Did we make it?...

Once we arrived we discovered both our tents had survived (unlike our “neighbours”) we prepared dinner and then headed to the night show, which was really a sight to see. 

Part of the night show

There were planes with fireworks on them which was a delightfully new way to have a firework show, then they repeated the wall of fire which I really enjoyed, and even managed to get a few good pictures of it. 

Night time fire wall

Fire wall at night

Then we headed back to campsite, and finally to “Plakkerfontein.” Which is where the noisy bunch of South Africans hang out. They actually have a designed campsite where they have a storage room (for the tents and equipment) as well as their own set of porta-potties and they have even renamed their street (rows of tents have roads separating them , which I suppose helps when trying to find your green, blue or gray tent in a field full of them, it also helps that the roads are numbered numerically) until you get to Mandela Boulevard, which shines in all its safa glory.

Plakkerfontein!

We partied with the South Africans that night and Karabo even found a mutual acquaintance of a school friend. Once the festivities were over we headed to our tents, ready for rest … on our air mattress, apparently Americans know how to make camping comfortable.

Mandela Blvd, Oshkosh, WI

The next morning was marked by baking in the tent from the early morning sun rays, I suppose it could have been rain…or more wind so I am not going to complain! We had to take down our tents, pack up and drive back to Milwaukee, filled with memories and ready to share exciting stories my 16 days vacation was coming to an end…but that’s okay, by this stage I had started to miss the boys and AJ, and even Milwaukee, so bring on Monday morning…I think…

The decorated girls bathroom at Plakkerfontein

Rules of a road trip…

1.) I may be wrong…but I doubt it!

2.) Riding a bike is fun, stopping a bike is a little more difficult

3.) Absolutely no undressing in National Parks (don’t ask why we had to make this rule)

4.) Don’t judge!

5.) Break the rules and you go to prison. Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz.

6.) If it squawks it means you are too close!

7.) Don't not feel the squirrels…or any wildlife in any National parks…(Nina)

8.) If it’s got my hair on it, it’s belongs to me.

9.) Just cos you speak a certain language doesn't mean you are from that country…(I.e. Germany)

10.)  Locking the car door protects you from; bears, snakes and Mexicans

11.) Take 2 pictures if it’s pretty…3 if it’s REAAAAL pretty

12.) Just  because they advertise parking and breakfast, it doesn't mean it’s free

13.) Austin says, “Take the motorway.”

On to Osh Vegas…

Tyler picked Nina and I up from the airport, as we had one night in Milwaukee before our weekend adventure.  Tyler had arranged a welcome home surprise for me once I got back from my big adventure, so it was great to know that I had been missed and thought of.

Now I know what SA really stands for...LOL

We were going to the EAA, (http://www.airventure.org/) which is an air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  This means we all have to wake up super early and head up North to the air show where Tyler’s sister Kelly was involved. Karabo and Nina were joining us on this camping trip, which Tyler had told me about the first time we met. He found out I was South African, and told me that every year a bunch of South Africans attend the air show and that I should stick around to see it.  Since I did stick around I wanted to go out with these flight-loving-biltong eaters, Karabo of course was just as excited as I was.

EAA plane

On the way up we pass a life-sized familiar looking diamond sign with the words “Welcome to Osh Vegas” scrolled around it, and I knew we were close by although the main tell tale signs could have been the huge airport, with many planes around, both in the air and grounded.

Osh Vegas!

Once we had checked in, found food and done a mini tour Kelly came to collect us on her work golf-cart, yes please! She gave us a real tour of the grounds and showed us the most impressive sights before delivering us to the best stop to watch the plane action. This involved a few acrobatic planes doing amazing “tricks” (is that what they are called?), then the fire wall which is a huge wall that basically explodes so the skyline erupts in a wall of fire then turns into black smoke before settling, the heat coming off it is crazy hot!

The fire wall

The smoke wall

Lastly we experience a wind that was so strong they had to ground all planes and people were running back to their cars and other places of shelter. Tyler had gone to set up our tents so  Karabo, Nina and I were stranded and not sure which way to head…so we just sat there hoping to not be lifted off the ground and flung to some new part of Wisconsin or America! (Okay maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration but you get the picture?) Luckily for us Kelly came to our rescue (in the golf cart) and took us to her office building. We got to meet her co-workers and hang out till it was deemed to venture out to the campsite.

Karabo chilling after the windstorm

Counting the costs…

At the end of our inspiring 14 Days, 5 States, 10 Cities, 4 National parks road trip (plus 3 flights) has come to an end…and the conclusion of it is…

For a road trip 2 girls apparently need…

*        56 Water bottles (mainly for Death Valley)

*        15 Garbage bags

*        10 Bottles of chocolate milk

*        5 Boxes of tissues

*        4 Sticks of chap stick

*        4 Packs of Skittles

*        4 Bottles of orange juice

*        3 Packs of gum

*        3 Packs of wet wipes

*        2 Packets of chips

*        2 Tubes of toothpaste

As well  as 22 tanks of gas, 3219 miles of scenery, lots of laughter, good music (including the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync and Justin Bieber), less than the needed amount of sleep, 5 Starbucks visits and probably 1000 miles of walking!                                       

               J Thanks for the memories J

Taken at Alcatraz

Back to Milwaukee…for the night…

We had to drive back to Vegas, which GPS said would take 4 hours…but somehow managed to only be a 2.5 hours drive, hmmm…strange…When we arrived the voice of Austin Powers announced, “You have reached your destination, groovy!”

Apparently Austin has no idea where we are...GREAT!

Nina had never experienced the enjoy that is In-and-Out-Burger, so I figured burgers for lunch! It was glorious and took me back to my first day in California November 2009, when Donna picked me up from LAX took me for a scenic drive, then introduced me to In-and-Out-Burger. (Thanks again for everything, Donna)

Back in Vegas!

Driving back to Vegas airport was uneventful. Saying goodbye to our friend and home, from the past 12 days was emotional! Boogie we will miss you, our teeny-tiny silver driving machine full of wondrous adventures!

Once in the airport we realized we had enough time to pack, unpack and repack the entire contents of our bags to try and make them ‘fit’ again. Ever noticed how your luggage seems to expand on the way home? How does that happen?! Finally we reach the security-check line and it dawned on me that many weeks (maybe even months) of planning that accumulated in this epic trip are about to all be over, it’s a weird feeling. I also began to realize there are still people that have NO IDEA what to do to prepare for a smooth, quick check in…so we were stuck behind a clueless couple…

Bye Bye Boogie :(

Everyone boarded the plane super fast apparently as we were able to take off 20 mins earlier than planned, whoop whoop!

Going up North…

The morning started with a grocery store stop, which meant stocking up on fruit loops, chocolate milk and ice-cream for breakfast (shhh! Don’t tell our moms.)We entered the park through the South entrance again and drove straight to Desert view, the old watch tower.

Desert View, South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ

After walking up winding stairs, we reached the top level where we were able to see a stunning view of the Canyon.  Magnificent view in the clouds, a rainbow! After that I knew it was going to be an amazing day.

Rainbow cloud

We continued onto the North Rim, briefly stopping at the visitor’s center (on the way there we saw some buffalo that we just hanging out in the fields), to collect a map and some info and then continuing along our chosen route to some more look out points.

Buffalo hanging out in the field, AZ

North Rim, AZ

On the way back to the hostel we realized that we were low on gas, and there were no gas stations around…after much hoping and praying we saw a little gas station on the side of the road, but before we got our hopes up, we realized they were closed! Seriously?! A lady came and told us that there was another gas station not too far away in Flagstaff, unfortunately this was in the opposite direction from our hostel, but with not wanting to risk it we took the detour…

Nina and I at the Canyon, AZ

North Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ

After many hours of driving we finally made it back to the hostel, glad that we were safe and sound.

View from Desert View, AZ

Desert View, AZ

A day of driving…to see it all…

A great wonder of the world and I get to see it! This trip has turned out to be a true adventure of discovery and exploration. On route to Arizona we took a detour to Hoover Dam, which is a man made dam in Nevada and Arizona. It was a wow moment to look over the edge and see the massive body of water below.

Hoover Dam

We decided to keep on our merry way and turned on the GPS which was meant to take us there…unfortunately she seemed very lost, and I felt uneasy shouting at the voice in my car, so I convinced Nina to change the voice to a man’s, still unsatisfied we decided to allow the voice of Austin Powers to accompany us along the journey. He was just as lost as generic female voice, however… he was definitely more amusing!

State line of Arizona

 The road to Williams was pretty fun and once we were cruising down Route 66 I was certain this next part would feel just like in the movies! Once we reached Williams we parked the car and strolled around the small town, and sat down for a wonderful diner-style meal.

In Williams, on Route 66

After we managed to check into our hotel (which was repping the SA rand!) we headed towards the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. We parked the car and headed to the bus stop. The bus took us to Pima Point (I think) where we got to watch the sunset - it was A.MAZING!

South Rim sunset, Grand Canyon, AZ

After the wonderful sunset we caught the bus back to our car, which took 45 minutes and then another 10 minutes to find our car. It was pitch black by now and with no lights in the parking lot we figured the only way to find your car is to jump in the air (yes, jump) and press the unlock button…don’t ask, just test it.

South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ

Nina and I at the Grand Canyon, AZ

Just chilling in the Canyon, AZ

The beautiful Canyon, AZ

Back to the hostel and I figured out that all the lights are on a senor! This was both awesome and partly annoying. We heated up our left over’s and had our second hot meal for the day. After researching our route for the next day, as well as uploading and downloading and whatever else-ing pictures we were ready for bed!

Look for the R100 and R20...

Amazing…no really…amazing!

Two free night shows…the Bellagio fountains and the Treasure Island pirate show. The pirate show is a staged battle between the pirate boys and the siren girls who eventually sink the pirate ship and win the battle, but not before we see some dancing, some signing and some hot bodies (shirtless boys with 6 packs…hmmm)

Boys pirate ship

Girls pirate ship

The finale

But I must say my favourite has to be the Bellagio fountain show, it’s simply magical! After watching it a few times Nina and I managed to get some awesome footage of the show…so I’ll share it with you all, enjoy!

Solving a crime…ain’t so hard…

Once we were done walking the strip we headed to the MGM Grand Casino (no, not to gamble) but rather to join the CSI experience, which is where you “investigate” a crime that has occurred. You get to walk around the crime scene taking notes, as well as test various pieces of forensic evidence in the lab, and look at the autopsy. It was lots of fun and by the end of it Nina and I when Agents 0-so-Awesome, and the crime was solved! This is also where I realized that Nina always asks me to repeat things I say which lead me to the question of “Am I talking weird or are you just not listening to me?!” Apparently it’s a little of both…

Joining the CSI team

Vegas…and sleeping in…and famous celebs…

Today’s plans are sleeping in, breakfast and walking the strip. We decided on a late brunch since we really took full advantage of the sleeping in part, and had missed breakfast by a few hours. After a lovely hot lunch (with veggies) we started on our adventure down the strip.

VEGAS Baby!!!

We made our way to Madame Tussuads which was really exciting for me as I have never been there before. (If you aren’t in the know, it is a wax museum where you can pose with famous celebs, get your “Usher” on or squeeze J-Lo’s famous butt.) The age old saying of “a picture speaks 1000 words” is so true so I’ll just let these do the talking…

Welcome to Vegas!

Chilling with Usher...

Hanging with Will Smith

The hangover part 3?

Sizing up against J-Lo

Hugging the Rock

Getting married...to George Clooney

Jump shoot!

Simon and I deciding the Idols winner

Intense pain!

Mrs Jack Sparrrow?

Stevie Wonder and I

German on the moon

Sorting out the White House