Hello from the Grand Canyon! We have had a jam-packed week, ranging from amusement parks, beaches, to city streets and canyons. We have not wasted a minute here, and have been living in the moment and soaking in all that we can.
Before leaving Los Angeles, we made sure we experienced all of the rides at Disney and Universal. Also, one of our favorite things we did was visit Venice Beach. The local cafes, the epic skate park and the artists that lined the boardwalk were all amazing and so unique. The last thing on our LA bucket list was to see a celebrity. Not only did we see one, but we also met one! The host of the comedy show that we went to was Stephen Kramer Glickman! For those who don’t know who that is, he played Gustavo Kramer Rocque on Nickelodeon television series Big Time Rush. After the show, we all got to chat with him and take some pictures, it was awesome!
San Diego was nothing less than a dream. The beach was incredible and the waves were perfect. We started our session off with a quick surf lesson on the shore that taught us the proper position to lay on the board, our pop-ups and the stance we should hold while riding a wave. Once we all got the hang of that, we grabbed our wetsuits, leashed up to our boards and jumped into the ocean. It took some of us a couple of practice waves but with time we all were able to get up onto a wave. We will never forget the exhilarating feeling of catching our first wave while looking at the beautiful sandy shoreline of San Diego. On our last night in San Diego, we made a special stop at “In-N-Out” and tried the famous burgers and shakes. It did not disappoint!
Our drive to Las Vegas was one of the most beautiful drives yet. We slowly watched the greenery landscapes turn to sandy open deserts, with amazing mountains in the distance. We made a quick stop at the 7 Magic Mountains, which was an art installation of painted rocks that was located just outside of Las Vegas. Vegas was the funnest city yet on this trip. We made sure we visited all the famous hotels and ate amazing food! One of the most exciting days was when we visited the top of the Stratosphere and rode the Insanity, which was a ride located right on the edge of the tower. The ride was thrilling and it was such a beautiful view of the city strip, and almost all of the Trip Members rode it!
In the past few days, we have done a few hikes in the bright mountains of Utah. The views have been breathtaking and the fresh air has been great. We even took a drive in a tunnel that was built right under a huge mountain! We are very excited to be out in nature and living more in the moment while taking in all of these once in a lifetime views.
We also did our amazing hike along the Grand Canyon. We were in complete awe when we caught our first glance of the never-ending canyon. We hiked down the Bright Angel Trail and we were able to see the most incredible views.
Our trip comes to an end in just a few short days. We are bittersweet about leaving behind the amazing views and friends we met while on the trip but we are super excited to be reunited with our families, friends, and animals back home. Until then, we have a few more stops and activities to check off our list. See you all very soon!
The Westcoast Blogger
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