We would like to travel as much as possible, but it generally comes down to us just taking one big trip a year. So far, we have been to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Florida, San Diego, England, South Dakota, Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland. We are currently on our road trip to the American Southwest.
Today, we went from southern Oregon to northern Oregon. We arrived in Wheeler around 5pm. Wheeler is a tiny town-- and we mean tiny. There are hardly any shops in town, and pretty much everything closes up at 5pm, so there was nothing for us to do. We had to drive to another town to find dinner. At least our hotel was nice. It was a remodeled 1920s building, and had antique decor. The lady who ran the inn was very nice, and even put our name on our room door to welcome us. There were also DVDs you could borrow and watch in your room. ... read more
Today we drove from California into Oregon. We decided to take the scenic route on Highway 101. It was so nice to see the ocean. It was definitely the best view we had on our trip so far. We didn't stop to do anything, besides eat lunch, because we wanted to make it to our hotel in time so we could see sunset on the beach. We made it in time, and had plenty of time to walk along the beach and view the ocean. ... read more
Today, we continued our trek north through California. We decided to take a slight detour to Fairfield to check out the Jelly Belly Factory. We went on a free tour they offer to see how jelly beans are made. We couldn't take pictures during the tour, though, because you could actually see the machines they use to make the jelly beans. However, we did get free samples during the tour. We got a sample of a normal jelly bean, the inside of a jelly bean (without the shell), and the jelly bean with the shell but before finishing. And, at the end of the tour, we each got a free bag of jelly beans! There was also a sample bar to try out any of the flavors, which, of course, enticed us to buy some jelly ... read more
Today, we left Las Vegas. We took our time leaving, though. We waited until almost the last minute to check out of our hotel room, then sat in the food court (eating amaretto gelato-- yum!) trying to figure out where we were going to go next. We finally decided on Fresno because that's how far we felt like driving. So, after one last glance at our hotel, we started the home leg of our journey.... read more
This morning we had a very unhealthy breakfast: a Nutella crepe, with cappuccino gelato on the side. It was really good. We went to the European pastry shop in our hotel. They have the world’s largest chocolate fountain there. It was not the type of fountain I was expecting, but still really cool. It had 3 different types of chocolate in it. After breakfast, we drove just down the street to our new hotel: The Venetian. We wandered around the hotel before attempting to check in early, which worked, and was a very good idea. The lines can get really long at check-in time, and we didn’t want to wait in it if we didn’t have to. We also got a few vouchers that came with our room. The only one we ended up using was ... read more
While we waited to check into our hotel, we walked along the Strip for a little bit. Our first stop was M&M World. It was fun to look at all the different M&M items they had for sale. There was even a free 3-D M&M's movie to watch in a theater there. After we had lunch, we continued our walk along the strip. It was pretty hot, so we walked through some buildings, which were air-conditioned, instead of just walking along the street the whole time. The only problem with walking through the hotels, was that you could get lost in their casinos. The ones we walked through were pretty dark inside, and the exits weren't clearly marked. They definitely want to trap you inside those casinos. We arrived back at our hotel right about when ... read more
Our main event today was visiting Hoover Dam. It turned out that we came on a good day, which was surprising since it was a Saturday, because we were able to park really easily and we didn't have to wait that long for our tour to start. Our tour guide told us that on other days in the summer it could be a 2 hour wait just to park. We decided to do the full blown Dam Tour. There is also a Power Plant Tour, or just entrance to the Visitor's Center. But, we picked the Dam Tour because you get to do everything. We got to be part of the Power Plant Tour where you go down to the power plant. First, we went into a tunnel where we were standing above a 90-foot diameter ... read more
We left Grand Canyon today and decided to take a detour to visit the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, AZ. It was the furthest south that we will go on our trip. The bridge is the actual London Bridge, and was disassembled and brought here when it was purchased by a man, who probably thought he was getting the Tower Bridge. They created a "Little London" right by the bridge. There is an English Pub, a small theater, and a few eateries, and the buildings have an English look to them. They even have the dragon statues that mark the entrance to the City of London in the real London. And there is also a fountain that's similar to fountains you would see in London. It was a cute little area, but it was so ... read more
Today we spent pretty much all day at Grand Canyon National Park. We rode one of the shuttles to an area where cars aren't allowed to drive to, and hiked a little bit on the rim and took some pictures. It was a little bit warmer today than yesterday, and the sky was nice and clear. It was a beautiful day, but not so good for picture taking. Plus, after awhile, no matter what angle you look at the Grand Canyon, it all looks the same and pictures just start to seem redundant. We had lunch at one of the lodges there, and decided to rest until closer to sunset, when the light would be better. Sunset was just as nice as yesterday, and the light was just amazing. Our sunsets at home just don't seem ... read more
We arrived at the Grand Canyon today. We actually had to drive through part of the national park before getting to our hotel. We arrived at our hotel at around 2 or 3pm. It was a little confusing to figure out what time it is. It says that we're in Mountain Time, but we have the same time as California and Nevada, which is Pacific Time. One thing that was unexpected was how cool it was there. It was only about 70 degrees there. We both just always thought that it would be hot, but it wasn't. And there was a lot more greenery than we expected. We took one of the free shuttles out to one of the lookouts that cars aren't allowed to drive to, and we also walked along the Rim Trail as ... read more
