las vegas | downtown container park

in ,

I didn't know what all the fuss was about when it came to the downtown container park in Las Vegas. That is until I went. The first thing I smelled was incredible food. The first thing I heard was children playing. And the first thing I saw was how great of a park this is! The container park is just as it sounds ... a park built from refurbished train containers. It's really kind of a cool and colorful idea! Smack dab in the middle of the park is a giant treehouse for kids to entertain themselves in. When I have children, or if people with children come to visit, this would definitely be the first place I take them! They even have outdoor movies on weekend nights! It's for adults, too, complete with an open container policy after 9pm and live music.

Bottom line is ... this park has it all! Next time I go will be on an empty stomach.

kauai

in ,

Before visiting the island of Kauai I had heard it was paradise ... the prettiest place ... heaven. I'd visited Oahu twice so I thought I knew what Hawaii had to offer. Boy was I wrong!! Kauai really is a tropical paradise! It's small enough to see the entire island during your trip, there is enough variation in scenery for everyone's tastes, activities for all skill levels and interests, and some of the prettiest coastline I've ever seen. The towns throughout the Island are small and quaint but with big taste! We were very impressed with the food in Kauai, but outside of the hotels.

Some of the highlights of our trip were:

  • Catamaran to the Na' Pali Coastline ... we saw three pods of dolphins, two sea turtles, lots of jumping fish, and of course while we snorkeled we saw many brilliantly colored fish.
  • Kayaking up the Wailua River to the Secret Falls. It was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but a workout as well!
  • Hiking the Na' Pali Coast up the Kalalau Trail 3 miles in and wow ... such a pretty hike!
  • Hiking to one of the wettest spots on earth! Mount Waialeale receives 450+ inches of rain a year! It was a muddy hike, complete with a fall and being covered entirely in mud!
  • Stand-Up Paddle Boarding in Hanalei Bay
  • Touring a Taro Farm
  • The short hike and the gorgeous view at the Queen's Bath
  • Waimea Canyon was unreal!

Bottom line is we had a blast and we will return there in our lifetime, guaranteed! 

zion national park

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Last weekend I went down to Zion National Park with my husband, Paul, and our friends, Jamie and Ryan, to camp in the park. Wow. WOW! Zion blew me away. It's smaller than I thought but just as beautiful as I had imagined, or even more so. Something I love about living in SLC is that it makes it easy to get to some of the most beautiful spots in the world in only a few hours, so weekend trips are entirely doable. I have no clue why I don't go camping on more weekends, truthfully, but this was just the ticket for a great weekend trip!