And So It Continues…To Las Vegas!

September 11, 2017September 11, 2017 zandywalsh2 Comments

Viva Las Vegas!! Todays adventure was one that we had been looking forward to this entire trip. Having Vegas as our final stop was definitely a last hoorah before starting new in California. From Zion to Vegas was only about two hours, our shortest drive of the trip. Thank goodness! AND we went back an hour so it was as if we were only on the road for one. As we drove from Zion to vegas the temperature started rising one degree at a time, cactus appeared, and there was sand, sand, and more sand. We also drove through about 20 minutes of Arizona…that’s it…but it counts!

When you pull into the strip of las vegas, it’s as if the rest of the world fades away. The lights, the glamour, the people it all just takes you into a completely different zone. Christina and I have been to Vegas one other time…but we were eight years old. It’s a bit different when you are older. We pulled into our hotel, The Paris! Outside was the eiffel tower, a hot air balloon sculpture, and the Arc De Triomphe. So Cool!

And then you walk inside and it’s the city of love. The concierge and check in area was glamorous, it made you feel important. The ceiling looked like the sky and the bottom part of the eiffel tower was in the main area surrounded by slot machines. You could hear the ringing of machines and sighs of people losing money all around. Oh Las Vegas you are pretty great.

After getting our key we headed up to our room. We rode the elevator until it opened up to an elegant hallway, chandeliers and painted walls. Before you find which hallway of rooms if yours, you come upon a large column of mirrors with tufted seating all around. It was definitely different then the other hotels we had stayed in along the trip. Even though we looked out onto the roof of the building next store, we were still in Vegas. Which means there’s no time to sit, we had to get ready and begin our evening!

I would describe our style of the evening to be casual vegas. We weren’t planning on going to any clubs or special events – not really our style. It had been 15 years since the last time we were in this city. It was time to explore! We started our night by hotel hopping. We have had several people tell us how incredible some of the hotels were. The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Cosmopolitan, etc. we had to see as many as possible! Our first stop was The Cosmopolitan.

Our cousin Maggie had recommended we check it out because of the Chandelier bar. She said it was glamorous, extravagant, and glittery, so of course I had to see it for myself. It was that and so much more.

I want to cover my future home with all the glitz. As you walk in it seems like a normal hotel, but nothing is normal in Vegas, all of a sudden there are beads draped around the entire center of the hotel making it look just like a chandelier. As you rode up the escalator it rose alongside you and inside was a bar. All I could think was “I want this at my wedding”, I could’t take my eyes off of it.

*Christina here – I just have to put my two sense in here because this was for sure one of my favorite sights of Vegas. Oh my gosh… it was BEAUTIFUL! Thank you Maggie. I love that this was our first stop of the night. As you can imagine, Alexandra was completely mesmerized, It was her in decor!* Sadly we had to say goodbye if we wanted to see more of the strip. So we headed to New York, New York.

On the outside of the hotel was the statue of liberty, an apple, skyscrapers, the Brooklyn Bridge and even a running roller coaster. As you go inside you here the chatter of people and the smells of street food…so New York!

Model apartment homes, restaurants, and the floor looked like a cobblestone street. From there we were able to cross over to the Excalibur and Tropicana hotels.

Incase you didn’t know, Christina’s favorite thing is Tropicana orange juice so of course we had to go inside. *I DIDN’T KNOW TROPICANA HAD A HOTEL! It wasn’t as striking as some of the others… but come on… It’s inspired by orange juice! If you don’t know, orange juice is my favorite beverage. Especially Tropicana, so I loved it of course. Honestly, it had the nicest pool of the few we saw*

It was very vibrant and tropical. We also found the outdoor pool which had several cabanas and a swim up bar. Then it was time to cross over another bridge to head to our main hotel spot for the evening, MGM.

The last time we came to Vegas was for a family reunion. Two of my cousins grew up in Orange County, CA so that was the first time we had seen each other in a few years. Since then we have been having family reunions every couple of years in different places across the country. Anyway, back to why we went to MGM.

Well one, it’s a fun hotel with a lot to do, two we had bought tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil show later that evening, and three the buffet. All I wanted to do in vegas was go to a buffet. Nothing fancy or too pricy, just a place where I can eat until my hearts content. I had heard good things about dinners in Vegas so I wanted to check one out, and we did just that. It was about $30 per person, which wasn’t bad at all compared to some other restaurants, and it was all you can eat. So that’s what we did for about an hour before we headed to the show.

After rolling our full bellies out of the restaurant we turned our attention to the directory. From there we found the directions to the theatre, but since we still had a bit of time we decided to explore. The last time we were in Vegas we stayed at the MGM Grand, my whole family did. There were lions behind glass walls in the lobby, a crazy water slide, and a lazy river. I’m not sure about the pool but the lions weren’t there anymore. *That was a bummer! I was really hoping they would be there. At the same time, I’m sure it’s better for the lions. So it’s all good* We walked around trying to recognize pieces of our past. Then we stumbled upon something very important. A slot machine. Not just any old slot machine, but the Ellen Degeneres game! Fun fact number two about Christina in this post, she loves Ellen. Even her socks! So we had to play a game or two…or four. *ELLEN CASINO GAME! Of course I had to play! It even took my picture and put it on the screen with Ellen. Where it should be, like best friends. Also, it’s true… I love her socks*

Finally we made it to the show. We were seeing “KÀ – A Cirque Du Soleil Production”. I had never seen a cirque du soleil show, and as a theatre lover I was very excited. As we found our seats the lights began to dim and a fire was lit on stage.

It grew as the the auditorium filled. Once most people were settled, they began flying overhead. The story of KÀ is about “the coming of age of a young man and a young woman through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of Kà, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate.” The costumes, makeup, set, sound, lighting, it was all absolutely incredible. You couldn’t predict what they would bring out next. They even had a 360 degree rotating stage!

One point in the show they have a contraption called “The Wheel Of Death” Where there are men inside what looks like a hamster wheel with a complete opening on either side. It is attached to a base and at first you think there just going to run in it, then each one begins to spin like a ferris wheel, while they are running inside. You think oh wow thats cool…then one man gets outside of it and starts running on top! Then the other man does it. And you think to yourself “oh wow now I get why it’s the wheel of death”…but THEN they run outside while jumping roping in the air and catching themselves back on top of the wheel! *I would just like to add that THEY WERE NOT ATTACHED! I was so nervous for them, but it was really amazing.” It’s hard to explain but if I can find a picture of it I’ll add it. You felt like you were part of the empire. In Vegas there is such a variety of cirque du soleil shows, I can’t wait to see more.

If you are interested here is a link to the trailer https://youtu.be/xT9CXr2o5ME

The show ended and we strolled out of the theatre, looking at all of the designs of the walls. It was about 11 PM but that means the night is still young in Vegas. We went back through various hotels until we reached ours, The Paris.

It was late and we were exhausted but there was one thing left we had to do. Gamble. We took twenty dollars to the slots! After quite some time I turned my twenty dollars into…ten cents. Christina turned her twenty dollars into…fourty! She found a machine and that was it, her proudest moment was when she turned two dollars into twenty. *I was very proud of doubling my money! Even though it then led to me having to buy breakfast the next morning and spending my winnings because everything is just so expensive. It was great nonetheless* All the while there were people dancing on bars and singers at the cabaret. We decided it was time for us to hit the hay. We had a big day tomorrow, we were going to see our apartment for the first time! After eating a few snacks and discussing our plans for the morning we went to bed.

Another day waking up in a hotel meant another day on the road. This day was different because it was our finally drive! We had to be out of the hotel by 11, but since we still had a few hours we decided to explore the other hotels we didn’t see the night before. Christina’s win from the night before bought our breakfast of croissants and chai tea lattes. Some of the hotels in Vegas connect, which makes it easy to explore. We began by walking through the Flamingo. We saw flamingos, the pool, and the casino.

Thats pretty much what we did with the rest of the hotels. We went to the lobby, casino, and pool. After the Flamingo we went to The Venetian, The Palazzo, The Linq, Caesars Palace, and The Bellagio. All were so unique and beautiful.

We practically ran back to the Paris, barely making it to check out, but we did it! After checking out we headed to the slot machines…just five more dollars. I ended up turning five into thirteen! Christina on the other hand turned five into zero, but in the end it was just for fun. We walked through the hotel one last time before heading to the valet for our car. I am so happy that’s where we stayed, I will definitely be going back.

Christina and I hopped in the car and were on our way. Before hitting the highway, for the final part of our road trip, there were two more stops in Vegas we had to check out. The first was one hotel we didn’t make it to that morning, the Wynn. Our friend Kaitlin recommended we check it out, apparently there are tons of sculptures made out of flowers! At first I just dropped Christina off and stayed in the car, it was one more hotel and I wanted to get on the road. *I really wanted to see this one, so instead of parking and dealing with all that Zandy just stayed in the car. She wasn’t even planning on coming in, but as soon as I entered the Wynn I knew she had to see it as well. It was so incredible!* But then I got a text saying I had to go in and I’m so glad I did. It was mind blowing.

The whole lobby was filled with flower sculptures! There was a moving carousel, a hot air balloon, and more. It was beautiful, I also took a sneak peak of the unbelievable pool. Next time I want to stay there.

Last time we were in Vegas we began our trip by staying at the Golden Nugget, that was before we met up with the rest of our family. It was a few minutes from the strip, but along the colorful Fremont street. Fremont street is the second most famous street in Las Vegas, the first being the strip. There is a light show called Viva Vision that illuminates an incredibly large screen each night. I remember our parents allowing us to stay up late one night and see the light show. People were dancing, singing, and throwing beaded necklaces. Having that memory made us want to drive past the street.

After going down memory lane, or street, we were on our way to our final destination! What an incredible place Las Vegas is. Yes you have some annoying people that come up to you and say things, or try to sell you something, but as long as you ignore them and keep your stride its great. There are so many places to explore and so many things to do. The nice part for us is that it’s only four hours from our apartment. We could go for a weekend if we wanted. Oh

Can you believe we did it, we made it across the country! After nine days, 3,412 miles, and driving through fourteen states, we arrived to our new home. This only means that the next adventure is beginning.

Thank you for following along and reading my posts, I know some of them took longer to get up then I expected. We appreciate you all wanting to follow us on our journey. I look forward to posting about our first few weeks in California and the ups and downs of our new home.

More? Oh yes, much more.

And So It Continues…to Zion National Park

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 zandywalsh1 Comment

Today’s destination was Zion National Park in Utah! In the previous post I talked about another beautiful national park in Utah called the Arches. We ended up spending more time than we had planned in Moab so we got to Zion late. It was totally worth it in the end, to get to see the most out of the arches. We wanted to explore as much as possible of Utah before we had to leave for our end of Utah destination. Moab was the beginning of Utah and Zion was the back half. Which made it an easier and shorter drive for us. By this time we would take as many short days as we could. We had driven so much over this trip that we got sick of just being in the car. Any excuse to get out was a good one.

On the way to Zion we stopped at an Applebee’s for dinner because it’s cheap, easy, and delicious. We were also starving by that point. Driving through Utah was beautiful. It was really interesting to see, especially going from Colorado through all of Utah, how everything changed. The roads, the foliage, the small towns changed into cities. We had officially left the vast lands of corn, corn, and more corn. That night we arrived into our Best Western for the night, went to bed, and set our alarms for early the next day. It was important to us to spend as much time at Zion national Park before heading to our next destination. We woke up, had another free hotel breakfast, got our sports clothes on and left.

Getting to the park was pretty easy, but parking was a little tricky. First we tried to park inside the park, no luck. Then we tried parking around the outskirts, still no luck. We ended up parking at the visitors center. I read that you needed to get to the park early because by 10 parking would be full. They weren’t lying. We officially parked by 9:30 and there were barely spots left. You want to park as close to the main lodge as possible because that’s where all the shuttles go through. Lucky for us the shuttle begins at the visitors center, so we hopped right on. If you wanted to stay on the shuttle it would take you throughout the entire park. You would be able to see several different hikes and it would take around 40 minutes. We decided to hop off at the main lodge to check out our options for the day. The furthest hike from the lodge is called with the Narrows. The Narrows is not one that we did, this time, but eventually we would love to.

The first half is a trail along the riverside and the second half is in the river! It’s about an 8 mile hike round trip, but it’s supposed to be completely worth it. There’s another one that we had heard about called the subway. It had these beautiful emerald pools inside a cave, just seeing the pictures was incredible.

Unfortunately it’s not one that we did this time either. In order to do the subway you need to have an experienced hiker take you through. There are two ways to get there, you could either go from the bottom up, which means a long hike with some steep him and caverness areas that are difficult to go in if you aren’t an avid hiker. The other option is to go up to down. For this you need a specific permit because you will be canyoneering down the side of the canyon to get to this specific pool. Since we don’t have intense experience hiking we chose a more simpler, just as beautiful, one.

The Emerald pool trail. It begun at the lodge and took you to different pool heights throughout a canyon. Although it was really easy for us to get to the park from our hotel, I would definitely recommend trying to stay at the Zion lodge in the park because the bus picks you up right from there. You can just hop on and travel through the entire park to see the different hikes. And you’re already there so you don’t have to pay to park. The Emerald pools was a medium level hike, but because we had done the hike to the arch the previous day we knew we could do it. There were three types of Emerald pools you have the lower Emerald pool, the middle Emerald pool, and the upper pools. “Emerald Pools is a Zion classic: an oasis in the middle of the desert. The hike is a collection of short trails that meander past a small, lushly-vegetated stream that rolls down from the cliffs and forms several interesting ‘pools.'”

It was really beautiful. I don’t know any other words to use to describe that area. The lower Emerald pools have a waterfall that flows over in front of you as you stand beneath it. Of course you have to stop and take a picture. I looked at one of the pictures I took and couldn’t believe it wasn’t filtered, nope just a colorful national park.

The lower pool was marked as easy, and it was. Pretty much just a flat sidewalk. The only semi hard part is trying not to slip when you get closer to the waterfall. It’s not like you would slip off the slide of a cliff, just probably onto your bottom. If you continue, like we did, you eventually end up at the middle pool and then eventually the upper Emerald pool. You would see signs that said “middle pool 1/2 mile, upper pool 3 miles”. It got a little tougher as we got towards the top. We got so close to the back of the canyon wall that I turn to Christina and said “we can’t go much further. The canyon literally stops, so we have to be close”, which we were. when you arrive you have to climb down these boulders but eventually you arrive at the upper pool! There were many people there. Some just sitting and catching their breath, others had set up camp for the day and were having a picnic. After walking around and splashing by the pool we decided to head back.

The one thing we weren’t really prepared to do was climb down. Climbing down with a little more strenuous because of all the rocks. But we finally made it back down through the middle pool, back down through the lower pool, and back to the lodge.

Between the lodge and emerald pool hike there’s a really nice bridge over this river I’m guessing it’s the part of the Virgin River that in the top of the park at the Narrows have to go through. Another beautiful piece of the park. The water was a pretty blue with trees, and canyons around it. There were people all around taking pictures so of course we had to partake in it too.

We were getting a little hungry by this time but decided to try another hike first. We picked one out and hopped on the shuttle to the next stop. One of the highest peaks in the park is actually part of the hike called Angels Landing. It’s the most strenuous hike in the park. There have been several fatalities from this hike, not because it’s hard to climb but because of how steep it can get. According to the National Park Service, “The route to Angels Landing involves travel along a steep, narrow ridge with support chains anchored intermittently along the route. Footing can be slippery even when the rock is dry. Unevenly surfaced steps are cut into the rock with major cliff dropoffs adjacent. Keep off when it is wet, icy or thunderstorms are in the area. Plan to be off before dark. Younger children should skip this trail; older children must be closely supervised.” It gets to the point where you have to hold on to chains to climb the rest of the way. I am afraid of heights, so clearly angels landing was not my destiny. But I still wanted to see what it was all about so we started the beginning of that hike. It got pretty steep pretty quick so after 30 minutes, we turned around. As we headed back to the bus stop there were people swimming in the stream, they had the right idea. To end our time in Zion we went back to the lodge and got some souvenirs.

Utah is incredible. Definitely one of the most beautiful states I’ve seen in America. Moab is a magnificent red dessert, cool and adventurous. Zion is gorgeous. It’s colorful, it’s green, it is full of blue tones. Utah is filled with everything you would want to see in a national park. We took the bus back down to the visitor center down our car and began the shortest drive of our trip to Vegas!

And So It Continues…To Utah!

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017 zandywalshLeave a comment

Update: Christina and I are in California! I haven't had much wifi or been able to post while we've been here. I still want to share our trip, and we now have internet connection, so I will be sharing more. Stories from our drive aren't over yet!

August 13

The mountains of Colorado were everywhere as we drove to Utah, we were surrounded. They were completely green when we left Colorado and started to turn more red and desert like the closer we were to Utah. You never knew if you were going to drive around, over, or through them.

Most of the drive was either up hill or downhill with a pretty steep incline. There was even a truck run off site incase they are going too fast down the mountain side. It's similar to how you would drive on an an exit except it's a lot of sand up a steep hill to slow the vehicle down. It may be common in some places, but I had never seen it before.

Anyway, eventually we arrived in Utah! Utah is known as the beehive state, "The beehive became the official state emblem on March 4, 1959. Utahans relate the beehive symbol to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance." We headed to our first stop, Moab! My dad had gone here on a bike trip about a year ago. Him, his brother, his brother in-law, and a friend went on a 100 mile biking and camping excursion in the national parks. Specifically, the Arches national park and Canyonlands.

We arrived into Moab later than expected so no time to hike that night, instead we grabbed some dinner and walked around the town. Our hotel was on one side of the town which allowed us to easily walk through the stores and restaurants. Many gift shops, tourist centers, and Native American made goods. We stocked up on some souvenirs, post cards, and adventure brochures. There were some pretty exciting activities we could have participated in if we knew ahead of time. We were trying to plan an excursion for the next day such as rafting the colorado river, renting paddle boards, or a jet boat cruise. Unfortunately mostly everything was booked, but we wanted to hike anyway so it worked in our favor.

August 14

We set an alarm for 6:30 the next morning, wanting to get in as much of the day as possible before our 4 hour drive later that day. We got up, packed our bags and headed to the Arches National Park. Talk about steep! We had to drive, again, along the mountain edge. The only thing that kept us going was knowing that there were some incredible hikes ahead. It takes about 20 minutes to drive through the park until you get to one of the major arches, the delicate arch. We wanted to hike this one specifically because it was one that our dad hiked. Also some other ones were closed for construction/ repairs. I will include a site map below so you can see the various trails in the park. After parking we walked to the trail entrance. There were tons of people around in the hot sun, good thing we put on some sunscreen. The trail takes you up close to the arch and is about 3 miles roundtrip. That may not seem too long but when you unexpectedly have to climb a giant slab of rock that itself is about 1/2 a mile in the sun…it gets rough. Christina and I grabbed our waters and started the hike, not knowing what this arch had in store for us.

The first 1/3 of the hike was pretty straight with a few ups and downs, there were people of all ages doing it so we thought we had it no problem. Another phrase going through our minds "we can turn back in a few minutes"…we never turned back. Ahead of us I noticed a giant slab of rock (yes the one I just mentioned). I honestly thought that was all it was…a slab of rock…with trees or bushes on it. Wait a minute. Why are those tiny trees moving. Oh. My. God. Do we have to walk up there?! We checked the map and realized this was one of the most strenuous hikes in the park. It was given that title because of the steep edges, steep incline, and no shade. It's fine, we thought, we will get to the base of the rock and turn around. Here's the thing, once you get that far you have completed 1/3 of the hike, so why not keep going. Okay, at the top of the rock we will look at the (amazing) view, then turn around. Sure, easy, no problem. Well climbing up that rock gave us a run for our money. There were no clouds around so the sun was blaring down on us. We had to stop several times to make it to the top. I am very proud to say we did it, we hiked to the top, and then decided to keep going. I mean the hardest part had to be over right?

The hike turned from super rocky to sand, which was pretty cool and much softer. We climbed, jumped, and ran over rocks finally getting to the arch! Wow, I mean it looked more like a cave in the mountain, but we still climbed up to it. We needed a little rest after hiking all this way. Plus it gave a little shade so we decided to sit. After taking some pictures we saw other people continuing the hike around the side of what we thought was the arch. Um…I guess we were wrong…so where's the arch?

We climbed down our impostor arch and peered at where everyone was going. There was a steep 5 foot wide ledge everyone was walking on, there and back. I am afraid of heights but really wanted to see this arch, in my mind I knew if I could just keep going I would make it. Hugging the inside of the canyon wall we crossed the next piece of the trail.

Eventually we made it to the Arch! And wow was it unique. Now it made sense that this was the arch, not the one we originally thought was it. There were tons of people taking pictures, relaxing, and sitting having lunch. We sat for a few minutes to catch our breath and drink some water.

That's when we heard thunder. Is a storm coming? The wind started blowing like crazy to the point you feel like it could knock you over. And when you are at the top of a steep mountain it makes you a bit uncomfortable. All I wanted was a picture under the arch to say I did it, I made it here and conquered my fears. The sand started shifting around us and blew into our faces. I had to decide it was now or never. I ran over to the arch, wow was it cool to stand underneath it! Then the wind started blowing harder. I planted my feet and stood with my arms out. There was only about three feet on each side of me before a steep drop. Once I knew Christina had taken plenty of pictures, I ran back and sat in front of her. I didn't realize how scared I was until that moment…but I did it!

Boom! Another clap of thunder sounded and sand was whipping us in the face, we had to get down the mountain. We quickly, but safely got out of the arch and started our trek. Running down the hill the sand was blowing all around us, we had to stop when the wind picked up so it wouldn't get in our eyes. When the wind died down for a a few seconds we would run. We just needed to get back onto the slab of rock. Finally, we made it to the slab. The sky was a little cloudier but still sunny, you could see the storm in the distance. There were still people climbing all around us, no one else seemed to be worried, so our nerves calmed a bit. We still wanted to get down the hike and back to the car. Which took a lot less time than climbing up. We finally made it to the car and decided we had some time for one more short hike, to the sand dune arch we went.

This was only about a twenty minute hike, round trip. This hike was all through sand, but since we had to drive a little further the wind had died down. No sand in our eyes this time. We found the arch pretty quickly but it was cool because we were enclosed in other canyons. Everything around us was that canyon red color. We took a bunch of pictures, headed back in the car, and started our way back through the park and into town. Goodbye Moab, thanks for helping me conquer some of my fears! Now on to discover another National Park!

And So It Continues…To Colorado!

August 19, 2017August 21, 2017 zandywalshLeave a comment

August 12

We woke up to the alarm clock going off saying get up, get up, get up! Jumping out of bed we quickly got dressed to start our day. This morning we were trying to pack in as much as possible before our next 6 hour drive. So off to the Crazy Horse monument we went. Crazy Horse is a mountain monument to celebrate Native American culture. "It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing into the distance." The site itself will have a Native American cultural center and a museum.

The mountain is currently being carved, even as you read this there are workers high on the mountain carving away.

There was a visitors center that we walked through to learn all about the history of crazy horse and his tribe. In the sculptures studios there were different models of what the statue was going to be and the layout of the land. Crossing through the studio we noticed a container of rocks. To some people they are just rocks but the cool part is that they are from the mountain carving. What else would they do with the rocks they have to carve out? So of course we took two, and now we have a piece of history.

We collected our selves and said goodbye to the monument, watching it disappear through the rear view mirror. Goodbye South Dakota, see you next time, now off to Colorado!

To get to Colorado we had to drive through Wyoming. Cool idea right? Hitting another state to add to our list. Well it would have been cool if we weren't afraid of hitting a tornado! Christina and I were driving along where we hit a dead zone, so there was no cell service. Which was fine at the moment, we had the navigation set on my car and were following the route when one of those emergency sounds comes on the radio. It's the same sound that sometimes appears on your tv with the voice "this is only a test"…but this time it was not a test. The host comes on "Serious weather alert: on the west side of Nebraska/eastern Wyoming there are two serous thunderstorms heading towards Morrill and Cheyanne Counties. There have also been reports of golf ball sized hail and a tornado at 25 mph." Christina and I looked at each other with shock, fear, and confusion on our faces. First thought: maybe it's not near us and we're fine. Second thought: we are in the middle of no where, where would we stop? With no service we couldn't look anything up online, where were we? Where do we go? Wait. We have something that will help us!

Remember when I thanked my
grandparents in the last post for two things? The first telling us to drive through the Badlands, the second for giving us an atlas! I was driving and Christina, the co-pilot, grabbed the atlas and turned to Wyoming. The host on the radio was talking constantly now giving more information on the storm and where it was heading. "Hail will cause damage to cars. Any animals or people outside will be harmed. Get underground, don't wait to see the tornado. When you see it, it will be too late." Christina then turned to me and said "we are in eastern Wyoming" great so we are heading the same direction where the storm is. "The tornado watch is until 4:00, we will update you as it changes." It was 3:00.

Christina figured out where we were on the atlas and where the storm was, we were about a County a way but was heading in a similar direction so we decided to turn around and head back the other way towards a town just incase. Once 4:00 hit a voice came on the radio again saying the tornado warning was officially over, music to our ears. We turned around once again and continued on our way. Lesson learned: Always have an atlas when you are driving across the country.

Eventually, we pulled into Boulder Colorado just in time for dinner. Many people recommended that we go to the Pearl Street Mall, an out door shopping area. It was very nice, lots of statues and of course the beautiful mountains in the background. We did a little shopping, some walking, and eating before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night.

August 13

The next morning we woke up and put on some work out clothes, this was a big hiking day. First stop, we head out to flagship mountain. What we didn't know was that we would be driving up right on the edge of its side. Even though that was a bit terrifying it was worth it at the top. The view was incredible! You could see for miles one way and the other way was the whole side of the mountain filled with trees and animals. It's incredible to see how the land changes when you drive across the country. After the mountain we got back in the car once again and began our drive to Utah!

To come: beautiful national parks.

And So It Continues…To South Dakota!

August 16, 2017August 21, 2017 zandywalsh1 Comment

August 11

The sun was shining as we woke up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Today was another shorter drive but we had some interesting stops planned along the way. First things first, we got up, got dressed, and had a free hotel breakfast. After that we were off to the waterfalls of Sioux Falls.

Pulling into Falls park we could immediately smell the water. We got out of the car and walked along the trail that took us to the top of the Falls. Woah! From where we stood we could see three waterfalls, one after the other.
Just sitting there breathing in the sweet air, it was so relaxing. There were many people out walking, biking, or having a picnic. If I lived closer I could see myself visiting this park often. We climbed over rocks and bridges to get to the base of the Falls. The rocks were wet and slippery but that didn’t stop us from taking pictures.

After we had our full of the Falls we started on our way.

I mentioned this in my previous post but I have an app called Roadtrippers. This allows you to set up stops along your road trip however far you go, or even right where you are. It shows you hotels, picturesque places, museums, off beat attractions, etc. Well that’s how we got to our next destination, I looked at off beat attractions along our route and found the corn palace. Yes, it is the worlds only corn palace. Christina has loved the idea of stopping here ever since I first mentioned it, so we added it to our route.

*Christina: Come on! It’s a building with outer walls made of corn! Who wouldn’t want to see this? There were just so many jokes waiting to be made*

If there’s one thing you need to know about Christina is that she loves puns. And let me tell you, this place had there fair share of corny 🌽 jokes (haha get it). My first impression of the outside was “Oh. My. God.” And the inside smells so much like pop corn! Oh and the amount of corn souvenirs they had were too many to count. Besides normal shirts, magnets, and mugs, they had corn on the cob that turned into popcorn on the cob, corn lollipops, corn socks (which we invested in), and more. We also had to stock up on some popcorn, it just smelled so good! There wasn’t much on the inside of the building besides the “Corncessions Stand”, a gift shop, and facts/ the history of the corn palace. One of my favorite spots was the balcony. You are able to walk out on the second floor to see the road and town below. Across the street was another corn related gift shop, and some small shops. If you are curious about what the corn palace looks like, you can see the live feed video on the website. It has the perfect view of the balcony where we had been standing. Since we knew that, we texted our friends saying that we were on the video if they wanted to see us…so they did! They took pictures of us through there screens. We even video chatted with our two good friends Nicole and Phoebe! It was a hilariously wonderful moment to share one of the most interesting buildings I have ever seen with them.

*Christina: I absolutely loved being on the balcony talking to a bunch of friends who were watching us from the corn cam! We also had the opportunity to meet Cornelius the corn. He’s the Corn Palace mascot and there is a statue of him across the street. He is a great listener… all ears!*

Once we spent way to much money at the gift shop we drove off three more hours to one of our most anticipated stops, MOUNT RUSHMORE! Since we still had a drive before we got there we ended up stopping halfway at an unexpected rest stop.

Right before reaching the Missouri River, we were just stopping to use the bathroom and stretch our legs, we stumbled upon a beautiful rest area. At first it seems like a normal stop at the top of a hill…over looking the beautiful river…with a giant statue of Sacajawea. We had stumbled upon the Louis and Clark information center. During their expedition of discovery they traveled through this particular area. The rest stop itself had a museum inside with documents, brochures, and artifacts. It was a really cool, unexpected stop.

We continued along the highway until it was time to make the decision of taking the scenic route or not…so of course we had to! Thanks to our grandparents who one, provided us with an atlas, and two, recommended we drive through the Badlands National Park to get to Mount Rushmore. Now THAT was incredible, if we had extra time we would have loved to get out and take a hike. We still got out at some scenic points to take pictures, even when it was raining. We had to, it was amazing. “These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here.”

Once we left the Badlands National Park we were only an hour from Mount Rushmore. As we got closer, the land began to change from vast fields to forest. The trees were changing. That’s one thing that we have noticed throughout our trip, as we cross the country the trees transform. The foliage becomes less and less and turns more into fields or deserts.

In Keystone there is a town before you hit the monument. Apparently we hit it at just the right time…during Sturgis. My friend Catherine informed me that this is the annual motorcycle rally that takes place in Sturgis, South Dakota. So there were a lot of bikers, at least half of the visitors. Our first stop was of course to Mount Rushmore and we hit it just before sunset. It is such a cool experience to see something you’ve only seen pictures of or learned about at school. This was the same feeling I had when I saw the Sydney Opera house. Half amazement and half not believing it was happening.

Almost everyone there was traveling. We met two woman from Mississippi and another family who were from Nevada and bringing their daughter to her first year of college at Penn State. The sun began to set behind the heads of the presidents so we went into the town to grab a quick bite to eat. Then we came back for the evening light show. It was a ceremony they put on every night at 9pm. There was a short video about the monument as well as the national anthem, a solute to the armed forces, and the lighting of the monument. I’m glad we stayed to see it in the day and night, it’s the same statue but a different experience. The only part I didn’t particularly enjoy was the winding road that took us to the base of the mountain, but it was the only way down.

Slow and steady we made our way down and eventually reached our hotel for the night. A log cabin-esque looking Best Western. It was a place to sleep, just what we needed. Plus we had some big plans for the next morning so all we really needed was a good nights rest.

And So It Continues… to Chicago

August 13, 2017August 13, 2017 zandywalsh1 Comment

August 9th

After leaving my friends house in Columbus we began our six hour journey to the next destination. CHICAGO! I’ve always wanted to visit the city of Chicago and lucky for me Christina had two friends to show us around. But before we got there we had to drive through corn, corn, and more corn.

Driving through the end of Ohio and into Indiana there was a whole lot of nothing. Just a lot of land, corn fields, and small towns. Which means less stops to get out and stretch and more sing-a-longs in the car. We drove through that for about five hours before entering into Illinois and our first time zone change. We didn’t have to drive far from the border until we hit Chicago!

Christina and I were in awe as we drove on lakeshore drive. The city on the left and Lake Michigan directly on our right. I love when a city meets the water, there’s something so beautiful about it. It reminded me of Sydney, Boston, and New York. We were stuck in a little traffic but didn’t care much because it gave us time to look around and take the city in.

Jamie lived in an apartment walking distance to Wrigley Field. Lucky for us she was able to reserve a spot right behind her building to park. We jumped out of the car and started taking out our road trip carry ons when we heard a voice yell “I see you!” We turned around to her running down the back of her apartment to meet us. Christina ran and gave her a hug, this was the first time they had seen each other in three and a half years. Once I got the chance to give Jamie a hug we gathered the rest of our pieces from the car and brought it up.

Her home was adorable with brick walls scattered throughout. After giving us a tour, the three of us changed into a casual evening outfit to explore her neighborhood. She lives in the Brooklyn version of Chicago where a lot of young professionals live. We headed out the door and started walking to Wrigley field. Of course we had to go!

*Now it’s Christina. I just wanted to insert a little insight from me! Also, Alexandra’s driving so I figured this was a good time for me to step in. Jamie was one of my best friends when I studied abroad in Australia. She lived in the apartment below me and we hung out all the time. I have missed her so much! I loved exploring near her apartment, especially Wrigley field! It looked like it belonged in Cony Island or near Boulder Dash in Lake Compounce! My people near home know what I’m talking about. Even though they’re not the team I usually root for, it was extra cool because the Cubs recently won the World Series! Okay back to Alexandra’s take. I’ll be back*

The first thing you spot upon seeing Wrigley Field is the big sign. Which of course we had to take a picture in front of! That night they were having a movie by the field, so it was packed! With that many people we couldn’t see the field, so instead of attempting to maneuver around them we headed to Southport for dinner. Another one of our friends, Emma, lives in Chicago as well! So she met us for dinner.

*Time again for Christina’s Corner! Emma is another one of my best friends I met in Australia! We met as roommates during Orientation, and pretty much did everything thing together for that week. Jamie and Emma even know each other from then. She lived about 3 hours away from where I was in Sydney, but we still made trips to each other! Lucky for me, she actually went to University of Rhode Island as well. It was awesome to have someone at home that knew what I had just gone through and even the people that were there. So even after coming back, we still hung out a lot!*

After greeting Emma and giving her hugs, we searched for a place to stop and eat. We ended up at a Mexican place with a fun patio! We sat outside and had some drinks, dinner, and of course guacamole. After spending time catching up on each others lives, Emma had to head back to her apartment. Jamie, Christina, and I then went to Jenni’s, a trendy ice cream parlor with some interesting flavors. After getting our sweet cream and honey roasted almond ice cream we walked back to the apartment. Once inside we threw on pajamas and gathered in the living room. Christina and Jamie shared memories from Australia while I worked on a blog. It was nice to hear them laughing. Midnight hit and we crawled into our sleeping spots to wait until the morning came. Jamie lives right next to the train so throughout the night I could hear it rumbling past, but it wasn’t loud enough to keep me up.

August 10

Morning arrived and we got ready to head into downtown Chicago! Jamie took the morning off to show us around but was heading to work after. This means we would be traveling back to the car ourselves. While we were on the fifteen minute train she was giving us some information on the city, where we were going was called the loop and the train we were taking is called a train above ground, but underground is called the subway. Once we arrived in the city we headed to Millennium Park, that’s where the bean is! After taking pictures at a waterfall we went directly to the bean, the mirrored structure in the park. There were tons of people gathered around, this is the type of place where selfies are welcomed.

After walking around the park we decided to stop for an early lunch at noodles, a chain restaurant that has…you guessed it, noodles. It was delicious! And filling, we each ended up taking half with us and ate it for dinner that night in the car. It was then unfortunately time to say good bye to Jamie, we each gave her a hug goodbye and promised to return to Chicago, especially because we didn’t get a chance to try deep dish pizza. On the way back to the train Christina and I decided to walk by the water. Like I said earlier, I love when the water meets the city. There were boats, kayakers, tours, all heading through the inner river of the city. Like us, people we walking, running, or taking a lunch break from work to sit and eat by waters edge. Eventually we met up with the train and took it back to the car. From there we began our eight and a half hour journey to Sioux Falls, SD.

On the way to Sioux Falls we passed through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. While passing right into Wisconsin we hit a major storm. It only lasted thirty minutes but was enough that everyone had there flashers on and going well below the speed limit. The state itself was beautiful, all the states were that we saw that day. We even passed the Mississippi River and shouted “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I”. About an hour after the river the sunset hit. We were in such a vast area that it stretched across the entire sky, it was amazing. I had never seen anything like it before, that and the windmill farms that had about one hundred turbines. There may have been no places to stop but it was beautiful.

We only had one place we wanted too see before our final destination of Sioux Falls, and that was the Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, Minnesota. We left Chicago at 1:30 and didn’t get to the giant until 8:30, but oh my goodness when we saw it we jumped out of the car so fast. Part out of fear and part out of excitement. I have this app that a friend recommended to me called roadtrippers, on it you can see off beat attractions along your route…that’s how I found this. He was wearing a relay for life shirt, representing the town. Christina and I were laughing and screaming, also because there was practically nothing else in this town besides this statue, a Pizza Hut, and a gas station. We couldn’t handle seeing it just ourselves, we had to share it. Pulling up our video screen we video chatted our friend Gina, who was sick at home.

Once we were satisfied with our time with the giant we stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank and grab something for dinner. We still had two more hours and it was now 9:00 so we had to get on the road. As the sky grew darker there was more and more construction on the road making it a little confusing on where to drive. Finally at 11:30 we arrived to our hotel in Sioux Falls. We checked in and immediately crashed for the night.

Get ready because the next post is going to have some great pictures. We have a morning in Sioux Falls, an afternoon at the corn palace, and an evening at Mount Rushmore!

And so it continues…to Ohio!

August 11, 2017August 13, 2017 zandywalsh4 Comments

August 7th – Here We Go!

This adventure really started a week before our departure date. Within that week we started packing, had a going away party with our family, and said goodbye to our friends. Each day there was a little more excitement and a little more sadness.

The good thing about packing is that we didn’t have any furniture to bring. We never lived on our own like this before. Freshman to Junior year of college we lived in dorms on campus, so they came with all of the furniture. Senior year we lived off campus but in summer homes that they rented to students for the school year. The homes came fully furnished and included silverware, plates, glasses, etc. So this is new territory for us.

I also just want to briefly add that leaving home was hard. I already miss my family and my friends. My family is so important to me and I am thankful that Christina and I get to experience this next part of our journey together. It’s just tough knowing I can’t just go upstairs and sit with my dad, play with my cat, or have breakfast outside with my mom on a Wednesday morning. These are some of my favorite things. Thankfully my parents are meeting us out in California the day after we arrive. See what I mean? They are the absolute best.

After the tears and goodbyes Christina and I were on our way, beginning the ten hour drive. First stop Columbus, Ohio! That day we drove through New York, Pennsylvania, and of course Ohio. It was an easy drive, nothing too exciting, just long. Finally, after getting a little lost we made it to my friend Catherine’s apartment in Columbus.

Catherine and I met in college where we studied theatre. We were both cast in the first show of the season our freshman year and thats where we really became good friends, and have been ever since. She is the type of person who always keeps in contact with you no matter how far, she will text you on your good days and your bad days. Catherine and her husband Dustin have already done our current drive twice. After college they moved to California and then a year later they moved to Ohio. Which makes their home our perfect first stop.

Dustin greeted us while Catherine was at work. They have a beautiful apartment that fits them and their two dogs perfectly. The first night Dustin made us an amazing dinner consisting of chicken tenders, salmon tenders, mashed potatoes, and Catherine made coleslaw. After, we had dessert and talked for a few hours. Just talking and catching up on what we’ve missed in each other’s lives. It was perfect.

August 8

Since I don’t get the chance to see Catherine often we decided to stay for two nights. This gave us a chance to take a break from the road and see Columbus. We woke up, had breakfast, and headed out to the Columbus Zoo!
The cool part about the Columbus zoo is that it’s sectioned off by continent. You have Africa that holds giraffes, lions, cheetahs, oh my! This zoo also has a best friend program that raises yellow labs along side cheetahs. The dogs provide a calming effect and the cheetahs provide companionship. They pretty much live and do everything together.
The next section we went to was North America. This exhibit had bears, otters, a bobcat, and more. Our favorite were the polar bears! Then off to the aquarium to see reptiles, penguins and the manatees! The manatees were eating giant heads of lettuce when we crossed them. The last two exhibits we saw were Australia and the Congo. Koalas, Kangaroos, Orangutan, and other monkeys. It was a hot day but the animals were pretty active! It was great to see them up close or swinging around. All in all it was a great day at the zoo. And the day wasn’t over!

That night we went with Catherine to work. She works with a children’s theatre in Columbus and they are putting on Junie B Jones the musical. That night was callbacks, kids ages 10-13 danced and sang their heart out hoping for the chance to be in the show. Being in the theatre reminded me of how much I miss acting, I’m hoping to find a community theatre to work with in California.

That night we returned to their home where Dustin had that nights dinner on the table. A delicious bowl of ramen and homemade crab Rangoon. I can’t even begin to describe how delicious it was. I will definitely be trying to recreate the both meals. Then we stayed up talking again but had to get to bed because the next day was another day on the road.

August 9

The next morning we woke up, packed our bags, and experienced Tim Hortons for the first time. Then we had to say our goodbyes. We hugged and promised to speak soon.

This trip is filled with many highlights and having a Catherine as the first stop was a perfect choice. Christina and I drove out of the complex and onto the highway. Next stop…CHICAGO!

Thanks for reading my second post, the third one is coming tomorrow. If you want to be notified about when I post make sure to subscribe by entering your email.

And So It Begins…

August 7, 2017August 13, 2017 zandywalsh1 Comment

And so it begins, the journey that we have been waiting to start for months. Dreading, wanting, waiting as the months went by, one by one. The time where our sedentary lives in New York are given a chance to jump of their comfort zone into the unknown.

For those of you who are curious, or just stumbled upon my blog, let me give you a little background. Christina and I, Alexandra, are moving across the country. We are originally from New York and currently moving to California. This idea started in our heads about the beginning of highschool. We had our cousins, practically the same age as us, who had grown up in Southern CA.

We are both artsy people, Christina is an artist whose passion is drawing, painting, and anything creative on a page. While Alexandra, or I, is an actor, a girl who is passionate about musical theatre, Shakespeare, and all things creative relating to the stage. So you can understand why California has always been in the back of our minds. Yes we live in New York, not too from the city, but there is a wonder that is created by dreaming about someplace new. Someplace far that seems unattainable. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the city. It’s magical, musical, and all around busy. A fantastic place to explore, but it is…what’s a good word…crowded? Anxiety envoking? A lot of pan handlers and people in poorly made costumes asking for money. Now I know that happens everywhere and usually it’s in the touristy areas, but I just can’t imagine living in NYC. I think living there would take away the fun of visiting. Plus, I love where I live, it’s an easy travel day to the city or a cute place to hang out.

Anyway back to why California. Throughout highschool Christina and I would occasionally say “we can do this when we are in California” “I can’t wait for California” “when we live in California” etc. but it was never a solid plan. Of course not, we were in highschool. Then college came, we chose our majors and headed off to the University of Rhode Island. After going through several years of living the college life, and on our own, we came to realize this could be an actual option. Still no real plans.

College ended, we came home and started looking for jobs. I finally got one but Christina was struggling, she was looking for something in the film industry. Specifically art directing or production design…no such luck. Until the day she decided to apply to grad school. Kind of a spur of the moment decision, one that she had been thinking about for a long time but finally decided…why not? After the long awaited months she got accepted into Chapman University’s graduate program of Production Design. At long last a day we never thought would come, a day where our dream could become a reality. Finally my Pinterest board called “when I live with my sister”, can come in handy.

In college Christina had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Australia, I unfortunately couldn’t go abroad because of my double major. Ever since many of my friends went I have been itching for a change. I wanted to just move somewhere, not forever, just for now. And I finally have that chance.

It’s never easy leaving home. I remember feeling like this when I went to college, a new place, a new state, new people. But I knew there were people in the same boat as I was. Over my few years there I met some of my best friends and favorite people in the world. It’s nerve wracking entering a situation where you don’t know anyone besides your sister, and a few cousins. No job and no friends, starting off fresh. But it’s not so much a bad thing, it’s not a bad thing at all actually. It’s just different.

I am not one for change, I am very happy the way my life is. I have the best family and the best friends. But there’s something knocking inside of me trying to get out. Something telling me it’s time for an adventure, it’s time for you to try something knew. And like a good friend told me “what’s the worst that could happen? You’d go home” and that’s right where I would want to be. This adventure is atleast for two years. Two years to create opportunity and change my life for the better. Christina and I are excited to see where this will take us!

As you know we will be traveling across the country and we are so excited! We have some fun adventures planned, so many pictures to come. We would love it if you followed along our journey with us! If you want to subscribe to our adventure, you can at the right of the page. Just enter your email and you will get notified every time I publish on this site. Next stop, OHIO!