I am currently in Europe about to begin my next big adventure. The purpose of this blog was to tell of my adventures as an au pair in the USA, so, since I am no longer an au pair, and no longer in the USA, I will end this blog here. Thank you for reading it!
I have created a new blog, if any of you are interested in following my post-aupair travels!
http://explorermusings.blogspot.com
God bless you all, Thank you for accompanying me on this journey,
Signing off,
Gina
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Ultimate US Adventure: The Epic Roadtrip 3
Part Three: Las Vegas to Salt Lake City (and home again)
Las Vegas
Say what you like about Las Vegas - I know that I had personally wondered why we were even stopping in Vegas - I don't gamble, I don't drink, I'm not getting married, and I'm not interested in the seedy, artificial, party image that Vegas conjures. I was not really that excited about going there. But I have to say, I did completely change my mind!
When we were in San Diego, our couchsurfing friend asked us where we planned to stay in Vegas. We didn't have an answer because we had just planned to stay in the car. She then told us that in Vegas, hotels are extremely cheap to stay in. She gave us a few names of some hotels to look at that were very affordable.
It really was incredible advice for us because when I think of looking for a hotel in Vegas my eyes just glaze over - there are so many choices, where would I even begin? But she gave us a starting point, so we started researching and to our astonishment, the prices of even the most fancy of the hotels were what we would deem as affordable (and that's really saying something for me!).
We decided to splash out and book into The Venetian - a 4.5 star hotel, where we would have a beautiful suite and access to swimming pools and all sorts of facilities! After being on the road for a week, it suddenly seemed like the most appealing part of the entire trip! As we drove through the intense heat through the desert to get to Vegas, the only thing that kept us going was the lure of the refreshing swimming pool, the coolness of the air conditioning in our beautiful suite. We were fantasizing about watching movies with bags of chocolates and candy to munch on.
When we finally arrived in Vegas, both Nanci and I were feeling the effects of the heat - neither of us were thinking clearly, we lumbered around in a dazed and confused manner. But ahhh, we didn't care because we had reached our Oasis! The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas!
All the luxury that you could imagine
The canals of Venice in the convenience of our hotel
The famous sign! (I am convinced that most people who come to Vegas never find the location of this sign!)
Our blissful hotel suite, the oasis in the desert.
To us weary travellers, Vegas was pure rest, relaxation and enjoyment. I loved every minute of it. I loved the lavishness of it all. I loved the emphasis on comfort and all the attention to detail in every themed hotel. And walking through the themed hotels, I did not feel them tacky, on the contrary - they were incredible creative, very artistic. They showed a lot of thought, a lot of time and careful planning. It created a wonderful vibe in every different place. I have to say, I loved strolling along the Venetian's canals. It was spacious, airy, and relaxed. Trust me, I am not your typical hotel loving, luxury seeking girl. I am normally cagey about this type of thing. Of course, a casino is a casino - I did not enjoy walking passed rows and rows of smoke-smelling pokie machines; but there are lots of other things to enjoy in Vegas, especially if your goal is to rest and relax. I could have quite happily stayed in our hotel the entire time (I have never said that before in my life).
France!
New York!
The Bellagio
Rome!
We loved Vegas so much that we stayed a second night. It was then that we ventured out and walked the entire strip, stopping in at the most eye catching of hotels and casinos. It was very hot, and took several hours to get from one side to the other. By the time we got back to the Venetian we just wanted a pizza and a good movie, so we set up for the evening.
Pizza and a movie in our fabulous hotel suite!
We left our oasis and continued on to Hoover Dam. Along the way we saw a sign for $29 helicopter rides over Lake Powell, and so we leapt at the chance!
Woohoo helicopter!
We left and continued on, driving over the Hoover Dam
We got our kicks on Route 66!
Saw a gorgeous sunset
The Grand Canyon
Then we parked up at the Grand Canyon for the night, ready for the sunrise in the morning. We took a walk to the canyon at midnight in the pitch black and we saw the most amazing display of stars ever. You could see the stars so clearly they lit up the entire sky. We saw shooting stars and the milky way - it was incredible. And all the while, the Grand Canyon was just meters in front of us - a dark crater of black - like a wrapped present. We awoke for sunrise and WOW what a treat lay in store for us
Breathtaking
Zion National Park
We left the Grand Canyon and drove on to Zion National Park. At one stage we were thinking of leaving this off our rather packed itinerary, but I am so glad that we decided to make the trip - it was definitely a highlight for me. It was like stepping onto another planet.
Zion- huge red rocks like nothing I've ever seen
Zion
I fell in love with this river - My perfect life would be to have 100 children and live in a huge house by this river.
Bryce Canyon
We drove on, arrived at Bryce Canyon at 11.30pm. We slept in the car and went to Inspiration Point to see the sunrise. It was beyond words.
Salt Lake City
From Bryce Canyon we drove to Salt Lake City. We were exhausted. We found a beautiful park and just sat in it, snacking on sliced peaches straight from the can.
Salt Lake City
I had a lot of time to reflect on the last 18 months, and I felt so happy to end with a bang. It was the most amazing trip. I will remember it dearly all the days of my life.
The Ultimate US Adventure: The Epic Roadtrip 2
Part Two: Big Sur to San Diego
Big SurSo we left Yosemite National Park. It was intensely hot. The ice in our cooler would become a pool of water in a matter of hours. Our itinerary from Yosemite was to drive back across central California to the coast so we could drive down Highway 1 - the Big Sur cliffs. After a long and boiling hot drive, we arrived on the coast in the late afternoon. What a treat - Highway 1 was the most incredible drive I have ever done. We wound around gentle twisting roads around cliffs bathed in the golden sunlight of the late afternoon.
The beauty of the Big Sur coast
The highway took us several hours to cruise down. We stopped often at lookout points to take photos. One of the stops was recommended to us by a Couchsurfer - he said that there was a little pathway that went to a lookout over a beach with a waterfall which came down onto the beach! We found the place that he had mentioned and it was absolutely beautiful.
Waterfall on the beach.
The sun began to set, which made our drive even more incredible and the colours even more vibrant. We neared the end of the highway, but there was one place left to see - the Couchsurfer had also told us of a place where seals and sea lions bask on the sand. We arrived there just as the twilight sky had drenched everything in a pale pink glow. The beach was covered in sea lions. They lay there, flipping sand over themselves and making noises. We watched for a while, then I made us a quick dinner of barbecue chicken sandwiches.
Begrudgingly, we left the Big Sur coast and drove down to LA. We got just outside the city and stopped at a rest stop for the night. The next morning we headed to meet our Couchsurfing host, stopping along the way for a nice lunch (rare for u, since we normally had been eating from the car!). We spent some time with our Couchsurfing host who gave us lots of helpful advice and ideas, then we took off for an afternoon of LA sightseeing!
Los Angeles
Shortly before this trip, my previous au pair Local Co-ordinator from InterExchange left Seattle and moved to Venice Beach. I kept in touch with her and was keen to meet up while we were in LA. She was the first stop that afternoon! We had a fabulous time strolling the sidewalks of Venice Beach, and she showed us the 'secret' walk-streets that run between rows of houses, it was really neat to have a local showing us around!
Meeting with my ex-local coordinator from Seattle!
Nanci and I then spent some time exploring Venice Beach, it was alive and buzzing! A great place to be! We also stopped at Santa Monica beach
Venice Beach
We couldn't stay long because time was pressing on and we had places to be - in particular, the Fleetwood Mac concert at STAPLES Centre that night!!!! Everywhere you go in LA you have to leave enough time to get through the traffic - we found the traffic to be heavy but not insane, maybe we were just there at a good time!
LA Skyline
We arrived around STAPLES centre and found some roadside parking just a couple of blocks from the stadium (thanks to some internet tips!). We had a little bit of time so we had a quick meal at a sports bar sitting outside right opposite STAPLES. It was fabulous. We enjoyed our meal and people-watched for a while. By the time we got into the stadium, the show had already started!!!! We missed one song, but luckily we had also missed all the queues, so we quickly rushed to our seats and settled in for an amazing show! Fleetwood Mac were on fine form and we sang along and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Fleetwood Mac
The night was still young when we left the concert, so we decided to beat the daytime tourist crowds and visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We got to Hollywood Boulevard and to be honest, we weren't very impressed. It was very dull. It seemed pretty seedy and it was deserted, save for a few homeless men and drunk party goers. I guess after midnight the Hollywood Walk loses its magical charm. We also went on a failed search for the Hollywood sign, then realised that it was not lit-up at night - who would've known?!
Hollywood Walk
Nanci and I with our Couchsurfing host in LA
The picnic was great, we met some great people, got a full meal in our bellies, and got to celebrate the 4th of July with locals!
4th of July Breakfast Picnic
We said goodbye to our Couchsurfer and plotted out the sights we wanted to visit that day. Our first stop was to go through the tougher LA suburbs of Compton and Lynwood. All our lives we have heard terrible stories of gang violence, poverty and abuse in these suburbs. Coming from South Auckland in New Zealand, which is often portrayed negatively by people who have never been there, I wanted to get a feel of what it was really like - I don't tend to believe media hype. What we found was much like South Auckland - just regular people and regular families living their lives.
On a whole different spectrum, we then headed to Beverly Hills. We drove along the famous shopping strip Rodeo Drive. I did not enjoy Beverly Hills at all. It felt too posh and artificial for my liking.
We also stopped by the Hollywood Walk in the daytime, it was much better in the daytime! We tried to be tourists and buy a star map but the machine ate our money. Instead, we went (again) on a search for the Hollywood sign! We managed to find it thanks to some very clear instructions from a helpful local.
Hollywood Sign!
We took off to have a quick look at Malibu beach, where we learned that Malibu does not really have a town center, it's just a large area of coastline with a few restaurants scattered along the highway. It was not what we had expected, we thought it would be more of a village centered around one beach. We thoroughly enjoyed the coastal road to get there though! That evening we picked up a friend of ours from Downtown LA and then drove to Laguna Hills to a 4th of July party.
Laguna Hills/Laguna Beach
4th of July Fireworks
The next morning we went with our friends to Laguna Beach. There was an art festival on that our friends had been working at, so we took a look around. There were all sorts of arts and crafts.
The beach at Laguna was busy and full of people. We sat down and relaxed for a while, people watching and sharing some cold Kombucha (fermented sweet tea with seeds in it).
Laguna Beach
That evening we had an amazing meal at a local Mexican restaurant and then went to a blues dancing house party! We had a great sleep then, all too soon, it was time to leave Laguna on our way to San Diego.
San Diego
San Diego was a surprise addition to our itinerary, it was not last minute - we had arranged our Couchsurfers weeks in advance, but it was an addition to our initial roadtrip plan. I am so glad that we added it in though! We arrived in San Diego and met up with our couchsurfers, they were awesome and we all went out for lunch and Acai bowls (a mix of granola, acai berries, bananas, and other berries - the most amazing food ever!!!). That afternoon our couchsurfers had to work so we went and explored the city.
At first we were a little disappointed - it felt very touristy, we could not seem to get away from SeaWorld!! Then we finally started seeing some wonderful places which turned my opinion around! We went to La Jolla coves, which were so beautiful, really relaxing and fun. Then we went to Old Town and we just LOVED it. It was extremely touristy, but it was so much fun, it was irresistible!
La Jolla Coves
Old Town is basically a collection of restaurants and souvenir stores surrounding a block of historic storefronts and buildings from the pioneer days. You could see the Mexican heritage and influence, and have a glimpse into the lives of the residents back then, but mostly you just walk around enjoying the quaintness of everything.
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