Bags are packed and i'm ready to go...

Well not quite packed yet, but i am in fact leavin on a jet plane.

I think I've finally nailed down my plans. Tuesday afternoon I'm flying to Vegas for a conference on social media and corporate communications, which should be more fun than it sounds. Since I'm not generally inclined to gamble too much, I've got tix lined up for Penn & Teller on Wed. night and the Cirque du Solei/Beatles - Love show on Thurs. night. I should be able to fit some old fashioned touristy gawking in there too. Gotta get down to Fremont St. for a little while.

Then post-conference, and post-the post conference session i'm attending, off to pick up the rental car and head off into the wilderness. I'm avoiding the obvious direct I-15 route to San Diego, opting instead for a back road jaunt through the desert. This decision was cemented when i realized that Friday night is a New Moon, so I'm expecting to see.. I'm not sure what I'm expecting to see really.. i know that they have more stars out there than in the midwest, and the sky is bigger. Regardless, i'm hauling a ass-ton of camera equipment with me, so i should bring home some good pictures of whatever it is i find out there.

After a quick night stop in TwentyNine Palms, CA, i'll see if i can be discplined enough to follow through with my plan to wake pre-dawn, and head out to Joshua Tree Natl. Park, or some other part of the wilderness around there, and get photos of sunrise in the desert. That's the plan at least, we'll see how it actually goes. Then off like a prom dress to San Diego, to visit Letterboy. This is part of the trip i have the least figured out. I'm promised the best tacos i've ever had, i get to go see Letterboy's band play, and .... who knows what else. The boring end of this is flying home Monday afternoon.

Somewhere in this mess, i feel i should make a point of trying the regional fast food goodness that is often mentioned in tv/movies, so i need to keep my eye open for Fatburgers and In and Out Burgers. If i had more time, i'd venture up to LA, and find Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, but that will have to wait for another trip. Actually, now that i think about it, it's funny to me that one of the only specific things i want to see in LA is Roscoe's....