Not much to say today...we just did a lot of driving. We headed out of Bakersfield on CA58 and ended up on I-15 into Vegas. When we first got to Vegas we did a little bit of sightseeing. We didn't have much time here when we started our trip, so we really enjoyed looking around at the sights. Our hotel for the night is the Trump International Hotel. We decided to upgrade to a corner room suite with views of the city and the strip. IT IS AMAZING!! There is a full kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and two bathrooms. There is even a TV in the "master" bathroom mirror! Tonight, we are going to see Mystere, a show by Cirque Du Soleil. This is a great way to end our trip!
Today was an absolutely amazing day, I know shocking! Erin and I both agree that Sequoia National Park was the best part of the trip! We headed out from Oakhurst on a beautiful drive along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We had planned on going to King’s Canyon first via CA 180; however, we were unable to because of a snow storm from the night before which required us to have chains on all four tires! So we continued south to enter Sequoia National Park from the south via CA 198. We entered the park at around 500 feet of elevation. From there we drove UP to 6,700 feet before stopping! We started out in rain which turned to snow after 5,000 feet or so! It was a very windy road which had intense construction for 3 miles. They only let cars through the construction every TWO HOURS, but thankfully we only had to wait about 30 minutes each time! The drive was amazing through the snow filled trees and forest! Once again we thought we might have been done with the snow, but boy were we wrong! They had 6-8 inches of snow during the night and it was still snowing when we got there. First we stopped by the visitor center to figure out what we could get to without chains and what roads were closed etc. We needed chains to get to Crystal Cave and Moro Rock, so we weren’t able to go to those. However, we were able to go to Tokopah Falls trail and hike through the 6-8” of snow! The hike was right along a river and was absolutely beautiful! We enjoyed making a snowman and snow angels along the trail as well. Unfortunately, we did not walk the full 1.7 miles to the falls because we just weren’t sure if and when the road conditions would start to deteriorate. From there we drove to General Sherman’s tree, which is the largest tree by volume in the world! There were plenty of other huge Sequoias along the same trail that we got to enjoy. The trees and forest were just stunning covered in snow! While we didn’t get to do everything inside the park we had planned on, we definitely wouldn’t trade the snow out to see the other sights! From the park we drove about 2 hours to Bakersfield before we retired for the night. Tomorrow, essentially our last day, we head to Las Vegas to fly out the following morning. We are going to Mystere by Cirque de Soleil tomorrow night in Vegas.
Today we set out from Lake Tahoe and had to take a different route than we had planned because of road closures or because you were required to have chains on your tires! Thankfully we didn’t get any more snow overnight and we were able to get out without a problem. First we headed east to an overlook that Jason had been to during his last trip to Lake Tahoe. The visibility was great this morning and it hadn’t been very good the last two days. The overlook was absolutely breathtaking, and worth the 15 minute detour. Then we headed north through Truckee to take interstate 80 because it was passable! There was a LOT more snow around the highway than there was when we headed to Lake Tahoe. We then headed on CA 49 which was a nice twisty two lane road through the foothills. We then took CA 120 into Yosemite. It took us about 5 hours to reach the entrance to Yosemite because of the detour and two lane winding roads. CA 120 climbed through the mountains and brought us to snow once again. In Yosemite we visited Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls, and saw Half-dome and El Capitan from afar. Just when we thought we were through driving during snowfall, we set out to leave Yosemite on CA 41. As we climbed the mountain it began to rain, which quickly turned to snowfall! It wasn’t as hard as yesterday’s in Lake Tahoe, but it was still coming down pretty good! After a very long day of driving we arrived at our hotel in Oakhurst, CA around 6:30. Tomorrow we’re heading to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Right now we are unsure of the route due to road closures and chain requirements! 
Today was another interesting and exciting day on our trip. We woke up to snow on the ground and it actively snowing. Jason was like a little boy in a candy store. He spent a while on the porch taking pictures and taking it all in. Meanwhile, Erin enjoyed the view better from the comfortable heat behind the sliding glass doors. Jason researched the ski areas to see if any were open. He found one open and decided to try and take a look at it. He drove there in the snow, but the lifts were only going to be open for 4 hours and it would have cost almost $200 so he decided against it and returned to the house to pick Erin up and start the day. We started out driving on the north and then east side of the lake. By this time it wasn’t snowing anymore and the visibility was improving. The views of the blue water with the snow filled mountains in the background were just breathtaking. We enjoyed the scenic drive in South Lake Tahoe where we stopped for lunch. The Tour of California, a bicycle race,was supposed to start in South Lake Tahoe today and there were plenty of people and cops ready to watch and guide the race, even though it had started snowing again. We saw the motorcycle cops and SUVs take off only to return twenty minutes later and announce the race had been postponed until Wednesday. So we set out from South Lake Tahoe and started driving up the west side of the lake. It began to snow harder and harder as we climbed and drove along the lake. We stopped to take some amazing pictures in the snow and make snow angels! From there, the snow just kept getting harder and the roads became more interesting and snow filled. We saw a few snow plows but they just couldn’t keep up with the amount of snow that was coming down. As we were in a line of traffic in the snow and ice, the cars in front of us came to a stop. We were able to skid on the ice and stop as well. However, the car behind us could not and ran into our rear bumper. Thankfully we didn’t hit the car in front of us and no one was hurt. A cop was right there and he came over to help exchange information and sent us on our way as the snow just kept getting worse. Thankfully we made it back to the house safe and sound. Hopefully the snow slows down tonight and stops, and we will be able to leave in the morning. Tomorrow we are heading to Yosemite, about a 5 hour drive. Many of the roads are requiring snow tires and/or chains so we will have to stick to the main highways. It’s just unbelievable how much snow there is in MAY! Today was amazing even with the accident, and we are sad this trip is coming to an end soon. 
Today was an exciting and fun-filled day. We woke up early and headed out of San Francisco to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Our dolphin encounter started at 10:30 and it did not disappoint. Our experience began with a classroom session in which we learned many interesting facts about mammals. For example, they’re born tail first unlike us humans; they nurse for 3-5 years; they nurse for 8-10 seconds at a time for 4-8 times per hour! We also learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is apparently a bunch of garbage in the Pacific Ocean about TWICE the size of TEXAS!!!!!! The time with the dolphins in the water was amazing. We swam with three dolphins: 3 year old Maverick (we saw a video of his birth in the class!), his half-sister Mattie, and last but not least 51 year-old Terri! Maverick had an under-bite which made him look like he was smiling, while Mattie had a black spot behind her left eye, and Terri who only had 16 teeth. A normal dolphin has 88 teeth. Dolphins live to be an average of 25-30 years old, which explains why 51 year old Terri was missing so many teeth! During the hands-on experience we got to pet the dolphins, be kissed by Maverick on our cheeks, ride Maverick’s dorsal fin, and feed each dolphin! It was amazing! As much as Erin loved the experience, her favorite part may have been the hot showers afterwards! It was a chilly 53 degrees outside! After that we watched the killer whale show, the tiger show (Jason’s favorite show), and the dolphin show. Next we headed to Lake Tahoe. The drive started off with interstate but ended on a nice winding road with amazing views! We started seeing snow about 30 miles from Lake Tahoe and the closer we got the more snow we saw. Tonight we are staying at a Vacation-Rental-By-Owner house with an awesome view of the lake and snow filled mountains. We are supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow tonight, YAY!!!!! Tomorrow we are going to see what the ski resort Squaw Valley is like, Jason just might go skiing! After that we will tour the lake and see the sights! It should be an AMAZING day. As much as we liked the cities, this is what it is all about!!!!
The view from our VRBO!
We had a great day in San Francisco today. First thing on the agenda was a bicycle ride across the golden gate bridge. We rode a tandem bike, which was pretty awesome and not too hard to get used to. Overall, it was a 8 ½ mile bike ride which started along the coast by Fisherman’s Wharf. Then we headed up and across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful ride and a perfect way to see the golden gate bridge up close and personal. It was pretty chilly, and extremely windy, but a great ride nonetheless. After the bridge we headed down to Sausalito and boarded the ferry back to Fisherman’s Wharf. I would definitely recommend biking the bridge to anyone who visits San Francisco! The ferry ride allowed us to have excellent views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco coast, and Alcatraz. Next we had lunch at Johnny Rockets just outside Fisherman’s Wharf. Then we headed back to Boudin to go on the tour. It was a simple self guided tour, but it was interesting to read about Boudin’s history and to watch them make sourdough breads right there in their mini factory. Finally, we headed back to the hotel to relax for the night and get ready to head out tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we head to Lake Tahoe, which Jason has probably been looking forward to the most. On the way, we’re going to Six Flags in Vallejo and swimming with the dolphins! Should be an awesome day!
Today we woke up early and got on the road to get into San Francisco at a decent time. We headed north out of San Luis Obispo on Hwy 1 (the PCH) and for about 40 miles it was a nice beautiful drive. Just before CA 156, the last road to cut over to CA 101, there was a sign which said the PCH was closed 33 miles ahead. So we had no choice but to head over to 101 and head north. It wasn’t the drive we were looking for, but it wasn’t bad either. In Monterey, around 100 miles later, we headed back to the PCH. The last part into San Francisco was a beautiful drive and was what we had been looking for the last two days. After we checked into our hotel, we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf. First stop was Ghirardelli Square, then we headed to Boudin for a nice sourdough round snack! YUMMM!!! From there we headed to Union Square via the cable car system. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, on top of Macy’s, which had an amazing view and was delicious of course. Tomorrow we are going to ride a tandem bike across the Golden Gate bridge, spend some more time at Fisherman’s Wharf, go on a tour at Boudin, visit Lombard street, and potentially go to an Oakland Athletics game. Long day!
We spent the day at the San Diego Zoo. It was crazy to think that a zoo that big is in the middle of a big city. We spent 5+ hours looking at all the animals. Jason’s favorite was the brown bear, which was pacing in the front of the exhibit the whole time we were watching. We actually went by the bears exhibits earlier in the day and couldn’t see any of them. We decided to try again…and we were glad we did. Following closely in second, was the polar bear. We watched it play with a ball in the water…from above and below the water. My favorite was the baby giraffe. It was so cute sitting under the momma giraffe. We also got to watch an elephant get a pedicure…yes, I said a pedicure.
Today was supposed to be a long, boring day of driving. We slept in a little bit this morning and left Prescott, AZ around 10am. We headed on 89 South, which turned out to be another great drive through the mountains, just a milder version of yesterday’s drive through Jerome. And then things got interesting. We were heading west on Arizona 60, which was very straight and boring. Jason then noticed in his rear view mirror, a car traveling west (like us) in the east bound lane. The problem was there was a pickup truck going east bound, heading straight towards each other. Jason watched as the pickup truck swerved to miss the car, which never budged. The car then flew passed us, going approximately 90 mph. We watched in shock, as he approached another pickup truck and a RV. Thankfully, both the truck and RV swerved to miss the car, which appeared to be playing a game of chicken. We immediately called 911 to report him as he quickly disappeared from our view. We continued down the road, expecting to see an accident or him pulled over at any time. Thirty minutes later, as we were approaching I-10, we saw the car crashed into brush on the side of the road. We then noticed a county sheriff with his gun drawn, looking for the driver in the vehicle. The driver was nowhere to be found, and we continued on our way. Things calmed down from there and we proceeded into California. Gas was $3.69 in Arizona and quickly rose to a whopping $4.43 (one mile over state lines). We headed south on California 78 for another long boring drive. Little did we know we ended up driving through what looked like Egypt. It turned out to be the Imperial Sand Dunes. For 5-10 miles, we were surrounded by massive sand dunes. It was beautiful. We arrived in El Centro at 4:30, which was supposed to be our final destination for the day. However, we decided to continue on to San Diego, just an hour and a half away. The biggest challenge of the drive was the wind, which was unbelievable. It was a constant 25-35 MPH through Arizona and California, with significant higher gusts! It certainly made things interesting at times!
Today started dark and early with a 4:45 wake up to head to the Grand Canyon to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely worth waking up so early! It’s amazing how early the sun comes up here, by 5:30 the sun had risen and it was bright outside! On our way back to the hotel we got see a male elk up close on the side of the road. He just stayed there grazing as we pulled over, turned around, and snapped a few pictures. We also saw a female and then another male across the street from the hotel in town! After going back to sleep for a couple of hours, we departed the Grand Canyon and headed toward Sedona. It was an absolutely beautiful drive on Arizona 180 thanks to Erin’s route guidance. We enjoyed a beautiful up close view of Arizona’s tallest peak, Humphrey’s Peak, as we made our way through the Kaibab National Forest and Coconino National Forest. After Flagstaff, we headed down 89A into Sedona. The views along the drive were breathtaking as we enjoyed the red rocks and canyons. Once in Sedona, we headed to the visitor’s information center to find a good hike that wouldn’t be too crowded. With their suggestion, we headed out to Baldwin Trail for a 2.4 mile loop with excellent views of cathedral rock. It was a nice easy hike with very nice views along the way. The worst part of the hike was the wind, which was a seemingly constant 25 mph. With all the red dirt, it covered our hiking boots and jeans pretty nicely. We’re sure we’ll be sneezing red sand for days! From there, we headed up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross which allowed for some spectacular views as well. We had planned on staying in Sedona until sunset, but we thought better of it and headed toward our stop for the night in Prescott Valley. We decided to ignore the GPS and go the scenic route, and we are glad we did. We headed south on Arizona 89A and what an amazing drive it was. We headed up about 4000 feet over 10-15 miles, passing through an awesome town called Jerome, at the top of the mountain which had just amazing views of the valley below. Erin didn’t enjoy the drive quite as much as I did, but it sure beat the interstate. We are at our hotel in Prescott Valley, ready to retire for the night. Tomorrow is just a day of driving to El Centro, CA just outside of San Diego.
Our morning was amazing. We drove to the Grand Canyon Airport for our helicopter ride. We saw spectacular views of the canyon from high above. We even dropped below the canyon rim for a different viewpoint. Our trip was 50 minutes long, which allowed us to see the North and South Rims. Words can’t describe what we saw. Parts of the ride were definitely turbulent, but all in all, uneventful.
Our flight out to Las Vegas was pretty uneventful. We left a little later than we were supposed to, but we were able to make up a little time in the air. It was a long 5.5 hour flight (nonstop). We watched TV shows on our computer, read books, played Phase 10, and planned outings at the Grand Canyon. The scenery was absolutely spectacular when we were flying into Las Vegas. By the time we landed and got to our rental car, it was 8:30 local time (11:30 our time). Needless to say, we were tired. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Café and returned back to the hotel and retired for the night. Tomorrow we’re heading to the Grand Canyon via the Hoover Dam. Erin has never been to the Grand Canyon and I can’t wait for her to see its magnificence!
