Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest weekend where most people plan on spending the holiday out of town. To escape the weekly routine and relieve life's stresses, both Andrew and Philip sort of planned a weekend getaway on a whim and decided to go to Las Vegas. Typically, a trip to Vegas is something that you have to plan in advance due to traffic conditions, high hotel rates and the very busy city due to long weekends. However, that didn't deter Andrew and Philip. Like many APpventurers, they both like to dive into the fun side of life with some level of caution but not compromising too much on getting a greater, richer and a more meaningful experience. They started off this trip at around 3PM on a Friday after leaving their work obligations. To many, this seems very daunting since LA traffic is worse on Friday evenings. Luckily, the GPS directed them to take the 5 fwy to the 14, 138 and then leading them into the 15 fwy in Victorville. In about 5 hours, they arrived in Las Vegas without any traffic headaches.
Spending a three-day weekend in Vegas was refreshing and energizing. Having a little bit of fun once in a while is so rewarding. The trip back to Los Angeles was also a breeze. It only took 4 hours, which is not bad considering the fact that the last time Philip and Andrew spent time in Vegas was just 6 months ago and it took them 12 hours to get back to LA. Overall the trip was so enjoyable and it marked as one of their best and memorable trip to Vegas.

On May 5th, (Cinco de Mayo, 2018),  we decided to venture out to Catalina Island on the side of Avalon. We took the Catalina Express from Long Beach and it was quite a nice and quick boat ride. We suggest lining up early for the ride across the channel. Otherwise, you might end up in a middle seat or no seat at all. After disembarkation, we swiftly proceeded to the golf cart rental booth to rent our ride for the day. Exploring Avalon can be accomplished in a day and surely, we did just that. ​

​We enjoyed the different scenery along the shoreline as well as on top of the hill along the paved road where golf carts are allowed to roam for exploration. These golf carts are allowed almost anywhere on the island. This will allow you to visit almost ALL highlights of Avalon (Wrigley Botanical Gardens, Casino, etc...). You will see some of the spectacular views in the slideshow below . Please feel free to provide any comments, suggestions or even any of your great recommendations about Catalina Island.