Arizona Trip Review FINALLY!

HAHA, so here is a detailed account of what we did on our trip:

I drove to my parents house Friday afternoon, and we drove to get mom at work, and dad ran over a wire fence type thing, which was so funny. He's such a great driver, that I thought he was just backing up, and I didn't say anything, and then he asked what he hit, and told him it was a fence thingy, it was pretty funny!

we finally got to the airport in one piece, and we got through security and decided to get something at burger king. so dad and i took some coupons and it turned out the lady didn't speak the best english, but she said we don't have those sandwiches, so dad and i went all the way back to our gate, and got different coupons for whoppers, since that is there trademark, and we come back and ask if they have whoppers and the lady says no, then her english speaking manager says, yes we do have those! it was funny! we had bogo's, and she couldn't figure out how to get everything working. so it took awhile, and i told my dad i wanted onion rings, but didn't want to ask her. since it took a while we got a free pop, and so i put coke in mine and dad put diet coke in his and mom's, but i acidentally got them mixed up, so we tested mom since she seems to think she knows best about diet/regular pop! it was pretty funny!

finally we got on the plane, flight was a bit bumpy, but we made it! Another state to check off! then we got our rental car, and drove to a town called Tusayan, which is about 3 1/2 hours from phoenix, and where the Grand Canyon is.

We found our hotel, and almost ran over an elk, so that was exciting, my mom wanted us to go back and get a picture, but we couldn't find it! oh well!

we finally found our hotel, the Red Feather Lodge, which was pretty dumpy, but we checked in at about midnight and knew that we would sleep and get up at about 5:30 for the grand canyon the next morning.

the checkout guy was very french, and my dad left his ID in the car, and when he went to go get it the guy was like "He doesn't think i would let him check in without an id, would he?" then he was like "don't tell your dad i said that!" haha!

we then fell asleep, and we all woke up before the alarm, and it turns out we were about 5 minutes from the canyon, so that was cool!

we wanted to check out Mather Point first, since that is the most popular viewpoint, but we missed it! whoops! it was SOOOOO cold, it was like 20 degrees, but the view was AMAZING! i got a lot of great pictures of the sunset. it was GORGEOUS! everyone must see the grand canyon.

then after seeing the sunset and getting into our cars to warm up, we drove back to the hotel to have breakfast and clean up. the contenintal breakfast was really good, they also had these super cool toasters too!

then we refreshed up and went back out to the canyon, it turns out the visibility was a lot better than it was the day before, but still not great, but i thought it was great! we went to some more viewpoints including Yaki point, which my dad liked saying, and then we went to a gift shop, and then they have a ranger type station where you can get information, and they had this funny sign that said if you are looking for the North Rim (reminder, we were on the south rim) its 5 1/2 hours north. i thought that was pretty funny, since when we got to Tusayan, there were like no signs for the canyon, so the whole time we were wondering if we were in the right spot, and then all of the sudden, out came the little town with a million hotels!

we found out from the rangers, that to hike down would be able 5 1/2 hours, and to hike back up about 7 ot 8, since they say to take breaks, and my mom who thought we should hike, changed her mind after that. there was also a water fountain that said, "do not drink, its frozen!" haha!

after that we went to a grand canyon store and got some food for the drive to Las Vegas, and mom and i both bought grand canyon sweaters, it was pretty funny since we though we should split one, and then we decided not to, and then we looked at other sweaters, dad was getting pretty impatient since he wanted to head to vegas.

then mom found the mules, and took a million picture of them too! Haha!

after this we looked at a couple more view points, and then, since we checked out of the hotel, we headed for Vegas. Nothing like a Sommers family vacation, in and out! :)

the ride to vegas was so pretty, since we got into phoenix it was dark, so i was excited to see the mountains around us. dad also taught me how to read mile markers, which showed how bored i was, but i wanted to watch the views, but mom slept!

we finally started to see signs for vegas, but out first stop before vegas, was the hoover dam. they don't let trucks drive over it, and they have a police block, where you could get your car checked randomly before crossing, which we didn't have to! haha!

so the first thing we did was stop right over a scenic viewpoint, and there is a gift store, and then you can park your cars, and walk over the bridge. So we did that, and found out that as you walked across you walked in Nevada, YAH for me, picture op of me being in Nevada and Arizona! YAH! :)

it was pretty cool though, i think dad was more into it, and there were construction crews working on a bridge above the dam, and everytime there crane moved them, mom would be like "careful!" it was funny. they had a giftshop and i found cactus earrings, but didn't get them since they were pretty expensive, and i figured i could wait to get them, turns out i never found them, sad! but i did get a cute cactus keychain!

they do give tours of the dam, but its expensive, my dad said they used to be free before 9-11, and just so you know the dam is about 700 feet high, WOWZA!!!

then after that we drove to vegas, we got there right before it got dark, but it was crazy since here we were in the middle of a desert, and theres a huge CITY! it was cool seeing the strip up close and personal. i found a road we needed, hwy 15, which i took a picture of since we live on hwy 15! :)

my dad said that he didn't mind the traffic, since he could point things out, but after being in it for awhile, he soon changed his mind, when he first said it my mom and i looked at each other, since he is notorious for freaking out about traffic jams! the first thing i noticed on the strip was the mandalay hotel, which is where a lot of skating shows are.

it was very cool and busy, reminded me alot of times square in NYC. we finally found our hotel, and they had the most comfortable beds. since my eyes were bugging me, and i forgot my contact container/solution, dad went out to get me some, while mom and i took a nap. funny right, what do you do when you get to vegas: take a nap! we were so tired though!

then dad came back, and we had some food we bought earlier, and then walked around. vegas is very pretty, but there are all these guys who walk around handing out naked women posters, which was very gross. plus a million casinos, dad lost $5 in our hotel casino, right away. i didn't gamble though. we did go over to the bellagio and they have this amazing water show, that they put up to music, so that was cool to see.

then we went to Caesar's Palace, and the Forum, or there shops with the most expensive stores, but it was cool to see. We also checked out some casinos, but they were so smokey and gross. vegas was cool, but i don't really recommend going, especially if you have a gambling addiction, or a wedding addiction, tons of chapels! haha!

after that we went to Downtown vegas for more hotels and then there is something called the Fremont Street Experience, and it was almost like the outside of a mall, they had a guy who was spray painting beautiful pictures, very cool! then every once in awhile they dim the lights, and they have a big canopy wall over you that shows pictures, that was pretty cool. I also saw an ABC store, which i LOVE, since they are all over Hawaii! so i had to tell sara!

then we basically went back to the hotel and crashed! the beds were so COMFORTABLE, a big improvement from the previous night! haha!

then the next morning we left for Phoenix, or Po nex, as my dad called it. but first, a stop into California, for literally 5 minutes. We took pictures with the welcome sign, and i guess i forgot that i was in the desert, because i was hopping there would be something touristy, but NOTHING! its still fun to say that i've been to california though!

then now it was on to Po nex, it was very deserty, lots of cacti (i didn't think that was a word, but it was, darn it!) lots of slow people, which dad called Milly and Tilly, or Mr. Milly or Tilly, if it was slow guy, since my mom hates mountains my dad would attempt to pass them, just to freak her out, which is funny since she grew up EVERYWHERE in the US, practically and was around mountains alot!

anyway the scenery was so beautiful down south! we then made a stop over in Sun City, which is where some church friends have a house, so we went there for a bit, and it was nice to have the internet to check into things back home.

after that we drove to our hotel, and i freshed up for the show! YAH!

after the show, since i already posted that review, we came back and ordered pizza, and then mom and dad feel asleep, but i just chilled out, since i knew our flight was leaving the next afternoon, so we didn't have to get up early and go anywhere, so that was nice.

the next morning, we got ready, and then i wanted to find some touristy shops, so we went to a walmart, and i was thinking it would be like the walmart in orlando that has amillion disney touristy things, but this one had nothing, but we ran into a Savers, so mom had to go there, which was pretty funny. where do you shop in the south: the forums expensive shops at Caesars palace, or Savers! haha!

after that we got to the hotel, and they had a gift shop, so i did all my shopping at the airport, and then after we got through security, mom almost got busted for bringing the pizza from the night before, but we got it through, and then dad did his walking around the airport for his daily walk, and then we flew home! nice quick trip, but SOOO fun! afterward i remembered that we didn't even fight at all! haha!

well these are my recommendations: anything SKATING, and the grand canyon!

sorry this review took so long, but enjoy! :)