San Francisco, CA - Day 1

Day 38 - Sunday 18/7/10

We checked out at 7am and caught a cab to the airport for our 9.30am flight. Every time we went through airport security, we had to show our doctor's note stating that we could carry lemonade or juice in case of hypoglycaemia. We didn't have a problem with this anywhere except for Las Vegas airport where the TSAs were very suspicious of our bottle of 7UP. After much discussion and consulting supervisors, they finally decided to test the contents to ensure that it really was just 7UP. Now we had been carrying this drink around for awhile and it had obviously been shaken up a fair bit. So it was very hard to keep a straight face when it was opened and both the TSA agent and her supervisor were covered in lemonade! It was dripping off their faces and their shirts were sopping. It was very funny!

We finally got through security and had just enough time to grab some muffins for breakfast before boarding. It was only a short flight to San Francisco and we arrived just before 11am when we caught a taxi to Fisherman's Wharf. We checked into the Radisson but were told that our room wasn't ready yet, however when the bellhop was storing our luggage he got a call to say that our room was in fact ready so we went upstairs and dumped our luggage before heading down to Pier 39 in the search for some lunch.

We were very surprised at how cold it was! At 18C it was a huge drop in temperature from Las Vegas. We had a wander around the pier and decided on Players Sports Grill & Arcade where we had a really nice lunch.

We had just enough time for the boys to ride the carousel

before heading down to The Cannery for our Fire Engine Tour. This tour was so much fun! Marilyn and Captain Robert live in an old firehouse and take tours of San Francisco in the big, red, shiny Mack Fire Engine!

We drove through The Presdidio

and over The Golden Gate Bridge into Sausilito.

Marilyn taught us the Big, Red, Shiny Fire Engine song and we had to sing it as we drove across the bridge!

It was freezing,so Marilyn lent us some balaclavas, but everyone except Sammy and I were to fashion conscious to wear them.

We were returned to The Cannery at the end of the tour where we got ice cream before walking back to the hotel for a rest. At dinner time we headed downstairs to IHOP but Alex wasn't feeling well so he went back to the room while the kids and I ate. After dinner we returned to our room and watched some tv before having an early night. 

Las Vegas, NV Day 3

Day 37 - Saturday 17/7/10

We had decided to keep the hire car for another day, so we started early and drove out to the outlet malls. We had breakfast at McDonald's while we waited for the malls to open, then we checked out the shops. We picked up a few clothes and souvenirs and then headed back into town, stopping at the Las Vegas sign on the way.

We met some friends at Circus Circus where the kids had more McDonalds for lunch and we played a few arcade games. After saying goodbye to our friends, we took a drive around Downtown where we saw lots of weddings in progress.

The heat was getting to us so we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim. Unfortunately being Saturday afternoon meant that the pool was packed and not particularly family-friendly. We had a quick dip but there were so many people in the pool that it was impossible to swim. So we retreated to our air-conditioned room for a rest before it was time for our dinner show.

At dinner time we walked via NYNY, where we were impressed by this jelly bean Statue of Liberty,

to the Excalibur Hotel for the Tournament of Kings show.

The show was fun albeit pretty corny. Sam didn't like the meal so he didn't eat anything and he wasn't happy that we were sitting in the Dragon section, therefore cheering for the bad guy, so he didn't enjoy it at all.

After dinner we walked back over to NYNY, admiring our hotel on the way.

We had promised the kids that they could ride the rollercoaster at NYNY so that was our next stop

but when we tried to buy the tickets we were told that Sammy was just one cm too short. I wasn't too disappointed seeming as it was going to cost $60 just for Alex and the kids to ride! So we took a cab to The Venetian instead with the intention of taking a gondola ride

but there was a 45 minute wait and they'd only allow 4 people in a gondola, so we abandoned that plan and decided to walk back to our hotel via The Bellagio to watch the fountains.

It took us hours, but we finally made it back to the MGM where we packed up and went to bed ready for our early flight the next morning.

Las Vegas, NV Day 2 and The Grand Canyon

Day 36 - Friday 16/7/10

Alex and I were up at 5am so that he could pick up the hire car and I could get us organised for our road trip to The Grand Canyon. He was back by 6am when we bundled the kids into the car and headed out of town. First stop was IHOP for breakfast and then it was on to Hoover Dam, aka The Hottest Place On Earth according to Emily!

It was really too hot to hang around, so we took a few photos then got back in the car and crossed the border into Arizona. We drove for a couple of hours before we reached Eagle Point Grand Canyon West. We bought the Skywalk and lunch tour and hopped on the first bus which took us to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I was amazed that there weren't any barriers and we could walk right up to the edge! We took in the views from the rim and then lined up for the Skywalk which was okay but not as spectacular as one would imagine.

After the Skywalk we grabbed icecreams (which promptly melted!) and checked out the Hualapai Indian Reservation.

We then caught the bus to another location for lunch. We sat on the edge of The Grand Canyon to eat our chicken, ribs, potatoes and corn on the cob.

After lunch we returned to the entrance of the West Rim to retrieve the car. We then drove 70 miles to Kingman, AZ and Route 66. Once we hit Route 66 we drove east for awhile but there wasn't any sign of Radiator Springs! So we turned around and drove back down the longest unbroken stretch of The Mother Road!

After we'd driven up and down Route 66 we headed back to Nevada, stopping at a casino outside of Vegas for dinner. We had a great view of The Strip at night as we approached Las Vegas and the MGM Grand although I was so tired that I didn't get a good photo of it!