Scratching the Surface- SoCal Summer 2019

[KayLouise]

Sounds like you're having a great time 😊

[speedmum]

Tues 30 July - Day 4: Grand Canyon

So today we were driving to the Grand Canyon for the day. I’d booked the skywalk at the West Rim. When I was researching online I discovered that people had quite strong opinions regarding the West Rim. However we only had a day to drive there and back and noone was keen to do a helicopter to the South Rim...

We left the hotel about 6.30 after munching our pots of cereal. ( it was a bit tricky eating it without a spoon!)
We stopped at McDonalds in Boulder for coffee to keep us going. By 8am we had reached the Hoover Dam. We passed through security (confirming we weren’t carrying firearms!) and parked in the car park for the new bridge. Walking across the bridge it was so windy we could hardly stand up! But we got a great view if the dam. We then returned to the car & drove over the dam into Arizona. I hadn’t realised that the road was a dead end so we then had to turn around and go back over the dam and onto the bridge!

We continued on our way to the west rim and arrived in the car park around 10.15. Because we already had our tickets we headed straight to the bus queue. We got on the second bus and the first stop was the skywalk centre. After admiring the view we headed straight in, put everything in lockers, put on the shoe covers snd joined the queue. Since you can’t take photos on the skywalk we decided to have some of the official photos taken. Our photographer was great and took about 15 shots of us all in different poses at different points on the horseshoe. He also took a couple of pics of just the girls together & then hubbie & I. To be fair all the photos came out well and we ended up paying the $60 dollars for a memory stick of them all!

After this we got the bus to Guano Point. The views of the canyon were much better from here and I had also read the food was better! It was time for an early lunch so we had a piece of chicken or pulled beef, with sweetcorn, mash, gravy, a roll, a side salad, a cookie & a bottle of water. I had paid the extra $10 for food included with the ticket so not sure how much it would be otherwise... it all tasted good and we found a table in the shade to eat & admire the view.
After taking a few more photos, melting in the heat and watching people get perilously close to the edge, we waited for the bus. We decided not to get off at the final stop which was a mock Indian village and looked very fake. Instead we headed back to the car park, which was now heaving - we counted 20 coaches alone! As we returned to Vegas there was a constant stream of cars heading towards the Canyon so we were pleased we’d got up and out!

When we got back we treated ourselves to a scoop of ice cream and had a rest!

Feeling suitably refreshed we set off down the strip through Aria, Cosmopolitan and into Park where we looked at the Lady Gaga exhibition of costumes & props. We then continued down to New York New York where the girls & I braved the rollercoaster (hubbie didn’t want to hurt his back!) it was a real boneshaker but there were some great views from the top before we were thrown upside down!

By now hunger was setting in so we grabbed some food at an Italian inside the casino. Four mains with tap water - nothing extravagant!
Once we came out it was dark and looked so pretty. We crossed to MGM and got the monorail up to Ballys and managed to get back to Bellagio to see the fountains!

By now it was 9.30 and our beds were calling!

A mug of tea in bed & I was asleep within minutes...

Last full day in Vegas tomorrow x

[speedmum]

Weds 31 July - Day 5: Las Vegas

Today we had no specific plans except to see the rest of the strip and watch the show LOVE.

We were awake about 5.30 so our bodies are starting to move more to local time!

We had a ham & cheese croissant and a coffee from the Bellagio coffee shop for breakfast.

We decided that before moving on we really ought to get some laundry done to ensure we had enough clean underwear! After doing some googling to try & find the laundrette that had been recommended we decided to use W Flamingo Fluff & Fold. It was about 15 mins drive from Bellagio. The cost for a service wash (a fluff & fold) was $2 per lb weight. We had two squashy sacks that my daughter used for DofE which we filled and the weight was 16lb so a final cost of $32. We dropped it off at about 10am and were promised it’d be ready at 5pm. They did say they offered a collection service if we didn’t have a car...

Back on the strip we spent the next few hours heading up the strip from Miracle Mile shops to Wynn via the Flamingos and Grand Canal Shoppes. Crossing over the strip to Treasure Island and we got wet! It was raining! This was actually quite pleasant in the heat and cooled us down as we headed back down the strip towards Bellagio. By the time we got back it was about 4pm and our feet were aching! We stopped at the snack bar and shared a portion of nuggets between us. Then we headed off to collect our laundry.
The laundry was waiting for us in a big bag all neatly folded. Carrying it back to our room was a bit of a pain but it was a very efficient service.

After a quick rest & change of clothes it was time to head back up the strip to The Mirage for LOVE. There are so many Cirque de Soleil shows to choose from and this Beetles themed one didn’t disappoint. I was suprised how many empty seats there were. It started at 7 and finished about 8.30 and the time flew by.
Afterwards we shared some pizza and pasta at the California Pizza Kitchen within Mirage, before heading back to Bellagio and Bed!

We’d managed 26,000 steps / 11 miles just wandering around!

[speedmum]

Thurs 1 Aug - Day 6: Travel to Indian Wells

Today we were leaving the chaos of Vegas and heading to Indian Wells near Palm
Springs for a bit of down time..

We packed and headed into the Bellagio buffet for breakfast at about 9am. This wasn’t anything like as good as the Caesars one and it felt like they were coming to the end of the service as the pastries had almost all gone. However we found enough to eat to fill us up for the day!

Youngest daughter wanted to pop into Harley Davidson shop at Caesars so we did that whilst hubbie checked us out snd loaded cases into the car.

We finally left Bellagio at about 11.45. We drove down the strip and had intended to stop at the welcome to Vegas sign until we saw the queue! Instead we kept heading south until we got to Primm where we stopped for gas and Starbucks! 2 coffees, a Strawberry Acai and a Pink Drink to go and we were on our way...

We turned off the main I15 and headed down through Mojave National Preserve, Kelso and 29 Palms on the edge of the Joshua Tree National Park. We stopped at Burger King here for restrooms and 10 chicken nuggets for $1.49!

On the outskirts of Palm Springs we passed a massive wind farm. Finally at about 5pm we arrived at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells - our home for 2 nights. It was still 42’ when we got out the car.
First impressions were a little disappointing. We had booked 2 rooms via our Amex card over 6 months earlier and they hadn’t told us some of the pool area was closed for building new slides & water rides. One of the pools was closed (presumably due to an accident from one of the many small children!) The aircon in our room wasn’t working so we were moved to another room next to the building site.
None of these were major issues on their own but we were tired and hot and all together they made us grumpy!

However we chilled by the pool for an hour and then changed for dinner in the hotel restaurant. The girls both had the meatball & sourdough toast starter as a main which was a sensible decision as the portions were so big!

After this we headed to bed, looking forward to a slow start in the morning!

Thanks for keeping reading - hope its helpful x

[liz-paul]

I think we probably saw the same wind farm a few weeks ago, the scale is something else!

[Shmee]

Enjoying your report, after a horrendous start your trip has got much better!

We came back from our first California road trip 2 weeks ago, we loved it and will definitely go back.

[4fromsuffolk]

What a horrendous travel day - well 2 days really for you all. Enjoying your report, we hope to do similar next year. Thank you.

[speedmum]

Fri 2 Aug - Day 7: Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Today was a more relaxing day so we didn’t get up til about 7! Our hotel rate had breakfast included so we all tucked in! Hubbie & I had breakfast burritos and the girls had waffles & french toast and we all had bottomless coffee and juice. Normally I’m a tea girl but I find it easier to have coffee in the states unless I’m making my own!
We then made ourselves comfy by the pools. It was 34’ at 9am! One pool was unheated and really warm & the other was cooled and quite chilly! We stayed out here til lunchtime and it was nice to have some downtime after a hectic few days. I managed to catch up on my trip report which had been slipping (so much for doing it live!)
We had the Aerial Tramway booked for 5pm and I thought it was only 25mins away. Turns out it was closer to 45mins so I was not too popular with the chauffeur!
When we arrived it was an extra $8 to park (why do they do that everywhere?) and we were directed to car park A - right by the tram stop. It clearly had been busy earlier in the day as there were cars all the way down the hill to car park J! The tram ride itself was great! It took about 15 mins to get to the top! We were first on so got a spot by the open window facing up the mountain . There were about 25 of us all together so it wasn’t too crowded. Once the tram started moving the floor started revolving so you actually got to see all the way round. It did swing quite a bit when it went over the stanchions but otherwise it was very smooth. Hubbie & eldest did feel a bit queasy at the top but I think they were hungry so we shared the most expensive fries & nachos from the shop. ($7.50 each!) We then went to look at the displays but these looked like something from the 70s and sadly the documentary film was as bad! So we gave up and headed outside to enjoy the scenery! Now I had read about people going for walks at the top but think I’d underestimated how many walking trails there were so we just mooched along for a bit before heading back. The temperature was very pleasant and although it was 30-40’f cooler than at the bottom we didn’t need jumpers. The tram back down was packed but we got a space by the window and the driver played My Girl and other songs which everyone sang along to so there was a real party atmosphere!

We were back at the hotel by 7.30 and headed to the bar for some snack food at about 8. More nachos, tater tots, chicken wings & quesadilla to share whilst we listened to the live band playing.
By 9.30 we were having tea in our room and getting ready for bed before driving to LA!

[speedmum]

Thanks for the comments. I’m pleased people are finding it interesting. Its the first time I’ve done anything like this and I’m quite enjoying writing it (though I’m not always good at keeping on top of it!)

The wind farms were huge and we saw more the next day!

[Rockycat]

Really enjoying your trip report, thank you for taking the time to write it. Such a shame about your travel day (days!) but glad you are having a great time now. 😊 looking forward to reading the rest.