Month: April 2018

Nevada Part II

Being in the same place for almost two weeks has just reassured my concerns with going home and being bored in the same place. Although there is plenty to do here in Las Vegas and we’ve had four family members we’ve shared our time here with, it’s a lot of time in one place for us. There’s a bit of stir crazy happening and I’m ready to move on.

The joy of being here for a bit longer is we had the pleasure of spending time with my cousin Diana who lives here, my step bro James was in town for work and my in-laws flew in for a few days to visit. It’s been toasty so the pool was where we’ve been spending most of our time. However, my list of places to hike/see was reduced because it’s a bit too warm to be hiking in the great wide open. Not being in nature is really bumming me out! I’m excited for this upcoming weekend to start our month-long trek in Cali! My lists of to-dos are exploding and there’s a good mix of nature, nature, nature and a bit of city.

So, what happened this week…as I mentioned, my in-laws joined us for some Vegas fun. We saw some of the strip, took the girls to Circus Circus Adventuredome, hung by the pool, saw the amazing Cirque du Soleil show Mystere, and my MIL and the girls enjoyed some games/activities together. The show had a lot of gymnastics elements so the girls were wild about it and I highly recommend it if you can bring your kids.

The rest of our time here we are going to see more of the strip, enjoy more pool time, try and get some early morning hiking in so my want-to-see-list doesn’t completely go to poo-poo. There’s truly so much to do here, especially with kids, but we are really enjoying some pool time. We are planning a big Trader Joe’s trip before we leave, even though we know Cali will have them thank goodness. Last night we had to get Natalie a few clothing items because she never ever stops growing and of course we needed fro yo on a warm evening. The girls and I drove down the strip with the windows open just because too.

Now that we’ve hit the second half of our trip, I’m trying not to focus on the going home part but trying to embrace our time even more than I was before. This has been the most amazing part of my life and I’m so blessed everyday on this journey! I hope everyone who reads this gets to experience something that makes you as happy as this journey does for me!

Here’s a pic of our new air plants and the holders the girls and I made for them. Also, some Vegas-y pix for your viewing pleasure…

Nevada-ahhh

img_1436Every state in the Southwest gives me the ahhhhs in case you’re wondering why my titles are repetitive. So, Nevada, especially Las Vegas does not normally give anyone a calming feeling but I am in ahhhhh because we are still living this magical life.

This post is about to get real and most of you may not understand this, want to hear this, or respect this but this blog isn’t about making anyone happy but about me being real about this journey. If you don’t know me, my major/degree from college was English-Writing. Writing is my outlet, followed by being in nature and reading. Raw and real is who I am and I am always making an effort not to sugar coat, fake, or pretend about anything in my life. I love who I am in my late 30’s, love who I am to and with my girls, love the team/friendship/romance my husband and I share, love who I am in my faith, love who I have become and continue to flourish being along this journey!

I don’t want to go “home” to New Jersey! Living in our current 300+ foot home feels just as much home as it did before me moved. No doubt that our newest sticks and bricks, our new town, where we lived in for less than two months before we departed on our journey, will have a homey feel. We are just so content, happy, out of the bubble in the RV and seeing so much beauty that I can not imagine going back to live in one place, that is overly expensive, and where it’s not warm or at least comfortable temperature most of the time. Lord knows that if we didn’t have family tying us to New Jersey, Shaun and I would have nooooooooooo problem leaving and relocating to one of the many places we’ve found along the journey that we’ve loved. I can’t even begin to count the times Shaun and I have said, “we could live here” as we are traveling.

So why go back? We’ve asked this question of ourselves a lot. Currently a better majority of our important people are in NJ. It’s important for the girls to be near family at their young ages. However, let me tell you that they both would move to Florida in a heartbeat no questions asked. Between the weather, beaches, there’s still stuff around, we now have some family there, and there’s lots of fun to be had that even they could see the pluses. They loved other places, but with family there it, was the top pick for them.

Where will Shaun and I end up after they’re done with high school? That’s the million dollar question. We know we’d keep some sort of homebase(s) near where the girls settled down, like a condo or townhouse. However, I think we would go right back to being full-timers and really re-embracing a home on wheels. It’s the dream and dreaming about it is so much fun! Although I’m not rushing that moment because that’d mean that my babies won’t be babies anymore and I can not deal with that one bit!

I will always do what is best for my babies but the option to live an amazing existence is not doing that just the same. Also, my girls love this life! They love seeing new places, meeting new people, following the beautiful weather, and they really love us being together. Obviously there are moments where one of the four of us is ready to take out another one of us but that happens in the biggest of dwellings.

So, I ask, why not live out of the box or at least the sticks and bricks box?!

On the note I started with, we are in Nevada! The first couple of days we just enjoyed the pool and chilled in the warm sun. Yesterday though was a super fun day. First, we went on an amazing hike in Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area with my cousin Diana who lives here. It was the perfect weather for a hike. We also saw a lot of petroglyphs, which I’m obsessed with. There were a lot of really cool ones too. It was a great first half to our day and we are planning another hike with her next week too!

For dinner, we met up with my step-bro, James. We went to the renown buffet at the Wynn. It was NO JOKE! We stuffed our faces with dinner, caught up on life, and then stuffed our faces with the endless desserts. We putzed the hotel/casino a bit and they have a lot to see in there. The girls really loved the floral displays and wacky, for sale art too.

So much more of Nevada to see over the next week and then we head back into nature to feed my soul.

 

Utah-mazing Part II

1 Comment

So we sadly left Moab, Utah and headed toward Zion Canyon National Park. We arrived in the Zion area on Wednesday, set up, and really truly set up camp since we are here for a whole week. After spending the first two and half months of our journey spending longer time place, we realized we aren’t going to see much else unless we spend shorter times at campgrounds and actively see things and move on. So, to be here for a whole week is long as of lately.

Our first night my romantic husband and I sat outside, cuddling, and watching the stars in the darkest state. I can not even explain the beauty you can see when you look up at the sky in Utah. I thought the sky in Eagle Lake, PA when I was growing up, hanging out on Leach Field was breathtaking but nothing compares to this Utah sky. Mainly we set up camp so we could chill, be comfortable and enjoy our time when our visitors get here…MUSHY AND POPPY! AKA my mom and Ronnie (step-dad but way more important and awesome).

Let me just quickly explain how much they wanted to be here, Ronnie is supposed to give 45 days notice before taking time off but they arranged to be here within two weeks. That’s love! And don’t be confused, it’s not love for me and Shaun but totally for the girls lol. In preparation I put together a very detailed and active agenda. They arrived Thursday, came straight to us, and we sat by the fire staring at the amazing stars and enjoying our time together.

Friday morning we picked them up and went to Bryce Canyon National Park. Again, and I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this, but the park blew me away. I expected a canyon smaller than The Grand Canyon and it was but totally different. This park has Hoodoos, which are amazing and crazy different from anything else we had ever seen. We hiked the Queens Garden with the Navajo Trail Loop and getting deep into the park and climbing back up gave us a real look at everything from top to bottom. The elevation change was more than I had expected but everyone hiked it like champs and we all really appreciated the drastic scenery. It was a total of 4 miles with a 1.5 mile 600 foot elevation gain. My amazing parents rocked this hike in their late 50’s/early 60’s like champs!

Saturday we surprised them with an off-roading 6-seater vehicle. We arrived at their hotel after they ate breakfast with the girls who slept over. Originally we just rented them for Ronnie and Shaun but my mom seemed disappointed so we changed it to a 6-seater. They were so surprised, excited and thankful! We arrived at the Coral Pink Sands State Park with the OTV in tow and hopped on. We ba-ha’d for hours and had the greatest time! After we headed into the town in Zion, Springdale and got Thai for lunch.

Then my mom took the girls for ice cream and a party in her hotel room while Shaun, Ronnie and I hit Hurricane for more OTV’ing. They had so much fun and we had even more fun, in my opinion. Ronnie, Shaun and I drove through the desert trails and really enjoyed every moment! Eventually dark clouds started penetrating our blue skies but we kept going. Eventually we stopped to talk to a dirt biker regarding the weather and they were unsure whether to go back or keep riding but told us to do if lightning strikes and that was enough for me to make the guys go back. I told them they could leave me at the safe, grounded car and they could risk their lives but we all headed back to safety and as we did hail started, lightning bolts struck and we followed dirt bikers doing the same. We arrived safely back to the truck loaded up and bailed out of there. We hit our favorite new coffee shop that brewed their own coffee and added it to an amazing stout beer and went to see mom and the girls. On the way home the sky cleared and the sunset was totally stop worthy and awe-some!

Sunday the rents and kids met us at the campground, we headed into Zion and hiked a bit. After we had a surprise planned and headed toward Antelope Canyon (if you’ve never heard of it, Google it). We arrived we checked in and got an earlier slot…winning! I was a little hesitant to be stuck in a slot canyon without the ability to get out (as I posted earlier about my agoraphobia). The guy working their eased my issues because it is only ¼ mile from start to finish and you can see the sky at all times. It was easy to get through and was one of the most beautiful, unique places any of us had ever been. We used the Navajo Tours company and our tour guide, Abraham, was AMAZING!!!! We could not stop talking about how we would have missed out had we not gone. GO!!!!

The girls slept over my parents again but had an early flight so they swung by early with them to say goodbye. My mother almost forgot to drop them back off…;)  We were sad to see them leave! It was one of the best, fun, and memorable parts of our trip and we were so thankful they came to see us, my mom for the second time. After they left we hiked Zion for the next two day and did some recouping from all of the fun with them.

One week since we arrived, we will be heading out of Zion but be in Utah until Sunday. I am so sad to leave Utah but excited for our next stop here and for the resort we’ll be in after we depart Utah. Zion was good to us!

We arrived in Torrey, Utah ready to hike Capitol Reef and maybe some surrounding areas. The day after we arrived the weather turned colder and windier, then we received high wind warnings so we hunkered in for a rest/cleaning/chill/movie day to prep for hiking the next day. However, the winds were worse and it was colder the next day. Disregarding the weather and determined to see the park, we set off. Hitting the visitor center to get our Jr Ranger books we were informed that there were some fun kids activities happening. We arrived at the Nature Center and quickly made friends with another family there full-timing. We spent an hour there with them, went to the Gifford house for amazing, fresh, homemade pie, and proceeded to sit outside with them while the kids played, had handstand competitions, and played in the river.

Capitol Reef was also awesome because I got to see some more amazing Petroglyphs which I am slightly obsessed with. Like the cactus, tumble weed, and sunsets, petroglyphs are an amazing God preserved part of the past and I can not get enough.

 

As much as I enjoy just being in my happy bubble with my family, it was refreshing to my soul to touch base with our people and have a fun convo. We parted ways, returned home to pack up for the next morning, and get to bed early. Next morning, we depart early and depart from our beloved Utah. More of the US of A to see!!!

This is my new favorite pic that I found that I want to post and am deeply in love with! My next post is going to be one of those real, raw posts about how I feel after living in the RV, traveling with my family full-time for the past 3 1/2 month and only having about 4 months left.

img_1074-1

Arizona to Utah-mazingest!!!!

1 Comment

Although we had great fun in Phoenix chillin’ like villains, we had even more fun in the coming days. Still in Arizona, we hit the Grand Canyon. I feel like this was a big milestone in our trip because it is one of the most iconic, most visited, and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

Honestly, Shaun and I expected to get there, look out at the canyon, be in awe of it’s largness, and that be that. Once again, to our surprise there was so much more to it than that. It was sooo much larger than we’d ever imagined, so much more beautiful, and had so many different facets to it. It literally moved me to tears the beauty and overall momentous experience of our being there.

Day 1 we arrived early at the park, hit the Visitor Center for our Jr Ranger books, and decided to conquer the whole red trail of the South Rim, approximately 5 miles. It was a little brisk as we started the day but figured we have NJ blood and can handle it! Two miles in the wind picked up a lot and it became unfun. We, along with everyone else at the park, rushed to the shuttle bus lines to get the heck out to there. What we had seen and experienced already had left us pumped for Day 2.

Day 2, we got there a bit late, waited to get through the ranger check-in for an hour, it took us another hour to get the shuttle to pick up our hike where we’d left off, and by the time we arrived to our start point it had taken us three hours. So we have learned to get to the parks earlllllly!!! We finished our hike and felt great about it! We also saw a lot of elk which was killer!

img_0498Day 3 we woke to watch the sunrise. Running a little bit late, we rushed leading to a speeding ticket in the Grand Canyon by a Park Ranger. Buuuuut we made it for the sunrise and it was spectacular! After attending a fossil trek, the girls earned their Jr Ranger badges. MOM TIP: If I haven’t mentioned it before, the girls love earning their Jr Ranger badges at the National Parks/Monuments/etc…  Not only do they learn so much while we are in the parks, Shaun and I learn a lot too. It’s a great way for the whole family to learn about the place you’re in, be engaged, and collect something memorable.

We loved watching the sunrise so much that we went to watch it again Day 4. Thankfully we did so sans a speeding ticket and, again, it was totally worth the early alarm. Two early mornings led us to a nice down day. Hanging at the campground, going to watch the IMAX Grand Canyon movie (TIP: the movie is dated, like from the 80’s, and a waste of money), and some family fun card games rounded out the rest of the day.

A little insider info…we have really learned to love playing card games together and do it a lot in our evenings. Finding card games that keep Shaun entertained (yes, that’s my husband), while making sure the girls (ages 10 and 7) can grasp the concept and abilities is a bit challenging but doable. We have a few favorites, Quixx, Dutch Blitz, and Phase 10 are our favorites right now. I am also working on teaching them how to play Rummy to get to 500 Rummy which is my favorite card game and Shaun and I play that a lot.

img_0592After the Grand Canyon we ventured out of Arizona to Utah. What did we know of Utah…NADA! No expectations, real bucket list items or high hopes. With that said we headed toward the MOAB area to check out Canyonlands and Arches. I’d seen lots of pictures of Arches and knew that our pictures would be epic but other that than that’s that.

Day 1 we headed to the Canyonlands…WOW! It blew us away! We took the Grand View Point trail and the views, terrain, and overall greatness of this park surprised us in a most pleasant way. We drove through and stopped at some of the view points which were more and more breathtaking each time. Lastly, we hiked the Mesa Arch trail to see one of the most famous arches, the Mesa Arch, our first arch of the trip, and it was a definite highlight of this day. Then the girls earned their Jr Ranger badges, I bought our magnet and our post card, and we got our signature pic in front of the park sign to end the day.

Day 2 makes it to one of my top days on our journey and made me well up multiple times. We woke up our girls at 4:30am but they weren’t complaining because the Easter bunny had come. After finding Easter eggs and checking out their baskets we all dressed in hiking clothes to head to the Arches. We arrived at La Sal Mountain Overlook at 6:15am to attend an Easter Sunrise Church Service. God was most present on this Holy morning with his astounding creation surrounding us while the sun rose, singing beautiful worship songs, and being able to start the day remembering how good God is.

After the service, we drove to, ironically, a 4 mile trail called the Devil’s Garden. This trail was marked, and not mis-marked in anyyyy way, difficult. The hike itself was amazing, maneuvering up boulders, fancy footwork, and sandy slickrock was required, and we were super impressed how well the girls did. Along the path were a few arches, but most magnificent was Double O Arch. Determined to see the most iconic arch of all, Delicate Arch, we made our way to the next trailhead. Thinking it was 2 miles out and back only to arrive and find out it was 3 miles out and back, we were still going forward. Unknowing we started the 1.5 miles to get to Delicate Arch  which was a 600 foot elevation increase and there was no shade at all as it was almost all slickrock. Wiped from the first hike, now hotter out, and having gotten up at 4:30am..it kicked out butts As we rounded the narrow trail along a mountain with a very far drop down, the view of the arch made the hard work totally worth it. The hike back was a dream and I finnnnnallllly got to see some petroglyphs en route. We arrived home, yes to our home on wheels, to enjoy some much deserved Easter bunny treats and libations/lemonade and enjoy our glorious God given day. Thankful for our abilities to do what we did, free to celebrate our King of Kings, and blessed to rest together as a family living life to the fullest on this journey.

Day 3 in MOAB, aka Shaun’s favorite day, we rented an ATV and headed out to the trails. We saw some real dinosaur bones off of Dinosaur Trail, the gorgeous Uranium Arch, and had a BLAST!!! Uranium Arch was one of my highlights of the day because in the National Parks you are forbidden to climb on the arches but being out in the desert without anyone around, the girls and I climbed onto the arch and got the coveted arch picture that I will definitely treasure forever. Bahaing through the lands just the four of us, barely seeing anyone, surrounded by some of the most beautiful views, we couldn’t be happier. A lot of whooping, hands in the air, and screaming fun was had.

Day 4 we were beat! We brought the Arches Jr Ranger books to the Visitor Center, the girls received their badges, we putzed the shops in MOAB and got a yummy lunch. Unsure of one of our stops I asked the ranger for advice and he was so knowledgeable and patient. The rangers are usually a wealth of knowledge but this ranger was super. Thankfully I asked him, got his advice and went home to cancel one our reservations, made another one and did a bunch of research for our new stop en route.

This morning we are setting off to another local in Utah, which has quickly become one of our top states. However, before our departure we had a HUGE RV life fail. Our toilet overflowed in our master bathroom penetrating other parts of the RV and there was a lot of overflow! This required a Walmart stop before arriving at the next campground since I used all of our bath towels, beach towels, throw blankets, door mat, paper towels and kitchen towels to clean up the mess and a lot of extra time out of our day. Our second mishap of the day occurred when we were about 10 miles from our campground, ready to settle in and chill out. A sign stating “small tunnel ahead” appeared. After asking a ranger he said you needed a permit to go through annnnnnd it already closed for the day. Long story short we had to drive a big loop around Zion to get to our campground that took another 1 1/2 hours. I always check the campground websites because sometime they give you tips for driving a big, heavy, long vehicle but this campground failed me. We did arrive to the best site they had, the clearest, starriest night we’ve ever seen, and just peace. You live and learn and recover from the hiccups in life!

Here’s some fun normal life pix of our life this week!