I opened a Charles Schwab checking account this week in preparation for my year abroad. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about the bank from all of my fellow wanders. So far it has yet to disappoint. It was easy to apply online for the account. It has no fees for online banking, no minimum balance fees and pays you back for any incurred ATM fees anywhere in the world. I didn’t even have money to transfer into the account at the time I opened it and that was totally fine. They just said my debit card and checks would be sent only after the account was funded. *note to self…must find acct this week.* I even had to call customer service to ask them some questions, and I was able to speak to an actual person right away, and she was really pleasant to boot!
I feel like this post is coming off a little like a Charles Schwab infomercial,but what can I say…it’s not every day that a bank impresses you. As I travel I will keep you updated on how reliable they really end up being.

Last week I spent 5 days in Vegas.  I know what your thinking…”5days!!! Too long you crazy b****!” … And I totally agree. You should never spend more than 3 days in Las Vegas, and that is a fact, solidified by the train wreck that was my last day in the city of sin.  But I’m not going to describe the debauchery of Vegas in this post.  There are too many of those stories out there already, and as we all know well, What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas ;-)

Instead I am going to tell you about my harrowing, and frankly stupid, hike through Red Rock Canyon in 112 degree desert heat. You see, the plan was not to spend 5 days in Vegas, but when flights are over $100 cheaper to fly in Wednesday night rather than Thursday night or Friday, this budget traveler rethought her plans.  I had the time to take off of work, and hotels are cheap mid-week on the strip, so I thought, Why not!  But my friends would not be in until Thursday and Friday night, so what to do with my free day? Go hiking of course! When would I get another chance to hike the Mojave Desert?  I researched a trail to Las Vegas Lookout in Red Rock Canyon, rented a car for the day and packed my hiking boots.

Everything went very smoothly, renting the car, getting directions to the trail head, and even though I got a little later start then intended on the morning of the hike, I was feeling pretty good about my impending adventure.  The trail head was at a horse ranch, and the trail while open to hikers and bikers was mainly forged by horseback tours.  I noticed right away that the trails were not really marked well, and all I had with me was a macro trail map that I printed from the Internet.  I tried asking some people at the ranch what trail I should take, but they were not very helpful.  Not sure if it was because I was not taking one of their tours, or they just didn’t know.  So I took my best guess and headed down a trail.  I was pleased immediately with the caverns and cacti I passed along the trail, and was having a great time taking in the sights and exploring.  The ascent was a little tough, but nothing I couldn’t handle. That is, until I ran into a big red X painted on rock wall.  It looked climbable, but I heeded the red X and turned around.  That’s right, I hiked about a half-hour in the wrong direction. So I backtracked and got myself on the right trail.  Again, the ascent was tough, and I was feeling the strain a bit more as the day really began to heat up.  The high was 112 degrees and I felt every bit of it.  I packed 3 liters of water and after going down another wrong path and having to backtrack yet again (like I said the trail was not well marked, but I found my way when I decided to follow the horse poo) I was more than half way through my supply.  This is when I also began noticing that there was no one around.  I seemed to be the only one dumb enough to be hiking the desert, mid-Aug on a Thursday.  Very smart, Kristen! Running out of water was a definite possibility since since I was not even half way through the 6.3 mile loop, and if I fell and hurt myself, or came across some kind of animal (not likely since even they are smart enough to stay hunkered down in the shade in this weather) there would be no be for miles to help.  But I kept on, following the horse poo to stay on the right trail, and hoping that the mid way point would be around the next corner.  I took frequent breaks, continually searching for shade without any luck of course.  Finally, just as I was about to hit my limit for self-punishment, I turned a corner and saw horses tethered at a ridge in the distance.  It was still far off but it was a light at the end of the tunnel.  That must be a horseback tour resting at Las Vegas Lookout, the half way of my loop.

When I got of the ridge I was greeted with surprised but friendly expressions, and was even offered an ice cold water from the rider’s cooler.  My saviors! The view of the Vegas strip was stunning and well worth the trip.  I relaxed and conversed with the riders, a rancher and a family of 4 on vacation, for a while before pressing on.  It was getting towards noon and I still had at least 3 miles to go.  The decent was long but pleasant.  The painted canyon walls were a beautiful back drop and I even ran into some wildlife.  I came within about 3 feet of a hare, and what a curious creature it was.  It’s ears were huge, and it was tall, even on all fours.  It was hunkered down in the shade of a cactus and not about to move unless directly threatened, so it let me get pretty close without running off.  I sat for a while just watching it do it’s thing there in the shade, and it starred back at me, and then went back to its business.

By the time I got back the the ranch my legs were about ready to give out, and my water was nearly gone (I used a lot less on the way back but thank god for the friendly riders), but I still took time to visit with the horses corralled at the ranch before getting in my car and heading back to the strip.  

So not the smartest decision to go on a 6 mile hike in the middle of the week, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the desert, but totally worth it in my opinion for the experience and the sights.  I definitely learned a lot that I think will come in handy during my travels next year!

You can see the Las Vegas strip way off in the distance

Overall a really beautiful journey.

Last weekend I spent 4 days of total bliss on the beautiful island of Key West, FL.  I woke up at 2:30 in the morning to catch the earliest flight possible out of JFK airport and by 11:30 I was exiting the plane onto the tarmac with the words ‘Welcome to the Conch Republic’ greeting me, along with the humid, tropical air and bright sunshine.  I was in paradise and the stress of the morning and my life back in NYC melted away, I couldn’t help grinning ear to ear.  As I entered the tiny airport I was enthusiastically greeted by my 2 besties (one with a drink already in hand) who had arrived only minutes before me, and we were off to The Most Southern Point hotel.  Our cab driver was so pleasant, a far cry from what we are used to in NYC, rattling off all of the places we must see during our visit, before we even had the chance to ask.  The concierge at the hotel was equally friendly, alerting us 3 single ladies that a bachelor party of good looking gentleman had recently checked in.  We all had a pretty good laugh at that tidbit of information.  Duly noted! Our room was already ready which was a pleasant surprise and before we knew it we were on our way to the pool/beach/bar.  What could be better!  Drinks in hand by 12:30 we spent the rest of the day submerged in the water until we were pruney.  Then we would sunbathe long enough to de-prune and do it all over again.  Oh the life we lead!

While at the pool we met some interesting characters, a group of guys from Coral Springs that were on a lobstering trip.  One in particular, whom we aptly named Frenchie, was very friendly indeed, providing back and foot massages and a promise of an orgasm of the soul…LOL. 

In the evening we were joined by our final girlfriend and got ready for our first night on the town.  We hit many of the regular bars on Duval St, which were all mainly the same but a lot of fun.  Let’s see, there was Sloppy Joe’s, Irish Kevin’s, Ricks, and maybe a couple more…I lost track :) We met up with a bachelor party along the way where we came across our second notable character of the trip, Tarzan.  He was tall, with blond shoulder length hair, broad shoulders, and we found out later had a hell of a body.  Super friendly and funny, and totally took to his nick name after some initial feigned indignation. 

When Frenchie and his friends met up with us at the same bar there was some definite chest beating and dick measuring going on so we had to hightail it out of there pronto.  Ugh…Boys!  Tarzan and his friends did end up catching up with us shortly after and invited us to join them at a sleazy strip club that I cannot recall the name of.  Of course we said yes, who would pass up such an opportunity!  After a lap dance or two in the back room for one of my ladies we were ready to move on and do some dancing of our own.  Heading back to the hotel at 4am we knew it had been a successful evening. 

The next few days held much of the same, laying in the sun all day and making our way down Duval St for some good times at night.  There was a group of girls we met at the pool on day one that we continued meeting up with just about daily with an interesting story of their own.  There were 4 of them and as we started learning more about each one we realized that they were nothing alike.  They were different ages, grew up in different places, went to school in different places, and currently live all over the US.  So I asked the next logical question…”Sooo how do you know each other?” They all basically met over a number of years on vacation. Now they pick a place to vacation together once or twice a year.  What a concept! They seemed pretty taken with us too, even though they admittedly thought they would never have anything in common with NYC girls.  I expect we may meet up with them again some day :)

Day 3 we decided to venture from the pool to frolic in the surf and sand.  We found a nice beach a couple of miles from the hotel that had a slightly more local feel to it.  We waded far out into crystal clear water where it was only 2.5 feet deep at best and just relaxed and chatted.  Before we knew it we suddenly had company - dozens of little white fish were swarming us, curiously inching their way to our fingers where they just hung out, darting around and every once in a while taking a little nibble at our fingers.  We even saw some fish as big as our hand swim closely by.  Just one more thing that made the trip magical.

On night 3 we headed to Duval once again to check out a bar we had been hearing a lot about where clothing is optional and you can be body painted.  Its called the Garden of Eden and is located on the rooftop of another bar called the Bull and Whistle.  What an experience!  There were a number of old naked dudes, as you may expect in a place like that, but there were an equal number of fully naked or half naked younger patrons as well.  What can I say, when in Rome!  My friend and I stripped off our shirts and got in line for body paint.  She got two very cute, pink butterflies on her breasts and I got seashells on mine.  And who shows up just as I am stripping off my clothes….Tarzan, right on cue.  The island proved to be a very small place.  Never mind though.  It was a blast, and aside from some creepy comments it was a lot of fun!  There was even a man who got his penis painted to look like an elephant…hilarious!

I also must comment on the food on this little island because it was de-vine!  Key West has a lovely little French culture that must be indulged in.  First we tried a crepe cafe recommended by a local boy we met on day one called Le Creperie Key West. If you venture off of Duval Street down Petronia St, you will find it only a few blocks away.  Talk about deliriously delicious, it makes my mouth water just thinking about the meal we had here.  Savory and Sweet crepes in just about any flavor you can imagine.  Mine was spinach, mushroom, tomato and goat cheese, enjoyed with a mimosa made with freshly squeezed orange juice and a strawberry on top.  I also had bites of the other girls selections and every one was to die for, so my deduction is that you really cannot go wrong here. My only advice would be to watch the add-ons.  They do not tell you that side salads or whip cream will cost you, they just offer them up.  These can make your reasonable meal quite costly if you are not careful.  We also hit another french inspired place called Croissants de France, which is right on Duval St.  This time I enjoyed a sweet crepe topped with granola, yogurt and berries.  Another indulgent meal we decided to splurge on was a really nice seafood dinner at the Shor which is located in the HYATT hotel.  We decided to forgo the appetizers so we could fit in dessert at the end.  I ordered jerk seasoned snapper with plantain and garlic mash and herb risotto on the side.  For dessert, even though we were filled to the brim, we shared a chocolate lava cake and of course, the key lime pie.

On the final day of our trip I took the morning off of sunbathing to do a bit of touring.  I grabbed one of my girl friends and we visited Earnest Hemingway’s home, which was beautiful —no wonder he was so inspired! and the southern most tip of the island.  What a trip! By noon we were back at the hotel enjoying our final hours lounging by the pool.  This is where I will pay homage to our wonderful bartenders at the Shore’s Bar, where we spent so much of our time— Heather, Captain Mario (nicknamed since he looked like Mario Lopez) and James who did an excellent rendition of Call Me Maybe :)

At 4:30 we begrudgingly boarded our shuttle for the airport.  The sun had set on this trip.  On to the next!