Great Times with Friends

The Tres Muskiteros of from left to right Rhante Parrenas, Ted Williams and Rudy Salanga pose at the Hoover Dam at the Nevada/Arizona border on August 24, 2008.

Ngeeeee! was the battle joke throughout the two-day trip of the Tres Muskiteros of the Knights of Columbus to the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Sedona in Arizona.  These places will never be the same again without the Tres Muskiteros DD/PFN/PGK Rudy Salanga of Las Pinas City, Philippines; PGK Ted Williams now of Burbank, CA; and FDD/PGK Rhante Parrenas of Las Vegas, NV messing them up!  Alice Williams and her two children Michelle and Melody, Cora Salanga and Ces Parrenas completed the entourage.

Ted rented this huge 18-seater GMC (?) truck from Los Angeles..  Really  big, lots of room and very comfortable.  I thought it was difficult to drive; turned out to be just like driving a small car when I took over from Ted for the drive from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ.!

Immediately upon their arrival in Las Vegas from Burbank at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, we took Rudy & Cora and Ted & Alice to my hotel and casino, the South Point (You didn't know Ces and I own this place?), for a buffet dinner that featured seafood in addition to the Steak Place, the Italian Bistro, the Mexican Cage, The Mongolian House and the Asian Wok.

Gee, I didn't have to ask them what they wanted to eat.  They could have a feast, a really delicious treat, of whatever pleases their palates.

Poor guys!  They must have been so tired.  They immediately came home with me and slept in their royalty rooms sans their lovely wives who went spending the night at the machines and tables at my casino.  Guess who the ladies' guide was!

Very early in the morning at 8:30  (Ngeeeee! Is that early?) , we drove to the Grand Canyon, via the Hoover Dam for sightseeing.  Here's the Hoover Dam. http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html

<FONTFACE=ARIAL size="4">We proceeded on a three-hour turtle drive to Williams, Arizona to register at Fairfield Inn by Marriott for our three rooms.  Fairfield Inn had two queen-sized beds in each room, which was good for all of us to be able to relax.  Check it out. http://www.marriott.com/fairfield-inn/travel.mi

Seeing the Grand Canyon is always a humbling experience for me.  Being the Minister of Tourism for Pinoy visitor friends, I visit this national park at least twice a year!  The hair keeps standing on edge every time I see the grandeur of this place.  God's creation is totally fascinating.  http://www.nps.gov/grca/

Rhante, Ces, Cora, Rudy, Ted and Alice having lunch at Pine Country Restaurant in Williams, AZ on Saturday, August 23, 2008.

Ted, Rudy and Rhante in front of the Desert View Tower, overlooking the mesa of the Grand Canyon.

Rudy and Rhante in front of the Desert View Tower.

Ces, Cora and Alice at the Desert View part of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River can be seen in the background.

Ted possesses the spectacle of the Grand Canyon in his enthralling smile!

Rhante and Rudy are totally mesmerized by the grandeur of this God's creation.

Hunger struck by the time, we got to Flagstaff, AZ from the Grand Canyon.  We looked for the Himalayan Restaurant that I knew of from a previous visit.  I forgot to ask them not to put MSG in the chicken tekka masala and the tandoori chicken we ordered.  The restaurant must have put in a lot of MSG because I really sufferedwith hypertension that nightand into the next three days.  My head was actually woozy while we enjoyed ourselves in Sedona!

The great company of my friends must have given me the strength to carry on with the expedition to Sedona and the trip back to Las Vegas with utmost glee!

Ted & Alice, Rudy & Cora and Ces & Rhante stop by the roadside on the way to Sedona, AZ to memorialize the visit to the majestically serene red rock formations of Sedona from a distance.

The visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross on top of one of the majestic red rocks brought solemnity to our visit.

The Tres Muskiteros now stand nearer to the red rocks fronting The Chapel of the Holy Cross.

 Behind and below Ces and me is the huge SUV that Ted rented for us to use on this trip to Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. See the red rocks behind us in the distance?  Fantastic!

I contend that these rock projectiles resulted from God's pushing The Grand Canyon.  As He stepped on the Grand Canyon the rocks erupted up in Sedona!

 See the naughty look on Ted's face?  What do you think he's doing?  Ngeeeee!  This is the entrance to a souvenir shop in Sedona where I bought a collapsible walking stick that I really love.

Ted, Rudy and Rhante stand to record the visit to Sedona, AZ to enjoy the majestic red rocks.

Standing according to height from left to right: Rudy, Ted, Rhante, Ces, Alice and Cora right after an American lunch at the Sunflower Restaurant in Sedona.

Rudy and Cora pause for a breather with some fine sculptures before continuing on with their shopping spree in Sedona, AZ.

A beautiful butterfly flutters around, entertaining us while we went shopping in Sedona.

The Tres Muskiteros enjoy the constructions I ordered to improve the Hoover Dam, especially the Freeway that will bypass the old Highway 93 and afford travelers a bird's eye view of the Hoover Dam.  The crazy U.S. government granted me ownership of this dam out of the blue!  Call me, if you want free electricity! Ngeeeeeee!

Night finally falls in Las Vegas as we parted ways.  Ces and I went to set up her classroom for Monday, August 25 so she could start the new school year right.  Rudy & Cora, Ted & Alice and their daughters Michelle and Melody checked in to the Palazzo Hotel at The Strip.  http://www.palazzolasvegas.com/PINT.aspx?KNC-PAGOOGLESEARCH

The whole trip was replete with non-stop jokes that rocked the huge SUV that Ted drove.  The pinnacle of the joke, of course, was Eddy Arreza's vintage Ngeeeeeee expression!  Eddy is my best friend who is more than a brother.  He is the new District Warden to Rudy who is the District Deputy of the Knights of Columbus in the Las Pinas City District.

This trip has not ended.  It is just the beginning of more trips to come!

 

Tags: Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Knights of Columbus