We have finally managed to get around to writing about the second half of our Americas trip...better late than never.
We ended the last installment of the blog with our arrival in Las Vegas. After a long drive from Yosemite National Park we committed Vegas treason and headed to bed super early without even touching a pokie. However, it was for a good cause because we had an early morning start to set off on an overnight drive to the Grand Canyon. We were clocking up the km's on this trip for sure!
Brendan headed out in the morning to pick up what was meant to be another crappy hire car while I packed up the bags. To my great surprise, rather than a banged up box on wheels (our usual and preferred method of transportation) a beautiful Chevy Camaro pulled up in the hotel driveway with a very happy Brendan behind the steering wheel.We were driving in style, baby; Bumblebee style!
We made a mad dash to the Grand Canyon that day, stopping along the way at the Hoover dam for a few quick pictures, before blasting along the long highway between Vegas and the canyon. We didn't end up spending that long at the canyon, but caught a beautiful sunset at the southern rim view point. Exhausted from the drive we retreated to our hotel, that night staying in the historic town of Williams, Arizona on route 66. Although it was the epitome of tourist driven towns filled with Route 66 merchandising, it was fun for a night, and the old Grand Canyon Hotel had a certain charm to it, creaky floor boards and all.
Back in the Camaro and we returned to Vegas at speed. We were on a mission. With 4 hours to spare, we had to find an outfit, get ourselves pretty and get to the church on time for our Vegas renewal-of-vows ceremony. Certainly a little less preparation went into this event than the first time around, almost 10 years ago! A couple of Op Shops later and we had pulled together a random assortment of wedding attire and were ready for our limo pick up to take us to the Graceland Wedding Chapel.
Yes...we were renewing our vows in Vegas with Elvis...or perhaps a very distant 3rd cousin of Elvis...It was cheesy, it was hilarious but it was an awesome thing to do in Vegas and we were lucky to have a bunch of our friends with us for the event.
In true Vegas style, we piled into the limo after the ceremony and headed to the famous Circus Circus Casino to celebrate. Free drinks while sitting at a table meant that the group headed straight to the cheapest black jack table on offer; and under the kind guidance of a dealer who took pity on us, we managed not to lose all our money (just a fair whack of it).
A couple of days later and Dani arrived in Vegas and it was time for the hens weekend to begin! While the boys went to a UFC event, the girls opted for a "cultural" show of sorts which may or may not have involved a number of men from Australia badly "dancing" to wolf whistles from a crowd of crazed females. Do you cringe or do you cry...i think the only thing you could do was drink and pray like hell that they stayed away over the other side of the crowd!
The next night we gathered in the hens suite for some further cultural dancing... and we must be the only hens group to be stood up, not once, but twice by our cultural dancers!! In the end, it didn't matter because the laughs had in anticipation were probably far more entertaining and it was still a great night!
The next morning, a very sleepy bunch of girls found their way to the Vegas airport where we met up with the boys to head down for a few days of R&R in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After the intensity of Vegas, chilling out on a roof top pool, eating handmade tacos and sleeping to the sound of crashing waves was exactly what the doctor ordered! We were in Puerto Vallarta during the quiet wet season which was a blessing - it rained, sure, but i can handle a bit of precipitation while sitting in my pool! It was nice when it wasn't raining to walk along the beach and the back alleys of old Puerto Vallarta without the crowds that I am sure descend on this pretty town during the peak tourist season. For sure the highlight for me was the walking food tour we did around the quintessentially Mexican town of Pitilall, about a 30 minute drive from Puerto Vallarta. It was such a great way to experience this cute little town and we ate some of the best mexican food we ever had....and we ate a LOT! Tacos, Churros, carnitas...you name it and we ate it. I loved that so often we would get served with some amazingly slow cooked meat on corn tortillas and then left to your devices with hundreds of various accompaniments and spices. It meant that no two bites were ever the same. By complete chance, we happened to be in Pitilall on the town's birthday so we were treated to a colourful parade through the town's streets, complete with walking bands and rows of horse back riders, ranging in age from toddlers to grandpas.
Some of the horsemanship was incredible with the horses almost tap dancing their way along the street.
We also somehow became guests of honour at a birthday party that was taking place in the streets. The guy who owned the butcher shop shared his birthday with the town and it must have been a big birthday because he had enough pots of glorious, gleaming pork to feed a large army.
They were fascinated by us and we were fascinated by them so it was a win win situation as we bought them beer and they fed us amazing pork soft shell tacos.
We had to excuse ourselves and roll our bloated bodies back to our guesthouse, swearing we would never eat again....until that evening of course.
Mexico was a great break in our otherwise busy trip, but it was time to jump on the plane and head back to Orange County, California for the main event - Hamish and Danielle's wedding. The ceremony and reception took place in the stunning Rancho Las Lomas and there wasn't a dry eye in the house as the stunning bride walked down the aisle to meet her very happy (and not too shabby looking groom).
The attention to the details of every aspect of the afternoon and evening was incredible - it really was a fairytale setting befitting the beautiful couple.
After some fantastic food and lively speeches, it was on to the dance floor where we twirled and twisted the night away. We couldn't be happier for Danielle and Hamish and enjoyed being a part of their special day.
The next morning after a frantic pack, we drove back to LAX and jumped on the long flight back to the sandpit. It was incredible how quickly the 3 weeks had gone but we certainly felt like we had packed a lot into it!
So that almost brings our blog up to date....but not quite yet....stay tuned for the soon-to-come update on the crazy adventures of the Burkes.
//Kate
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