Cross Country 2012, Day 5

Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Grand Canyon – Las Vegas

So. Rivers has changed from a 9pm – 745am sleep schedule to waking up at midnight, 3, 5, and 6am. Being in hotels is tough – I can’t let him cry himself back to sleep because I don’t want to be an a-hole to the neighbors.
So… When Steve and Blair woke up really early to go shoot a time lapse of the Grand Canyon – I literally found myself with my hands around Steve’s neck in frustration of sleep deprivation.

Right after they left, I realized I should have gone with them because it was 530am and Rivers was wide awake, cranky and wanting to Chatty Cathy. He decided to stay awake til about 5 minutes before the boys came home – which was around 10.

On their end.. Blair and Steve left at 430 to head to the GC. They set up the camera for their first time lapse, had breakfast at the lodge and then set the camera up for the second time lapse. They left their spot for 5 minutes, and even though they hid the phone with a large rock, a lady picked it up and turned it in to the lodge.

At the same time, I was pacing back and forth in the room because I had no money or toys for rivers, no phone reception, and was too chilly to go outside because im a pansy, texting Steve and Blair to hurry the f home. And then I got this text..

So the honest girl meant well, but not only did she move the camera from a prime spot, she deleted the time lapse app, erasing both shots from the day.

Once I got this text, I realized I could text with wifi so I got my brother Vinnie to call Blair. He wrote back that “Blair was pushing Steve up the Grand Canyon”, that they knew about the phone, but he had to go.
***Side note. Last night after we checked into our room, Blair (also named by Steve at the Ruins, “Teeth like the Sun”, rushed into our room, panting, dropped Rivers on the ground and said “I’ll be right back, Steve’s battery died, he’s stuck in the woods and has a halo of Mosquitos around his face”. The sucky part is, well, the suckiest part of this is that Steve can no longer swat flies from his face. So that’s a bad situation. Blair ran back and pushed Steve up the hill into safety.

(this pic happened right before the bAttery died)

Anyhow. We drove back to the Grand Canyon.
The Canyon is indeed Grand.

Las Vegas, here comes the Gleasons…
We’d like to point out here that Steve and I used to be extremely low maintenance travelers. We’d never go anywhere with more than a backpack.

Things have changed in 2012. We pulled up to the Bellagio with a uhaul. Blair was frazzled because i was stressed bc we were running late and the iPhone map got us lost.
We handed the bellhop everything from wedge pillows to walkers to nukes to dirty clothes bags to formula and bottles to subway bags full of dirty diapers to pill organizers to strollers to wheelchair chargers, you name it – it was on the cart.

Uncle Ronnie set us up with a babysitter and tickets to The Cirque de Soleil “O” show and to dinner at Mon Ami Gabi. In 6 minutes we got the sitter set up, changed and head to the show.

For those who have not seen this, We would all three strongly recommend it. It’s like the grand canyon. You feel like a doofus however you try to describe it.
Steve adds that he thinks it would go well with the head scratcher..

We crossed the street to the Paris Hotel for dinner.

Very good, especially the frisée kale salad with bacon and whipped cauliflower.

Steve’s first lap dance of the night
(of 2)…

What happens in Vegas.