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Old 18 Jul 20, 05:42 PM  
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juliab
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The 260 Mile West Coast Wander - August 2019 - Day 26 - End of the Road

INDEX

Thursday 29th August

Even after a late night I still woke up at 6.30am. I managed to get back to sleep for a while then eventually got up at 8am.

I caught up with my journal then had a flick through Instagram then Scott was awake. I went for my shower and Scott woke the kids up as I wanted us to have some breakfast and for everyone else to shower before we left for our long drive to Las Vegas.

It was really quiet in the breakfast room we grabbed some food we are so going to miss our morning meal here.

Back in our room everyone got on with showers etc whilst I did the last bit of packing. We only unpacked the 1 case so it didn’t take too long to pack everything up. It was then time for us to leave we had really enjoyed our time at this hotel.


Last night I’d completely forgotten to pick myself up a new mug form Disneyland. I had planned on getting one on our way out last night so that I didn’t have to carry it around with us all day. But because we were talking to Lauren I just forgot.

Scott said he’d drop me off at the drop off point and I could quickly walk to Downtown Disney to the store there to pick one up. Scott and the kids would go to fill the car up in the meantime.


I was soon in the Disney store where I found a lovely Disneyland mug.

Waited for Scott at the pick up point wow it was such a hot day today. Before long I saw our car approaching the car had had been filled up and we were now off on our way back to Las Vegas.

The drive was ok we didn’t have any problems with traffic we had a nice gentle cruise. We stopped off twice for a toilet break and we noticed the temperature really going up as we reached the Mohave Desert.




Wow when we got out of the car to use the restrooms it was like stepping into a oven it was so hot.

We continued on and around 4½ hours later we saw the Las Vegas skyline. Felt like it was ages ago when we last saw it!





Whilst we were near to it we had a look around the south outlets, Jamie wanted to check out the Nike store there. It was really quiet so e had a look around a few shops but Jamie had no luck with any new trainers.

Still it was nice to stretch our legs a bit and we noticed there was a Five Guys nearby. No guessing what we’d be having for an early tea.

It was really quiet in here and before long we were tucking into our last burger of the trip.


We needed to fill the car back up because it needed to go back with a full tank of petrol. There was a cheap gas station just passed Five Guys so we filled up then headed to the car rental drop off which was just minutes away.

The drop off procedure was easy enough the staff told us to leave any rubbish in the car and they’d deal with it all. We only had the cool box I so hoped that someone would’ve been able to make use of it.
Lucky for us a bus was waiting to go to the terminal, no waiting unlike when we’d arrived. We could see the strip in the distance which brought back lovely memories.


Soon arrived at Terminal 3 and we were surprised at how quiet departure’s was? The time was 6.30pm so we had 3 hours until flight left. Poppy and I changed into some leggings as the airport was nicely air conditioned and I knew I’d feel really cold on the flight home!

Security was a breeze, no waiting and we hadn’t left anything in our hand luggage that shouldn’t be there either! Nothing more for us to do than sit and wait in departure’s for our flight which thankfully was on time.

The time actually flew by and before we knew it we were boarding our 747 back to Heathrow. This time I’d chosen the seats at the back, the 3 then the 2 behind. I thought we could have a sleep if needed and didn’t have to disturb anyone by getting up.


Unfortunately for us we were sat on the wrong side of the plane to see the Strip at night, what a view that must have been.

From then on that’s when my notes ended. You know what it’s like you’ve had an amazing holiday but you’re completely shattered and just want to get home. I couldn’t be bothered with writing.

I remember we had food a couple of times, Poppy didn’t really sleep. Apparently the boy’s didn’t either but I kind of had a hour or two.
Kids breakfast


Watched a few movies and the flight went well. Arrived in Heathrow on time, immigration was ok and we transferred over to the other terminal where we caught the flight up to Manchester.

I was thankfully that both flights were on time and went well. We had a bit of a wait for our taxi but eventually we were all home safe and sound back in sunny Sheffield.

And that is it, the end of our most amazing holiday, our first American road trip. Even now as I’m writing this I still can’t believe that we did everything that we did. It still feels like the most wonderful dream ever.

To say which was our favourite place is jut to difficult as every stop on our trip was so different and we enjoyed all of them.

The Grand Canyon blew us away which totally surprised us all. I’d never seen a beauty like it and the peace and silence we experienced whilst watching the sunrise and then walking around the rim is something I will never forgot.

Las Vegas was everything I’d expected to be but we were still stunning at the size of the resorts! We had fun exploring the hotels and we loved the vibrancy and buzz of the Strip.

Death Valley was an unforgettable experience we’d never seen a landscape like this before. We felt like we were on another planet and again the peace and the striking beauty was totally unexpected. We so enjoyed our brief time in this National Park.

I knew even before we visited that we would enjoy Yosemite but nothing can prepare you for the most incredible views. We fell in love with all the spell bounding sights, Yosemite will always have a special place in my heart and I feel so blessed to have visited.

San Francisco had never been a place a particularly wanted to visit but lucky for us Scott had always wanted to. We so loved the vibe of this city and I really hope that maybe one day we’ll return to explore more.

Monterey was the perfect stop for whale watching trip which was awe inspiring then the drive down the PCH was the most incredible drive. Making our way along winding road with eye-popping vistas on every turn was amazing.

We only had a brief stay in L.A. but we had a fantastic day in Universal and a great day touring. There’s plenty more we could’ve done so maybe that’s for another time.

The Disneyland parks were just amazing, you can’t really compare to WDW as there are more parks there and a lot more space. We loved the cosiness and the homely feel of the parks. The ease in getting from one park/ride to another and also being able to walk from our hotel to the parks was a plus. The weather was great too we’re so used to the afternoon August storms in WDW along with no humidity so to not have any of those issues was a big plus.

They were easy to navigate and we thought the cast members were so lovely helpful and lovely but then aren’t they mostly like that anyway. The shows were fabulous, World of Color and Fantasmic were our favourites. The music from Disneyland Forever is a new favourite of mine and I never fail to feel emotional when I listen to that track.

It’s always fun to experience new rides and good to compare the classic rides too. All in all we loved the parks and if the opportunity arose for us to visit again we would gladly revisit.

On our return I started planning our holiday for next year. I booked a caravan for the July school hols for a first time visit to Cornwall then a caravan holiday to Lake Garda for a week in August. Then lastly flights to Singapore and Hong Kong in the October half term to visit both places and also Disneyland Hong Kong.

Of course nobody knew what would be happening a few months later and I’m under no illusion that our first ever trip to Asia won’t be happening. It’s a real shame but thankfully I never told the kids so at least they don’t have the disappointment of not going.

I’m waiting now for our flights to both Italy and Singapore to be cancelled so we can at least get our money back. Hopefully this will happen.

Lastly I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who as read along and an extra big thank you for those of you who have left such lovely comments. They really have spurred me along especially when I was really down and not coping well earlier this year.

I hope this has been useful for some people as I know I couldn’t have planned a West Coast trip without the help of those brilliant trip reports.

I’ve included a few of my favourite photos, a little self indulgent I know but it gives me something lovely to look back on when I read my trip reports.

South Rim

Sunset South Rim

Sunrise South Rim



Dante's View Death Valley


Badwater Basin


Tenaya Lake, Yosemite


Olmsted Point


Tunnel View

Mirror Lake

Glacier Point




Sentinel Dome

Mariposa Grove

Vernal Falls

Cooks Meadow

Merced River


Baker Beach

Muir Woods



San Francisco



Lovers Point


Big Sur Pfeiffer Beach

Malibu Beach

Santa Monica Pier



Hollywood Sign



Palm Springs Aerial Tramway









Thanks for reading

Steps – 6,768

Edited at 05:07 AM.
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Old 18 Jul 20, 07:07 PM  
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KayLouise
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Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to share your amazing holiday with us all. I've really enjoyed reading along and seeing your brilliant photos, beautiful scenery and your lovely family. You've given me lots of inspiration and tips for our trip next year. X
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Old 18 Jul 20, 07:34 PM  
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LozzaManse
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Beautiful photos! We hope to do a similar trip at some point in the future. Thank you so much for writing your trip report - have been so excited to read each new day!
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Old 18 Jul 20, 08:23 PM  
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sheluk
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Ah the last moments of Disneyland California by yourself - you couldn’t have planned that better if you tried Julia I dream of kid-less shopping haha.

I’m glad the drive and flight back all went smoothly. I can just imagine how long ago it must have felt that you arrived!

Just need Virgin to bring back the Manchester to Las Vegas route now! Or in 8 years time when I want to do it. I’ll be looking back on this reports for years to come for tips!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this report. It has been a DELIGHT to read & I’m gutted it’s over to be honest xx
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Old 18 Jul 20, 09:09 PM  
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The photos are a great summary of an amazing trip - you have some fantastic photos and memories I bet.

Thanks for another great report Julia and for taking the time to finish it x Hopefully it won’t be too long before we get to share another of your great holidays.

Diane
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Old 18 Jul 20, 09:28 PM  
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Ryles
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Throughly enjoyed this report. Definitely makes me want to visit.
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Old 18 Jul 20, 10:22 PM  
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Really enjoyed your report - you had a fantastic trip!
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Old 18 Jul 20, 10:42 PM  
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Have loved reading your trip report and seeing your photos. It all looks amazing. Unfortunately our May road trip was cancelled but we were so lucky to get all our money refunded. Hopefully we will get there sometime in the future. Sorry about your upcoming trips being cancelled.
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Old 19 Jul 20, 12:05 AM  
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I have loved every single moment of your trip report, we are planning for San Diego/Disneyland/la next year and this has really helped us, my wee boy has additional needs so trying to understand how the access pass works and what we need to take with us, your detailed descriptions and photos will help a lot with showing him what to expect, sorry about your future trips being cancelled it’s such an unsettling time, hope you are all well x
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Old 19 Jul 20, 09:13 AM  
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Pumba75
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Thanks for another great trip report Julia. Really enjoyed it. Hoping it won't be too long until your original plans can take place and I can read along again!

Thanks again for the time, effort and for sharing your adventures.

M x
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