 | | Kimberly in Hollywood California |
|  | | Kimberly feeding giraffe at San Diego zoo |
|  | | Anette and Kimberly on Grand Canyon flight |
|  | | Kimberly with Grandpa Deertz and cousins |
|  | | Anette and Kimberly at Epcot in Orlando Florida |
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In July 2006 we took a family vacation to the USA. We started our trip in Los Angeles California and then visited the following locations:
- World's First McDonald's Museum in San Bernardino, California
- A Ghost Town in Calico California
- The Hoover Dam (Colorado River on the border of Arizona and Nevada)
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- The Grand Canyon
- Phoenix, Arizona
- San Diego, California
See a map of our route to the right. You can click on any of the pin points to see the exact location.
After our western USA visit we flew to Jacksonville, Florida to visit with family and also visited Disney World in Orlando Florida.
Read about our travels below. |
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Los Angeles California / Hollywood Visit |
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 We spent our first day in Los Angeles, California. After getting over the jet lag we visited Hollywood Boulevard and walked down the Hollywood Walk of Fame where we saw all the stars. We also drove up into the foothills and got a "birds-eye" view of the city down below.
The next day we started driving eastward, read about our various stops below. |
|  | | The famous "Hollywood" Sign |
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Los Angeles / Hollywood Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow of our Los Angeles / Hollywood California visit. | | |
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1st McDonald's Restaurant Museum Stop |  After leaving Los Angeles our first stop was in San Bernardino California at the location of the World's first McDonald's restaurant. Although the original restaurant building no longer exist there is a McDonald's Historic Museum at this location. The museum had all sorts of memorabilia and was interesting to see. I wouldn't say that this museum is worthy of a special trip but if you are passing by its well worth a stop to see some of the old memorabilia, you can see more everything in about an hour. |
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Calico California Ghost Town Stop |  Our next stop on our journey towards the Grand Canyon was the Calico Ghost Town. The town was developed in 1881 during California's largest silver strike. The town included replicas of the old buildings and a small train that tourists could take a ride on. Similar to the first McDonald's stop this stop wouldn't warrant a special trip but if you are passing by this way it is well worth a visit. We spent about 2 1/2 hours at this stop which is more than enough to see the sights and have a snack to eat. |
| Calico Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow from our Calico Ghost Town visit. | | |
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 Our next stop on our eastward journey towards the Grand Canyon was the Hoover Dam on the Colorado river between Arizona and Nevada. When the Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 it was the world's largest electricity generating power station and the largest concrete structure. It was interesting to see the dam and visit the museum. We spent about 3 hours at the dam but with less crowds 1.5-2 hours would probably be sufficient to see the highlights. |
|  | | Family photo in front of Hoover Dam |
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Hoover Dam Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow from our Hoover Dam visit. | | |
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 The highlight of our Western USA visit was the Grand Canyon. We spent 2 days in the area and the highlight of this stop was the 1 hour airplane ride we took over the Grand Canyon. We would highly recommend anyone visiting the Grand Canyon to take an aerial tour as it definitely gives a different perspective than what can be seen from the ground. Another highlight of our visit to the area was dinner one night at the world famous Rod's Steakhouse in Williams, Arizona. This restaurant has some of the best and juiciest steaks you are likely to ever have. If in the area we would definitely recommend stopping there for lunch or dinner. |
|  | Anette and Kimberly with Grand
Canyon in the background |
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Grand Canyon Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow from our Grand Canyon visit. | | |
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 After visiting the Grand Canyon we headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for a one night stop. We stayed at the MGM Resort Hotel. Since we were only in town for one day we didn't have much of an opportunity to see much. We walk the strip and Bill had a chance to gamble a little in the casino in the evening. Another highlight was a stop at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe so Kimberly could get a pin which she collects. |
|  | Anette and Kimberly in front
of Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe |
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Las Vegas Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow from our Las Vegas, Nevada visit. | | |
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Other stops - Phoenix Arizona and Mexicali Mexico |  On our drive from Las Vegas to San Diego we made two stops along the way. We stopped in Phoenix Arizona to visit the Hard Rock Cafe so Kimberly could get a pin which she collects. While driving along Highway 8 towards San Diego we also stopped at the border town of Mexicali Mexico. We literally crossed the border and walked around the square simply to say we had visited Mexico. It actually took us longer with the returning immigration officer's questions than it did to walk around the Mexicali city square. Oh well, we hope to return and spend more time in Mexico in the future. |
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San Diego California Visit |
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 Our final Western USA stop was San Diego California. The highlight of this stop was our visit to the world famous San Diego zoo. We spent the entire day at the zoo and were never bored given how much there was to see and experience. |
|  | Anette and Kimberly
at the San Diego Zoo |
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San Diego Zoo Photo Slideshow |  A photo slideshow from our San Diego Zoo visit. | | |
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 After our Western USA tour we flew to Jacksonville Florida to visit with family. During our time in Florida we also visited Walt Disney World Epcot Center. Below are various photo slideshows from this portion of our trip. |
|  | | Kimberly with Aladdin characters at Epcot |
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Family Visit - Jacksonville Florida |  Photo Slideshow from July 4th at Jacksonville Beach with family. | | |
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| Walt Disney Epcot Visit |  Photo slideshow of Walt Disney World Epcot visit. | | |
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 | | Kimberly with Sugar |
|  | | Kimberly with Aunt Terri |
|  | | Kimberly with Aunt Terri |
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