On Day 5, we got up early, (after an awesome night of sleep on flannel sheets!), and headed for the Grand Canyon! The drive to the Grand Canyon was just beautiful. We even drove through a Navajo Reservation which was pretty neat. My phone didn't know what time it was the whole time we were driving through it, we must have been between time zones or something!
Artsy fartsy photo that actually turned out kinda cool!
Grand Canyon-bound!
We got into Grand Canyon National Park, and pulled into the first Visitor Center. While Kate was off taking care of a few things, I made a plan for our .7 mile hike. We had to drive another 25 miles to the main visitor center, but it was SO worth all the driving. The hiking path we took was great. It was paved and provided wonderful lookout points. Two words to describe the Grand Canyon: Mind-boggling, and selfie sticks. (Okay 4 words). Seriously, the Grand Canyon didn't even look real to me, it was just so....insane. And beautiful. Oh, and EVERYWHERE we looked were selfie sticks. Everywhere. So random. The park was really busy. This surprised me because it was a Wednesday at the end of April. Who knew so many people traveled this time of year? Everywhere we went on this trip was busy I think. Weird. Anyways, the Grand Canyon was absolutely fabulous. People were being ridiculous though, going out on places they weren't supposed to and just not being very smart. There aren't a ton of guardrails, (another thing that surprised me), and people are just stupid. That didn't take away from our experience though, I loved every minute of being there. Apparently I have been to the Grand Canyon before, although I don't remember it, and apparently I cried the whole time.
I took this picture to remember what happened the last time. :)
Amazing. Just amazing.
I was proud of my panoramic skills!
This picture is probably my favorite of the entire trip!
After we left the Grand Canyon, (it took us FOREVER to get out. Another thing that surprised me), we headed for Las Vegas. The drive to Las Vegas was beautiful, (we really did see so many BEAUTIFUL things on this trip), especially crossing over the mountains. We saw Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. We had planned on stopping at the Hoover Dam, but we missed the last tour by about 10 minutes, so we decided to wait until the morning. We arrived in Las Vegas around dinner time.
Our first sighting of Vegas.
I was seriously SO excited to be there. Vegas was the place that I was anticipating the most, and the place I was most excited to see. It did not disappoint. We arrived at Kate's aunt's house, and she welcomed us with wine and snacks. :) Oh, and one of those snacks was guacamole again, and guess what? I liked it. I guess I like guacamole now. Hehe. Anyways, we freshened up a bit, (I took a shower in the most amazing shower I've ever been in in my life. Awesome.), and then Kate's Aunt took us out to dinner at a very delicious Italian restaurant. I wish I could remember what it was called, but man it was good. The food was up there with cruise ship food, which, in my opinion is the best food ever. Yum.
Again, I bit into it before I took a picture. Oops. This was a pomodoro spaghetti with pesto on top. SO delicious. Did I mention this trip was all about the food?
After dinner, Kate's aunt dropped us off on the strip! The only way I can describe Vegas is this: If the very best parts of a cruise ship and the adult parts of Disney World had a love child, it would be Las Vegas. What a COOL place. I wish we would have had more energy to party hardy, but we really enjoyed just walking around all the themed hotels and taking it all in. We saw the Bellagio and it's fountains, and a Japanese garden exhibit inside, as well as The Paris (my FAV), Margaritaville, (I won 25 cents on the slots!) and The Venetian with it's amazing river and gondolas. Very awesome place. I loved how all the hotels kind of felt like malls on the inside with the big fancy stores, but also like cruise ships with all the beautiful decor, restaurants, and things to do. We also watched a volcano show outside of Treasure Island (I think..) which was neat. I can't wait to go back to Vegas again with Ben. I love it there.
The Bourbon Room from Rock of Ages! Ben loves that movie, so I must take him back there!
Note: I was really running out of room on my phone by this point, so pictures for me became minimal about this point in the trip..:(
We took a cab back to Kate's aunt's house that night. We didn't last super long on the strip unfortunately. We were super exhausted from driving and hiking, and I also did not wear good walking shoes. They were cute though! :)
The next morning, Kate's aunt fed us breakfast, and we headed to the Hoover Dam. It wasn't too far from Vegas, and although we got there early, it was already packed. It was neat to see, and is another place I would like to take Ben. My favorite part was going down the elevator into the mountain, and walking through the tunnels. Super neat.
It was HOT in Vegas and at the Hoover Dam.
Even at night it was hot.
After the Hoover Dam, we met up with my cousin Sam, who lives in Vegas! It was so great to see her. We went to lunch at Smashburger, which apparently is a chain, but it was SO good. Ben would love it. Then we all went back to the strip! We wanted to take a picture with the famous Vegas sign, and to do that, we had to park and wait in line. I thought this was hilarious and kinda weird. The line was not bad though.
Me and Sam!
After we took some pictures, we went to the New York, New York. Another thing I love about Vegas-the parking at the hotels is FREE. Brilliant. We parked and went inside the hotel, and it was REALLY cool. Looked just like NYC inside. The size of these places blew my mind. All the hotels and casinos are just massive. And beautiful. Kate and I rode the roller coaster at New York, New York. It was $14 to ride but SO worth it. I loved it. Kate screamed her head off the entire time, but the ride was so much fun. The views of the city were awesome. They also had a New York skyline built on the side, which was cute and cool.
I just loved this. SO much fun.
After New York, New York, we took a tram to the Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, and the Luxor. Mandalay Bay was so beautiful. We went and peeked at the pool area, which looked so awesome. They also had a wine elevator, which was so awesome. We sat down in Luxor and had some VERY yummy beverages. They must have been top shelf. Mmm.
When our tour of Vegas with Sam was over, she took us back to Kate's aunt's house. I am SO glad we go to see my cuz, we really had a great time with her!! She isn't a cousin I get to see all the time, so it was wonderful to just spend quality time together! Family rocks. :)
When we got back to Kate's aunt's house, we left right away for Kate's 2nd cousin's little league game! It was really fun, and a nice way to relax and enjoy time with Kate's family. The bleachers had giant umbrellas over them which I thought was SUCH a good idea, considering how hot it is there. The weather at the baseball game was actually really pleasant. After the game, we went to dinner with Kate's aunt and uncle and cousin. We had pizza, beer, (I tried Peroni for the first time, it was good, but tasted strangely like olives..), and amazing gelato. Mmm mmm.
We had an AMAZING time in Vegas, and I am so grateful for Kate's family for letting us stay, and to Sam for showing us around. I really can't WAIT to go back again! :) :)
Up next: We hit California!!
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