Grand Canyon...

We left LA about 7am and headed for the Grand Canyon it took about 8 hours to get there. We arrived about 3pm and immediately jumped on the shuttle bus so that we could get started. We went to South Kaibab Trailhead which was absolutely amazing. I don't know what I thought the Grand Canyon was going to look like but I was aw struck. It was a sunny day with some cloud coverage which made it hard to see in the distance but it was so neat the way the clouds and the earth met in the distance. Bree and I took our obligatory pictures on the cliff's edge and then proceeded to the shuttle bus stop where we were greeted by some ELK drinking out of the human water fountain. Totally Freaky! We took the shuttle bus up to Yaki Point and took some more pictures and Bree found her "Thinking Rock"...
We decided to go to the village and eat something and buy our post cards and magnets. The village was pretty cool there were lots of shops and it was like a little village...i guess that's why they call it Grand Canyon Village!
We loaded up on the shuttle bus again and headed to Powell Point and Mojave Point. We enjoyed each and every stop on our little Grand Canyon adventure. Bree was very particular about the different points that we went to because she didn't want to see the same rocks over and over again....yes I know she is weird!
She also decided that she wants to come back and hike and camp and I made it very clear I would not be coming with her.

4/5 hours in the Grand Canyon was absolutely amazing and worth every minute a good end to a long trip! Bree will definitely be back.

Los Angeles

We left San Diego about 7am and arrived in LA about 9am. There was hardly any traffic which was nice (it was the 4^th of July). We drove straight to Hollywood Blvd so that we could do the touristy stuff before all the other tourists got there. We went to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre,  we walked the stars, we went shopping at Hollywood and Highland, we went looking for the beach and couldn’t find it.

We stood in line for roughly 20 minutes waiting to get into Madame Tussuad's. We took hilarious pictures with all of the wax figures and generally made fools of ourselves. We laughed so hard we nearly peed in our pants. Those figures look very similar, some are better than others but overall a very fun thing to do.

We went shopping at the Beverly Center which has a ton of stores I’ve never been in mixed with ones we have right here in Knoxville, TN. The Abecrombie store is no different in LA…just saying.  The Jimmy Choo store on the other hand is absolutely amazing! I think Bree was going to die when she saw how much those shoes cost. Macy’s is always a favorite and we were lucky enough to find some great things on the clearance rack and we got to use our 15% off coupon!!! Yippeeeeee!

We drove to the WB Studio and did the VIP tour because you know me and Bree are soooo VIP! There are a ton of studio tours in LA but there was only one for Bree and I! WB is the home of Gilmore Girls, well actually it's an ABC family show but the sets were at WB Studios! If you have never seen Gilmore Girls then you are missing out, if you have then you know it closely resembles my life with Bree. If you've never seen it....WATCH IT! I also enjoy another show on the WB which is Pretty Little Liars, not exactly family television, but it keeps me interested and I get tired of watching Law & Order all the time. Highlights from the tour: 

Each tour is different and geared toward the group taking the tour. There are some things that every tour guide does but they are also allowed to do more of one thing and not something else which makes it absolutely amazing. We had some huge Big Bang Theory enthusiasts on our tour so we were able to see where they film that show when it's not on hiatus. We saw many of the sets and learned about the way sitcoms are shot in terms of camera and angles. We also had some huge Harry Potter Fans on our tour, Bree and I being two of them. Harry Potter was not shot in the states at this WB studio it was shot in the studio in England and some of the props and costumes where in the WB museum that's somewhere in the middle of the Studio lot. The whole second floor of the building is Harry Potter stuff, it was SOOOOOOO coool! If you felt so inclined your tour guide was able to sort you with the sorting hat from the movies, whithout hesitation Bree and I were sorted. I was placed in Hufflepuff and Bree was placed in Slytherin! Can I just say that must have been one of my favorite parts of that tour! We saw the Nimbus 2000, Cedric Diggory's costume from the Goblet of Fire, we saw the quidditch stuff and all of it was as awesome as it could have ever been! Absolutely the coolest thing ever! 

We drove up to  the Santa Monica Pier and Bree got to put her feet in the Pacific Ocean while I took pictures! It was so very crowded because of the holiday we decided not to go onto the pier. We did a very abbreviated version of everything there is to do in LA. We drove back down to LA and found our hotel just in time for Bree to see the Hollywood sign and the four different fireworks displays that where around us. 

Overall LA is a very interesting place...TO VISIT! 

San Diego

We left Yuma about 6am and got to the San Diego wildlife park at 9am. Bree and I enjoyed the drive through the mountains sometimes reaching 4k feet .

Wildlife park - We took the African Tram Safari first, it lasts about thirty minutes. We saw many different animals that are native to Africa. We liked it so much we took it again that way we were able to get all the pictures we wanted. There were a lot of different exhibits but we were only interested in the African exhibit.

Birch aquarium - This was a surprise for Bree, she was elated! UC -San Diego uses this facility for research which peaked Bree's interest in CA schools. The aquarium was small but full of info. Bonus, we got a great view of the coast line.

San Diego Zoo- This zoo is the largest zoo we have ever visited ! Reference Knoxvillians - you could put at least four /five of the Knoxville Zoo inside this zoo. Reference Floridians -you could put three Miami metro zoo's inside this zoo. We took the bus tour first so we could become familiar with the layout and plan where we wanted to go. We were able to see 75% of the zoo on the tour. After the bus tour Bree and I got our faces painted, I was a tiger Bree got a zebra. We decided to take the skyfreri up to the artic to see the poler bears first (I almost died ...I did not like that ride). After the polr bears we walked to see the elephants and their friends. We detoured to China to visit the pandas which I recommend viewing online. Then Bree made me walk what seemed like a million miles to see the zebras. Bree spent about twenty minutes watching, reading, and taking pictures of her beloved animal friend. We took the bus to the cat trail where we were able to see many species. The zoo was amazing, overall San Diego was everything we wanted it to be!
Note to self,go back !

New Mexico with Family!

Bree and I had an amazing time with family Thursday-Monday! We went to Chaco Canyon and almost killed our first tour guide...luckily we had a fantastic second guide (Cousin Stephanie). We touched the Rio Grande, saw old Route 66 and old new Route 66. We saw old town Albuquerque, and went to the pueblo cultural center/museum where we saw a pueblo indian rain dance.
We had an absolutely amazing time learning and enjoying family!!!

The heat an elevation almost killed me but my Cousin took good care of me..hydrate and rest!

Chaco Canyon was by far the coolest part of the visit with family. Our whole family became Junior Rangers! We got badges and everything! My little cousin Garnet got a junior ranger vest to put all her future badge on and was the entertainment on our tour of the canyon. The thing that impressed Bree and I most about Pueblo Bonito was the structure itself. We can't build houses now that withstand tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding but people thousands of years ago could build multilevel structures with roofs and floors and windows and doors.?????
The structures themselves were constructed so soundly and with perfect angles and straight lines! Freaking Amazing!

Old Town Albequrque was also interesting! We visited an old church that had beautiful stained glass windows and statues and was still in its original building. We walked around the square and saw a lot of old buildings that were so beautiful.

The Pueblo Cultural Center was enlightening! The museum outlined the time line of Native American people and there struggles throughout American History. Garnet, Briana and I weaved on a loom and made clay pots. We were also able to see a pueblo rain dance.

Route 66 was fun!!! We broke a window, got chased by police...J/k
We took a picture in front of a neon sign store and the window was already broken we just leaned against it a little too hard and a few minutes later we saw police cars racing by! We ate at a 50's dinner and saw an enormous collection of pez dispensers!

Amazing time!!!