Lisa’s Travels

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon before? Up until February of this year, I hadn’t. I wondered why anybody would want to just see a hole in the ground. When we got there, it was all of 37 degrees and crazy windy. There was snow! I seriously couldn’t believe it. Yes, we all know what snow looks like, but I couldn’t believe there was this much snow in Arizona. I ended up having to buy a hat and gloves! I never thought in a million years I would have to pack that!

When Bill decided to stand here so I could take his picture, I thought for sure that he was going to get blown off. The crazy thing is that the rangers told us it was a light wind that day. Being from the Windy City, we know wind and this was no light wind! My fear of heights didn’t help either. However, by the end of the day, I was able to walk closer to the edge (not as quite as far as Bill). As you can see from the background, the Grand Canyon is a beautiful site.

Pictures don’t do this place justice at all. There are no words that describe how beautiful it is there. The part that amazes me the most is that when the Indians were living here it looked pretty much the same. It truly makes you feel insignificant. You feel like a speck in the history of the world (which is really what we are). It took millions of years to make this glorious site, and it is just awe inspiring.

The really cool thing about the Grand Canyon is that you can literally spend days there. We only planned for one, so we had to squish a lot of things in a short time period. There are several stops along the outside perimeter that you can visit. They actually have a map you can a follow and a sidewalk to hike on in some places. You also are able to hike into the Grand Canyon if you so desire. There are even signs telling you how long each trail is, how long it will take you, what you should pack with you (water and sandwiches), etc.

Even though each spot is still the Grand Canyon, it is truly a different view from each stop. Something that I didn’t know was that you can actually camp on site. The other thing that I had no idea is that there are actual hotels on site too! How awesome would it be to stay in one of those? The other cool thing was that you didn’t have to walk between stops either — there was a bus you could take for free! Bill and I walked most of the Grand Canyon, but by the end of the day, you get really tired. Plus, the last part of the trail was covered in snow, and we were in tennis shoes. I never thought to bring boots.

Running into the elk was very cool (not literally, of course!) We were driving in between stops and were very surprised to come across these elks!

When we left, this was the sight to see. The sunset was so beautiful. I highly recommend stopping at the Grand Canyon if you are in the area. I wish we would have planned for more than one day there!

Since my inlaws have a Hilton Timeshare that we have used many times, I can with confidence say that the Hilton Head South Carolina would be a great place to visit. Hilton is known for their quality, and I am sure that Hilton Head meets those expectations. Hilton Head SC has a little something for everything here. Outdoor activities include boating tours, parasailing, tennis, golf, kayaking and even surfing. There are soccer fields, picnic tables, and even a roller skating/skate board park. They even have golf packages if you enjoy that sport. For someone with little children, I was happy to see that there are ice cream shops and family-friendly restaurants all over. For those of us who like to shop while the boys play, they have 3 malls. Two of them are outlet malls too! There is also a variety of family owned businesses, boutiques, and unique gift shops.

The units come with a lot of things that are great to have. They include washer/dryer, linens, bath towels, start-up supplies of dishwasher and laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towels, fully equipped kitchen, iron and ironing board, and trash pickup and receptacles. I personally love having a washer/dryer unit. I get to pack less. When you are in your room at night, you are able to do laundry. I also don’t have to come home and have to do a zillion loads either! The other thing I love is the full kitchen. You can save a ton of money by heading to the grocery store and eating out of your room!

Can you see the town in the side of the hill there? That is Jerome, AZ. Never heard of it? Neither did I till we went to Arizona. This is a town with a very interesting history.Jerome was founded in 1876 and started off as a tent town. It later grew into a mining town of 15,000 and was known as the wickedest town in the West. This site had almost a billion dollars worth of copper. Many miners died due to explosices and unsafe conditions. World War I brought prosperity and growth for Jerome which flourished until the Great Depression in the 1930s. In its heyday, there were 13 hotels, 21 bars, and 8 “red light district” houses. At its lowest, the population was about 200. In the 60s, the hippies moved in and turned the town in an artists haven for tourists. Many of the original structures still are standing in Jerome.The owners built a home on the land that the mining was done on. Now, that home is a museum that allows you to see what life was life. For example, this is an electrical transformer: Here are a few other old items:

If you are visiting Arizona, I highly recommend that you visit Jerome. Its a small little quaint town that is worth visiting.

I think the craziest thing I did in Las Vegas was attend BlogWorld and PostieCon by myself. Crazy, because I am a stay at home mom who hates flying and hasn’t done anything alone in years. However, it was awesome. I got to meet a ton of my online friends and got to network with a ton of people. I also learned a lot. I even got to shake Mark Cuban’s hand. I know it doesn’t sound all that crazy, but for me, it is. That being said, I now find a list from Trusted Tours & Attractions of things to do in Las Vegas. They are not all wild and crazy, but they are definitely fun. Heck, if you are willing to travel, you can even set up an Alcatraz tour .

I wouldn’t say Vegas is too family friendly, so if you are looking for some family vacation ideas, you should definitely sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter newsletter. If you do, they have a contest that you can win an IPOD Nano! I know we are trying to figure out where to take the kids next year. I don’t want too expensive, but I definitely want it to be fun!

This is a must do activity while you are in Sedona. The tickets were $75 a piece for the Broken Arrow Tour, and it was worth every penny. The Broken Arrow Trail is only used by the Pink Jeep Tour company (they have other tours you can do for other prices — some more expensive, some less expensive). There is only permit given out for this trail a year, and they have it. You will not see these views anywhere else! However, if you are pregnant or if you have back problems, this tour is not for you. It is a tad rough (and that is an understatement!). They are open year round - 7 days a week in all weather. They go out in pretty much any kind of weather too. Where else could you get pictures like these?

Here a few more of the picture we took while on the tour (click here to enlarge):

On vacation, you can always use a bike to get places. It saves on the environment (if I learned anything from Arizona, it is that we can take so many lessons from the west about saving our planet. There are just so many little things that the rest of us should be doing to help preserve the Earth). You can enjoy the scenery so much more when you are in it. As you can see in the post before this one, we enjoy Red Rock Crossing State Park so much more, because we got to emerge ourselves into it. As you are enjoying the scenery, you also are helping yourself by exercising. I know in Arizona, our car was about $250 to rent (and that was the cheap one). I would have much rather used some cruiser bikes to get around. Cheaper, better for the environment, and better for you — this almost seems like a no brainer, doesn’t it?

If you want to be styling, you can even get bikes like this from Cruiser Style:

I love how it looks like a chopper! That being said, there is style for everyone. You can get more styles than just this one. They have cruisers for men, women, and even children. Find one you like and enjoy!

This is a State Park in Arizona, and it is awesome. Bill and I spent an entire morning hiking there. It was beautiful scenery and a nice cool morning. It was after the rain, so that is why everything looks wet. Most of the hiking we did there was off the beaten path, and it was great. Bill made a comment at one point that it was like being on Survivorman on the Discovery Channel. Here are our pictures from there. I know they make me want to go back!  Click here to see these pictures bigger.

One of the stops we made was at the Chapel of The Holy Cross. This church is literally built into the rock. It is an awesome sight to see. This is the church from road below:

This is heading into the church. Once you get inside the church, it is tad cosy. However, I would have loved to attend mass there. It is just such a pretty church. Below the church, there is a gift shop. The views from outside the church were also breathtaking. This is a must stop if you are in Sedona, Arizona. This church shows you the amazing things you can do when you put your mind to it.

These photos were taken on the Great Venture Tours:

One of the first things we did in Arizona was take Great Venture Tours - Sedona. I highly recommend this tour. Since we did this on our first full day there, we were able to see what we wanted to go back to. We also got a great feeling for where everything was. This tour is 3 hours long (actually, ours lasted a tad longer, but it was well worth it). We couldn’t have asked for a better guide. We learned why there are no street lights in Sedona (its so it doesn’t cover the night sky so everybody can see the stars) and why all the buildings looked so uniform (building codes). We were able to drive through Oak Creek Canyon, Uptown Sedona, Tlaquepaque and the Gallery District, Chapel of the Holy Cross. We even went up to the Airport Mesa and were able to see the aerial view of Sedona (plus it is a vortex site I think).

I would highly recommend that you take this tour! Here are a couple of pictures that we took: