We ended up driving through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. Tom and I have made the drive 2 or 3 times before on our own and loved it. There are places to stop on the way. We stopped at the meteor crater in Arizona. That was something different the kids had never seen before. I was surprised that Dominique actually stepped close to the ledge to get closer look in the viewers they had. She is extremely scared of heights and that was really high!
Our next stop was in Flagstaff, Arizona. This is our favorite spot to stop for the night. We were able to drive around town and show the kids why we love it. There are national forests nearby, the air smells so CLEAN and unpolluted, everyone walks and bikes everywhere, the mountains are beautiful, and the weather is cooler. Both of the kids fell in love with that city as well. We actually contemplated about moving to that city when we were looking to buy our current house, but there were no computer jobs in the market there for Tom. After a good night's rest we got up that morning and drove around a local college campus and a national forest. The national forest was amazing!
Just before making it to Las Vegas our next stop was the Hoover Damn. That sucker is huge. We joke around with the kids because we all went in the restrooms that were right on top of the damn. We like to tell everyone we peed on top of the Hoover Damn. We didn't have time for a tour on the inside so we just walked around the outside and took pictures. It is still impressive.
After making it to Vegas we pulled into our hotel at the MGM Grand. Both Tom and I tried explaining to the children how big everything is there. Things are big in Texas, but not like in Vegas. There was one moment that I will never forget when we were waiting in line to check in . Anthony looked over at all the machines that were blinking and making noises. He said with an excited look on his face, " look at that arcade!" I just laughed and had to tell him that wasn't an arcade. It was the casino. I will always remember that moment. We made it just in time for dinner that evening. We went to Fat Daddys for dinner and walked around the strip in the evening for a bit. All the sights, lights and sounds ended up being information overload. It was a bit much to take in all at once. We spent two nights in Vegas before ending the trip and heading back home. The kids didn't get to see the whole strip, but I think they got to see enough. As Anthony puts it now, "Vegas is NOT a place for kids". If you have been on the Vegas strip at night, you know why. We still all had fun.
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