Keep your eyes on the road, hands upon the wheel–A South West RT-The End!Bonus Tracks

I'm back and playing catch up!

The scenery remains stunning! So sorry Fran wasn't feeling well. Smart of you to book that Jacuzzi tub!

Jill in CO
 
I'm back and playing catch up!

The scenery remains stunning! So sorry Fran wasn't feeling well. Smart of you to book that Jacuzzi tub!

Jill in CO

Welcome back! I really liked that tub by that point!
 
The next morning I woke up nice and early. Fran kept sleeping so I went down to get some coffee and some fruit for her. Unfortunately it did not sit well with her and we could tell this was the start of something not good. After a little while she decided she would give eating a second try, so we both went down to breakfast and tried for round two.

She had a bagel and cream cheese.



I had a make it yourself waffle and sausage.



She was OK with this food and we went back up to the room. She laid down while I loaded the car, and then we were on our way. She asked me to drive since she wasn’t feeling good. It’s hard to take good pictures when you’re driving, so you’ll have to excuse the quality of these.







There was a lot of construction going on with I15 between Las Vegas and St. George.



And finally a little over an hour later, I could see the Las Vegas skyline.



We checked into the hotel around 1PM and lo and behold the room was ready! I couldn’t believe it! We decided to get a bite to eat before going up to the room. They have a TGI Friday’s in the Lobby, so we ate there. We split a Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup and Cobb Salad.



They were kind enough to split it in the kitchen.





Then we went up to our room. Fran stayed out of the way for the pictures.









Fran crawled into the bed and didn’t get out until the next morning. I unloaded what we needed for the night, got some ice for the styro cooler that Fran had picked up somewhere along the way, and sat down to work on the TR. I knew that once I was back home there was very little time and I would have to steal moments to write it up (like I’m doing now).

After a few hours it became clear that Fran wasn’t getting up or going anywhere that night. She asked me to get her a cheeseburger from the McDonald’s in the food court, and told me to go out and have a good time. There is a good Mexican restaurant in the hotel called Willy and Jose’s. Some of you may remember the Margarita as big as my head.



Sadly they did not have one like it this time, so I had this one.



I had some chips and salsa



And then chicken taquitos



After that I went to hit the Blackjack tables. It was a good night, I think I ended up coming out $100 ahead. No pictures as they frown on that in casinos. I think I ended up going back to the room around 11:30PM having enjoyed quite a few complimentary glasses of wine during the gambling time.

The next morning Fran felt a little better enough so that she could drive home, unfortunately the illness would linger for almost another week after we got home. We took off as soon as we could get up. You see when we were checking into the hotel our cleaning lady Darcy had called. She usually comes a day or two before we get home to clean up the messes that the kids have made, change our sheets and such. Well our little cat Pepper hadn’t shown her face in about 4 hours of working. When she was out back taking a break she heard a faint “mew” coming from the garage. It seems that Pepper had been locked in the garage all week.

Darcy took her to the vet where they held her overnight, gave her fluids and observed her. There was no real damage, she was only slightly dehydrated and the vet said that there was not evidence that she was in the garage for a week. However, no one had been in our garage other than myself when we left the week before. Our cat sitter was so fired! He even texted me Sunday morning that Pepper just ran out of the house. I was really mad that he didn’t even know what our cats looked like well enough to tell them apart. He has been sitting for them for over a year now. We have a new cat sitter now.

Anyways we were on the road around 9:00AM



We NEVER choose to drive home on Sunday from Las Vegas. I don’t know what I was thinking when I booked this trip. Traffic was pretty bad.



I just looked out the window at the Joshua trees.







Some of you might have remembered that only a day or so after we left, there was a bridge fire and the I15 was closed down for a couple days. Major traffic nightmare. This is what was left a week later.



Looky Loo traffic.



And that was about it. Less than two hours later we were home. Pepper was fine, the cats didn’t hate us, and we were home same and sound. I'll be back with some thoughts and a recap.
 
How scary about Pepper! :( I'm glad you fired the cat sitter, he should have at least been counting them all when he went over :mad:

I'm sorry Fran got sick, what a terrible way to end a trip.



Thanks so much for sharing your adventure and all your gorgeous photos. Hopefully you'll be able to plan another trip to do the things you missed on this one.
 


Poor Pepper! I'm glad Darcy rescued her! Good job on winning at Blackjack. Sorry Fran continued to feel bad. I would have been really impressed if you drank that first margarita all by yourself! ;)

Jill in CO
 
Sorry that Fran didn't feel well and that it took a week or so for her to get over it. Hope she's all better now.

That's an amazing margarita. Well done on getting through it.
Love the food porn.

Awww. Poor Pepper. Glad he's okay and well done to Darcy (say hello for me) for finding him.

Sad....end of another trip. :sad:


But thanks for sharing. :flower3:
 
I am sorry that Fran felt so well. I am shocked that the cat sitter never noticed that Pepper was missing. I am glad that he or she is OK. Your dinner looks lovely and the Margarita in that first photo is amazing.

Corinna
 


:eek: missing Pepper and the jerk doesn't even know !! Thank God Darcy to the rescue and glad Pepper is good


Ah Fran that's tough being away from home and sick sorry it lasted another week but if you have to be sick home is the best place to be right ?

Very impressed with your driving and photo taking skills The ultimate in multi-tasking :laughing:

I don't know why I never saw that first Margarita picture but that is hysterical I could bathe a dachshund in that humongous thing :rotfl:
 
The next morning I woke up nice and early. Fran kept sleeping so I went down to get some coffee and some fruit for her. Unfortunately it did not sit well with her and we could tell this was the start of something not good.

Poor Fran. That's the worst, getting sick while traveling.

It’s hard to take good pictures when you’re driving, so you’ll have to excuse the quality of these.

:scared1: I'm just glad you were safe!

There was a lot of construction going on with I15 between Las Vegas and St. George.

Stupid road design engineers.:sad2:

Some of you may remember the Margarita as big as my head.


:eek::eek:

After that I went to hit the Blackjack tables. It was a good night, I think I ended up coming out $100 ahead.

Nice!

Well our little cat Pepper hadn’t shown her face in about 4 hours of working. When she was out back taking a break she heard a faint “mew” coming from the garage. It seems that Pepper had been locked in the garage all week.

:scared1: Oh my goodness! I'm glad she ended up ok.

We have a new cat sitter now.

Makes sense to me!

We NEVER choose to drive home on Sunday from Las Vegas. I don’t know what I was thinking when I booked this trip. Traffic was pretty bad.

Will I be in trouble driving to Anaheim on I-10 on a Sunday?:confused3

Some of you might have remembered that only a day or so after we left, there was a bridge fire and the I15 was closed down for a couple days. Major traffic nightmare. This is what was left a week later.

Looks like some efficient highway engineering work. I knew I liked those guys.:thumbsup2
 
Poor Fran! Can't believe she was sick for so long. And you think it was yogurt perhaps?

Good job on the blackjack:thumbsup2

That was definitely the best idea on firing the cat sitter. How do you be around for a year and not know which cat is which? Probably should have let him go a long time ago. But glad Pepper is okay!
 
I've been quietly enjoying your TR. Love all that gorgeous scenery :goodvibes Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad that Pepper and Fran were both ok in the end :thumbsup2
 
How scary about Pepper! :( I'm glad you fired the cat sitter, he should have at least been counting them all when he went over :mad:

I admit that some of them look a little similar, but now I have a check off sheet so that it's easier to count noses. Some of them still hide (especially at the new house), but it's also harder for them to get out. No torn screens. Central air, so no open windows. Besides it's so big, so far they're OK with staying inside.

I'm sorry Fran got sick, what a terrible way to end a trip.

It really was and somewhat worse for me! :lmao:

Thanks so much for sharing your adventure and all your gorgeous photos. Hopefully you'll be able to plan another trip to do the things you missed on this one.

You're welcome! I've already got it on the books for April 2016. I think this time we'll go via the Grand Canyon. I've only been there once and that was a stopover on a bus trip.

Poor Pepper! I'm glad Darcy rescued her! Good job on winning at Blackjack. Sorry Fran continued to feel bad. I would have been really impressed if you drank that first margarita all by yourself! ;)

Jill in CO

I know! Darcy always seems to come to the rescue of the kitties! Fran helped a little with the margarita, but I did drink most of it. :scratchin Hmmmm I don't remember so well. It was also 3-4 years ago!

Sorry that Fran didn't feel well and that it took a week or so for her to get over it. Hope she's all better now.

Well now....thank goodness!

That's an amazing margarita. Well done on getting through it.
Love the food porn.

I never met a margarita I couldn't drink! :thumbsup2

Awww. Poor Pepper. Glad she's okay and well done to Darcy (say hello for me) for finding her.

The poor thing was just missing cuddles and hungry, but I'm glad she stayed the night at the vet.

Sad....end of another trip. :sad:


But thanks for sharing. :flower3:

I know, it is sad when they come to an end, but I had a bunch more to keep me amused. I may even post a little postscript here as to what we did the weekend after we returned from the road trip.

I am sorry that Fran felt so well. I am shocked that the cat sitter never noticed that Pepper was missing. I am glad that he or she is OK. Your dinner looks lovely and the Margarita in that first photo is amazing.

Corinna

I was shocked that I don't think that he knew what she looked like. We have one all black cat, and Pepper has white stripes, these are their pictures from the roster I give to my caregivers.

Velcro:



Pepper:



I would think it would be hard to mistake these two.

Dinner at Willy and Jose's is always a treat! I just wish Fran could have joined me so we could have enjoyed it together and split some more choices.

:eek: missing Pepper and the jerk doesn't even know !! Thank God Darcy to the rescue and glad Pepper is good

Yeah, I've calmed down a bit, but I was pretty ticked on that last part home. Especially since it lit a fire under Fran's butt to get home. She almost canceled the night there and drove back when she found out, but when the vet was keeping Pepper, she was OK with staying overnight.

Ah Fran that's tough being away from home and sick sorry it lasted another week but if you have to be sick home is the best place to be right ?

Yeah, she is better to be sick at home. At least she has all her DVR TV shows and the correct channels so she can sleep through programs she likes and not just the ones she can find on hotel TV. :rotfl2:

Very impressed with your driving and photo taking skills The ultimate in multi-tasking :laughing:

Those are only the ones that came out! You should see how many I have that are tilted to one direction or have my thumb in it! :jester:

I don't know why I never saw that first Margarita picture but that is hysterical I could bathe a dachshund in that humongous thing :rotfl:

That was from one of my PTRs when we took a side trip to Vegas about four years ago. I think you were on your DIS break then.
 
Poor Fran. That's the worst, getting sick while traveling.

Yeah, and she missed her favorite Mexican restaurant.

:scared1: I'm just glad you were safe!

As I told Ruthie, there were some pictures that didn't make the cut.

Stupid road design engineers.:sad2:

You might encounter this traffic on your way to Cedar City.


:drinking:


A little extra dough always helps!

:scared1: Oh my goodness! I'm glad she ended up ok.

Me too!

Makes sense to me!

::yes::

Will I be in trouble driving to Anaheim on I-10 on a Sunday?:confused3

No, Las Vegas is the #1 destination for Angelinos for just about every weekend, so it's really only going there Friday and coming home Sunday that has heavy traffic consistently throughout the drive. You may hit a little bit of traffic once you get closer to the Inland Empire (the land bordering LA, where everyone who works in LA commutes from). And then from the I15 to Anaheim, it could be bumper to bumper just depending on accidents, construction, etc.

Face it with an estimate of 10,000,000+ people in LA County, and another 8 Million in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties combined that's a lot of people crammed into a relatively small area. There's bound to be traffic congestion.

Looks like some efficient highway engineering work. I knew I liked those guys.:thumbsup2

:thumbsup2 For the most part they are actually pretty efficient given the demands of their jobs. Some of these projects are crazy!

Poor Fran! Can't believe she was sick for so long. And you think it was yogurt perhaps?

Hard to say, she thinks the cooler that runs off the cigarette lighter doesn't keep food cool enough, so she thinks the yogurt went bad.

Good job on the blackjack:thumbsup2

Thanks, I have a little cheat card about the size of the credit card that tells you what to do in the event of ANY hand you might be dealt. Some of them I know, but there are others where the card comes in really handy. You don't win every time, but following the strategy eventually your winnings usually begin to grow! :thumbsup2

That was definitely the best idea on firing the cat sitter. How do you be around for a year and not know which cat is which? Probably should have let him go a long time ago. But glad Pepper is okay!

We really should have, but we didn't have anyone suitable. Now our friend doesn't have his apartment managing job, so he has time to help us out. The only problem will be when we bring them to WDW. Who will watch the cats? :confused3

I've been quietly enjoying your TR. Love all that gorgeous scenery :goodvibes Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad that Pepper and Fran were both ok in the end :thumbsup2

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed all the scenery. Yes everyone ended up OK in the end.
 
Thanks, I have a little cheat card about the size of the credit card that tells you what to do in the event of ANY hand you might be dealt. Some of them I know, but there are others where the card comes in really handy. You don't win every time, but following the strategy eventually your winnings usually begin to grow! :thumbsup2



We really should have, but we didn't have anyone suitable. Now our friend doesn't have his apartment managing job, so he has time to help us out. The only problem will be when we bring them to WDW. Who will watch the cats? :confused3

Are you allowed to have that card with you at the table? I really enjoy blackjack but there are some instances where I didn't know what to do. Luckily the day I was playing in downtown Vegas, the girl dealing was very helpful and would tell me to play or not. Would win every time she told me what to do!

If I were in LB, I would definitely watch your cats for you, especially because I know how precious they are. I'm anxious leaving my Pug this week when we go to the coast for 4 days...especially over 4th of July when it's the one day that dogs and cats get lost. My brother will be going over to where Percy will be to let the dogs in and I'm grateful that we have people here to do that for us.
 
Are you allowed to have that card with you at the table? I really enjoy blackjack but there are some instances where I didn't know what to do. Luckily the day I was playing in downtown Vegas, the girl dealing was very helpful and would tell me to play or not. Would win every time she told me what to do!

If I were in LB, I would definitely watch your cats for you, especially because I know how precious they are. I'm anxious leaving my Pug this week when we go to the coast for 4 days...especially over 4th of July when it's the one day that dogs and cats get lost. My brother will be going over to where Percy will be to let the dogs in and I'm grateful that we have people here to do that for us.

I haven't found a dealer who cares about having the card out and at the table. I think if you were hiding it underneath the table it might be worse as they would think you were up to something. They sell them at the gift shop so obviously the casinos condone it. I've even had a dealer or two ask after a hand, "What did your little card say to do then?"

It's really great because it tells you when to split, double down, or whatever. There are some instance where you wouldn't think to stay, like when you have a 12, but the dealer is showing a four or a five. Odds are he/she has a 10 card underneath and has to hit (casino rules) and the odds are he'll get a 10 card and bust. I just keep looking at my little card (unless I already have it memorized, like stay on 17 or better, and always split Aces and 8s).

That's sweet of you to offer. I wish you guys still lived behind Staples, we would totally be neighbors! It's nice to have family and friends local to take care of your critters. We have so few friends in Long Beach, everyone is so spread out here that most people require half an hour to 2 hours drive to get together. That's why we mostly only see our friends on Tuesday night at band.
 
Roadtrip Recap

Normally I don’t do a “recap” post, but that’s because many of my trip reports are for WDW, and I would probably be saying the same things. Loved the Villa, went on a lot of rides, ate at some great places, yada, yada, yada, but this was a very different trip than a WDW vacay so here are some of my thoughts.

Length of trip: I thought that we picked a good length of time for the overall trip. I think we spent the right amount of time at the main destinations of the trip. Had our tours at MV not been cancelled due to inclement weather, we would not have had so much idle time. Three days was perfect. When we go back in a couple years to get a do over on the night sky tour and the sunset tour, I think we’ll stay two nights again. We’ll also take a do over on the Sunrise tour. This reminds me that I need to do a review on Trip Advisor and give our guide some high marks.

Two nights at Bryce Canyon allowed us some rest time after a long drive the day we got there. The overall length of trip stay was good because we didn't have time to get homesick for our kitties until the last night when we were worried about Pepper.

Packing: We tried something new by packing smaller suitcases that were geared towards each of the parts of the trip. This helped out quite a bit with the loading in and out every day, but we still had an excessive amount of unnecessary stuff. I'm not sure what I can do about that. :confused3 :rolleyes1

Destinations: The two main sights on the trip were great and so was the last minute add on. St. George & Flagstaff were just overnight stops, but the two casino locations were plenty fun. I think the mix of amazing scenery, sleep stops, and gambling destinations was just perfect.

Driving Distance: Most of the days we had a moderate drive. It seems that between 180 - 225 miles was a good driving distance. Mainly given Fran's need to stop and look at the stores mostly in Indian country, if we didn't stop so often we could have gone farther each day. It was nice to have a couple days where we weren’t driving to a new destination.

Various accomodations: On this trip we stayed at several different styles of hotels. The casinos were what we expected. The View Hotel was a great place to stay and we would do it again. While I enjoyed the Bryce Canyon Lodge, I might be just as happy staying at another location next time. It was nice but not necessarily something that I must repeat. The other two hotels we stayed at were Hilton chains, the Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn. It was my first time at a Hilton Garden Inn and given the two I would choose the Hampton over the Hilton Garden. The free breakfast at the Hampton is better than the paid option at the Hilton Garden and heck you can't beat "make 'em yourself waffles"!

Food: While this trip was not meant to be about the food, we ended up having a different sort of culinary journey than our other trips. I really enjoyed the Navajo inspired meals that we had, and could probably eat fry bread every day! Although I would have liked to eat more meals out and less in the room, Fran’s fatigue plays a big part in why we spend a lot of time in the room. Sometimes she needs two days of sleep to recover from a big day at home, so on the road, it’s more important that she gets plenty of time to sleep. Therefore eating in the room makes more sense than spending time at a restaurant. Plus when there just aren’t any within a reasonable distance, that can effect choices as well. I think we did pretty good and I didn’t gain any weight. On this trip. :rolleyes1

Other Travelers: Of course we were not the only tourists at the various locations, but the one thing that we really noticed was that at the National Parks and Monument Valley, we were in the minority. Most of the people who were touring our parks, were from Europe, Great Britain or Australia/New Zealand. Both the times that we dined at the café across from Monument Valley busloads of French tourists came to eat. We heard Germans speaking at many of our stops, and certainly lots of folks speaking foreign languages that I didn’t recognize. It struck both Fran and I as odd that the majority of folks traveling through some of the wonders of the United States were not residents of the United States. Clearly, I think Americans need to get out more!

Vacationing as a kid: Some of the TRs that I have been reading, (mostly Captain Oblivious, but I think a few others like Leshaface’s and I’m not sure how many others) have talked about family vacations as kids. Mine were pretty much that my parents farmed us out to our grandparents in New England. My grandparents lived in Boston, the suburbs, Newton Center for anyone who knows the area. We could easily walk to the street car and many of our early vacations included Quincy Market and other Bicentennial areas, as the Bicentennial was big on people’s minds back then.

My Grandparents had a house on the Cape, Harwich to be exact. We used to visit Sand Pond a lot and occasionally the beach. We loved our visits back to the east coast and never felt deprived for going anywhere else, especially since we didn’t know there was any place else to go! It wasn’t until I grew up and went to college that I realized all that the world had to offer. Though I don’t have kids, I am trying to see as much of the world that I haven’t seen yet, while still working in annual trips to WDW. There’s a lot of places on that list, so I better get busy!

I guess that's about it. Perhaps you'll join me in a couple years when we try to do some of it over again and other parts differently! Thanks for reading this all the way to the end!
 
There was a lot more to the park than what we did, but it was just not accessible for Fran. I would say that once Mark (Captain Oblivious) comes back and starts his TR, you should definitely check that one out because he is going to a lot of the places you’re considering. It will give you another perspective. He’s also a pretty funny guy!

Mark, a.k.a. Captain Oblivious, can you post your link here or send me a PM when you start your TR, so I can follow along.. Please and thank you!
 
Great wrap up Alison! I'm a lucky one where my parents believed in family vacations and took my brother and I all over the West and South on family vacations. As teachers, they made sure we used the trips as learning experiences as well as fun. Those trips have really made my life richer and unleashed my inner travel bug....3 continents down, and 4 to go!

Jill in CO
 
Kolob Canyons –
Toquerville. – What can I say?
The pictures are lovely…
I would have picked a Hilton hotel also… You know we are all HHonors people hahaha
Sorry about Pepper, hope it is doing better, so the sitter had no idea the cat had been gone all week?
Hope Fran is feeling better too, I hate feeling bad, when I am away from home. It just seems to be worse.
 

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