USA Roadtrip 2013: Part 3

Hello,

I am finally blogging the last part of my USA series!!!

So in this post we were in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon before we headed back to Vancouver!

Maybe I watched too many Hollywood movies and had too high an expectation, or maybe I went there with my parents, but it wasn't as nice as it had been portrayed to be! I was expecting bright lights, casinos everywhere (this bit was true), and free drinks (IDK WHY)... Firstly, the lights were okay - in comparison with NYC's Time Square...their LED light displays were MEH. Secondly, there were a lot of people promoting strip clubs or prostitutes (literally had people dressed up in a t shirt saying "FAST - we get the girls to you in 20 minutes" giving out flyers... I mean, is it really necessary???

But I do get that it's Vegas and I shouldn't hv went with my parents. But still, I expected a lot. The most fun in Vegas was watching Cirque du Soleil "O" at the Bellagio! The show was simply amazing. I was very captivated by most acts (some acts were pretty boring (the ones similar to those you see in Orchard Road), and I did yawn - oops). Nevertheless, the show from the very beginning was extremely interesting and the stage setting was so beautiful. It was kinda like a water show - people were appearing and disappearing from the water. Amazing and once more, amazing!

In Vegas, we also went to a premium outlet. Holy cow! Premium outlets are the places to be at! I think we went to 5 premium outlets in total or something. Some were really lame and boring, but some were freaking amazing! The amazing ones had bigger name brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and even Bally. I didn't buy anything too expensive because I used my own money most of the time. Except for a Michael Kors bag my mommy bought for me! Now that I think of it I wish I had brought it over man................. 

A big regret was not being able to eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Vegas. Also, we didn't go for an international buffet at one of the restaurants which would have probably been amazing. Oh well, there's always a next time! I want to earn money fast and bring my parents around! :)

After Vegas, we were in Arizona!!! To visit the majestic Grand Canyon. It was fucking fabulous!!! But to prepare you for the Grand Canyon, here are some pictures we took even before we were in Grand Canyon City. 

TOP OF THE WORLD - almost...

Somewhere outside, near our hotel! 

And... are you ready for this??? Grand Canyon

in 

3

2

1

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not, in the picture below, we weren't blinking, we both just have really small asian eyes. HAHAHA

Zy enjoyed himself very much! He loves nature and all (he's kinda like the complete opposite of me), and look at him standing so close to the edge! My daddy was THIS close to scolding him! My dad has a fear of heights and was afraid Zy was gonna fall backwards! HAHAHA My daddy is the cutest!

It was surprisingly cold and windy when we were in Arizona - which is seldom the case... So my parents decided to hide inside these 'bushes' while waiting for the shuttle bus! Hahahaha Aren't they the cutest? And my daddy is carrying my bag LOL.

Dare devil????? HAHAHA NAH, I just made it look like it was a cliff. Success??? ;)

Peaceful - or I might have been really afraid of falling backwards while taking this picture (below)! HAHAHA

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."

- Theodore Roosevelt

We were all extremely in love with Grand Canyon. Like Theodore Roosevelt mentioned, this wonder is unparalleled throughout the world, and I have to agree. This wonder is a natural wonder and it just looked pretty damn amazing to have this grandeur out of nowhere for us to admire. I know Zy loves it there and would want to go back! And I would go back there with him. :) 

After 2 nights at the Grand Canyon, we started our journey back home to Vancouver! It took us 3 days just to get back... 

We passed by Hoover Damn on the way back! Which was also extremely nice to look at - but it was warm, warm, warm there!!!

ON THE ROAD!!!

Some railway we passed by and I decided that zy should pose here. LOL.

Gorgeous sunset!

You're welcome, but I doubt I will go again... Not that their service was bad, but because I don't think we will travel that much on the road again. 

This view is an absolute delight!!! Idk how the clouds worked their magic, but look!!! Half the mountain is gone!!!! Hahaha, oh and we were at yet another premium outlet.

Back to Canada!!!

Here's a picture of my daddy helping out in my uncle's garden. I think he aspires to be a gardener when he retires! Hahahah Or maybe he's just acting diligent. HAHAHA

Zy and I went on another date to Stanley Park! I have been there once...a loooooong looooong time ago! When I was 14! Couldn't remember anything besides the big tree (which you will see later)! 

Look here's ZY and the rest of Vancouver! LOL

And there's me!!!

Okay, then us! Hahahaha the pictures came out really nice so I had to post everything ;)

Okay!!! TREE! Massive hollow tree that some conservationists are still trying to save. It fell some time ago, during a storm, and they are now using metal rods to hold it together. If you look carefully, you'll see a metal rod right behind. It is supposedly really wide - wide enough to fit a car, probably not the whole car but if the other end were open, a small car would be able to drive though.

OH LOOK DOLPHIN!!! We decided to go to the aquarium despite have very little time left and I am glad we did! Hahaha! I haven't been to the SEA aquarium in Singapore, so I can't compare, but this aquarium was really nice! They had a lot of shows - which we didn't manage to catch unfortunately because of the time we had. We caught a 4D show though! Hahaha

STUCK HERE MUAHAHAHA

That was probably it from our little date! Wilfred and Winston brought our families for dinner! We had Japanese food!!! I love the Japanese cuisine! Then we went to somewhere opposite Canada Place and took a couple of pictures here! 

Thanks Winston and Wilfred for the dinner!!! :)

On our last day out in Vancouver before we headed back to Singapore, we just hung out at Canada Place yet again! And went shopping at Robson! Didn't buy a lot of things before we had to head back! 

I really should have taken pictures of our lunch at Red Robin. I seldom like white people places, but my family wanted something Canadian so we went there! Had this orgasmic burger and holy cow Imma bring my friends there - if they ever come!!! GUYS YOU ALL READING THIS???

And then it was back to Singapore! I honestly miss the times when my family and boyfriend were over in Canada with me. Just touring, and enjoying ourselves. I wish Zy can come over again. I miss him :( LDR sucks... I hope Dec comes quick so I get to see him soon!!! I want to travel with Zy again! HELLO YOU READING THIS???

After I went back to Singapore, I took very little pictures. I have grown so lazy to utilize my camera. But I like taking pictures, so I think I will pick it up again very soon! Need to document my life MORE. I have some pictures on film and I will upload them here soon! So stay tuned to mynameiscand! 

In the meantime, instagram: cutheties

FOLLOW ME!!! I update my instagram more often than I update my facebook. Trust me on that. Fb is becoming obsolete in my life right now. Hahahaha! See you on the other side!

XX

USA Road Trip 2013: Part 1

If you all have been following my instagram, you would have known that my family and boyfriend and I had a great holiday in North America!!! I was SO stoked to have all of them here!

I decided that I would blog again when I saw these pictures, they were too nice to be hiding in my computer!!!

Here's my visual diary of what happened and what went down in Canada and the US of A!!!

So everyone arrived in Vancouver on the 30th of April (I have no pics of the airport) via China Airlines! They had pretty amazing service and I really like their aeroplanes because the seats are 2 by 4 by 2, which means if you sit by the sides, you only sit beside one person! And that makes it a lot more convenient when you want to go to the toilet!

Back to the topic, they came over and we went sight seeing in Vancouver itself! Zheng Yu and I also celebrated our 3rd year anniversary in downtown Vancouver, where we had dinner at The Keg. I'm sorry for the pretty unpleasant night baby :( Basically, I was being bitchy and whiney about everything. But we got over that, and hey!!! 3 fucking years and I love you more than ever now! No pictures though, the lighting at the steakhouse was horrible.

On another day, we went to Mount Seymour! Doesn't it look pretty??? Erm, yes, it was already late spring and snow was still there! But people couldn't ski anymore though.

And this is us at Whistler, where the Winter Olympic rings of 2010 were. Here we are, posing with the rings! Hahahahah

And then we left for a different park, where there was this suspension bridge! 

I swear walking on the bridge was really scary! It could sway from one side to another and there are no other places of support except for the two ends of the bridges. It was also very steep towards the ends of the bridge! This is not the Capilano suspension bridge, it was a smaller bridge in a nature park, and my cousin thought would be more interesting than the Capilano one, which was more commercialized.

No other country can beat Canada when it comes to nature. They have lush trees and forests almost everywhere! You can hike up a small mountain anytime during the summer and it is just pretty damn awesome to be able to see snow capped mountains in the background. 

So here, I went out with my aunt, my cousin, mommy, and Zhengyu to Granville Island! It is a quaint little island with its own brewery and a small market! We decided that we would enjoy some snacks there and I seriously loved my toffee nut latte (not in the picture), so much so I think I want to go back there for the same drink again!!! We also had blueberry/raspberry scones, pear tarts, perogies, and macaroons! Now I am hungry...........DAMN! The pastries all look so pretty, no??

After that, we started our 3 weeks long road trip to USA!!! 

We stayed over in Roseburg, OR for a night, but there was nothing much there, it was pretty much just traveling on the car the whole time. My uncle drove, and all I have to say is, thank you X infinity!!!

After Roseburg, we found ourselves in San Francisco! It was really weird because San Francisco was foggy and cold, even colder than Vancouver! Usually, it's not like that at that time of the year... But it was when we were there, so...lucky us!

Here's a view from our apartment window!!! Isn't it amazing! We had the nicest host ever, thank you Maribel, and we all loved the apartment very much :)

Downtown San Francisco! Cable car! This is their extremely famous cable car which goes up and down the streets, and to the famous fisherman's wharf and Lombard street (which will be mentioned slightly later)!

Here I am, some where NEAR the wharf, not at the wharf! Just chillin' in front of some boats! LOL. I bought that sweater I was wearing for Zy, but it was so cold and I didn't have any sweaters, so I wore it before he could wear it. Oops. Sorry baby! 

Some street near Fisherman's Wharf that looked nice! Hahaha

My daddy decided that we should go on a 2 hour sightseeing cruise, while my mommy and uncle (who went on this cruise before) went shopping and walked around elsewhere. 

Did I mention that it was very windy??? HAHAH Look at my hair!!!!!

So many sealions residing here, they just were hanging and swagging out like bosses on the platform. They came and never left. Okay, they left the platform, but they always came back again. Hahahah

The gorgeous night view from our apartment! What's not to like about the apartment?!?

And here's the second day!!! Here's me at Lombard Street (if you were paying attention I was talking about this earlier!). What's so special about this street?? It is a street that is literally zigzagged. Cars have to make sharp turns and go left and right and left and right to get to the bottom of the street. You can see the streets from the background of the pictures (hopefully)! 

So ya, here's me at Lombard Street with some person at the side, and my bag very unglamorously left open. So.......

..... Zy (I assume it was zy, or my daddy) cut everything unsightly out. Teehee! 

Hi baby, if you're reading this I love you, and look! Look! I don't know why when the camera snaps and takes the picture, more often than not, you will close your eyes! It happens so often and I never upload pictures here because you have your eyes closed. So nice of me, eh??? ;) Next time I shall compile a list of pictures where you have your eyes closed in the pictures! You are too cute, my cutie pie!!!!!!!

 

Le parents! Forever YOUNG!!!

And here's all 4 of us! Yay!

After that, we went to Chinatown because apparently, the Chinatown in SF has the biggest Chinese community in North America and blah blah. It was quite extensive, and we had good dim sum!!! I was happy, since I didn't have a lot of dim sum in Canada! Baby looking happy! :)

Oh dammit, where was this.........??? It was another famous street, but I honestly can't remember the name. I remember just taking pictures there and then leaving because it was cold and windy and we were all kinda hungry. Hahahahah oops!

We left for Los Angeles (or more like Anaheim) the day after! And that will be in my next post! :)

So there you have it, the first part of my USA trip with my family and my beloved bf! Teehee!

XX