Time to chillax...

Day 19 – July 17, 2016

Las Vegas, NV – Scottsdale AZ

320 miles – 5 ½ hours

110 degrees

Today was a long, hot day. The drive form Vegas to Scottsdale was mostly barren. And at times the topography actually liked like we were on a different planet. The drive was also long because it seemed as though every 45 minutes, someone had to go to the bathroom and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. I’ll let your imagination fly with that one.

We stopped at the Nevada-Arizona border to see the Hoover Dam. Wow. It’s mind-blowing. I was nervous because often when you hear how big something is, and see many pictures over the years, what you’re seeing doesn’t match up to the hype. In this case, it did. It’s cool. We didn’t stay too long though – it was hotter than hell.

We arrived at the Camelback Inn at 4p.m. We hung out at the pool and then went out for an early dinner. This hotel is one of all my all-time favorites. I love it here. We’re nesting for a couple days to rest, do laundry and celebrate Camden’s 9^th birthday. I’m going to take a few days off, but will catch you up before we start heading home.

Quote of the Day:

Cammy: "My least favorite part of the road trip is how long it takes to get to each place."

It's this weird? It's like another planet?

 Serious drought conditions. You can see the normal water line - where the rocks change color.

Roller Coaster Madness

Day 18 – July 16, 2016

Las Vegas, NV

Temperature 109

We had a very lazy morning. I think we’ve all hit a wall. I was exhausted. Rich and Audrey got up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. and went to the strip in search of breakfast. Can you imagine? When they got back, the boys and I were still asleep. I didn’t rise until 8 a.m.

While Audrey and Rich were at breakfast, she convinced him that it would be a good idea to ride the roller-coaster at New York New York, rather than my planned excursion to the Hoover Damn. They rallied the boys and I was the odd woman out. I gave in to peer pressure and rescheduled it for tomorrow. To the strip we headed.

It was hot, hot, hot. We had lunch at an Irish Pub in the NY NY hotel, and then headed to the roller-coaster. It was pricey, so we decided that we’d only send Hunter and Audrey. Audrey begged me to go, and I stupidly relented. I like wooden roller coasters, but I’m not a fan of mac daddy coasters. 

This was somewhere in between, and it was a couple flights up off the ground to begin with.

It is the last roller-coaster I will ever ride. I almost threw up and it jerked me around so much I had a headache for an hour. I am officially too old for this.

We walked down the strip to the Bellagio. I wanted to see the fountains, but unfortunately they weren’t on. We checked out the lobby of the hotel, which is pretty, but insanely crowded. Everything is just so, so crowded. And there are weirdos everywhere. We encountered one lady while we were walking on the sidewalks that was so strung out (blabbering to anyone and anything she passed) that the homeless guys told her to lay off the drugs.

We got back to the hotel around 4 p.m., and rested before going out to an early dinner. We ended the evening the pool, where Barrett terrorized some preteen girls with his constant jumping in the pool. They were basketball players. Thank goodness for understanding parents.

Quote of the day – from a stranger.

We had a rough dinner at McCormick & Schmicks. Our server was awful and we had to wait an hour for our food. Rich heard a little girl at the table next to ours (we both had “private tables, with curtains – kind of cool) say the following:

“It never fails, we get a sucky table and great service, or an awesome table and sucky service.” She was correct (and they had the same waiter).

First some photos from last night that didn't upload...

Pre-show selfie

 The Venetian at night.

Show photos..$$$ Cha-ching

Ah, youth...

And me...

Aud & B...walking on the strip.

Gardens in the Bellagio.

The Paris hotel 

The Bellagio

Day 17 – July 15, 2016

St. George, UT – Las Vegas, NV

159 miles/ 2 ¼ hours

Temperature – 118 degrees!

It was a relatively easy drive to Vegas. The highway took us through some pretty mountains. And it was kind of cool how we drove over a hill and then all of a sudden – we could see Vegas in the distance. It’s a huge payoff after miles and miles of nothing. But oh, how I wish I could have seen it in the 1960s and 1970s.

We arrive too early to check in, so we found a place for lunch and then drove to the strip. Very crowded and an assault on the senses. Poor Bear Bear. There’s just so much to see and everything is big and bright. We drove to the famous Las Vegas sign, so we could get our obligatory picture. Rich was not happy about getting out in the heat (we passed a digital thermometer that read 118 degrees). But its Vegas and we had to have the picture. And of course – it’s dry heat. Amazing that it can be so hot, and yet none of us were sweating. I love it.

After check-in, we hit the pool for a little bit. We got ready and headed out for an early dinner, because we had show tickets! On the hotel’s recommendation, after I asked for a decent family restaurant that wouldn’t break the wallet, we ended up at Café Grand Deluxe in The Venetian, which is on the strip. The hotels on the strip (ours is a few blocks off the strip, thank God) are enormous. We entered through the front door of the hotel, and had to walk about mile to get to the restaurant. Of course the restaurants are all located on the other side of the casino. So we had to walk through the smoky casino and were treated to quite a show. Oh boy! Quite the crowd in Vegas.

After dinner we walked across the street to the Mirage for our show. Cirque du Soleil – Love, a tribute to the Beatles. Oh my goodness – hands down the best show I’ve ever seen. And that my friends was the consensus of everyone in the family. It was a big score for me, because even Barrett liked it. Every time I looked at him, he was smiling.

After the show we got to see the Vegas lights for real and the crazy was just starting to get wound up. Time to head back to the hotel, must to the chagrin of Rich, Audrey, and Hunter. I swear, the older I get, to bigger stick in the mud I’ve become. It’s rather sad.

Cammy quote of the day

the kids were talking about were they wanted to live one day. Audrey mentioned that she liked the dry heat and maybe she would move to the dessert. Cammy said, "I'm thinking big baby! I'm moving to L.A.!"

Zion and a Bus Beating...

Day 16 – July 14, 2016

Bryce Canyon, UT – Zion National Park – St. George, UT

135 miles – 2  ½ hours

113 degrees!

Today was much better than yesterday, although Hunter is about to be shipped home. Barb & Marcie, if you’re reading this, please reserve a spot for him next summer. Two weeks in the laundry room and two week at the cement factory. Cause I ain’t putting up with this next summer.

We had a short little hop from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park. Remember what I wrote yesterday about not being able to pick my favorite? No longer a problem – Zion National Park is it. It’s gorgeous. We entered from the east gate and drove for twelve miles to get to the park’s Visitor Center. It was the most spectacular 12 mile drive I’ve ever taken. Up and down and around all kinds of crazy turns – and through an incredibly dark (and spooky tunnel).

At the visitor center I discovered that to see the rest of the park, you have to ride a shuttle. That was a buzz kill. It was getting very hot and I couldn’t image riding a bus with the kids and getting on and off at multiple stops. But that is what we did. It was worth it, but I think we would've seen more from our own car (the park stopped letting cars past a certain point in 1999, due to the increase in the number of visitors that led to major traffic jams).

Funny bus story. The bus was very crowded, and we ended up having to ride standing up. I was worried about Barrett, but showed him how to hang on. We were standing by a man who was in a wheelchair. His wife had understandably made a big deal about getting him on safe, and we all waited outside in the sun, while he and the wheelchair were secured. Anyway, we’re riding along and I hear Barrett make a noise, kind of like a snicker. I looked behind me and the man in the wheelchair was hitting Barrett on the hip with his water battle – on purpose. Barrett had a smirk on his face, and the guy kept hitting him. I was shocked. The guys says, “Move it.” I realized Bear’s hip was bumping the man’s shoulder – but the guy behind Barrett was pushing him into the wheelchair man, because he was wearing an enormous backpack. No to be fair, the wheelchair man may have tried to say something to Bear, and was obviously ignored. Still, he decided to hit him with a water bottle? So…I may have gone all autism mom on him. In a voice that was not very nice I said, “Excuse me. Please do not hit my son. He does not mean to bump not you. He has autism and therefor has special needs just like you!” Well, I shocked him, that’s for sure. Then I switched places with Barrett. Then the man asked me if he (Bear) has a handicap pass for the park. Not sure if he didn’t believe me, or was trying to be helpful. I told him that he did, and then turned my back on him. A few minutes later his wife offered her seat to Barrett and I felt bad for being snippy. I thanked her, but said Barrett would be fine standing. And he was.

In a different area of the bus, as reported to me by Audrey, a “creepy” looking woman with dark red lipstick (Aud’s description) asked Camden if he wanted to sit on her lap. Camden told her “No thank you,” and took a few steps back. Yikes!

We had fun (the exception being Hunter). Audrey, Cam and Bear all took their shoes off at the end of the shuttle and splashed in the Virgin River (I kid you not).

After the park, we drove one hour to St. George, Utah, where we stayed for the night. We had dinner at Olive Garden (please help me!), and re-supplied at Target.

Camden Quote of the Day:

Audrey was telling a riddle to two men on the bus. I can’t share it, because I’m sure she will want to tell it to each and every one of you herself. The guy fell for the trick, and Camden was completely tickled. Laughing, he said to the man. “You fell for the oldest trick in the book!”

I think Bear is over all this...

Aud's not happy, Cammy was beating her.

Bryce Canyon

Day 15 – July 13, 2016

Provo, UT – Bryce Canyon National Park

239 miles – 4 hours

Temp – 96 degrees.

We had another four drive today, which got us to Bryce Canyon just after lunch time. The park is very, very pretty, but smaller than I’d anticipated. We explored it mostly by car, and were finished after a couple of hours. I hate to admit it, but at this point the parks are starting to blend together a bit for me. Audrey kept asking me which one was my favorite of this trip, and I couldn’t come up with one.

The kids all gave me a hard time because we’re staying at a Best Western. Spoiled, spoiled, and spoiled. They are Marriott people, for sure.  Hunter was particularly surly about our accommodations. Thank goodness for Camden, who always tries to look on the bright side. He told me that he was quite impressed that the bathroom had two sinks.

The kids were on my nerves today – and each other’s. And I’m sure I’m on their nerves.

We had dinner at a different Best Western, located across the street from our hotel, which offered a dinner buffet. As you would expect, I was less than enthused. I am dying for a nice healthy meal.

That was it – a rather uneventful day. It’s kind of sad when you see the pictures below.

Quote of the day:

Hunter was crashed on the couch in the hotel room, pretending to be asleep during our “reading hour.” Audrey was complaining that it wasn’t fair that Hunter didn’t have to read like she and Camden did. Camden said, “Audrey maybe he’s just tired.” And then after a beat he said in a stage whisper to Audrey, “Nah, he’s just tired of US.”