The Great American Roadtrip/Vacation: Part in the Second - Where some stuff happens.
Here is the next installment of me and turq's vacation to Tucson to visit with audiwulf and his brother.
If you wish to read it, and see the pictures click
On our First day actually down in Tucson, we mostly slept in, recovering from the drive out. This worked out, since Audi had to work until 4-5ish. Once me and the Lizert managed to get out of our respective beds, we decided to just wander around Tucson to see what we could see. So we piled into the Vibe, and hooked up the GPS again (In case we got lost), and just drove around taking in the sights. The mountains out there are just breathtaking. After some driving around, we found another Vibe in the elusive metallic orange. This one had the monotone color package (all orange, instead of black mirrors, and handles, and grey fenders like on my car) Truely a beautiful car in that color... If I had found a Vibe GT in that color, I would have bought it, but I love my car as it as.
After our stint of driving around, I decided I wanted something cold, so we found a nice place called Swensen's Ice Creamery. We stopped in, and bought a little snack to eat before the great Audi got off work. After that, we went back to Audi's house, and sat around awhile until he showed up.
We sat around and talked for awhile until he asked what we wanted to eat... As usual, our stomachs wanted something asian, so Audi decided to show us a nice little place he had found that served Sushi.. They were truly a great Sushi bar. Their Tucson roll is amazing. We of course couldn't actually manage to escape Audi's hospitality, and he paid for dinner... Pretty gracious seeing as that probably came to be well over $75 for the 3 of us. On the way out to the sushi bar, I let him drive the Vibe, and he seemed to enjoy it... Thought it handled sharply, and I think he was taken in by the gauges. (They ARE pretty). After dinner, we basically lolled around for awhile before we finally went to bed. That ended our first day there.
I would so own one! Oh, wait....
On our second day (Which was Friday the 16th) out there, we both slept in again. (What do you expect from us? We both normally work late shifts.) After taking forever to get ready, we decided to try going out to Biosphere2. So we all hopped into Audi's Audi (red Audi Coupe GT.) I have to admit that for being a 'coupe' the back seat isn't so uncomfortable as you would think. I also have to admit that that car has a pretty neat growl to it when he gets her revving.
After about thirty minutes of traveling, we made it out to Biosphere2, unforunately, Turq's Stomach, which had, since the beginning of the trip, been acting up, decided it wanted to make itself noticed. So while Turq was rushing to the restroom, Audi and I decided to check and see if there were still any tours available. Unfortunately, there was only the self tour, not the guided tours, which are more indepth. This is what we get for being such late sleepers... I blame the lizard.
Look! Biosphere2 without Pauly Shore!
Can I drink it?
I don't want to have to clean the windows at THIS place
Since we didn't want to have a completely wasted day, we decided that, since we were already half way there, we would trek it up to Phoenix to see the Ikea store, and the Fry's Electronics. On the way out there, we picked up a nuisance... Some little late 90's chevy cavalier seemed to think it could hang with the CGT just because we were stuck behind a large 'subdivision' (Damn Suburbans) In fact, it attempted to pass us and 3 other cars a couple times, but he failed miserably, and got put back in his place each time.. Finally, oncoming traffic cleared up enough for Audi to pass the GMC in front of us, so he taunted the cavalier, and uncorked the Coupe. The only thing we saw of the poor chevy was a small spec waaay behind us. Every so often Audi would let him catch up, just so we could outdistance him again. Once we hit the city limits, we decided to head to Fry's first, since they would probably close first. Once again, Turq's stomach wanted to make itself known, and so me and the wolf wandered around the Vacuums for awhile, mostly because we are crazy, but also because we though it would be the last place Turq would to to look for us at. after the vacuums of doom (there are some screwed up vacuums out there) we wandered around looking at all of the neat electonics. I managed to pic up a new set of screwdrivers, and a new retractable set of RCA to headphone cables for my AUX input in my Vibe. We need one of these in STL. They're like a BestBuy crossed with a Compusa crossed with a SAM's Club. They are just awesome!
After Fry's, we went to the IKEA store. There we managed to see just about anything that could be flat packed. We even saw some things that SHOULDN'T be flat packed, including a Sofa. I also think my friend Brian would like the Baby Pod for his spawn. THe furniture there is pretty cool. I think I would consider furnishing large portions of my own place with IKEA furniture. All of their stuff is very nice in a minimalist fashion. Very Avant Garde. Plenty of eurasian influence in their designs. One of the neat things about this place is that you remember what it is you want, and then go into the back, and pick it out in it's flat packed version. This makes it easier to transport home. The warehouse, BTW, is HUGE, you could get lost in there. I came out of there thinking to my self that furniture should not be so cool.
It's Ikea!
Yay! At last a sofa that... wait... What?
In case of baby, put in pod, and press Eject button
They actually do test the quality of their own products in the store for you.
Okay, I admit it, I dig these tables.
Where am I?
Wait Wait... Ikea WHATS???? Ikea makes batteries?? WTF?
After our jaunt through the IKEA store, and summarily getting kicked out for closing time, we decided we were pretty hungry, so Audi took us to a place called the Claimjumper. I have to admit, the food is great, and the atmosphere is awesome. (Our waitress was cute but WAY too cheerful.) Also, the fans hanging from the ceiling are all belt driven, and are all interconnected to ONE motor. It's pretty cool. (Audi said there was one close to Tucson, but that this one had better 'service' and had the fans. I think his inner gearhound just wanted to see the fans again myself.)
After dinner (This time I picked up the tab, since I'm willing to bet Audi was still feeling the burn from last night) we were all pretty tired, and decided to go ahead and head back towards our temporary 'home' location. Audiwulf was kind enough to allow me a turn at the wheel of his CoupeGT. It handles very nicely, even with suspension work needed. It's got a very nice, crisp response to any command you give it, and that inline 5 powerplant really gives it a unique sound. Not to mention a nice ability to pull away from any cars that happen to be bothering us. (Like the aforementioned Cavalier). We stopped off for gas, and then fnished out journey. On the way back Audi picked a package from his post office, seems his set of Initial D Fourth Stage DVDs came in. So we all sat down, to enjoy all that is cool Japanese driving goodness.. Unfortunately, whoever did the subtitling work on this DVD set was apparantly tweeked out of their gourd. It was so bad that I had to go upstairs to get MY copies of the Initial D 4th stage episodes I made before I left, so that we could actually understand what they were saying..... Of course, several hours later, and we realized we had watched almost 8 episodes, and that perhaps we should get some sleep. Thus is the end of the second part of our vacation.
The pictures in this are all 800x600 resolution. This particular entry isn't as well written as the previous one, since I am tired, and don't care as much. Oh well. Enjoy..... Assuming anyone actually reads my livejournal.
If you wish to read it, and see the pictures click
On our First day actually down in Tucson, we mostly slept in, recovering from the drive out. This worked out, since Audi had to work until 4-5ish. Once me and the Lizert managed to get out of our respective beds, we decided to just wander around Tucson to see what we could see. So we piled into the Vibe, and hooked up the GPS again (In case we got lost), and just drove around taking in the sights. The mountains out there are just breathtaking. After some driving around, we found another Vibe in the elusive metallic orange. This one had the monotone color package (all orange, instead of black mirrors, and handles, and grey fenders like on my car) Truely a beautiful car in that color... If I had found a Vibe GT in that color, I would have bought it, but I love my car as it as.
After our stint of driving around, I decided I wanted something cold, so we found a nice place called Swensen's Ice Creamery. We stopped in, and bought a little snack to eat before the great Audi got off work. After that, we went back to Audi's house, and sat around awhile until he showed up.
We sat around and talked for awhile until he asked what we wanted to eat... As usual, our stomachs wanted something asian, so Audi decided to show us a nice little place he had found that served Sushi.. They were truly a great Sushi bar. Their Tucson roll is amazing. We of course couldn't actually manage to escape Audi's hospitality, and he paid for dinner... Pretty gracious seeing as that probably came to be well over $75 for the 3 of us. On the way out to the sushi bar, I let him drive the Vibe, and he seemed to enjoy it... Thought it handled sharply, and I think he was taken in by the gauges. (They ARE pretty). After dinner, we basically lolled around for awhile before we finally went to bed. That ended our first day there.
I would so own one! Oh, wait....
On our second day (Which was Friday the 16th) out there, we both slept in again. (What do you expect from us? We both normally work late shifts.) After taking forever to get ready, we decided to try going out to Biosphere2. So we all hopped into Audi's Audi (red Audi Coupe GT.) I have to admit that for being a 'coupe' the back seat isn't so uncomfortable as you would think. I also have to admit that that car has a pretty neat growl to it when he gets her revving.
After about thirty minutes of traveling, we made it out to Biosphere2, unforunately, Turq's Stomach, which had, since the beginning of the trip, been acting up, decided it wanted to make itself noticed. So while Turq was rushing to the restroom, Audi and I decided to check and see if there were still any tours available. Unfortunately, there was only the self tour, not the guided tours, which are more indepth. This is what we get for being such late sleepers... I blame the lizard.
Look! Biosphere2 without Pauly Shore!
Can I drink it?
I don't want to have to clean the windows at THIS place
Since we didn't want to have a completely wasted day, we decided that, since we were already half way there, we would trek it up to Phoenix to see the Ikea store, and the Fry's Electronics. On the way out there, we picked up a nuisance... Some little late 90's chevy cavalier seemed to think it could hang with the CGT just because we were stuck behind a large 'subdivision' (Damn Suburbans) In fact, it attempted to pass us and 3 other cars a couple times, but he failed miserably, and got put back in his place each time.. Finally, oncoming traffic cleared up enough for Audi to pass the GMC in front of us, so he taunted the cavalier, and uncorked the Coupe. The only thing we saw of the poor chevy was a small spec waaay behind us. Every so often Audi would let him catch up, just so we could outdistance him again. Once we hit the city limits, we decided to head to Fry's first, since they would probably close first. Once again, Turq's stomach wanted to make itself known, and so me and the wolf wandered around the Vacuums for awhile, mostly because we are crazy, but also because we though it would be the last place Turq would to to look for us at. after the vacuums of doom (there are some screwed up vacuums out there) we wandered around looking at all of the neat electonics. I managed to pic up a new set of screwdrivers, and a new retractable set of RCA to headphone cables for my AUX input in my Vibe. We need one of these in STL. They're like a BestBuy crossed with a Compusa crossed with a SAM's Club. They are just awesome!
After Fry's, we went to the IKEA store. There we managed to see just about anything that could be flat packed. We even saw some things that SHOULDN'T be flat packed, including a Sofa. I also think my friend Brian would like the Baby Pod for his spawn. THe furniture there is pretty cool. I think I would consider furnishing large portions of my own place with IKEA furniture. All of their stuff is very nice in a minimalist fashion. Very Avant Garde. Plenty of eurasian influence in their designs. One of the neat things about this place is that you remember what it is you want, and then go into the back, and pick it out in it's flat packed version. This makes it easier to transport home. The warehouse, BTW, is HUGE, you could get lost in there. I came out of there thinking to my self that furniture should not be so cool.
It's Ikea!
Yay! At last a sofa that... wait... What?
In case of baby, put in pod, and press Eject button
They actually do test the quality of their own products in the store for you.
Okay, I admit it, I dig these tables.
Where am I?
Wait Wait... Ikea WHATS???? Ikea makes batteries?? WTF?
After our jaunt through the IKEA store, and summarily getting kicked out for closing time, we decided we were pretty hungry, so Audi took us to a place called the Claimjumper. I have to admit, the food is great, and the atmosphere is awesome. (Our waitress was cute but WAY too cheerful.) Also, the fans hanging from the ceiling are all belt driven, and are all interconnected to ONE motor. It's pretty cool. (Audi said there was one close to Tucson, but that this one had better 'service' and had the fans. I think his inner gearhound just wanted to see the fans again myself.)
After dinner (This time I picked up the tab, since I'm willing to bet Audi was still feeling the burn from last night) we were all pretty tired, and decided to go ahead and head back towards our temporary 'home' location. Audiwulf was kind enough to allow me a turn at the wheel of his CoupeGT. It handles very nicely, even with suspension work needed. It's got a very nice, crisp response to any command you give it, and that inline 5 powerplant really gives it a unique sound. Not to mention a nice ability to pull away from any cars that happen to be bothering us. (Like the aforementioned Cavalier). We stopped off for gas, and then fnished out journey. On the way back Audi picked a package from his post office, seems his set of Initial D Fourth Stage DVDs came in. So we all sat down, to enjoy all that is cool Japanese driving goodness.. Unfortunately, whoever did the subtitling work on this DVD set was apparantly tweeked out of their gourd. It was so bad that I had to go upstairs to get MY copies of the Initial D 4th stage episodes I made before I left, so that we could actually understand what they were saying..... Of course, several hours later, and we realized we had watched almost 8 episodes, and that perhaps we should get some sleep. Thus is the end of the second part of our vacation.
The pictures in this are all 800x600 resolution. This particular entry isn't as well written as the previous one, since I am tired, and don't care as much. Oh well. Enjoy..... Assuming anyone actually reads my livejournal.