Arizona and Nevada 3

The last half of the trip included jet skiing for the first time and experiencing the famous Vegas nightlife. Unfortunately, I don't have many photos of the night time adventures; what was I thinking?!

My family, Johnny, and I rented a couple of jet skies and had a blast on Lake Havasu. When John tried to do a donut, we fell off the jet ski and it was quickly moving away from us. My uncle had to jump into the lake, swim to our jet ski and manually turn it off. It was such a funny situation, I was laughing my ass off during the whole ordeal. My Aunt had no problem going the fastest speed possible but Johnny and I were a bit of scaredy cats. We went fast but not nearly as fast as she did. I can't wait to do it again, I promised myself I would go faster.

If you ever get the chance, you've GOT to try jet skiing! It's such a fun and thrilling experience. The warm sun cascading on your skin, the water lightly spraying your face, and laughing with friends is the best.

Our night time adventures were really fun. I participated in an Anthony Cools' hypnotism show. I'm too embarrassed to tell you what I ended up doing, let's just say Johnny actually bought the $45 DVD as a form of blackmail (smart but cruel, Hell, I'd do it too).

Here's the last of the photos, enjoy!

Aunt & I Getting Ready (Uncle photo bombing in the back)

Getting Excited

That's Right, I Drove First

Had To Listen Carefully To The Instructor

Ready For Our Night On The Town

We're Also Charlie's Angels

MISC PHOTOS

Me, Aunt, and Grandma Up On Vegas' Eiffel Tower

Johnny & I In Vegas' Eiffel Tower

Me, Bumblebee (Transformers) and Aunt

Vintage Motel Sign In Phoenix, AZ

 What's your favorite water sport? 

Would you ever volunteer for a hypnotist show?

Arizona and Nevada 2

Here is part two of the Nevada and Arizona trip (part one). Johnny and I's 7th year anniversary took place while on vacation. In fact we were in Las Vegas on our anniversary (May 25). Once we had gotten settled into our hotels we ran off to the famous strip (it was the first time in Vegas for the both of us). We walked for so long that my feet still hurt! We visited Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef aquarium and later dined at the Sugar Factory. The day was just wonderful, filled with sharks, sting rays, creamy berry milkshakes, and amazingly good mac n' cheese balls. I recommend everyone who gets the chance to try the Sugar Factory. It's a lot like Max Brenner's, great food, a bit pricey, but did I mention the amazing food and desserts? They even a jolly rancher and smores martini, need I say more? Anyways, enough of the chatter and on with the photos.

On our way!

Crazy sand storm

Vegas Paris' Eiffel Tower

Vegas' Paris Restaurant

Infamous Vegas' Paris Hot Air Balloon

Serving beer late morning. It IS Vegas after all!

Reminds Me Of Disney Castle

Pretty Colorful Windows

Creepy Large Fish

Piranhas! Watch Your Fingers

Just Keep Swimming

Love The Silhouette

White Alligator

Fashionable Polka Dot Sting Ray

Johnny And His Berry Milkshake

My Milkshake (and it brings the all the boys to the yard)

 The 3rd and final part of the trip will be available tomorrow! 

 p.s. I'm a huge user of Instagram and many of the photos from the trip can be found through my instagram profile. Feel free to follow me @retrobelle24, see you all there!

Arizona and Nevada 1

I didn't want to overwhelm you with tons of photos in one post so I'll be breaking things up in a couple of posts.

The beginning of the trip was not very smooth and quite exhausting. The first flight got delayed a couple of hours which made us miss the connection flight and that connection was the last one for the night. Not wanting to spend extra money on a hotel room and there been almost no available rooms in Houston, TX, the family and I spent the night in the airport. And no, we hardly had any sleep and but when we did, we slept in the funkiest positions. The airport was so eerie and quiet at midnight, I felt like Tom Hank's character in "Terminal".

When we finally got to our first destination, Laughlin, NV, we all sighed a big breath of relief. Here is the first set of photos from my vacation to Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Houston airport at 2 am

Arizona's mountains (airplane view)

Finally on our way to Laughlin, NV (isn't he cute?!)

Arizona landscape

Hotel in Laugnlin, NV

Why does River Palms have a 13th floor? Isn't that unlucky?

 My uncle lives pretty much on the Nevada and Arizona state border so he took us on a wonderful tour of the surrounding area. We went to visit a little old mining town where people still live called Oatman, Arizona. Oatman, a former mining town which began a tent town and ocated in infamous Route 66, is a favorite tourist destination. There are cowboy shows, tons of cute shops, and wild roaming burros. You can read more about the town's history here and I suggest you do, it's fascinating! Here are some photos of my visit to Oatman.

Town Sign

Oatman's tiny post office

Famous wild burros (donkeys)

He stared right into my soul

Street view

Olive Oatman (the namesake of the town)

Best ice cream!

Glory Hole (har har har)

Dead man

Old fashion washing machine

Dead lady

Momma and baby burro

Oatman's landscape

Part two of the vacation photographs will be posted tomorrow

Stay tuned!

Vacation Ready

Today my family, Johnny, and I will be flying to Arizona and then Las Vegas for a 7 day vacation. I'm so excited and can't wait to start my adventure. I've never been to that side of the country and I'm looking forward to the new experiences and the infamous sunshine. I did a little weather research and this week is suppose to be just gorgeous, high temperature and sunny (lucky girl I am). With that in mind, I made sure to pack all my cute sundresses as well as a pair of navy capri for a possible hike.

I haven't gone on an extended vacation in a long time and I've realized how rusty my packing skills really are. To help those who are in the same position as me:

Simple Packing Tips

1. Make a list and check it often
2. Plan AHEAD your outfits for each day
3. Keep outfits and jewelry in the same color arena (less shoes and jewelry to bring)
4. Bring only a small amount of non valuable jewelry
5. Bring extra underwear
6. Pack a pair of sneakers and socks so you're always ready for an adventure
7. A few pairs of pajamas will do just fine
8. Pack 1 nice fancy "night on the town" outfit
9. Go small on the toiletries (the hotels will provide plenty)
10. Don't bring what you can't buy there (unless the prices are outrageously expensive)
11. Rolling, rather than folding, the clothes allows for more space
12. The TSA app can tell you what can and cannot be packed

Arizona

Las Vegas, Nevada

Where do you think I must visit in Arizona and in Las Vegas?