Easter in Bryce Canyon
During our drive from Zion to Bryce we confirmed that k is prone to carsickness, and that we should always have her take Dramamine as a precautionary measure on road trips. She was not doing too well, so we stopped at a small cafe in Hatch. I gave her some Sierra Mist and it worked like magic!
We entered Bryce Canyon National Park and drove on the scenic drive all the way to the end to Rainbow Point.
There we ate our sandwiches on some picnic tables (caprese and roast beef). Next we hiked the Bristlecone Loop Trail. There were a few patches of snow in the beginning, but we did not let that deter us. We kept going, and there was even more snow. I wanted to turn back at that point, but D was determined. We made the 1 mile roundtrip with many stops to carry the kids over snow patches/ice. If the Riverside Walk in Zion was the longest 2 miles I have ever hiked, this was definitely the longest mile I have hiked.
It wasn’t until I looked at this picture later that I realized how far n is leaning over the edge!
We drove back along the scenic route, stopping at the Natural Bridge and Bryce Point.
Then we went back to the Visitor’s Center where I stamped by National Park passport and we watched a short film about Bryce.
Although it was past 3 p.m. by this time, when we tried to check into our hotel, we were told that that the room was not ready (check-in was officially 4 p.m.). We killed some time by going across the street to fill up on gas and go to Ruby’s General Store. D noted that the town just outside of Bryce is much more hokey/kitschy than Zion. D stayed in the car while n took a nap. Meanwhile, k and I filled a bag with polished stones as a souvenir from the general store. After some more hassle, we finally checked into our hotel room. Since we hadn’t showered in a couple of days, this is just what we needed.
Waiting in the lobby…
Watching Netflix on Kindle Fire.
“Clean Remote” with a disposable cover. I think there was some sort of study that determined that the remote control is one of the dirtiest things in a hotel room–ew.
After washing up/relaxing we went to Bryce Canyon Pines restaurant.
I ordered the hot turkey sandwich (Thanksgiving on Easter!)
D ordered a chicken sandwich with ham and cheese (yes, there is chicken underneath all of that cheese)
The kids shared our entrees with us and then we all shared a slice of blueberry banana cream pie.
Although there is not much choice in Bryce, restaurant-wise, we enjoyed this meal.
We went back to the hotel and enjoyed sleeping in beds. After camping in such cold temperatures, the hotel room actually felt too warm!
One More Zion Post
Sunday morning we packed everything up and drove to our next leg of the trip: Bryce Canyon National Park. But first, let me include some more pictures of our camping trip in Zion. This was our first night camping for two nights and our first time camping in a state other than California. Despite my worries, it was fun!
In preparation for high winds, I did some research and it seemed that “guy lines” would make our tent more stable. D asked one of his “rugged” co-workers about them (he camps in snow!) and he let us borrow some rope and carabiners. Turns out we didn’t really need them (although it was gusty at night, our tent was fine), but D rigged up a convenient clothes line with them. This actually came in handy when some water accidentally spilled on some of our clothes.
Our campsite was covered in rocks, which did a good job of keeping the dirt from blowing everywhere. They were also a good source of entertainment for k and n.
Inside the tent, we hung these cute mini lanterns that n received for his birthday.
We brought plenty of sleeping bags and blankets to keep us warm at night. n doesn’t like to stay in his sleeping bag, so I found myself waking up just to make sure he was covered. I also wasn’t too sure how n would do with the toilet situation since he hasn’t been trained for too long, but he did just fine.
Static!
D did some Easter devotions in the tent and we taught k how to play 20 Questions. Then she kept on wanting to play and we regretted teaching her.
For breakfast on Sunday I wanted to go to the Mean Bean, but it wasn’t open, so we went to a cafe/gift shop called Elements that had caught my eye on our previous trips up and down Zion Blvd. We sort of a did a repeat of the breakfast from the day before, ordering a blueberry muffin, breakfast sandwich, milk and a mocha for D and me.
Although this muffin may not look like much, it was vastly superior to the one at Cafe Soleil. It was made from scratch and had a nice crunchy top. There were a half dozen on display on the counter and they let D choose which one he wanted. We also had it warmed up in the microwave.
Ordinary “McMuffin”.
I had read there is not too much food-wise in Bryce, so we picked up some sandwiches to-go at Sol Foods Supermarket.
There is a nice upscale deli/bakery that wasn’t too expensive.
On our way out of Zion, we stopped at Checkerboard Mesa.
We also went through the famed Mt. Carmel tunnel–1.1 miles long!
Hiking in Zion With Stollers: Riverside Walk, Emerald Pools & Pa’rus
For breakfast we went just out of the park’s entrance to Cafe Soleil. We ordered a breakfast sandwich, a blueberry muffin and milk. The breakfast sandwich, which we ordered on a wheat sandwich thin was just ok, and the blueberry muffin tasted straight out of Costco (which is fine, just not special). We also ordered two wraps for lunch, which they packaged to go for our hike, but more about that later.
Even though k is 5, we brought two strollers along because we knew we would be able to do way more hiking that way. By 8:30 a.m. we had taken the shuttle to the Riverside Walk (2 miles RT), which leads to The Narrows. According to the shuttle driver, this is the “cold side” of the park in the morning. It was FREEZING…I can see why there were few people that chose to do this hike in the morning. I was ill-prepared, but at least the kids had gloves (actually, we had only brought 3 out of 4) and D had his trusty headband/ear warmer. Due to the cold, these were the longest 2 miles I have ever walked, but we did make it.
This is the entrance to The Narrows, which actually requires you to hike in the water. I cannot see how this would be fun, but D would like to try someday.
The highlight was coming across a deer family. Here is a close-up of one of them.
Next was a 1.2 mile RT hike to the Emerald Pools. Since it was warmer, we had k walk parts of this one, but the problem was that n wanted to follow suit. Pushing two strollers while trying to make sure two kids don’t fall off the cliff is just not a good idea. So back in the strollers they went.
We wouldn’t have wanted the situation depicted on this sign:
Upon our return, we ate lunch picnic-style on the grand lawn in front of the Zion Lodge.
We shared a chicken caesar wrap and a turkey/bacon/avocado wrap from Cafe Soleil. These were quite substantial, and along with the chilled drinks I brought in our cooler, made quite a nice lunch.
Next, we stopped at the Human History Museum. I inquired about the little junior ranger program for kids five and under. We worked on a worksheet together and I had D take the kids to turn them in for a little pin. Little did we know that there would be an oral test, but both k and n passed. (The ranger asked n what the person in the picture was doing wrong and n answered, “picking flowers”). We also watched a short film on Zion. n fell asleep and started to snore. Loudly.
Water filling station to cut down on plastic water bottle usage.
Finally, we decided to walk the Pa’rus trail (3.5 miles RT). I had read that it was wheelchair/stroller accessible, but it turns out this is not the case when you start the trail from the Human History Museum. First of all, there are rocky steps you have to go down, and then you go under a bridge on a narrow ledge which would not even be possible with a wheelchair. However, once we made it past these obstacles, the path is nice and paved. 
Not wanting to deal with the obstacles again, we just went one way and took the shuttle back to the Visitor’s Center.
We relaxed a bit at the campsite and went to The Flying Monkey for dinner. 
Even though we had pizza the night before, this restaurant had a wood-fire oven and is known for its pizza, so we did pizza again. We created our own, with D choosing prosciutto and grilled zucchini. 
The crust was also a bit soggy in the middle, but overall the crust was much better than the one we had at Zion Pizza & Noodle.
We also ordered a Cubano sandwich, which came with waffle fries.
Do you see that small container of pink sauce? That is fry sauce, which is Utah thing. I would highly recommend this sandwich after a long day of hiking.
For dessert, we went back to Bumbleberry Inn to try the bumbleberry ice cream.
The kids really enjoyed it. The ice cream was lighter than premium ice cream, and the “bumbleberry” was more of a jammy swirl. If you only have one chance to try bumbleberry-flavored something, I would go with the pie.
Photo op outside of a restaurant that we didn’t go to.
D insisted that we take a picture by the official park sign. This is our only shot during the trip of our entire family together.
Camping in Zion–Watchman
On January 1 of this year, we were hanging out at my parents’ house and thinking about the coming year. We decided that we would like to visit Utah, and I reserved two nights at the Watchman Campground in Zion that day. I looked up the average night temps, and April didn’t seem too cold. Fast forward to a couple of weeks before our trip, and I was scared to see that the forecast was for 27 degrees at night, with some predictions of rain/high winds. Eek! The predictions of rain/high wind eventually disappeared, but it was still supposed to get pretty frigid at night. It didn’t help that some of D’s co-workers told him about their weather-related camping horror stories. However, we were determined, and D managed to obtain our CX-5 just in time, so off we went Friday morning.
D is both a walking and driving advertisement for Mazda. I think he should receive some sort of commission. 🙂
It took us 7 hours to reach Zion. Snacks, DVDs and our ipod made the ride tolerable. k made a wheat thin in the shape of Utah (shown backwards).
We set up camp first thing. The lots are not that spacious, but you can’t beat that view. (I don’t think I would enjoy camping there when it’s hot, because there is not a lot of shade).
Next we hopped on the Zion shuttle (mandatory from April 1-through summer) and took a short hike to Weeping Rock. (.5 mile RT).
n fell asleep on the shuttle…
…so D had to carry him up the hill. Good thing n is a light-weight.
It is difficult to see, but there is water constantly trickling from the rock, and the hike ends in an alcove behind the water.
Another angle:
It is a good hike for kids, but I wouldn’t recommend strollers (as we saw some people attempting).
We ate dinner at Zion Pizza and Noodle Company.
We ordered a Combo Man Pizza–Tomato sauce, pepperoni, black olives, onions, mushrooms, Canadian bacon, mozzarella & cheddar cheeses
and Pasta #1–Grilled chicken, broccoli, carrots, fresh cream, cheese and penne pasta.
The pasta was surprisingly tasty–the sauce was light and flavorful, not too salty or heavy. The pizza was OK–the crust was too soggy for our taste and for some reason we didn’t think about the fact that D is really the only one in our family who likes olives.
We visited the store next to the restaurant and came upon this cute shy resident dog:
Afterward we walked for a bit in Springdale, the quaint little town just outside of the park. It is easy to navigate because everything is located on one street: Zion Park Blvd.
We stopped by the Bumbleberry Inn and shared one slice of bumbleberry pie.
According to our trusted source, Wikipedia: “Bumbleberry pie, sometimes spelled bumble berry pie, is a pie made of at least three kinds of berries, but generally refers to a mixed-berry pie as there is no such berry as “bumbleberry”. This pie often contains apple or rhubarb. Berries commonly used in this pie may include blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. Bumbleberry pie originated in the United States, likely by pioneers.”
However, I like the definition on the Bumbleberry Inn’s website better: “According to Grandpa, bumbleberries are burple and binkel berries that grow on giggle bushes, so named because they giggle when the berries ripen and the bush begins to quake, and at the precise moment that they ripen, they giggle. If you were to eat a berry while it was giggling, you would spend the rest of your life giggling!”
Despite this discrepancy in definitions, the bumbleberry pie was good (and I didn’t taste any rhubarb, which is a good thing, because I am not a big fan of rhubarb).
With our stomachs full of food, we headed back to the campsite, bundled up for the night and managed to keep relatively warm despite the temperature supposedly being in the 30’s. The wind did kick up some during the night, but our trusty REI Basecamp 4 passed the test and we did not end up having to sleep in the CX-5.
Venetian & Ethel M
Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and drove to the Venetian. D was most impressed with this hotel and wants to stay here for our ten year anniversary. I, on the other hand, was quite satisfied just walking around and checking everything out.
Close up
Farther away
They were in the midst of decorating for Christmas, aka “Winter In Venice”
Inside:
D chose this cafe for breakfast. The small latte in the back was expensive, but good–very smooth.
The lobby is kind of ridiculous:
Before heading home, we made a stop at the Ethel M chocolate factory/cactus garden. I remember going here as a kid, mostly because I bought a small cactus. 
The factory is not open for tours on the weekends, but they have windows where you can see some of the process. It was a scene straight out of one of the kids’ favorite books: 
I could not help but wonder what happens to the chocolates that are deemed rejects and thrown into the plastic-lined cardboard boxes. We also noticed several chocolates on the ground. How sad.
In the store, we were each given a free chocolate disk which the kids enjoyed, of course. (Milk for the kids, Dark for the adults).
The cactus garden was decorated for Christmas:
It probably looks more impressive at night.
There is also an M&M store, which was a lot smaller, but a lot less crowded than the one in Vegas.
For lunch we stopped in Baker at the Mad Greek. It looks similar to the one in Stanton, but I am not clear on the connection. It is a lot more expensive, although the portions are somewhat bigger. I think the gyros were just under $10! The zucchini fries were not hot, and seemed like they had been sitting around. Boo. The gyros were warm, though, and two were plenty for the four of us. 
Overall, we had a nice time on our weekend getaway. It is fun to break up the every day routine.
Saturday Night in Las Vegas
After resting up at the hotel, we went back to the Strip. We stopped at M&M World (so crowded!) There was also an ABC store like they have in Hawaii. We bought a Hello Kitty-Las Vegas keychain for k and a poker chip keychain for n. While waiting in line to make my purchases, I was behind a Gene Simmons impersonator. Only in Vegas. We also stopped in at the Coca Cola store. I tried to order a cherry icee, but it was still mixing, so I settled for Coke flavor, even though we don’t really allow the kids to drink soda. I think the guy who rang me up gave me a free souvenir cup since my first choice wasn’t available. Anyway, this trip will be known as the first time k and n tasted Coke.
Despite their faces, they liked it. Who knows when we’ll let them have it again!
Next we headed to the Planet Hollywood hotel to eat dinner at the Earl of Sandwich. This was a Yelp! find…1527 reviews, 4.5 stars! Unheard of, but I now understand. 
These pictures do not do the sandwiches justice. We ordered a Montague and a Club sandwich. The Montague was more filling, but the kids liked the flavor of the Club better. We shared, and it was enough, partly because of our big brunch. The bread was so good! I can’t really describe it, as I have never had anything quite like it. Also, the sandwiches were a reasonable $5.99 each. If one of these restaurants opened in Southern California, I think they would do quite well. Please come to Orange County!
Back to the Bellagio to see the water show.
k’s new Skechers (early birthday present) put on a show of their own!
Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, and D was able to watch the Big Game (not that it was a good game for us).
Bellagio, Paris & Wicked Spoon
Two hotels that D wanted to visit were Bellagio and Paris (yes, it has been a long time since D has been to Vegas).
D was impressed by the conservatory. It was still decorated for Autumn, which I have never seen before.
k was surprised by the talking tree.
k liked this window display.
Afterward we went across the street to the Paris hotel. 
As you may have noticed, we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. We were trying to save our appetites for the Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan. (We did feed k and n granola bars and juice beforehand, however). I think we arrived around 10:15 a.m., and the line was short. (It was pretty long by the time we left). 
Swanky
It was definitely a splurge for us, at $29 per person. However, I chose it in part because both k and n were free (kids 4 and under are free). Also, I had read about how much of the food is served tapas style, or “small bites”. The presentation was so cute, and the selection of food was overwhelming. D filled up on breakfast food (pecan french toast and an omelet) so he was not able to enjoy the prime rib and lamb to their full potential. k liked the chicken and the lemon gelato (there was a wide variety of flavors). I liked the shrimp cocktail, fish, fried rice and chocolate covered strawberries (with crushed oreo). n’s favorite was probably the chocolate gelato, along with the bacon. The kalbi, which I had read good reviews of, was too tough/fatty for my taste. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, especially since I am sure it will be a while before we return.
Unfortunately, by this time, D had developed a headache, so on the way back to our hotel we made a quick stop at CVS for some advil (forgot to bring some along). We tried to rest so we could gear up for our night on the town.
An Autumn Morning in Las Vegas
D woke up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and tried to work out at the Luxor gym. However, it didn’t open until 6 a.m.–doh. After he returned, n had a bloody nose, I think from the dry air/altitude. It was a bad one…the worst I’ve ever dealt with, and a bit scary. Thankfully, we were still in the hotel room, with ready access to tissue.
At around 8:30 a.m., we walked down the Strip. We brought along two strollers, even though k usually walks. I knew there would just be way too much walking for her, and I was right. We also found out that there are many intersections that do not allow pedestrians, so we had to take a countless number of elevators to go over various pedestrian bridges.
The air was crisp, and the sidewalks were pretty empty, except for joggers.
k was confused when we said this was New York.
I think this is part of City Center.
Mastro’s Ocean Club Restaurant
MGM
Las Vegas, [With] Baby
OK, not really with a baby, but with two young children. This past weekend we went to Vegas as a family getaway. This was the third state k and n have been to (California, obviously, and Hawaii are the other two). It has been a long time since either D or I had been there, so we thought it would be fun to check out some of the more recent developments. We realize that Vegas is not necessarily thought of as a place suitable for children, but it’s not like we were out clubbing. I felt like people were giving us weird looks when we were pushing k and n in strollers down the strip, but maybe I was just being self-conscious. Or maybe they were really giving us weird looks, but that’s ok. Pushing a kid in a stroller is a sure-fire way of people not trying to pass out club fliers at every street corner.
We left around 12:15 and arrived around 4:15. We stayed at the Luxor, in the pyramid. The inclinator elevators are strange…would’ve been cooler if they were glass, and you could see where you were going. 
It is kind of weird how you cannot tell what time it is inside of a casino.
After check-in and dropping off our stuff, we made our way to Mandalay Place, which is connected to the Luxor. D wanted to eat at Burger Bar, started by Top Chef fave Hubert Keller. 
Angus Burger with cheddar
Salmon Burger
We also shared a side of skinny fries and zucchini fries. This was enough for all of us. Since we arrived early, around 5 p.m., we had a booth with its own t.v. screen (football was on). The burger and salmon were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Paul’s Place still has the best zucchini fries, IMHO. However, I think D did end up putting the burger on his list. I think it was more for the experience.
After that, we walked around Mandalay Bay. The high-end restaurants were very impressive-looking. Unfortunately, I dropped n’s argyle sweater that he was supposed to wear for Christmas somewhere along the way and we were unable to find it when we back-tracked. I even called lost and found the next day, to no avail. It wasn’t expensive (it was from Target, last year), but it was so cute, and I just hate losing things. Oh well, as my mom likes to say.
Dennis the Menace Park
Sunday morning we went to Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey. The park had a lot of fun features, and there were a lot of families. D’s brother and his son drove from the Bay Area to meet up with us.
k and n’s cousin
We came upon this funny sign in the parking lot across the street.
Even more disturbing is that the sign is right in front of a cemetery.
Afterward we ate lunch at Yama Sushi. Sorry, no pictures.