Day four - Just Grand

Phew! Another long day but totally worth it! We were a bit late leaving the hotel because at first we didn't think the hotel offered breakfast. Then, right before leaving, we found out they did, scarfed down the mediocre food, and rushed off to our first destination: the Hoover Dam. We all agreed that, though it was quite large, it was just as we imagined it. To avoid overpriced parking, we drove across the dam and parked at an upper parking area and made the trek back across for pictures and souvenir shopping.

Its so big, its difficult to get a picture of the whole thing. This panorama is the best I could do.

 

Near the Hoover Dam visitor center and gift shop are these large guardian...people with wings...things that are accompanied with a very patriotic sounding voice explaining their importance. Apparently its good luck to rub the feet. Blake thought it would be even more good luck if he rubbed his face on them. So many germs!?

I settled for a soft tap and some hand sanitizer

 

The Hoover Dam is also right on the Nevada/ Arizona border. At the end of the trip I'll be putting together all our border crossing videos but here's a picture of our jump. I think we're getting pretty good at it.

Here's the bridge we eventually crossed to go into Arizona. Unless you stand on the edge, you're unable to see the Hoover Dam from it. Another hour drive, we made it to our lunch spot. We started the day out all smiles and, even after hiking across the Hoover Dam in 90 degree weather, we continued in our happiness.

Here's Jazmyn working on her journal as we drive

 

What roadtrip would be complete without stopping at an In-n-Out? Since we were a tad behind we opted to eat on the go rather than sitting down. Jaz was pretty stoked because her boyfriend loves this restaurant and filled us in on the "secret menu": Animal style fries or burger, triple, and 4x4. I opted to just got with a regular ol' hamburger. Now in Arizona, we got off the main road and began to "get our kicks on route 66". I thought it would be just a drive by but we ended up stopping in Hackberry - once a town and now a gift shop surrounded by everything you picture route 66 to be... Also known as a tourist trap that we allowed ourselves to get sucked into. Wouldn't you though?

Mom and Blake takin' a rest in some comfy chairs

Inside the gift shop there was a small diner setting, obviously set up for things like this

 

After spending close to an hour here and filled up with all our trinkets, we continued along the mother road through more route 66 ghost towns. The weather was beautiful and, while we were enjoyed getting to see route 66, we were even more eager to see the Grand Canyon. To complete our route 66 day, we stopped in Williams, Arizona - Gateway to the Grand Canyon.

 

As always, I found a diner on Yelp that described it's very authentic cafe and how welcoming it was. We weren't terribly hungry but wanted to at least experience it. Below is a picture of the menu that you are first greeted with at Cruisers Route 66 Cafe. Looks exciting, right?

 

 Well, the restaurant is similar and lives up to the authentic look. The down side to this restaurant, however, is that they charge $2 more per plate, if you're going to share, the food is way over priced for not very much (ex. the "bucket of fries" was definitely just a small basket), and they took forever with getting anything we requested (there was maybe 3-4 other groups also eating at the time)

 

Tummys full and my parent's wallet empty we made the much anticipated drive to the Grand Canyon. It was everything I imagined it to be. We even got to see an old friend that moved to Arizona a few years ago and works at one of the gift shops near the rim. She filled us in on all the ins and outs of the Grand Canyon and how to get the most out of our time. After making our purchases (we weren't sure we'd be able to afterwards), we hopped on the free shuttle to a few different view points.

My phone camera just doesn't capture how beautiful it is

Sometimes I think I'm really funny: Mom and dad were super nervous about a gust of wind surprising one of us and pulling us over the edge so we were told not to go within 6 feet (or more) of the edge. We came to this one spot and were instructed that since there was no railing, to not cross over the rocks marking the path. I looked at my parents, lifted my foot up towards the rocks, and said, "I'm an adult" (If you've ever seen "I Threw it on the Ground" by Lonely Island - I said it like that) and proceeded to cross to the edge of the canyon. Don't worry, I was still safe but I just couldn't miss out on this view.

My amazing parents

We spent the rest of the evening here, waiting for the sun to set. I'll admit, while there is no doubt that this sunset was amazing, it's nothing compared to the sunsets I've seen at the beach. There's just something different about how the light reflects off the water that just can't be replicated here. As I said, though, it was beautiful and definitely worth the wait.

 

 

What an absolutely perfect way to end another fun day. Another 1.5 hour drive and we were at our hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. An especially long day of driving tomorrow so until next time, live long and prosper!

Day three - Through the desert

Phew! It was a hot and long day. As with each morning so far, I woke up early with my mom to enjoy some coffee together. As a close friend would say, we wake up at the butt-crack of dawn. This morning we even got in time to do laundry - my siblings are a bit silly when it comes to their clothes. Anyway, we got out of the road a little later then originally planned but if there's one thing I've learned about planning such things as road trips - the schedule is simply a framework to stick to; it's all about flexibility. Besides, as I said, the majority of the day was driving so I wasn't too worried about it. We left Merced, California and headed south east towards our lunch spot in Ridgecrest, California about 4.5 hours away. Thanks again to Yelp, I found this little spot that serves burgers, fried zucchini, and a few mexican food items.

If you haven't noteiced already, Blake has had a "duck face" in every photo. Apparently it's a goal of his.

 When then made a quick run to the town's Walmart to stock up on candy and chips for the road since we were running low.

We didn't pose for this, mom just kept walking in a serpentine and we followed.

We made our way towards death valley. I can't really explain why, but death valley was one of the spots I was looking forward to the most. I mean, you see lots of pictures of the national monuments (Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, etc) but hardly anything of death valley. Yes, I recognize that it's a desert and there isn't exactly a lot to see but... yeah (real intelligent argument, I know). About an hour before officially entering death valley, we drove through what looked like a ghost town - there's was houses broken down and boarded up, abandoned looking cars, and no people - but then we'd see stuff that indicated that at least someone lived there... like a brand new Hummer 2! We thought this would be the perfect spot for Clarke to collect his trinket, being a hubcap.

Oh gosh, I don't think we've ever laughed so hard. First we stopped at a junk yard sort of thing but dad started freaking out that the town sheriff was going to come pick up Clarke and charge tens of thousands of dollars for his bail. "How do you think he affords the hummer!?" My brothers, always quick on their feet, entertained us with a myriad of jokes after that: "Oh no dad, I think someone is following us. Oh wait, there's no one there!!" We did eventually find a hubcap along the road in a spot that no one would ever think us stealing.

 

 Continuing our drive, we finally found death valley but that also means the heat continued to rise. If I remember correctly, by this point in our journey the temperature was up to 100 degrees (Fahrenheit, obviously).

 

 High spirits continued as we drove another hour to Furnace Creek. Even though it is "just a desert" I surprised at how beautiful it was with the varying colors of the mountains, the different plants (yes, there's plants), and the landscape in general (like the sand dunes). Once at Furnace Creek, the boys did a 1 mile jog (gross!!) while the girls explored the gift shop. Before we got out, I read from the Death Valley brochure, that I printed ahead of time, that you should not get out of your car without a shirt, sunglasses, and something to cover your head, such as a large brimmed hat.

"I can't find my sunglasses so I'll just cover my eyes"

Once the boys returned, bought their trinkets, and doused themselves in water we continued the drive. Now, as I've said, death valley was one of the stops I was looking forward to most. To be specific, Dante's View which self-proclaimed that it was a breathtaking view overlooking the valley at 5,000 feet above sea level (the valley being 282 feet below sea level). The drive was long and windy but once there, it was totally worth it (well, mom didn't think so but that's probably because it made her nausous).

Yes, that is Blake texting. Did you expect anything different?

We made our way back down after freaking mom out by standing too close to the edge (being at least 6 feet) and continued on towards Las Vegas. I have a confession: The only reason I chose Las Vegas was because of the hour I knew we were getting in. If I died never having gone, I would've been fine. I wasn't exactly excited about this bit of the trip beyond seeing all the lights along the strip.

A guitar for Clarke

A bit blurry

We all scrunched in one seat since Jaz and Clarke couldn't see from the very back

There was a stark difference in the scenery from early in the day compared to our last hour on the road. Driving at a the speed of snot, we inched our way along three times before deciding we had had enough of the hot, stale beer and cigarette smoke filled air. That was the day - long and hot. I must say though, it was also probably my favorite day. With the exception of a bumpy, grumpy morning there was no arguing or even agitated attitudes. Just smiles and family bonding the whole way. I anticipate the remainder of the trip to be similar :)

Until next time, dear readers recommended by my parents and my few but faithful friends, live long and prosper.

Day Two

What a crazy long day! The plan was to be on the road by 7:30am since at the last minute we added in an extra detour but we were all exhausted from the day before that we didn't get out till 8:15am. Oops! We began the drive on Hwy101 but as soon as we saw that we could get onto The Avenue of the Giants, we did just that. It was so pretty driving between such tall trees. Dad kept saying, "those are just baby trees, wait till you see the drive through tree." Clarke was probably the most outwardly excited by this, pointing out every big tree that he saw (which was obviously a lot!). We had to stop and take a picture before continuing the journey.

This is the picture that dad took (notice the other camera guy with the red car, this wasn't the first time we had seen him)

This is the picture that I took of dad trying to die (it was right after a blind corner so we were all a bit stressed, especially when he would full on lay down!)

We drove for another few minutes and I was met with my first disappointment of the trip: The Shrine Drive-Thru tree. Now, this stop boasted about being an amazing spot to truly experience the redwoods, complete with a drive thru tree, drive over log, tree houses made only of a tree stump, and animal carvings. Now, it did have all of this but it most certainly was NOT worth the $6 we had to pay. The drive thru tree was just an old tree that had split in half and was being held together by wires and it wouldn't even fit our vehicle. Then, the gift shop was supposed to be open at 9am but by the time we left it was still closed, not a person in sight, at 10:15am. Now, we weren't concerned with buying anything here but some people not to be named had to go pee really bad and dancing around in my skirt wasn't making it any better. Needless to say, I wrote a very unhappy and displeased review on every website I could find. Yes, I mad.

This was the drive thru tree compared the the height of my mom

Trying to find some enjoyment, we wanted to get a picture with the animal carvings but... dad made a well timed photo bomb.

After our "enjoyment" at the tree, we rushed off to find a restroom. Dad, thinking quick, made a sudden turn into a state park and they allowed us a 15minute pass to use their facilities. I was so eager to be out of the SUV that I jumped out onto gravel and dropped my sunglasses. Forgetting my lady like manners, I spun around, bent over to retrieve them, and rushed off. I think the people at the picnic table have now seen things that can't be unseen... sorry.

After relieving ourselves, we began our trek towards our unplanned stop, a find made by my father the day before we left - Glass Beach in Forth Bragg, CA. Now, years ago this beach was used as the city dump but since then has been cleaned up. What remains is all the glass that has been sea tossed. Usually, you can walk on a beach for hours and hours and never find a piece of sea glass but this place advertised being covered in the stuff. After driving the most winding road in the history of roads for the last 2 hours, we prayed for the most fantastic beach ever. At first look, it looks just like a really dirty beach with a few spots of white rocks. I was prepared to type up more bad reviews but Jaz and the boys opted to climb down the small cliff to the beach. Things were not as they appeared to be. The beach really was covered in sea glass.

We all plopped ourselves down and looked through the glass to find our favorite pieces.

Here's Jazmyn with just a few of hers

The green and blue ones were my favorites

 Since we were already over an hour behind schedule we had to get going much sooner than any of us wanted to. Our next stop was lunch... well, by this time is was going to also be dinner. Now I planned all our meal stops based on the reviews they got on Yelp an TripAdvisor. Taqueria Las Palmas in Santa Rosa, CA got some of the best reviews I saw stating that even professional chefs recommended this place. When we got there, we were a bit concerned due to it being one of those hole-in-the-wall places in the middle of the ghetto. Now that I have expierced it, however, it definitely deserved those good reviews. There was a newspaper article on the wall that told the story of the two brothers who immigrated from South Mexico to become chefs. Starting out as dishwashers, they worked their way up, built the restaurant themselves over a period of 7 months, and as Yelp said, even chefs recommend their delicious, authentic food.

Near by, thanks to a roadside attractions website I found about a month ago, we got to see this odd structure.

 If you're asking yourself, "Are those bikes?" Well yes, they are. I'm not sure how tall the thing is but I think it was more impressive than the "World's tallest totem pole" from the day before. It was just two blocks away from our meal spot and positioned in the parking lot of a car dealership. If you're driving down this road, you certainly can't miss it.

By this time it was 4pm which meant we were over 2 hours behind schedule. My father, with his lead foot, took us off to our next stop being a viewpoint that I've been once before on a mission trip - Battery Spencer. As I learned in my original planning, you can't just type in "Battery Spencer" and it'll take you there. Instead, you have to zoom in on the northern point of the Golden Gate Bridge and to the left (West), the label will come into view. Of all the viewpoints of the bridge, this is certainly my favorite. We stopped just long enough to take in the view and then continued on into the city.

As with other things we had seen that day, Clarke said it just didn't look real, "It's definitely just a green screen"

The plan was to spend 3 hours in San Francisco, riding the cable cars, checking out China town, and having dinner on the Pier. With the addition of glass beach, we weren't able to do any of that but at this point we were too tired to anyway. Surprisingly, the only traffic we hit was just before Golden Gate Bridge and it wasn't for too long at all. My crazy father really wanted to check out Lombard street. You know, that really steep, windy, cobblestone street. As if we hadn't had enough whiplash already, dad promised he just wanted to see it, not drive down it. He lied!

It really wasn't that bad but we were already pretty car sick

As you can see, the sun was setting so we made our way the last 2 hours to our hotel in Merced, California. Thankfully, this hotel had a chair with a pull out bed so only one person had to sleep on the floor this time. Oddly enough, Blake has slept on the floor every night because he wanted to! The rest of us were totally okay with it :) Getting into the hotel around 10pm, we hauled our stuff up to the third floor and crashed. Another long but fun day.

Today's plan is much simpler. We'll drive 4ish hours to lunch in Ridgecrest, get food to pack for dinner, then drive hours and hours through death valley. With brief stops at Furnace Creek and Dante's View, we'll continue the drive over the California/ Nevada border and into Las Vegas. Don't worry, we won't lose any money except that which has already been spent on the hotel. It's just a night time lodging spot before we take off on the grand Route 66. Until next time, dear readers (probably most recommend by my mom), live long and prosper!