Grand Adventures

Good evening, friends!

I'm currently in Flagstaff, Arizona and got here around 3PM yesterday afternoon. Guess what was happening on my way here? There was hail and light snow! I experienced my first snowfall last April in Colorado, but it was really wet snow and finally this time, I experienced actual, fluffy snowfall. We're currently staying at the Courtyard Marriott hotel and when we walked into the hotel room, it was really homey and I felt like I was staying at a friend's apartment. I'm rooming with my two younger twin cousins and my 14-year-old cousin, Emily. We're having a blast in the room by ourselves!

Walking along the CO River

Yesterday, we checked out of the Avi hotel and had breakfast in another hotel casino in Laughlin called the Aquarius hotel. It was super clean and we ended up having the breakfast buffet there, but buffets... are not my thing! I get full way too fast and really end up not eating my fill haha. Afterwards, we walked along the Colorado River and took a ton of photos.

Chey & Cousin in the Snow

It was snowing and it was about 28 degrees Fahrenheit out so there happened to be a Big 5 store down the street from the hotel. My parents, my cousin, Trisha, and I drove over and bought some warmer jackets because we definitely weren't prepared for the low temperatures. For me, at least, when I picture Arizona, I think of complete desert, hot and sticky temperatures and lots of people walking around. Aside from the complete desert, it was pretty much the opposite. But, being complete Californians and overreacting at the sight of snow, my mom pulled out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures of me and my cousin in the Big 5 parking lot! That night, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the comfort of our room. We went out to dinner at a pizza place called Peter Piper Pizza and there was an arcade and that definitely brought the inner child in me out. My cousins, Emily and Trisha, and I spotted a Michaels on our way to the Pizza Parlor and guess what... we ended up going! Every time that we went out, somehow we just ended up throwing snow at each other and got extremely cold. Then, we ended our really long day with a good night's sleep.

Giant Dinosaur Slide at Bedrock City

Today, I woke up at 7:00 AM, took a shower, cleaned up my belongings and we set out for the Grand Canyon. Yes, the Grand Canyon! And that's the whole reason for this trip, everyone! Before hitting the reason behind this road trip, our group stopped at the Bedrock City, best known for the setting in the cartoon, The Flintstones. It was so cute and I absolutely loved it there! There was a giant dinosaur slide, the cartoon animals in statue form and the characters in statue form as well. And last, but not least, there was a goat who was super friendly; however, it was stuck in a small cage and that made me prettttty sad. Not so much of a surprise now, but we took additional pictures there and I actually put the camera on a self-timer for 10 seconds and sprinted in between where our group was taking a picture and where the camera was placed.

Me Risking My Life for a Picture

Finally, we were on our way, driving towards the Grand Canyon National Park! Parking was a bit of a hassle, but when we were out of the car and on the trail, the Grand Canyon itself was completely magnificent. It's one thing seeing its incredibility in pictures, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. The view was breathtaking and you were able to stand as close to the edge as you wanted to, although I would not recommend it. My legs definitely turned into noodles while standing just about a foot away from the edge. The depth of the canyon was insane. We walked to the little museum and stayed at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for about two hours and then we drove over to the North Rim Lookout Tower. It was basically just a really tall tower where you looked over the Grand Canyon again. But this time, you could spot the Colorado River clearly and I was up super high! There was a really exhausting stair workout to get to the fourth floor, but it was absolutely worth it. I walked back down to the second floor and stayed at the observation deck for a bit. After staying there for another two-ish hours, we headed back to Flagstaff and grabbed dinner at Red Lobster. It was my first time there, too and it was really delicious! Now, it's our last night at the Courtyard Marriott and I'm so bummed because this means that the end of Spring Break is coming soon... Oh well, I'm also excited to head home too, I guess!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Heart Hope by Oh Wonder