Random Observation/Comment #581: Not all activities revolve around drinking. It may seem like most of them do though… I’ll drink to that.
See previous blogpost for our babymoon planning. At a very high level, we spent 2.5 days roadtripping from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon, Page, and Sedona, then spent the other 2.5 days relaxing by the pool at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
Things Grand Canyon Does Well
- Beautiful sunrises – It’s majestic and a must-see
- Nature – The national parks are always breathtaking and the walk along the south rim is super simple for the pregnant wife
- Perfect weather at end of April (post Spring Break) – We were concerned that the wife would get over heated or it’d be super crowded, but we got lucky on both fronts
- Ranger tours and helpful advice – There’s so much to see and the visitor center is a great place to start
Things Grand Canyon Can Improve
- Food – We ate more fast food in 3 days then we had in 3 years. While drive-thrus are common on roadtrip, even when we settled into the hotel, the best option was the local McDonald’s.
- Handrails – most of the South Rim trail is completely open. Be very careful! It’s definitely not good for people who are afraid of heights or have recurring dreams about falling off the Grand Canyon.
Things Vegas Does Well
- Buffets – If you want to be a glutton, here’s a good place to do it. The buffet at the Wynn was pretty incredible
- Shows – Cirque de Sol has some amazing productions. I personally recommend Le Reve and Ka. I’ve seen Love, O, Penn and Teller, and Zumanity.
- Variety – You’ll likely find the type of food you want (at a 30% inflation on price). The strip is just one of those places you can easily burn a lot of money quickly.
Things Vegas Can Improve
- Smoking indoors – This is specifically bad for pregnant women, but there are ways to avoid the casino to get to the room.
- Outrageously high prices – But you already know this… it’s avoidable by going off the strip for meals. Buffets, while expensive, are totally worth it with all that variety.
Tips for the Babymoon
- Water bottles – 2L and travel water bottle was super helpful for refills
- Audiobook – or podcast series – Passes time while driving but also something fun to talk about while driving. We’ve picked suspenseful books for the entertainment factor. The Chemist was really riveting and a great way to have the time pass driving.
- No laptops – This was tough, but I decided not to do work during this break. There’s always plenty of work to be done
- Keep the car mess to a minimal – You’ll have to clean it up at the end anyway, so make sure to do some incremental cleaning
- Portable charger – You can’t always rely on the car to have a charger (or to it to charge quickly). I used my regular external charger.
- Visitor Centers – Rangers always know best nearby and they give great advice specific to light pregnancy hikes
- Didn’t unpack too much – Allowed for ourselves to just travel light and switch locations as needed.
- Take advantage of the “Now” opportunities – We’re so glad we did hoover dam and route 66 along the way because there’s no use planning for a return trip to do something. Just do it in the now! “Think in years. Work in months. Live in days.”
- Tissue box and plastic bags in the car – You will get tons of napkins from fast food, but it’s nice to have nicer tissues if you get a stuffy nose
Our itinerary:
Monday – morning flight from NY to LAS
Arrive at 10:30AM ; take a 15 min shuttle from the airport to the car pickup place;
Lunch at In-N-Out – never had it, but followed the advice to order from the secret menu. Also, ask for the fries crispy.
Drive to Grand Canyon towards South Rim – 4.5 hours away –
Super simple: 93 South to 40 East to 64 North
Stopped at Hoover Dam – around 1pm parked at the first area on the Nevada side to cross the bridge
Checked in at Grand Canyon Plaza – review on Google
FYI – $30 for a 1-7 day car ticket into Grand Canyon
Watched sunset at Yavapai Point
Restaurant in the hotel – DO NOT eat at the restaurant in the hotel. It’s really really bad.
Tuesday
Wake up at 4:30am (easier because of Jetlag)
Sunrise at Yavapai point
Drove to Grand Canyon Visitor Center (opens early)
Parked the car there and left it there to use the bus system
Walked to Mather point – beautiful spot, but crowded
Walked the south rim trail from Mather point towards South Kaibab trail (1 hour leisure walk along the rim trail). Beautiful view and paved for biking
Walked down South Kaibab trail where there’s usually some mules. Switchbacks are pretty easy, but can be strenuous for pregnant women.
Took yellow bus line back to the Grand Canyon visitor center (comes every 15 min)
12:30pm – Ate a quick lunch and suddenly decided to do Antelope Canyon (2.5 hours one way). Super simple 64 East to Cameron and 89 North to Page, Arizona
Took the 4:30pm tour from Antelope Canyon photography tours – $40 per person – totally worth it. We called ahead by phone to book the time.
Tour was awesome – Tons of photos on FB – done by 6pm
Sunset in Page at horseshoe bend
Drive 2.5 hours back home – super dark so be careful
Wednesday
Slept in because of all the driving – decided to do Sedona through Flagstaff
Sedona is 2.5 hours away – 64 South to 40 East to 89 South to 105
Drop by Hike House – super helpful!
Hike Margs Draw trail – 1.5 miles each way with very flat and well groomed trails
Great lunch at Wildflower Bread Company – Started driving around 2pm
Drop off Vinessa at Wynn at 6pm and return car
Lyft from car rental to the Wynn is about $8 each way
Red8 take out to eat in the room
9:30PM watched KA at MGM – cab ride needed to get to the MGM to Wynn. Note that hotels are very far away from each other even though they look pretty close.
Thursday
Completely free day
Relax at the pool
Terrace point cafe lunch
Walk around Palazzo, Venetian, and other hotels – avoid the casino areas because of smoke
Poolside drinks – over-priced, but it’s nice to have a girly drink
Night time dinner with Elbert – always good to catch up with the cousins!
Friday
Another completely free day
Morning Terrace Point Cafe – get the huevos rancheros
More relaxing and naps
Red8 for lunch
Some day drinking
Allegro dinner at 730 (also not as good as expected)
Night time watch Le Reve in the Wynn at 9:30pm
Saturday
Fly back to NY by 7PM
~See Lemons Love Grand Canyon
