Goin' Road Trippin'

It’s been 10 years since I started this blog. I find it quite cathartic that now is the time that my sweetie and I are heading back out on the road. We’ve planned a big trip East, not sure if we’ll hit all the spots we’ve mapped, but that’s the idea. We know with plans, there’s always room for change and of course the unexpected.

Honestly I had it mapped just right, then added stops and it put things out of order, but I’m sure you get the gist.

I’m hoping to keep on top of posting and share along the way. Today September 9, 2022 we made it to our first destination, and it did not disappoint! Hello Grand Canyon!

The Grand Canyon South Rim is only 2.5 hours from Kingman, AZ, where we live, so some of the family followed us out here to see it too.

When we arrived at the south rim visitor center, we weren’t sure where to go, thankfully they have wonderful signs and it was only a 5 minute walk to finally see the beautiful landscape. There were quite a few people soaking up the amazing view, but with such a variety of ethnicities represented, it made the experience more special. Just knowing we all appreciate the majestic splendor of Mother Earth, gave me a feeling of peace and harmony.

Just walking the path along the rim allows for different views of the canyon. Then out of the blue what do we see?

We got a few souvenirs, took a break and we headed back out of park when all these cars were pulled over. We’ve learned, if there’s a crowd at a national park, it’s probably something you wanna slow down to see. Yes, I’m referring to the wolves in Yellowstone that we didn’t stop to see, oh to learn from our past. Such a gift life gives us.

After we said our goodbye’s, Mitch and I headed to our campsite at Ten-X outside of the park. Best place to go if you didn’t make reservations 10 months in advance! Some of its first come first serve and some you can book.

We settle in, looking up a good place to ride our bikes, look into tomorrow’s weather and for now we soak up the moment, enjoying the silence and our surroundings.

BTW- a group of elk is called a gang!

It must be a year of sheds, since we tore one down, moved one and now we built one! This post is all about that experience. I hope it helps if you decide to build it, so it’s more of a review and a how to.

We finished putting the shed together over three days time, my husband, my sister-in-law and myself in 100+ arizona heat. My husband and I have remodeled 3 houses in the past, familiar with the ins and outs of building things and are used to assembling items. I tell you this task was a lot more difficult than it should’ve been and that is because of the vague pictures, descriptions and lack of clarity in some of the areas. None of the metal parts are labeled and are completely jumbled together. You need masking tape, a pen and a tape measure. The best thing to do is sort all the metal items by measuring one, comparing it to the listed parts, putting like items together, and then label one with the part number and how many there are on a piece of masking tape and stick that tape that part (even if there is only one we would mark it-example KKN (x1))Plan to spend a few hours just trying to sort all of it out.

Assembly went smoothly for a little more than half of the project, thankfully most of the plastic pieces are labeled with the part number. What didn’t go smoothly was the floor! We watched 2 different assembly videos multiple times about which way to lay the floor, thought we had it right and when we counted out where the door would go it covered the hole. We undid all the floor and rotated it, trying to figure out which hole they kept talking about. We thought it worked because the door we had initially counted out, lined up perfectly.. but noooo.. we got around to the other side the next day and the left side of the door didn’t line up. One of the panels was backwards! Are you kidding me people!! If the company would put on the flooring- B for back and F for front, or use stickers it would make the instructions easier to understand. My husband, who started at 6 am ended up having to pull one of the pieces of flooring from the middle to flip it around, undoing so much work that had already been done.

The walls weren’t too much of hassle but when we got to the roof, the long skylight..it says in small print (no screws in these holes yet), save yourself some extra time and the possibility of putting a hole in the roofing plastic and make sure you don’t screw it together, like we did. Last but not least.. there is film on BOTH sides of the small skylights and the door windows that needs to be removed and on ONE side of the two windows that you will put in near completion of project. The long center skylight has no film to remove.

I can’t speak of the durability, but it’s definitely is more solid than it seemed to be when we were assembling it.

It is aesthetically pleasing, love the two doors, the hooks to hold things, and the shutters really tie it together. Now that we’ve got it completed we are very pleased, but dang the directions need improving.

Yep, we bought an airstream! It’s a 1968 safari 22’ airstream. It was remodeled about 4 years ago and we decided it was the best investment in regards to any RV. Seriously, these things keep their value, thankfully we got a good deal on it.

Most importantly, Nettie loves it, since it’s going to be her little getaway. We named it Delilah, (now we can sing to her.. hey there Delilah, what’s it like in noodle (Nettie’s nickname) city 🎶 ~thank you Eli for a new version of the song. We got it set up in the back yard.

We’ve been keeping busy, last time, up in Washington, we tore down a shed, this time we moved a shed!

We’re still learning about all the different bugs in Arizona, last week we encounter a giant black flying creature with red wings in the garage. I opened the door for him to leave and he just wouldn’t fly out, finally Angel came and sent him to bug heaven. After some research, comparing pictures we found out what this guy is called.

Come to find out they actually hunt, paralyze, lay their egg, and feed off the body of a tarantula. What do you know.. a week later (yesterday) the guys called us out to the front to show us something.. it was a dead TARANTULA! Holy moly, what a wild west insect world there is here in Arizona.

Mitchs sister Cindy came for a visit and we took our first outing to the lake in Bullhead City AZ, less than an hour away.

It was over a 100 degrees the day we went but being in the water we never could’ve guessed. Side note, three applications of sunscreen in four hours and we all still got spots of sunburns.

Who’d ever think there was clear cool water in the desert. Thanks Colorado River! The area is called Lake Mohave and telephone cove. Since it so clear we plan to bring our snorkeling gear next time.

Oh, I also got updated news I’m sure you’ve been holding your breath to hear…my hairdryer has been found! It was in a box on Mitchs side of the closet! Wahoo!

As the sun sets on a another 100 plus degree day I count my blessings. I am grateful for all the things in life, including all the hurdles we’ve encountered, but especially for my sweetheart who does so much for all of us.

One perk of moving here to Kingman Arizona is that we’re less than 2 hours from Vegas baby! A few weeks ago, late one evening, Mitch and I were talking about taking a little getaway, We’ve been in the mix of things for months, just feeling like we’ve been in go mode. Our main objective was to go and eat at Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas. We’ve watched that show for years, always wondering what that food on TV tasted like!

The restaurant is located in Caesar’s palace, so my first idea was to stay there. With all the discounted online prices I was shocked to see that the lowest price for a night was around $300! Yeah, no thanks! I found a great deal at treasure island through agoda, please keep in mind if you do book through them the resort will still charge a fee when you arrive. We paid 135.47 for two nights when I made the reservation and then there was a resort fee of $88.44 we had to pay when we got there.

We made reservations at Hell’s Kitchen through open table the only available time was late, late as in 10:45 pm! Since we’ve been staying up late since we’ve moved down here, thankfully it wouldn’t be a problem for us.

We headed to Las Vegas Monday June 13th 2022 around 10:30. We were 40 minutes from Vegas when traffic came to a halt.

The nice thing is that in maps with an iPhone, they actually show accidents ahead when people report it.

I decided to look into getting a couples massage for us while we were there, but then again, it’s expensive … unless you go through Groupon! I found one and scheduled it for the the day we got there. Since it was so affordable I scheduled us another massage for the following day! We had to call each place and actually schedule the appointments, but it was easy peesy! The first place was called Avalon day spa, Mitch loved his massage, said it was one of the best massages ever.

Her name was Kim if you decide to go. My massage left a lot to be desired. I felt like I was pizza dough being kneaded from head to toe quicker than an Amazon packer packs. I came out feeling frazzled and over processed.

We did the self check in at Treasure Island, and it was super easy and fast.

We decided to tour the town, and wow, did we do some walking. Mitch’s Apple Watch app has us at 18 miles by the end of the trip!

I even get enough nerve to go into some of the fancy stores just to check them out! A little FYI.. the most affordable thing in Tiffany’s is their perfume for around $100 and if your looking for something in Louis Vuitton the most affordable item was around $300.. honestly I don’t remember what it was, my brain must’ve blocked it out after seeing that price. I do have to say though, everyone who worked the stores were very nice and welcoming. I decided to go spend 6 dollars for 1/4 of a lb of chocolate at the candy store.

We walked around sight seeing for hours, it was around 9 o’clock and it seemed like our hotel was so far away (actually it was probably 3 blocks) but the idea of walking back to the hotel to change clothes then back to Hells kitchen and then back again was way too much. So we gambled away some time and money waiting for 10:45. Finally the moment arrived, we were going to eat at Hell’s Kitchen!

The place was packed, and louder than I had envisioned. We were so excited to eat the infamous food finally!

The scallops were good, and the shrimp was huge.

Mitch said it was the best steak he’s ever had, you could cut through it with a fork

It was at the end of their day, the kitchen crew was cleaning up and I asked if I could take a picture and they were kind enough to even pose for me!

I have to say, I was expecting life changing food, the kind of food that would spoil my pallet to the point that no other meal in my life would ever compare. It was not that, but it was good and I’m so glad we did it. Now I tell ya, the thing that made the experience the best I’ve ever had was the service! They were amazing, attentive and so friendly! They sure know how to make you feel like you matter.

We headed back to the hotel around midnight and yet the streets were still alive with all the hustle and bustle just as it was during the daytime.

Mitch surprised me in the morning with Starbucks before we drove over to circus circus. I’d heard that they have games just like at a fair! I was not disappointed! We played every game and some of them twice! Pop the balloons, ring toss, squirt guns, ball tossing games that make the horses race, darts, they got it all! We each got a $100 pass card and went nuts! I felt like a kid again!

There was one game where you had to knock all 3 blocks off the table, and if you did, you won a HUGE stuffed animal. Not just any stuffed animal, a giant hedge hog! For those of you who don’t know, I have a hedge hog named kiwi. What a dream come true it would be.

I remember years ago seeing a girl with one of those huge stuffed animals at a carnival, walking with her guy. I hoped someday I would be blessed enough to have a special moment like that. Here it was, the opportunity to have my sweetheart win me a giant stuffed animal! Mitch was so close so many times, he’d get two blocks knocked off and the third would be right on the edge. I came close to winning a few times myself, but this game was a challenge. We spent a good portion our money at this one booth, trying to get a jumbo kiwi. The excitement was building, even the guy working the booth began rooting for us! With unwavering determination my sweetheart made my dream come true!

I’ve never been so exited in my life! This moment was one of the best times in my life, and it was all because of my man! We won tons of other stuffed animals, some games you could keep playing and trade up for bigger prizes.

We got our second massage at aloe day spa.

Off to have lunch! Let me just preface this part of the story with the best tip I can give you if you go to Vegas, plan your parking wisely! Even when I thought we were close to our destination, we would walk in the wrong direction and it took so much longer than necessary. In Vegas heat, with the Vegas sun and the Vegas blocks it is brutal! Take your time to map out exactly which way to go. Also, because there is some sort of Vegas time warp, and time flies by, it’s easy to forget where you parked. I suggest taking a picture, and no, we didn’t have any adult beverages that might make our memory fuzzy.

The food was good, they make your burgers how you like em, rare, medium, well done.. that’s nice. After watching all their shows, it’s nice to once again actually experience the food, plus I got a t-shirt that says “ mom’s favorite” since I just loved Alma, she was my favorite.

Fremont street here we come!

Visiting Fremont street really is an experience! From one end to the other there is so much to take in. Performers, dancing dj’s, artists, people creating art from leaves, a zip line to ride, and tons of people.

They have circles throughout the streets where the talent sets up.

Two days in Vegas and we packed it full of experiences!

We’d like to return, bring the whole family and go on the zip line sometime. What a wonderful time I had with my sweetie!