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This year, we had less time and less money to spend...so we got creative and headed to the Grand Canyon.
Day 1: We left in the afternoon and after a shopping stop at the Outlet Mall in Barstow, we headed to my Cousin's house in Vegas. The kids had a great time playing with her boys. I loved seeing her cute house and hanging out with her! She made some yummy spaghetti and meatballs for us! Thanks Jamie and Evan!
Day 2: After having cereal with the Jones', we headed for the Hoover Dam. There was quite a bit of traffic, because they are building a new bridge near the dam. We got to the dam around lunch, so we headed to the "High Scaler" (the dam restaurant), for some yummy lunch. Then we proceeded to the Visitors Center and went on the Power Plant tour. It was cheaper and shorter than the "Dam" tour. We got to see a movie about the building of the dam and got to run around the Visitors Center and Observation decks, before heading down the elevator (500+ feet), to the tunnels and generators. That was so cool to see! The whole place is amazing. If you are a Percy Jackson fan, there are 2 winged statues near the dam, and we had to go see them before we left. We found out that if you rub the toes of the statues, it's supposed to bring you good luck. I could not bring myself to touch those things after seeing so many people do it (yuck!). Then we got back on the road and headed for Flagstaff, AZ. We made a fun stop in Seligman, AZ-the birthplace of Route 66. We used the restrooms at the Roadkill Cafe and played at the little old west town next door. This was the place that Pixar used to base "Radiator Springs" on from "Cars". In fact, the kids ended up calling this place Radiator Springs, because they said it's easier to say! On our way to Flagstaff, we realized it was getting colder. Then we noticed snow in the side of the road. SNOW?! We weren't expecting that! So, of course, we pulled over to play! The kids were so excited, until they touched it (we didn't have gloves). Then it was whining and crying.....But so cool!
Once we made it to our hotel, we headed to "Cracker Barrel" for dinner. YUMMY!!!! Jeremy and the kids had never been there before-now it's a family favorite!
Day 3: Off to Grand Canyon National Park! WOW!!!! It was Beautiful-Amazing-Breathtaking!! We entered at the South Rim and headed to Mather Point. That's the largest view point and where the Visitors Center is located. Cali would not get close to the railing. She was so scared that she would fall. But the boys loved looking over the edge! We took a free shuttle to some other view points and then Daddy took Gavin on a little hike, while I hung with the other 3 in the visitors center. When Jeremy and Gav got back, Jeremy showed me a pic of where they had gone. My son was on a rock on the edge of the canyon!!!!!! It's a good thing mommy wasn't there-I would have freaked! Our last stop was to the General Store for goodies, before hitting the road again. We actually hadn't planned on staying this long, so we had no place to stay. So we headed to Bullhead City, AZ for the night. Not a pretty place, but we found a nice place to stay.
Day 4: A free breakfast, a dip in the pool, and then off again! We drove to Barstow for lunch and then it was a stop in Rancho Cucamonga to meet my new niece!!! We spent about an hour or two with Baby Clover and her mommy and daddy, before we headed HOME! We had a wonderful trip, but were so happy to be home! Another successful and memorable trip!
