Travelling America - The Grand Canyon

It seemed like forever until we finally reached the Grand Canyon but it was so worth the wait. We eagerly jumped off the coach and immediately found our way to the Canyon Rim. It was a jaw dropping moment of awe. I genuinely turned to Molly and said "it looks like a green screen". The sprawling vastness of it was just incomprehensible and I felt so grateful that I was able to experience this in person. Just like New York and Yosemite, I think this is one of those places that you can only ever truly appreciate once your there, and it's well worth the trip!

We were lucky enough to stay in a lodge on the National Park site so we had free reign to wonder at our leisure for the rest of that evening once we had settled in our rooms. We watched the sunset over the canyon at Hopi Point both nights we were there and it was breathtaking (more on this in a later). 

After umm-ing and ahh-ing over spending the money and whether it was worth it, Molly and the tour guide kindly persuaded me to bite the bullet and go on the helicopter ride over the canyon. For this I will be eternally grateful. When else would I get this opportunity? It was incredible to see it from a whole other perspective, it truly is a phenomenal sight! Also I'd never been in a helicopter before so that was a cool experience too.

Obviously you can't go to the Grand Canyon and not get the cliche photos. Standing on the edge like this was actually kind of thrilling, you could sit right on the rim and look out over the canyon or even look down if you were brave enough! Places like this make you realise how small you are and it's kind of humbling. Being able to experience something like this with such an amazing and close friend was also the best feeling, I'll never forget this trip.

Without you this whole trip wouldn't have been the incredible experience it has been, it's not even over yet but I'm so grateful to have had you by my side the whole way. Thank you for everything mols 👭💖#myusasc

A photo posted by Beth Reeves (@bethreeves5) on Aug 30, 2016 at 8:24am PDT

The first night night we were there we went to the closest part of the canyon rim to our accommodation and star gazed. The sky was so clear and there must have been a meteor shower because we saw so many shooting stars.  

As I said earlier, the sunsets were amazing, I could watch them every night. They definitely made the stay more special and it was so lovely being able to be around the canyon in the evenings as well as in the day, it had a kind of magical presence, I felt really calm there. I distinctly remember being sat there as the sun was setting, we had a picnic with us and music playing that seemed to float around us as if we were in this bubble of perfect contentment. In case you couldn't guess I didn't want to leave.

And this is just a cheeky extra photo cause I think it's funny and it brings back great memories. Also Walmart is my favourite place.

Beth xo

Once again, keep an eye out for my next post, this journey hasn't finished yet!
You can find all my previous posts linked below.
West Virginia → New York
San Fran → Yosemite
Las Vegas & Route 66

Thoughts on Trump

I was quite shocked when I woke up on 9th November to see that the on feed of blogs I followed there wasn't one post about the US election. The next day there was only one. Now maybe I follow the wrong type of blogs or it's just not content they think they have a stance on or something they want on their blog but to me this is an event that will go down in history just as much as Obama being elected will. This is an event that affects everyone, whether you live in the US or not. So regardless as to whether you feel like it is something you are interested in or not, you should know about it.

I felt this just as deeply as I felt us leaving the EU. I stayed up until 6am to watch the election before I gave in to sleep and knew anyway that there was only one way it was going.

Unfortunately I was right, and when I woke up the next day, Trump was the new president of the United States and my heart sank. Not only because I have close friends who live there or because Trump epitomises everything a president shouldn't, but because I can see the potential consequences that will come of this.

I am very passionate about equal rights, for women, race, religion, the LGBT+ community and anyone who doesn't have access to the rights they are entitled to, because we are all human and we should all be equal. No one is better than another, or more deserving. Skin colour, gender and sexual orientation does not define who we are as people. 

Donald Trump also does not believe in climate change. This terrifies me as this is an issue that needed to be dealt with yesterday, yet now it could brushed to the side as insignificant. Major progress that has begun to happen could now be ripped apart by greed and ignorance. 

These are only a few issues I have with Donald Trump being the next president of America but I won't go on, I think you get the idea. However, I am so glad to see that America is not laying low about this, they are outraged and standing up to fight this injustice. I hope they succeed and I hope they don't give up. The only way we have got to where we are today is by fighting the oppressors and never giving up hope. It is not okay to belittle people and disrespect those you do not understand. 

It says more about you than it does the person you are singling out. 

This needs to be spoken about, don't stop now that it's done. It isn't over. 

Beth xo

*Disclaimer: I know I have not included every minority Trump has insulted, I'm not sure I would be able to cover them all! I do not mean to offend by this post, I merely feel too strongly about this issue not to have my say. I do not agree with how Trump has run his campaign and the way he used fear and discrimination to drive votes. 

Travelling America - Las Vegas & Route 66

Our next stop was Las Vegas and took quite a few hours on the coach, so we caught up on some sleep and watched a couple of films. The scenery was beautiful, so I spent a while just listening to music and watching it as we drove through the desert. It wasn't long however until we hit Sin City and right from the boarder you knew you were in Vegas. 

Of course we got the opportunity to take a picture with the famous 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign on the way to dinner at Planet Hollywood. 

I had the most amazing salmon salad, I can't even begin to explain how delicious this was! I'm drooling just thinking about it, I could have eaten 3 of them!

Obviously you can't visit Vegas without meeting Elvis! We were lucky enough to be surprised by our tour guide with a fake Vegas wedding in which two of our group were 'married'. I have the most hilarious videos of this Elvis singing and dancing, it was definitely one to remember.

Another perk included on our trip was a limo ride around Vegas with a bottle of champagne. The views were incredible and there was something that felt so extravagant about getting dressed up and driven around. Maybe the bubbles went to our heads but I will admit we stuck our heads out the windows (in our defence, there was no sunroof!).  

Obviously being under 21 I couldn't gamble at the casinos or go into any bars but that didn't mean we wasted our evenings, as it's Vegas there's always something going on. We took a ride on the High Roller (their version of the London Eye) at 2am(!), just because we could and it gave us some incredible views of the city, I swear it never sleeps! As well as this we watched the Fremont Street Experience, which is something I would recommend to anyone visiting. It's an amazing light show that covers the entire street like a ceiling. For 10 minutes all of the casino and street lights turn out leaving just the light show.

Aren't these pictures incredible?!

After a couple of nights in Vegas we all dragged ourselves onto the bus, I came away from those two nights having had around 6 hours sleep in total but when in Vegas right?

We got some much needed sleep on the coach before pit stopping in the quaint little town on Route 66 called Seligman. It was adorable and I literally felt like I was on the set of a cowboy movie! We took some touristy pictures and had a look around the little shop, it was so fun to see a forgotten about town that used to be on such an important highway.

That's all for this part. Make sure you keep following to see where we got to next.

Beth xo

Travelling America - San Fran to Yosemite

After a wonderful couple of days in New York City me and my friend, Molly, had to jump on a plane to San Francisco. This took us into a time zone 3 hours behind where we had been and that's just the start of my body clock getting confused! 

We landed the afternoon before the trek began so we had some time to get our bearings and to grab some food. We had a brief meeting with our tour guide and those on our trip that evening and then we headed to bed for some much needed sleep!

The next morning we were taken on a bus tour around the city, we were told the history and some interesting facts about San Fran. We had a few hours to wander around the harbour and grab some lunch before heading back onto the coach. We were then dropped off at one end the iconic Golden Gate Bridge so that we could walk across it, something I've always wanted to do, however it takes a lot longer than you'd think! It was very windy and foggy of course, quite typical of the location. 

We were then lucky enough to have a sunset cruise included in our trip, it was a lovely way to get to know the other people travelling with us and even though it was cold, it was a lot of fun. And yes, a wave did catch me out, I got wet.

The next morning we jumped on the coach and headed south west to Bass Lake, here we stayed at the beautiful Pines Resort. We shared a chalet between three and it was just the most picturesque surroundings. The sun was shining as we arrived so of course we headed straight for the pool.

From Bass Lake we travelled the short distance for a day trip to Yosemite National Park, a place I had been looking forward to since I landed in America. I have to say it totally lived up to it's reputation, the views were spectacular and we spent the day hiking and exploring.

Back to the resort we had a lovely meal and another sunset boat trip. This one we were allowed to jump off of into the lake. It was incredible; we had music playing, drinks flowing and conversations with people who were rapidly becoming good friends. The water was warm and the sun was setting, it was the perfect end to an amazing day.

Keep an eye out for my next post to follow the rest of my journey.

Beth xo