Jennifer: Life and Times: Utah, Nevada and Disney's California Adventure!

Red rock scenery has been central to my existence these past few weeks, as the states to our east have beckoned me on multiple occasions. It all started with a teaser with some very authentic-looking scenery at the new Cars Land inside California Adventure! It was so fun to experience Disney's latest creation with my mom, and we had a blast noticing all of the Route 66 icons which we recognized from our many road trips together.

Labor Day weekend took my parents and John and I to Utah where we enjoyed hiking in scenery that was the real deal. We got a bit of rain on the Queens Garden/Navajo Loop trails in Bryce, but it only added to the fun (because it wasn't cold). Zion was breathtaking in more ways than one, since the sights are unbeatable and we made it all the way to the top of Angels' Landing. What a sense of accomplishment! Another highlight for me was revisiting the Narrows river hike that we enjoyed as kids, and I can't wait to go back again.

John and I planned to be spontaneous the following weekend and I really think we outdid ourselves. After visiting with a few of his friends in San Diego we were driving to Julian for strolling and pie. While passing a billboard for an Indian casino, John said, "that's what I want to do...I want to go to a casino with you." So I reply that we'll have to go to Vegas sometime as we had previously discussed (because really, if we're going to go to a casino, let's do it right). So John says, "do you want to go?" And the rest is history. Contrary to either of our completely planning-oriented personalities we headed to Vegas right from there with only the clothes on our back. We had a blast, but needless to say we planned to be "normal" the next weekend :-).