iraq when these started, so to see one was very nice for me. I enjoyed the Anti-Socialism and Anti-Obama signs being held not by radicals but by everyday people who could see what our president and his administration are doing to our nation. But enough of that, onward back to the car.

So sitting in the car we debated whether or not we should leave for the airport or not, as it was still early. Whilst debating this we ran into a rather arrogant and rather stupid Honda element owner who accused me of taking two spots, even though it was the car in front of him that was in his spot. He could not even parallel park and was overall a bad driver, but no matter. I was refusing to back up past my meter as I was not about to let stupid take the time I had paid for. Yay, Day 1 and I've had my fill of stupidity.

So on the trip to the airport my GPS decides that the scenic route through the entrance to the Phillies game would be the best, and so for a half hour I stared at the back of a Toyota Camry. (TB5-34W, your tail light is out.)

So now we are told that our flight is delayed a lovely 5 hours, and we will miss our connection in Atlanta, so for another day of my life I must only look forward to Seattle. I love it. For updates and photos, stay tuned or check out out trip blog at www.AndiNLarry.blogspot.com

Andi & Larry