Country Roads, Take Me Home...

Eventually, we finally made it home.  The winding West Virginia roads took us back to familiar landscapes.  As the trip ended we were sad but also relieved.  It was a fantastic trip and we were so blessed to have been able to go.  We made so many memories that we will never forget.  Lauren & I are now safe and sound in Winchester getting our selves ready for her last year of PT school and my 3rd year of teaching. 

The St. Louis Gateway Arch!

Home Sweet Home!

Our Appalachian Mountains!

GOAL!!

Driving across Kansas was NOT the highlight of our trip.  Flatness, flatness, and more flatness.  At least we didn't get sucked up by a twister.  Driving across the long monotonous Kansas landscape ended up being totally worth it... We had a blast that night!!!  During our stay in Kansas City, Lauren & I decided to go to an MLS soccer game.  The game was played at LiveStrong Sporting Park between Sporting Kansas and REAL Salt Lake.  LiveStrong Sporting Park was amazing!  Although there is not a bad seat in the intimate stadium, we were lucky enough to be sitting in the second row!  We could literally reach out and touch the players!  The atmosphere was electric game was very exciting.  The match ended with Sporting Kansas (the underdog) winning 2 - 0!  My favorite part of the night was how much fun Lauren had!  When we left she was already talking about us possibly going to see my favorite team D.C. United play later this season!

LiveStrong Sporting Park:  Pre Game

Ya... we were that close!

Blue Hell:  That is the hardcore Kansas fan section

Rocky Mountain High...

The next stop on our trip was the Mile High City of Denver, CO.  Driving through Colorado was amazing.  Lauren & I were able to get out and stand in the ice cold Colorado River... the same river that shaped the Grand Canyon, where we had been only days before.  The view from the road as we drove through the Rockies was truly beautiful.  As we approached Denver the weather turned on us a bit, however, we were still able to make it pretty close to the top of the 14,000 Foot Mount Evans.  On the way up we passed two mountain lakes and some great overlooks.

Colorado River!

Echo Lake at the Base of Mt Evans

Overlook on Mt Evans

When we arrived in Denver, we were starving!  No worries though, Denver is the home of one of Lauren & I's favorite places to eat... CHIPOTLE!  Yes, I can honestly say that eating at the First Chipotle ever created was the highlight of our trip to Denver.... Delicious!!

Denver Skyline

The First Chipotle Ever!

Red Dirt Road...

After leaving Las Vegas, Lauren & I headed to the more rustic destination of Arches National Park in Moab, UT.  First of all, let me just say that Utah is one of the most gorgeous states that we have had the privilege of driving through.  As we pulled into Arches we realized that neither of us had ever been in a place anything like this.  There were huge formations of red rock as far as the eye could see.  Just like in the Grand Canyon, we decided to stay two nights instead of just one.  Our first night mostly consisted of setting up camp and exploring our campsite, which was awesome by the way.  Directly off our site there were huge sandstone rock formations that were easily climbable.  Lauren watched as I was totally transformed into a kid again...  I pretty much climbed everything we came across during our whole stay at Arches! The night ended with us watching an amazing sunset.  During the rest of our stay, we went on a couple of hikes out to some of the more popular rock arches in the park, hung around camp reading and relaxing, and watched an even more amazing sunset followed by a beautiful sunrise on our last morning.  All in all it was a great time!

Camp Duffy!

The World Famous Delicate Arch 

Lauren & I at Delicate Arch

Double Arch:
 P.S. The 3rd Indiana Jones Movie was filmed here!

Lauren & I at South Window

Landscape Arch

A Large Rock Formation Outside of Our Campsite...
Oh Wait!  Who is that on top?

Sunset View From Our Campsite!

You Gotta Know When To Hold Em', Know When to Fold Em', Know When To Walk Away, & Know When To Run...

Viva Las Vegas!!!

So it was finally time to start our journey home... but there was NO WAY we were coming back the same way we came.  There was certainly more adventure to be had.  Lauren & I headed North East out of California and into Nevada.

Our first stop was the Hoover Dam.  Now that the bypass bridge is complete, it provides an excellent vantage point to view the Dam.  It was definitely something worth seeing... very impressive.

The Bypass from Nevada to Arizona

Next it was finally time to head to Las Vegas!!  This has been one of the greatest highlights of our trip so far.  After checking into the Paris Hotel & Casino, Lauren and I first walked around our hotel (which we soon realized was like a small city).  Next we decided to walk the strip.  There are so many awesome street performers and things to see!  We then decided to try our hand at some gambling... I'll just say "We won a little... we lost a little... Lets just leave it at that."  It was not long into the night though, that Lauren & I realized that we already couldn't wait to come back!

Paris Hotel & Casino

The World Famous Bellagio Fountains

Sean Trying to Figure Out How to Play Slots

Crazy Flexible Person

Human Statue

The Strip

Seeing the city lit up at night was by far the best part of our stay.

Bellagio Water Show!

Now we are off to Moab, UT to hike and camp in Arches National Park!

Welcome to the Hotel California...

It was difficult to leave the Grand Canyon, however Lauren & I knew that we would soon be putting our toes in the waters of the Pacific Ocean!  After surviving all of the traffic in L.A. and getting to our hotel in Hollywood, we headed down towards the water!  On our way we made a quick detour to drive through Beverly Hills... Lauren was secretly hoping to see a REAL Housewife of Beverly Hills ... I was NOT!  Anyway, after that we finally made it down to the Santa Monica Pier where we were able to see, smell, and touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time!  We had done it... we had finished our drive from Coast to Coast... PURE SATISFACTION!  We spent that evening eating dinner on the Pier and watching the sunset.  After dinner we took a ride up Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu... Watching the sun's final light fade away over the water as we drove along the coastline was priceless.   I must say however, Lauren & I were both ready by the next day to leave the hustle & bustle of the second largest city in our country... Even though Lauren was totally bummed she didn't get to see any Kardashians!

Beverly Hills

This one is for the Baywatch lovers! 

We Made It!!

The Sun Sets on the West Coast...