Saturday, Dec 17th, 2022

Hi again! I’m going on another trip! We are, again, going out and about California. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see a little bit of Nevada too, but I don’t know.

My family does that thing where we plan to go the day before we leave. Alright, so today we are leaving from my place in Washington, (aka, escaping the snow that started a day early!), and heading to Eugene, Oregon.

Nothing much happened today, just a looooooong drive. No picture today, as nothing was really special.

<3 VCsTheWorld 

Sunday, Dec 18th, 2022

So, really nothing but driving happened today. I mean, I could get into all the boring stuff, like how we woke up, went to the complimentary breakfast place, ate, but I’ll be nice and won’t go there (well, at least not this time!). We drove from Eugene to Sacramento, California. Still not that sunny though. Oh well. Again, nothing special, so no pic.

Monday, Dec 19th, 2022

Ok, today? Hmmm. Today, we’re driving to Los Angeles! Finally! I’ve been to LA before, but I was young and don’t remember a thing! Still not gonna get into the boring stuff, so that’s pretty much it. But guess what! It’s hot now! Yay! 

Tuesday, Dec 20th, 2022

Today? Oh, I've got a lot to tell you folks. So, at this point in time, we’re in LA. Today, we went to the Griffith Observatory. There we could see the Hollywood sign!

I got so many pictures near it. Including the one that my dad took in which I look like a cross between a chicken and a supervillain.

We also saw a demonstration of the Tesla coil! That was in the afternoon. The morning we spent trying to wake up.

Later today, we went to Hollywood Boulevard and saw the stars on the sidewalks. For those who don’t know (I didn’t know this existed until I went there either!) on Hollywood Blvd there are stars with famous showbiz people in them. They’re names I mean.  Those stars go on for about 1.3 miles.

Ok, I’m going to give you a little hint, so you don’t get confused like I did. There are little circles below each name with pictures in them. They represent what the person does.

1. The old camera means the person was in a movie.
2. The stars which have a TV in it tell you that the person was in a TV show.
3. The thing that looks sort of like a DVD/that thing on a mixtable (yeah, I'm not very learned in DJ stuff I know) means that person is a musician or someone who did audio recordings.
4. The radio microphones are (of course) used to signify radio broadcasters.
5. The masks that have the tragedy and comedy faces on them mean theatrical people.

We also saw the theater where the Oscars happen! After that we went back to the Griffith Observatory to see Jupiter through a telescope. We could see Jupiter as well as it’s 4 moons!

The name in the star I'm next to in the picture above is Johnny Depp! In case you didn't know, I love Pirates of the Caribbean! The wings were at the Griffith Observatory. The last picture was also at the Griffith Observatory, but at night, and it's of the LA skyline!

Wednesday, Dec 21st, 2022

Do you remember the theater where the Oscars happen from yesterday? 

Well, we went there today! The theater is called the Dolby Theater, and it is in the back of a shopping mall. 

I'm serious. But even with knowing the not so awesome location of the theater, the theater itself is still amazing. I was one of the lucky people who went on a tour. Meaning yes, for a little while, I was a famous person. Ish. 

It was a guided tour so, along with a few other families, we went throughout the theater. We went into the VIP lounge and saw the first Oscar! Then we went into the actual theater. 

It is HUGE! There were 5 levels. And there were box seats on the sides. Plus, the stage was also one of the biggest stages I've ever seen.  

The picture in the middle is of me in the box seat at The Dolby Theater! 

So, with the finishing of the tour, we have finished our stop in LA. Off to Long Beach! 

We got there late, so we didn't really do much other than see the sunset.

Thursday, Dec 22nd, 2022

We decided to take it easy today. Me, my dad, and my sister just walked around Long Beach for a little bit, then sat in the room and watched T.V for a little bit as well!

Our hotel in Long Beach was right across from this place called The Long Beach Terrace Theater.  It was insanely decorated with Christmas lights. There was sooo much effort put into it; it was scary. But like awesome! 

So at night, when the lights turned on, me and my family went to take a few pictures.

Friday, Dec 23nd, 2022

Ok, so today we are leaving Long Beach and heading to San Diego!

I've wanted to go to San Diego ever since I read the book series called Harley Merlin, which is based in San Diego. Fair warning, I will mention random things about Harley Merlin and other book series, so you should really read all of them. Don't worry though, I'm going to do my best to stay away from spoilers!

Nothing really happened today. We pretty much got to the hotel, went swimming, then slept. 

The picture of the beach above is a beach we stopped at for a few minutes on the way.

Saturday, Dec 24rd, 2022

So today we left Shelter Island, which is where we were staying, and went to San Diego city. 

Before we reached the city, we did stop at a little park. And do you know what we saw at the park? 

We saw a sign on the ground that said something a little weird. The last line was supposed to stand for Sand Diego Park Department or something, but someone's brand manager messed up. Now it says, well you know. It's in the picture above (Yes, I know it looks weird, but I got bored on the car drive and decided to edit the photo to look super old. It's really a sidewalk.).

We stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt (search it up, it's really fancy). It's also super tall. Like 40 floors tall.

We went to the 40th floor and took a few pictures, then went to Seaport Village, which is a little town of shops. 

We drove around San Diego as well, but we didn't go to anything really interesting. 

Sunday, Dec 25th, 2022

Merry Christmas y'all! Today is our first real day in San Diego City!

We first opened our presents, obviously, doesn't matter if you're on a road trip, Christmas is still Christmas! 

After that, we went swimming. 

Later today, we went to Seaport village to find what to do. And guess what! We saw Marlyn Monroe! Not in the flesh of course. I think she was plaster. And don't ask about my hair, it's my mom's birthday, and she used her Birthday Card to give me and my sister French braids. I think I looked terrible. 

We also went on a bike ride. But this bike could seat up to 6 people. It was more of a carriage than a bike, but I'm not sure how to describe it. 

Also, quick tip, read the warnings! The one on the bike said only people 16 years and older could drive the bike. I ended up driving it for a while because my dad wanted to take pictures. Luckily, we didn't get caught. 

After that, we went to Coronado Island and saw that someone had made a very intricate sandcastle with different messages on it. It was sooo cool!

Monday, Dec 26th, 2022

GUESS WHAT!!!

Today we went to Balboa Park. And guess what is at Balboa Park!

The Fleet Science Center! If you didn't know (and you probably didn't), The Fleet Science Center is the setting for Harley Merlin. You know, the book series I'm kinda obsessed with. 

Well anyway, with much urging from me, my parents bought tickets to the Fleet Science Center. I was soooo happy!

So, we basically went in and took a look around the science center. Not including the book series that was set there, the science center as a whole was actually pretty cool!

It was like the Pacific Science Center in Seattle for those who have been there. Those who haven't, if you're stopping by Seattle sometime soon, you really should check it out! Sorry I had to give a shoutout to my hometown!

We did a whole lot there; they had everything from illusions to explanations of nanotech! Honestly, it was really interesting!

The picture of me in front of the emergency exit was at Kid City. The whole thing was pretty much that if you open the "Janitor's Closet" at Kid City and you had magic, you would be able to go into a "parallel dimension". I didn't find a janitor's closet, and this was the closest I could get. Again, pretty much obsessed with Harley Merlin.

I think most people know about the 5 balls that if you pull one back and let it hit the others, the last one would go up and it would keep repeating. The science center had a big one that you could actually use. 

After we left the science center and Balboa Park, we went back to Coronado Island. There I was forced to re-create a picture from when I was a baby. 

Both pictures are above.

And that was our last day in San Diego. We took to the road to go to Joshua Tree National Park.

We went into the park to see the stars. The best place to see the stars is at the Cottonwood Campground. Also, if you're going to go see the stars anywhere, not just at Joshua Tree, it's better to turn all lights off, so your eyes can get used to the dark. But as a side note, Painted Hills in Oregon had a better Milky Way view than Joshua Tree.

Tuesday, Dec 27th, 2022

Today we went to Joshua Tree National Park! 

There were so many rocks. The rocks were made of granite. You know, the shiny thing that people use for tabletops?

And the rocks were all in weird formations. Has anyone watched Marvel's Eternals? 

You remember the emergence of Tiamut? Yeah, the rocks all looked like that. 

And then we saw the Tree of Life. Which was dead. A real good omen for life right. The picture is above.

After that, we went back on the road to... drumroll please!

Las Vegas!

Wednesday, Dec 28th, 2022

Las Vegas! The strip of casinos called Las Vegas Boulevard is honestly overwhelming. Even in winter. 

We decided the best way to see Vegas, is to walk the entire strip, going into all the casinos we could. We stayed at the Mirage, which is near the middle. It's based on a tropical place.

First, we went to the Venician and the Palazzo, which was right across the street. There was a whole shopping mall with the casinos. Do you all know the Harry Potter Great Hall? How the ceiling reflected what the sky looked like outside? The shopping mall even had a gondola river running through it!

Well, the shopping mall had a ceiling that showed a blue sky. First time I saw it I got so confused. 

After that, we went to Caeser's Palace and there was another shopping mall there. 

And guess what, people actually walk around Las Vegas in high heels. There was a shoe vending machine for those who realized it was a stupid idea to walk around in high heels. A freaking shoe vending machine!

We went to a few more hotels including The Cosmopolitan, Luxar, and Aria and decided we were too exhausted to walk anymore, so we took a cab back to the Mirage.

We did see the fountain show at Caeser's Palace before we left. 

At the mirage there is a volcano show where there is a fake (but big) volcano that actually spews fire and water. It was so cool!

My mom was tired, so me, my sister, and my dad went to see a few more hotels. We saw Treasure Island, The Wynn and The Encore. We also saw another light show at the Wynn.

Thursday, Dec 29th, 2022

Welcome to the dam blog! Get it? Cause it's a blog about the Hoover Dam? Percy Jackson reference anyone?

So today we went to the Hoover Dam. We even went on a tour of the inside of the dam! 

We saw the turbines that made the hydroelectricity! They were HUGE! We even saw how and why they made the dam. 

Apparently the southwest was a really dry and parched land and no one could grow anything or live there. So, the government decided to make the Hoover Dam.

They first used dynamite to blow out holes in the walls of the canyon so they could divert the Colorado River around the site of the dam.  They built two coffer dams, which are basically smaller dams made from rock and stone, on either side of the dam to stop the water from bowling them all over.

Then they built the dam out of concrete building blocks. After that, they demolished the coffer dams and filled in the diversion tunnels. 

So, we basically went all throughout the inside of the dam, and dam that dam is a big dammed dam.

Sorry, that was needed.

Also, the Hoover Dam spans the border between Nevada and Arizona, so we did go to Arizona as well!

We also went to Rainforest Cafe. If you haven't heard of Rainforest Cafe, google it! It's awesome!!! 

Friday, Dec 30th, 2022

So today we are going to Death Valley National Park!

Nothing much happened today really. A lot of driving, a few pictures, sister got a little stomach bug, you know, normal stuff.

But here's the thing, we didn't find a hotel, and we were too far from the next city. Plus, we wanted to see Death Valley more tomorrow. So, my family being my family and doing whatever seems best without planning, decided to camp out in our car.

More on that tomorrow.

The first picture is a picture of my dad playing the Hobbit themed slots game. That was the only one I let him do. I'm not only obsessed with Percy Jackson and Harley Merlin; Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit is also on my loved book list.

Saturday, Dec 31st, 2022

I got sick.

That's right. You know that stomach bug my sister had? Well, I caught it. Found out at 3 am when I started throwing up.

Anyway, we decided to see the rest of Death Valley. We even saw the salt flat. It was a big area covered in salt. 

There's probably more, but I was sick and asleep.

Then we left Death Valley and headed to Stockton on our way home! But guess what. We went to fast and braked to hard and the tires started smoking. Like literally smoking. But the car was fine.

Sunday, Jan 1st, 2023

Happy New Year!

Today we're just driving back home. Nothing much, just almost at the end of our trip. 

Monday, Jan 2nd, 2023