Las Vegas, NV to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ- 294 miles

July 25, 2012

We left Las Vegas at around 8:00 am, heading for the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We had a nice break from camping, but we are all excited to get back to it. When we asked Brady what he thought of Las Vegas he commented that it was alright, but he prefers camping! We had decided that we should drive by the Hoover Dam on the way. We thought we might be able to spot it from the new bridge that they put in a few years ago, but the barriers were too high so we had to turn around and go and walk the bridge in order to see it. It really was worth seeing! It is just really interesting to think about what they went through to build such a large dam.

From the Hoover Dam we drove another two and a half hours to get to The Grand Canyon Caverns. This cavern is not part of the national park system, but they call themselves that because the air that comes through the cavern actually does come from the Grand Canyon, over 90 miles away. We thought it would be cool to take the kids down into a cave so we included it in our itinerary. To get to the cavern we had to drive a section of route 66. We had read that the movie Cars had been inspired by the stretch we were going to drive and we were hoping to see relics of the old days of route 66, so we were a little disappointed to not see too much of that. The exception was the area where the cavern was. The cavern has been a tourist attraction for over 100 years and you can tell. The tour itself was a little corny and our guide was not quite as enthusiastic as I would have wanted (an older guy who seemed to have given this tour a few more times than he would have liked), but it was really neat to be 200 feet below the surface in a dry cavern. Joe and I have been in other caves, but they were all much different than this one. I am used to dripping water, stalagmites, and stalactites, but there was very little of that in this cave. There was no water, which is why it's called a dry cavern, and the formations were mostly crystals like popcorn crystals and snowball crystals (so named because that is what they look like). At one point in the tour we came upon a large room that was full of emergency supplies, as this cavern had been declared an emergency shelter during the cold war. There is also a petrified bobcat in the cavern. It had apparently fallen in back when the only entrance was a hole in the ground, and petrified very quickly due to the air in the cavern. The end of the tour was a bit odd when our guide pushed a button to start a light show accompanied by music (it just seemed a bit random and out of place), but overall we enjoyed this stop.

From the cavern we had about another two and a half hours to go to get to the south rim. It was a nice drive. I really love the scenery in Arizona. When we got to our campground at the south rim it was about 5:30. The funny thing was, though, that Joe and I really weren't sure what time it was! We knew we had gone over a time zone line, but our cell phones never switched. It turns out Arizona doesn't change their clocks for daylight savings so we were still on California time. We didn't know this for sure until the next morning! We were really happy with our campsite. It was large and flat, which is perfect. After dinner we had a campfire and went to bed, looking forward to exploring the Grand Canyon the next day.

San Diego, CA to Las Vegas, NV- 315 miles

July 23, 2012 to July 25, 2012

We left San Diego at around 9:30 Monday morning to head to Las Vegas. We anticipated the drive would be about six hours including stops so we would be there by mid-afternoon. The drive through the inland part of California is so different from the other parts. Joe and I were commenting that people always think of the Southern coast of California when California is mentioned, but the vast majority of California is nothing like that! We have gone from the chilly northern Redwood Forest to the rugged northern and mid-coast and on to the Southern coast. It took a long time to get to the warm temperatures and red roofed homes that are often associated with California. On this drive it did not take long to get away from that again and into a real desert landscape! It was easy to imagine all of the snakes, scorpions and prairie dogs that likely lived among the cacti and other plants growing in that dry land. Ironically as we drove along commenting to the boys about the dryness of the land and how infrequently it must rain it started to downpour! The temperature dropped from 106 degrees to 75 degrees in a matter of about five minutes. It was also raining as we approached Las Vegas, but once we had found our hotel and checked in the sun was shining brightly once again.

We had booked a two bedroom suite at Mandalay Bay for the next two nights. After all of this camping we had figured we would be ready for a little luxury! The suite exceeded my expectations because it was much larger than I thought it would be. We had two large bedrooms with king sized beds, a living room and dining area and a wet bar. Each bedroom had a large bathroom, and the boys got a kick out of the fact the bathrooms had TVs in them! Brady fit perfectly on the chaise lounge that was in the boys bedroom, so even he had his own space. It was great to have some room to spread out a bit.

We chose Mandalay Bay because of the pool. It was voted one of the top ten pools in the country by Tripadvisor, so we figured the boys would be happy there! As soon as we got settled in our suite we headed to the pool. Steve, Pete and Ava were about two hours behind us so they hadn't arrived as yet. The reason that Mandalay Bay got a top rating for the pool is that there are three distinct pool areas for families. The standout is a wave pool just like you would find at a water park. Brady was not tall enough for it, but Nick and Ryan had a great time! Joe and I took turns hanging out with Brady in the section of the wave pool that he was allowed in. He had fun there, too, because you do get smaller waves coming in. Eventually Steve arrived at the pool, followed by Pete and Ava shortly thereafter.

At this point it was after six, so we went back to our rooms to change and headed out to eat. The front desk recommended a restaurant called Ruffles Cafe, so that is where we went. It was fine, but I think overpriced for what they offered. After dinner we decided to take the kids for a walk down the strip so they could see Las Vegas at night. We entertained the idea of taking the tram down to the Bellagio to see the fountain, but as we made our way along we decided that the kids (particularly Brady) were getting tired and needed to go to bed. We made it far enough for the kids to get a sense of what Vegas looks like all lit up. When we returned to the suite I got Brady to bed while Joe went back down to the casino for a little while with the guys. I'm not a gambler, so that didn't bother me at all!

For our full day in Las Vegas we planned to spend the morning exploring and the afternoon hanging out by the pool. We took the tram to Excalibur where we met up with Pete and Ava and started walking. The kids enjoyed the replicas of New York monuments at New York, New York. We walked through Chandeliers, Aria, The Bellagio and Paris. The garden inside the Bellagio is one of my favorite things in Las Vegas. We started back to the hotel a little after noon, but stopped off at New York, New York so that Nick, Ryan and I could ride the roller coaster. Ava and Pete were planning to as well, but Ava was about an inch too short. This is a really fun roller coaster if you like rides that corkscrew, go upside down and are fast! We all loved it! After the roller coaster we got pizza for lunch and then went back to Mandalay Bay.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Today we hung out mostly by the regular pool, which was great for Brady. The older three went back and forth from the wave pool. Later everyone tried out the lazy river, without the tubes. We weren't willing to pay $24 to rent one for one afternoon! All in all it was a nice relaxing afternoon by the pool.

After showers we went to dinner at The Red, White and Blue Cafe in our hotel. We all enjoyed our dinners. After dinner we brought all of the kids back up to our suite and put in a movie, then the grown ups went back down to the casino for a little while. We spent about an hour at the craps table, where all three of the guys either doubled or tripled their money! That was good enough for us so we went back up to the suite and said our goodbyes. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon, Steve and Ava head out on a plane back to Boston, and Pete heads back to San Diego for the first two and a half weeks he has had to himself since becoming a dad! It was so much fun spending time with friends and now we are ready to go back to camping.

Morro Bay, CA to San Diego, CA- 305 miles

July 20, 2012 to July 22, 2012

The drive from Morro Bay to San Diego was pleasant, but not terribly exciting. For much of the drive we were more inland than on the coast, but it really is interesting to look around at all of the California towns that are built into the hills! We did also have several times when we came upon ocean views that were pretty. As anticipated we hit traffic in LA, but we expected that.

We arrived at our friend Pete Lancia's house at around 2:30 in the afternoon. Pete had graciously offered to let us stay at his home for the next three nights. Pete's daughter Ava was also very welcoming, despite the fact that her quiet home was going to be invaded by three loud boys for the next several days! When we got there Pete was still at work, but our other friend, Steve Raso, was there to greet us. Steve had flown in from Boston on Tuesday so that we could visit Pete together, and then we will all continue to Las Vegas on Monday. When Pete got home from work he and Steve made a great dinner of grilled vegetables, salmon, steak and rice. It was so good, and fun for me to get a break from cooking!

The next day, Saturday, was our San Diego beach day! Pete's sister, Tracy Young (formerly Lancia) and her husband Matt had us all over for the day. Tracy lives right down the street from the beach. Her family has a membership to a landing right on the beach, so we didn't fight the crowds and had a great "home base" while we were down there. The boys all loved being in the water! Steve had a lot of fun boogie boarding, and Pete and another high school friend of ours, Josh Kopelman, did some stand up paddle boarding. That has always looked fun to me, but the waves were definitely too rough for me to try that day! Tracy's kids, Madison and Connor, and Pete's daughter Ava had a great time hanging out in the waves, as well.

After spending the day at the beach Tracy had us back to her house, where Pete grilled up chicken and steak to go with the delicious salads that Tracy had made. Brady, Ava, Madison and Connor had a great time on the trampoline (actually Tracy and I joined them, too!). We ended the night with a fire in the fire pit and Brady sound asleep in front of the TV! We all had a really great day!

Sunday was my birthday and we had planned to spend it seeing some sights in the area and relaxing by the pool back at Pete's place. We finally got ourselves going a little after noon and headed for an airfield where people can paraglide off of a cliff overlooking a beach. It was really cool to watch. I think I'll try it next time I'm in San Diego! Next we headed to La Jolla to see a house that Pete has put an offer on. We could only see the outside, but it's a really cool Greek style house in a terrific neighborhood. If all goes well Pete will be moving by the end of the summer. We continued on to downtown La Jolla where we had lunch at a sandwich shop called "Goldfish" that overlooked the bay. After lunch we walked along the water watching all of the many kayakers, pelicans and seals that were hanging out in and around the water. The atmosphere was really fun with tons of people walking around and a live band playing in the square. We really enjoyed it!

Back at Pete's the boys went down to swim while I relaxed for a bit on the back patio reading my book. Steve grilled again for dinner and we ended the night with not one, but two cakes to celebrate my birthday. Pete was a great host. Tomorrow we'll be on the road again to Las Vegas!

Pfeiffer Big Sur to Morro Bay, CA- 94 miles

July 19, 2012

Today was all about the drive! We have been looking forward to this drive along the rugged California coastline and today we actually did it.

Packing up camp was relatively easy this morning because everything was dry. We were up and out by 9:30 even though our goal was 10:00. We only had about 94 miles to go today, so we didn't have to get out too early.

Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway was really beautiful! I had been warned that it could be scary in parts, but there were guardrails everywhere I thought there should be (unlike at Crater Lake) and Joe drove carefully around all of the numerous curves in the road so we just enjoyed the drive. We stopped several times along the way to enjoy the view and take pictures. It was really interesting to see how many driveways led down the cliffs to unseen homes. The final viewing spot we stopped at was really cool because it was a lounging beach for Elephant seals. They were tons of them rolling around, fighting with each other, throwing sand on themselves and swimming in the water right off the beach. They were very entertaining!

At this point we weren't far from Morro Bay, where we planned to camp for the night so we decided to keep going and have lunch when we got there. We had lunch at the Bayside Cafe, which was right across the street from the campground. After lunch we set up camp, then headed to the beach!

Morrow Bay beach is pretty because it is right next to Morro Rock, which is a large rock jutting out of the water. It was cold at the beach, only 63 degrees, but all of the boys went in the water anyway. We stayed for about an hour, then went back to grill dinner, make our campfire and go to bed. Tomorrow we are off to San Diego! I think we are all looking forward to the five day break from camping!