We are back from Grand Canyon/Vegas and it was a wonderful trip!
We left the house Thursday morning at 6am to drive to Arizona. At lunch time, we stopped at Cracker Barrel, known for good Southern food, and ordered Pork Chops, Meat Loaf, Hashbrown Casserole for lunch.
We got to the Grand Canyon around 2:30pm and it was SUPER windy. Whenever we opened our mouths to talk, we would get a mouthful of sand. Despite the crunchy taste in our mouths, the Grand Canyon was a sight to behold. It's virutally impossible to grasp the size of it and photos do not do it justice. With the winds blowing furiously, my knees got really shaky. Jien was bravely standing at the edge taking in the sights, while I was skirting the path trying to stand as far away from the edge as possible. I had too many "whoa" moments on a regular hiking trail to feel comfortable being so close to the edge that plunges 7000 feet, even with barriers and all.
Along the Rim Trail, there were a ton of spectacularly twisty looking trees. With one especially, I couldn't help wanting to climb it....so I did.
Our little Cabin was cozy and rustic, and just steps away from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Wonderful location!
That night, we walked to the Maswik lodge for dinner...regular food court sandwich and fries kind of food, but the walk back was in TOTAL darkness. Aside from the resort areas, there were no street lamps and we left our torchlight in our room. So it made for a real interesting night walk. The stars were out and they were beautiful. It felt like we were gazing into the cosmos. Unfortunately, we were pelted by more gusty winds and after a few minutes of eating more sand, we were done. We found out later that the freeway into the Grand Canyon was closed due to sandstorms and were feeling mighty lucky that we managed to make it through earlier.
The next day, we took shuttles that dropped us off at different lookout points and enjoyed a calmer day sightseeing.
The next day, we took shuttles that dropped us off at different lookout points and enjoyed a calmer day sightseeing.
By afternoon, we left for Vegas. It should have taken us 2 hours or so to get there, but because of the spring break crowd at the Grand Canyon, our drive lasted 4 hours.
As Vegas veterans, we've tried different hotels, but our stay at the Trump has to be one of our best experiences. This is mainly because we were upgraded from a regular studio suite to a one-bedroom suite. I bet there were a ton of empty rooms considering the state of the economy. There was a full kitchen with refrigerator, microwave, oven, dishwasher, all stainless steel no less, dining room, living room, guest bathroom with standing shower, bedroom and master bedroom. Our jaws dropped as we walked into the master bathroom. The view was wonderful on the 38th floor and that TV inset in the glass mirror was the icing on the cake. How opulent.
The only thing about this place is that it is right by some train tracks and we would hear the train at all hours of the day...and odd hours at night.
We went to Penang (a Malaysian restaurant) for dinner the first night. Ooh boy..the Chai Tao Kway (they call it something else) , Beef Rendang and seafood hor fun were all super yummy. We even had Durian Sticky Rice dessert. I wish there was a Penang closer to our home in the San Fernando Valley. Went back for lunch the next day and the Char Kway Teow brought us back to Singapore, in our imagination at least.
The next night, we went to the Wynn for a buffet dinner. The spread was not too bad, but our buffet days are effectively over. We hardly even went back for seconds even though the Prime Rib was juicy and the crab legs were oh-so succulent.
After dinner, we headed out onto the Vegas Strip and at 8:30pm on Sat March 28 (Earth Hour) , we saw all the lights go out on the strip. That was quite a sight. I guess Vegas never had a need for too many street lamps because the hotels were bright enough for miles, but when the lights went off, the sidewalks were dark. Interesting place to be for Earth Hour.
We finally made our way home Sunday evening and got in around midnight.
It was a nice restful trip and we cannot wait for the next one.
(We'll be going to Yosemite for a weekend in a few weeks and will post more pictures then!)
Quick updates on the yard: the composite wood decking hasn't been laid yet. We are just waiting that that to be done and the job will be completed. We are heading to Ikea this weekend because it's No Sales Tax weekend and we will be getting some patio furniture for the space!
