Albuquerque

or almost home...

We love ABQ but on this visit we are all about getting home.

So we pulled into town about 3 pm and went straight to LaQuinta to check in.

Wouldn't you know it was the worst check in we have ever encountered. 

I am a very compassionate understanding person.

However...

I did not expect there to be a New Mexico State blind convention in Albuquerque 

this weekend nor did I expect them to all be staying at the Laquinta.

Laquinta was totally unprepared to meet the needs of so many 

handicapped people at the same time. 

I'm not kidding when I say that there were 70 sight impaired people

 tapping their walking sticks

 and only 1 Laquinta Clerk to help them check in. 

For God's sake, they cannot see.

They cannot read your paper map of the hotel.

They cannot find the elevator.

They are all trying to check in under a special group rate...

What a disaster.

But alas, we finally check in and are given a wonderful large suite and we head to 

Cracker Barrel for dinner.

It's a good evening and we rest up for our long drive tomorrow.

The last leg of our West Coast Adventure!

We should arrive in Texas tomorrow!

Yeehaw!

Standing on a corner...

in Winslow Arizona...

and it was such a fine sight to see.

There was a beautiful flat bed ford too!

We decided to take a few minutes and stop in Winslow
to see the "standing on a corner" statue.

http://standinonthecorner.com/

So fun!

There was even Eagles music blaring on a loud speaker near the gift shop!

We got to drive on historic route 66 too, so nostalgic.

But honestly, Winslow is a sad little place on a vast forgotten highway.
We had a nice visit with the gift shop owner and it seems tourism may be their last hope.
So if you are ever on Route 66 near Winslow, AZ, stop on by!
Get stop gas and pick up some souvenirs...
You won't be disappointed!

The Grand Canyon

We understand now why it's called The "Grand" Canyon!

Steve and I share our birthdays just 8 days apart and with us being in Arizona at just the right time,
I wanted to book an unforgettable excursion to celebrate at the Grand Canyon.
Neither of us have ever been there so we wanted to make our first view of the canyon an amazing memory we would share forever! 

I researched all the possible affordable sightseeing trips and it really came down between 2...

either the helicopter ride or the vista liner plane ride

http://www.papillon.com/grand-canyon-national-park/airplane-air-tours/south-rim-airplane-tour

The airplane ride it is and this is why...
taken from their website.

What's Included:

• Scenic views of the Zuni Corridor, Imperial Point, Confluence of the
Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers, Kaibab National Forest and Kaibab Plateau
• Tour Duration: Approximately 40-50 minutes

The South Rim Airplane Tour, originating from Grand Canyon National Park Airport, is an extremely affordable way for families and individuals to experience a large swath of the Grand Canyon National Parks central and Eastern Rims. 

Our Vistaliner airplanes feature oversize windows that make every seat the best seat 

and allows for post card quality pictures!

oh and its quiet, too. 

We wear headphones that give a nice narration and calming majestic music too!

We boarded at the Grand Canyon Airport early about 9:45 am

And wow! It was truly a bucket list event.

Steve has his gopro all ready as do many others!
We take a ton of video but of course I can't upload it to my blog.

We took off and seemed to be flying over trees when all of a sudden

the ground opened up to a massive canyon below us!

Our first view was incredible, even emotional!

Truly a religious experience as we see God's amazing handiwork.

We flew all along the perimeter and the whole ride lasted about 45 minutes.

We were able to see the colors and layers up close, even the Colorado river.

So beautiful and breathtaking!

What a sight to behold!

We really enjoyed it and it was worth every penny!

I would love to return and do the raft ride, helicopter ride, mule ride, and camping/hiking excursion.
It's a beautiful massive park.
One could just get lost here for a week or two...
After the airplane ride we just grabbed a burger and headed to the Grand Canyon National Park.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
The grounds are beautiful with good parking and great walking trails. 

We walked right up to the ledge and were astonished at the first view just steps from the parking lot.

The views are breathtaking!

We enjoyed a leisurely stroll all around the south rim!

Taking in as many views as possible...

This park is huge and there are shuttle buses to take you all around the canyon
to see the various points of interest.

not today since our time here is so limited.

So we spend a couple of hours just sightseeing and breathing in the canyon with its amazing views and massive sunshine!

Soon, we have to call it a day.

We have an hour drive back to Flagstaff so we decide to take the scenic route 

through the the ski resort. 

http://www.arizonasnowbowl.com/photos/

It's beautiful...

and our hearts are full of such amazing sights!

We opt for an early evening since we have plans tomorrow to drive on Rt 66
and stand on a corner...

Flagstaff Az

We left Las Vegas and arrived in Flagstaff, AZ on 10/22. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagstaff,_Arizona

It was a wonderful drive of only about 5 hours. 

We were so pleased to see that Flagstaff was woodsy and really nice.

 There was a ski resort nearby in what seemed to be the middle of the desert. We are at a higher altitude so it's about 20 degrees cooler and that's nice. As soon as we arrived at our La Quinta we could tell we would definately enjoy our stay here. This day was a very special day like no other...Steve's 39th birthday! 

We have a special birthday gift to share tomorrow but today we decide to go to Outback Steakhouse! We splurged and both ordered a Victoria filet and lobster for our birthday dinner!  Yumm! 

It's an early evening for us as we have a special reservation bright and early in the morning!

Happy Birthday Steve...I love you and our crazy adventure!

What happens in Vegas Part 2

So after a lovely morning of sightseeing Hoover Dam, we have lunch, rest a little and decide to hit up more Las Vegas sightseeing. 

We are leaving in the morning so anything we want to see or do... Now is the time! 

We were married here almost 15 years ago so my sweet husband
wanted to pay a visit to the wedding chapel.

When we married it was called the Chapel of Love.

It has since changed names and not been kept up as well, but he found it!

http://www.aweddingchapelinlv.com/
There were 4 different chapel rooms, but he remembered it from the Rose stained glass.

We were able to go inside and take a picture too!

It's on the lower end of the strip and near the Gold and Silver pawn Shop 

from the History Channel's Pawn Stars.

http://gspawn.com/
So, of course we had to pay them a visit, too!

There was a line to get in and they had just filmed a segment for the next season.
The parking lot attendant said that chumlee was inside but we didn't see him.

The store is very little...so it didn't take long to look around.
We did see some of the items they have shown on the tv show. 

Lots of historical guns, football Super Bowl rings, art, jewelry, etc... 

It was worth a stop.
No picture taking allowed inside the store and with the heavy security... I didn't want to chance it. 

Next we decide to look for Rick's Restorations.

http://www.ricksrestorations.com/

His shop has a show on the history channel too.

It was just around the corner. His place is much larger.

We also drove by the Counts Kustom cars too.

http://www.countskustoms.com/

 It's just a little storefront in a strip center warehouse area. Nothing really to see outside his shop.
He has a restaurant called Vamps.
http://www.vampdvegas.com/
We saw it too but I think it was closed during the day when we drove by.
Against our better judgement we decided to stop and walk around Fremont Street.

http://vegasexperience.com/

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Street_Experience

The Toy Shack from the pawn stars show was located there.

It's a great store for vintage toys.

The owner was there and we recognized him from the tv show.

We walked around some and saw the Heart Attack Grill.

http://www.heartattackgrill.com/heart-attack-grill-menu.html

It was on the travel channel and we hoped to have dinner there,
but Steve decided it was too racy to take Spencer.

So we saw some of the crazy sights on Fremont Street and left.

I'm having a hard time remembering where we ate that evening.

*UPDATE*

I remember now...

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

After we ended up back on the strip to visit New York New York 

and ride the roller coaster! So fun!

http://www.newyorknewyork.com/attractions/the-roller-coaster.aspx

We can say we thoroughly got as much sightseeing in as possible and now it's time for rest and preparing for our drive tomorrow to Flagstaff! 

Yes we are going to the Grand Canyon and I've booked a very special excursion for our birthdays! Yippee! Bye Bye Vegas!

Historic Hoover Dam

Our travel schedule is tight heading back to Texas but we wanted to make sure and visit as many bucket list places as we possible can.
We know this life is temporary and who knows when we will have another opportunity for a west coast adventure. 

There's so much to see and do out west and I pray we can return someday to share more adventures with our family! 

Travel with all our kids and grand kids does seem impossible right now but someday we hope to share our adventures in smaller bites with the ones we love. 

We woke up tired and contemplated the importance of getting up so early and driving almost an hour away to see a dam.

We finally decided that Historic Hoover Dam was a must see bucket list item, so we trekked out there 10/21/2014.

It's a nice drive just east of Las Vegas. The weather was gorgeous and the views simply amazing!

and the water is so blue...similar to Lake Tahoe but with no woods.

Since we are driving halfway across the US with all our belongings loaded on top of our jeep we are flagged for a search at the entrance to the dam.

Fun for everyone...
Lots of security here so be prepared to be searched, we were!

It slows us down a little but we are granted access so here we go...

So amazing and so glad we didn't change our mind and sleep in.

It was so tempting...

Anyway, the dam is huge and there is a lot of historical information. 

http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/

It sits on the Nevada Arizona Border so that was interesting.

It's well worth the visit and so affordable.

The only fee we paid was the $10 parking fee, but there's numerous tours to take...

Even repelling and a raft tour.

Not for us today.

So, we walk through some of the monuments and read about the history of the Dam.

it's good luck to rub the feet of  the angel...

I don't believe in random luck but I go ahead and rub the angel feet anyway, lol.

We are just happy to be here and enjoy the gift of sightseeing.

Lake Mead is just a short drive down the road...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Mead

 so we decide to park and get out for a few minutes.

and it is beautiful!

We are so thankful to give Spencer these good memories!

The bluest water but does seem a little low.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lake-mead-is-shrinking-and-with-it-las-vegas-water-supply/

And I can't forget the Pat Tillman Bridge...

http://www.hooverdambypass.org/

we drove on it, but you can walk up a jillion flights of stairs to actually walk across it.
Not today, sorry. 

We do spend about 2-3 hours there and decide to leave and have lunch in Boulder City 

at an A&W burger restaurant. 

We initially tried to eat at the Dairy Queen, but alas as most DQ's are only treat shops out west, 

this one was too. So, A&W it is.

Good burgers...good root beer and now we are all ready for a nap, lol

Gotta rest up for more Las Vegas sightseeing this afternoon and evening!