In case you haven’t been following my mass uploads of pictures on Instagram and Facebook this week… I’m out west!! My best friend’s parents were kind enough to invite me along on their family vacation this year to see the Grand Canyon and a few other pit stops along the way! We flew into Vegas last Thursday evening. After being hit by a wall of dry air as soon as we stepped off the plane, we headed to get our rental car and then to our hotel just a few miles off The Strip. I wish we could say the first place we hit was In-N-Out Burger but alas, they aren’t quite as popular as I imagined them being in Nevada, and we couldn’t find one until a couple days into our trip!! We had to get freaking Burger King our first night in Vegas instead… so shameful! We did eventually get to try some animal style burgers as you’ll see below :) This blog post is only going to cover the first 3 days of our week out west… Death Valley, Hoover Dam, and The Strip to be specific! Hope you enjoy this little glimpse at how gorgeous our country is!
First stop… Death Valley National Park. We got to go to CALIFORNIA!!! Even if it was just for a little bit :)
This little body of water is called Badwater… and it’s at the absolute lowest point in the United States! I loved how HOT it was!
We had to drive 30 minutes out of the way to get this view… but I think it was worth it!
And finally… some In-N-Out burger!!! I was SO excited to try this because all I have ever heard from friends who have been to California is how good In-N-Out is. Well…. maybe I’m just too loyal of a Washingtonian, but it did not even begin to compare to Five Guys. Sorry, West Coast. But these rock hard crunchy fries and thin little burger patties have nothing on Five Guys :)
On Saturday morning we headed to see the Hoover Dam!
And… here it is. Lol. I thought it was kinda tiny in person!!! Maybe I just had too high of expectations… it was still REALLY cool!
Any fellow Fools Rush In movie fans…?! Matthew & Selma? No…? She has her baby on this bridge in the middle of the two time zones! That’s all I could think of! :)
We took a little tour through the bridge… it was pretty dark and dingy!
And this is Lake Mead! Isn’t it beautiful?! Probably one of my favorite views from the first portion of this trip!!
Saturday night was spent on The Strip! It reminded me SO much of a giant cruise ship… all the flashing lights and noises and smell of alcohol… and over the top luxury! It was so much fun! I especially loved the Bellagio fountain show… soooo pretty.
The Bellagio has a botanical garden inside :)
We got to watch the water dance to “This Kiss” by Faith Hill and…. “All That Jazz” from Chicago!!! I almost had tears in my eyes. Chicago is my all time FAVORITE movie/muscial and it was so awesome.
Yes, I mixed the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace on this last one… oopsies. Well, they look good together. :)
Keep your eyes peeled for the next Spring Break Out West blog post later this week… it’s going to be all about our stay at the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park!! For now enjoy this beautiful black & white picture of Tessa… I love it :)
Love it! Wish I was there too!
I wish you were too! We’ll come back together someday :)