Viva Las Home

Greetings from our home base! We aren't JUUUUST getting back but we are in such denial of our roadtrip being over. It felt like, writing this post is putting the bookend on this adventure and we are reluctant to do so. But, for the sake of not falling off the face of the earth, here it is.

Our last stop of Kentucky was the super amazing Walking Dead wall in honor of Robert Kirkman's hometown of Cynthiana. It may be just a wall to some, but whether you are into the show or not (which we ARE! Who else wants to punch Negan in the face already?!) you must admit this is a brilliant piece of artwork by a talented AF artist. Check it out if you're in the area fo sho.

From here we went to Ohio which really hasn't stood out to us either time we have gone. If you recall, last we spoke we were on our way to the American Sign Museum, which we were super stoked about. Well, we didn't make it there but the issue was not that we got there too late (like we originally feared.) Nope, we had plenty of time. However, the museum is located in Cincinnati, OH, and while there may be a nice part of the city, this was NOT it. As soon as we got off the exit, there was a homeless person begging at the light. We searched for cash and felt awful...but then there were two more at the next light. And another at the next light. I shit you not. The only place we have encountered this many people on the streets was in 

San Francisco at 3am.

Now, please don't think we are insensitive, "I'm too good for this town", pieces of crap. That's not what this is about. We just didn't feel comfortable and it was very upsetting to be around such sadness so we had to leave. There is no way we could afford to help everyone, and honestly I'm not sure what good it would have done.

The museum has rave reviews on Trip Advisor and honestly we are both sad that we didn't get to go. Next trip maybe. We aren't trying to recommend anyone not go, I just want you to be prepared for the surrounding area, because we were not.

We had a smooth rest of our trip with Starbucks and truck stops scattered throughout and arrived home around 2:am. Show of hands, how many of you are obsessed with your pets? Knew it. So are we and we missed those little buggers like you wouldn't believe (or you would, since you get us.) Dispite it being so so late and us being wiped, we snuggled into jammies and let them roll around all over us for a long long time, loving every second of it!

For all of you travelers out there who feel our pain on this topic, we have some tips (good ones!) coming up about ways to keep your for babies close while you're out exploring the world. Stay tuned friends!

Oh yeah, and you can also expect some tips on protecting your house while you're gone...stories about that coming up too!

Now it's time for pasta, Netflix, and naps!

Comments are always welcome!❤️

Love,

Pat+Deb

🌎🚗😻🏠✌🏼️

Viva Las Twang 'n Twine!

Last we spoke, we were driving through the scenic farmland of Kansas. We didn't run into Dorothy but we DID get to see the worlds largest ball of twine in Cawker City! When we planned our last cross country adventure, this was a definite stop. As you may remember, we found Lucky before we hit Kansas on our way back so our plans altered a little and we ended up skipping it.  I reached out to our friend, the twine keeper, Linda, and let her know we were going to be in the area this time. She met us there and shared all sorts of amazing stories about the ball, like how it started, and the movie it was featured in last month. She told us about her husband and gave us wise marriage advice. She let us add twine to the ball too! Thank you Linda for this amazing experience!!! If you are going to be in town, she is the woman in the know.❤️ After this we made our way to the geographic center of the continental United States. That's right. The world may not revolve around us, but the country sure did for a bit! Very cool place to say you've been.

The next day we were Kentucky bound! Here we found the worlds largest baseball bat, and let me tell you....it..is...huge. You get the idea in the video above. (And in this picture.)

 

A few blocks away at Caulfield's Novelty, you can find the worlds largest BAT (the vampire kind!) His eyes light up as he hangs out on the side of the building. Being huge fans of Halloween and animals alike, we loved this.

 

After checking out the city of Louisville, showering off, and kissing some horses (check out the vid, you'll understand) we were off to Lexington for a dance party and some sleep.

 Currently we are driving through Kentucky on our way to the Sign Museum, if we can make it in time...check back to see if we made it and to hear about our Walking Dead adventure and our run in with a local in defense of her dog (who we were thisclose to leaving with.)

Talk soon!

Love,

Pat + Deb

🌎🚗🐮🐴🐔🐷👣🐿🌾🌪🍕

Song by Taylor Swift ~ I'm Only Me When I'm With You❤️

Viva Las Twang 'n Twine!

Content coming tomorrow! For now, please enjoy this video!❤️

Love,

Pat + Deb

🌎🚗🐮🐴🐔🐷👣🐿🌾🌪🍕

Viva Las Cartman + The Chipmunks

Howdy y'all! We are currently making our way across Tornado Alley to the worlds largest ball of twine! If we happen to see a tornado, that's just a bonus (maybe).

Let's talk about yesterday. We drove around a bit at first in search of coffee and bagels, but a bridge was closed so that was a whole thing. We did end up finding a Starbucks in a local supermarket but alas, no bagels. Did I mention before that we are trying to collect all of the state mugs from 'bucks? We have a bunch but missed a few between this trip and last trip...we'll get 'em though!

We stumbled across an adorable little place called Red Canyon Cafe in Eagle, Colorado and their bagels were perfect. The whole vibe of the shop was amazing. 

 

Everything about this.

From here we were off to Nathrop which is a beautiful place full of snow covered mountains, serene creeks with water gently flowing over giant rocks, wildlife, and CHIPMUNKS. Friendly, happy, fluffy little guys who eat from your hand. You park at the end of a dirt road in the little town that still has a functioning convenience shop. Outside the store is a table with baggies of black sunflower seeds (they don't like the standard ones much.) You can get plenty for fifty cents a bag.

We walked across the street and sat on the ground and the chipmunks happily scampered our way. It was a revolving door of cuteness. The entire area is covered in sunflower seeds and shells, showing us these little guys are well taken care of. Every person sitting there had the biggest smile, how could you not. We had to drag ourselves away (and almost went back.)

Check. It. Out.

After bidding adeau to Alvin and friends, we drove through some truly magnificent scenery. Internet service was an issue, but we still noted addresses in the area to add to our dream house file (pretty much every one we passed.)

It took us about two and a half hours to make it to Casa Bonita, but no amount of time could have prepared us.  I'm going to go ahead and assume you've seen that episode of Southpark, right? If not, you can just YouTube "Casa Bonita Southpark" and it will give you a VERY accurate depiction of this place.  It almost doesn't feel real.  The giant pink tower points the way to a Mexican themed maze-like entrance. Halloween was a secondary theme for the season. Your food is ordered before continuing through the maze and collected at the end.  You then walk into a wonderland of in your face-ness as green lit palm trees surround a waterfall, costumed people walk around, and children are amuck.

About 10 minutes into our (delicious) meal, we heard speaking over a microphone. A cowgirl (one of the costumed people previously mentioned) spoke in a country accent to a pirate. After an "altercation" about treasure, she "shot" him and he plummeted through the waterfall to the pool below. He came back to life and began climbing the surrounding rocks and diving back in. Completely unexpected for a restaurant (but not if you've seen that Southpark episode.) Another skit was performed and our attentive waiter kept it beverages coming (thanks Blake!) Some other festivities include a magician, a caricature artist, humans dressed as monkies walking around, a haunted house type section, and a gift shop. All of this is scattered throughout an ornate, glowing dining room. If entertainment is what you seek, Casa Bonita delivers in ways you wouldn't imagine. We recommend it, for sure!

After Casa Bonita we were full of food and visual stimulation so we stopped at a little hotel for some ZzZz's.

Horses, cows, crops, and tons 'o land surround us as we write this post in Kansas, and a fox just ran across the road. Pretty cool stuff.

Get out there and see the world friends. It's big and beautiful.

Love,

Pat + Deb

P.s. Song in the video is "On My Own" by The Used. Felt perfect for this one.

Viva Las Arches + Aliens

Greetings! After leaving Vegas we started toward Utah, but before we could leave Nevada, we just had to drive along Extraterrestrial Highway. I mean, in our wedding vows I called Pat the Scully to my Mulder so what better way to play X-files than around Area 51? (Of course there is also Roswell!)

 

We left our mark with posters and business cards, then went to chill in the middle of the road. I don't recommend this or condone this, but it was desolate AF, so we sat there and took it all in (and waited for aliens).

From here we drove through some pretty neat small towns and some seriously bitchin' scenery (check out the video and see for yourself!) We stopped for a caffeine fix and made it as far as we could before settling about an hour from Moab, Utah, our next stop!

In the morning we geared up, packed a bunch of water bottles, and strapped on a GoPro for our trip to Arches National Park. Here are some tips if you haven't been here and plan to go:

• Bring lots of water: at first glance you may think "hey it's just driving, I'm good!" Well, you may drive from point to point, but a bunch of the points of interest require some hiking. You'll be glad you have water.

• Wear comfy shoes (for said hiking.)

• Bring a camera or GoPro, hell, bring both! It's beautiful. Epically beautiful, do it.

• Don't forget an extra battery/memory card....don't be like us. (This is where bringing both comes in handy!)

We also made a couple of friends. A few people asked us to take photos so we got to play with some really nice cameras. Our new friends Lauren and Ezra were kind enough to take pictures for us too. Something we have come to realize is that hikers and adventurers are SOOOOO nice. (Mostly) everyone says hi, (mostly) everyone is helpful, and they're kindred spirits who thrive on adventure, exploration, being kind and respectful to all creatures, and the environment. It's awesome. Not saying EVVVVERYONE is like that, but so far, mostly everyone we have met has been so very cool.

 

After Arches we were sort of starving so we stopped at a Denny's down the street, fueled up on some coffee, and headed for Colorado! We stopped early(ish) for the night and cleaned up, got snuggly!

Currently, we are driving through the snow covered mountains of Colorado on our way to Nathrop to play with some adorable little chipmunks...you'll see!

Safe travels, friends!

<3

Pat+Deb

🌎🌲☕️🚗🏞

Music: Envy on the Coast❤️ ~ Southern Comfort

Hey Ryan, if you're ever looking for a videographer, just sat the word!😉

Viva Las Weekend!

Greetings from the car on our way out of Las Vegas! We technically arrived in Nevada on Thursday night, but we stayed outside of the city. Friday morning we packed up and headed to Hoover Dam, which was DAM cool. It's huge, obviously, but we never imagined how pretty it would be. The red mountains surround the entire area and create a silouette that seemed to reach the ends of the earth. Just beautiful.  We were really looking forward to seeing the statue of the "Toilet Paper Hero of The Hoover Dam", but we learned that it is actually located in Boulder City, NV, not at the dam, so we didn't get to see him...

 

The Hero (not our photo...stolen from Roadside America)

From here we checked into our hotel, the Stratosphere. There were some who warned us of the reviews and whatnot, but we really enjoyed it here! The wait to check in was kind of crazy with all of our luggage in tow, but besides that it sort of kicked ass. Stratosphere has everything. Casino, gift shops, tattoo shop, McDonald's, PIZZA JOINT, Chinese food, rides, shows, restaurants, oxygen bar, and STARBUCKS. That's right, the Bucks. Right there in our hotel, 24/7. Can you even? I can't.

Our first night we settled in and explored the wonders of the hotel. Saturday was the wedding! We had breakfast with the 'rents and then some last minute running around to do for the grooms and then it was time to get ready!

 

I swear I wasn't wearing all black...just looks like it here.

After the wedding, everyone went back to their hotels to change and met back up at the Heart Attack Grille. Okay, have you guys ever heard of this place? Let me just tell you. When you walk in, you are given a hospital gown which you HAVE to wear. Everyone in the whole restaurant has them on, except for the waitresses who are dressed like slutty nurses. They then seat you and take you order. Their menu is somewhat humorous. They have a minimal selection: burgers, fries, onion rings, shakes, 7-up, coke, and water. The end. When you ask if they have vegetarian anything, they laugh like you're an idiot, which you probably are for even asking.

The rule here is, if you don't finish your food, you get paddled. Yeah, PADDLED. The slutty nurses take you to the middle of the room where you bend over and they take turns wailing your toosh like you're a freshman and Jason's got his Soul Pole (as you can see in the video...)

After this we hit up the "old" strip. Here we saw a guy holding a black balloon with two smaller balloons attached up to himself like it was his, uh, Johnson and the gentleman, waving it at tourists. We watched this as we waited for our time to zip line called Slotzilla, which was so awesome. You fly above the strip like a superhero, coming to the rescue of the unknowing and inebriated, saving them from 20 dollar beers and grown men dressed in diapers shooting heart arrows at them. (Yeah that happened.)

It really is something special on Fremont. Clothing is optional (sadly) and variety is an understatement.  The largest TV screen towers overhead with periodic light shows of shapes and music, it's amazing. There are vendors and bands and shows everywhere.

After we went back to the hotel we stopped at our McDonald's and retired to our room for a pajama party! Sunday we decided we should gamble a little because, when in Rome! We considered getting tattoos, souvenir shopped, picked up some pizza, and took it generally easy in preparation for hitting the road which we are currently on! As I am typing we are traveling through beautiful nothingness in Nevada like Mulder and Scully (complete with sunflower seeds, of course). 👽 here we come!

Viva Las...Thursday!

We have officially arrived in Las Vegas! We spent tonight exploring the hotel, there is basically an entire town just here, it's unbelievable! Tomorrow we get to watch my little brother marry his love, in the presence of Elvis, of course. (You sure can expect photos!) 

Taking a few steps back first, Thursday we woke up in beautiful Sedona and had brunch at The Table at Junipine. The menu was minimal but sweet, and the kitchen was more than willing to customize to your hearts content. The deck had stunning forest views with fresh air and the sound of nature. It's the stuff happy places are made of.

 

From here we made our way to Cathedral Rock for some hiking goodness. We definitely recommend it if you are in the area. Some tips if you do decide to go:

• Bring lots of water! (We did and were super glad)
• Wear sneakers. (There was one girl in some sort of sandals, believe me; this isn't the place for that...)
• Bring your camera.  The views are stunning, especially when you get to the top, you'll want photos.
• Sunglasses were helpful too
• Did I mention the water?

 

 

 

 

 After Cathedral we were STARVING so we headed into town to Moon Dog pizza which was sooooo good. It is a self described mom & pop shop. They are very modest considering they've been voted best pizza in Sedona for years now. The owners are an adorable husband a wife and just the friendliest people.  We will certainly be going back next time we are in town (which will be soon!)

 

Pizza was just the fuel we needed to hit the road again. We reluctantly left Sedona be a piece of our hearts stayed behind.  We had a choice to make, continue to Death Valley or go to Vegas a little early. We opted for the latter for now. Death Valley is still on our list, but the city of lights was calling to us for now. We have another day of hiking ahead in Arches National Park so we didn't feel AS bad skipping DV (but we definitely want to get there at some point!)

Vegas has a lot to live up to after Sedona. Just sayin'.

Viva Las Sedona

Salutations fellow wanderers! We skipped posting last night because we actually arrived at our destination fairly early and our hotel ended up being the most KICKASS place we have ever stayed. We decided to soak up every second of it we could, so the above video is actually of our Wednesday activities....Thursday's will just have to wait until tomorrow morning!

As we type, we are sitting at the cusp of the craziness that is Las Vegas. Our plan was to spend the night outside of Death Valkey and go hiking tomorrow, then land in Vegas tomorrow night. We are thinking of switching it around: head to Vegas tonight and get settled and then take a day trip to DV or do things around here, like Hoover Dam instead, tomorrow. Whatcha think?

The video above pretty much sums up the day. We started out in New Mexico and headed off to the ABQ Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. We were psyched beyond belief, until we arrived. We had the schedule up on our phone showing that the evening session prep was about to begin, but when we showed the hot air balloon gate keeper, he gave us a big thumbs down!

We were disappointed but we also had a mission to get to so we accepted the defeat and were on our way! Our next visit was to Cedar Animal Medical Center in Gallup, NM to pay a very special visit to a very special person/(people!) Depending upon how long you've been following our travels, you may remember when we found Lucky the amazing pooch. From here we made our way to Sedona, AZ, which, if you have been here, you know is one of the most beautiful places on this planet.

After the fantastically/frighteningly winding road of 89a, we earned our stay at the dreamy Junipine Resort. Let's rewind a bit, we did our thing, as we do every night, hit up the usuals of Hotels Tonight, Hotels.com, Etc. One of the first ones we saw was on Hotels Tonight for Junipine, and we are so happy about it. We WILL be going back and staying in our beautiful cabin 8 again very soon. Aside from the beautiful decor, the mesmerizing scenery, and the homey feeling, the staff was out of this world. From the moment we checked in to the moment we reluctantly checked out, we felt at home. With complimentary DVDs to borrow, a snack selection that includes everything from pizza to kombucca, you'll find everything you need. There aren't enough nice things to say. The great rate that HT gave us was awesome, but this place is more than worth full price.

We tried our damndest to see moose but weren't feeling all that social...maybe next time!

More on Sedona tomorrow!

Sweet dreams!

Love,
Pat + Deb

Viva Las New Mexico!

We have arrived in beautiful New Mexico (ah-wohoo!) Originally we weren't going to do another vlog post right away but we loved some of the footage we got from Cadillac Ranch so we couldn't resist. Check a look!

Let us know what you think, questions, comments, suggestions are always welcome! We love writing this blog, it is like a diary of our adventures (obv...), but we also want it to be fun for you to watch. Before we started travelling, it was always something we wanted to do, so we want to bring you real, helpful, and most importantly, fun videos and posts to share these adventures with us.  Comment, email, whatever, we love hearing from you!

Love,
Pat+Deb

Day Two: Our First Vlog

Like, OMV! We totally attempted our first vlog today. If you like it, let us know! We heart comments! If you don't, you can take it up with Dan and Aunt Patti for suggesting we start adding some vlog posts. (Just kidding guys! We are really enjoying the videos!)

Soooo, let us know what you think!

Couple of things:

1) Sorry again for eating, next time we will make sure to offer you some fries!

2) We said we would add a video below of the Titanic exhibit, but we just added it into the video above because, duh.

3) We are aware one of the songs at the end is called "jealousy", not "hey'd ya ever see" (shout out to Mike for that one)

Sweet dreams!
<3 Pat + Deb

Viva Las...Virginia!

Folks, this is what love looks like.

Day one plan: Go to bed early Saturday night, wake up by 7/7:30, pick up rental car at 8:00, load car and finish odds and ends, shower, pack the car, hit the road by noon.

Day one reality: Bed At 3am, up at 8:00, rental at 8:30, exchange rental (tire issue), odds and ends, get ready, hit the road at 2.30.

Close enough, right??

For a quick minute we were a little stressed about being so behind, but then everything just became hilariously funny.  Ya know, the first day is usually a lot of straight up driving, just trying to escape NJ like it is Azkaban or something. Although, as far as sightseeing goes, today was slight less less eventful than the days to come, we definitely relearned some basic lessons.

Such as:

1) Make sure to get adequate rest, especially if the unexpected happens and your GPS expects you to  end up behind the wheel until 2:30am. Oh GPS, you make us giggle.

2) Eat healthy, balanced meals to keep your energy and focus up. For example, EIGHT soft pretzels between two people would not be a good idea...especially if you chase them with BBQ Pringles, which, as you know, once you make the decision to pop, the fun just can not be stopped.

3) Refognjze when GPS decides it's time for a fun game of eternal loop and sends you in circles when you are searching for a rest stop ~ thanks to coffee for that one too!

See, I'm saying all of this as if we didn't have fun, but it was QUITE the contrary! We drove through cascading hills and farmland while listening to (and enthusiastically singing) Bell Biv DeVoe and (good) Britney as the background music to our laughter (this goes back to what I said before about traveling with the right person!)

Free Smells!

For dinner we stopped at Crackerbarrel and had one of the best waitresses ever. She was seriously the sweetest (shout out to Erin!) from here we stopped at the 'bucks and drove for a couple more hours before deciding to call it an "early" night around 12 and find a hotel.

So, we are still in Virginia, close to the border of NC, but sometimes it is just time to sleep.  So that is what we are going to do!

Tomorrow we are heading to the Titanic Museum in Tennessee and then to Nashville for some shenanigans! A couple of people have mentioned that we should consider doing some video posts so tomorrow we are thinking of attempting that as well.

Sweet dreams!

Love,
Pat + Deb

Andie - The Stowaway...Missing The Kitties Already.