Rhew The Nation -- The Southwest -- Las Vegas

After Area 51 and the Extraterrestrial Highway, we headed toward Las Vegas. I've heard about it all my life but never been there.

I'm going to be totally honest, Vegas is not my bag. Don't get me wrong. I love big cities, crowds, and chaos. New York City is one of my most favorite places in the world, and I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could. But for some reason, Vegas just did not do it for me. Even so, as we do with all things, Deek and I had a blast together!

It was high carb day, so we got our special Starbucks drinks!

I think that's the fanciest surroundings I've ever had a SB drink in. ;) 

Backstreet's Back, Alright!

So, as you can probably imagine, Vegas is not very dog-friendly. But we had taken little Gus with us across the country, so he had to come to Vegas too. Most hotels are like $30 a night to reel you in (but there are other hidden fees, so beware), but the pet fees are like $200! Before we went, we called around and found out that the pet fees at Planet Hollywood were the most reasonable--basically the same as most hotels--so we stayed there. **Note--if you stay there, the hotel parking is about a mile from the hotel, so be prepared to hoof it with all your stuff or wait half the day in the pickup/drop off line. We opted to hoof it, so thank goodness we'd done all that minimalist packing for the trip!**

The bathroom was HUGE!

Our hotel was attached to the Miracle Mile Shops, so we explored there first.

I'd seen videos on Facebook about Pinup Pizza, the biggest slice on the strip. So, we saved our high carb day for Vegas specifically to eat a slice of that pizza. It was *huge*!!

Look at the size of the sausages on Deek's slice!!

Then we headed out onto the strip.

I love New York... ;) 

Greek mythology--be still my heart!

Percy's Daddy...

Once we left Vegas, we saw the famous Lake Mead and went on the Hoover Dam!

The water is a gorgeous color!

I was a little bummed that the time in that part of Nevada and Arizona was the same. It would have been fun to have clocks with two different times. Alas...

Stay tuned for my next post because I talk about the special trip Deek planned just for me. It was a DREAM come true! <3 <3 <3 

Rhew The Nation -- Days 1 and 2

Deek and I had been planning and saving for another cross-country trip for a while. We planned and replanned our route, plotted our hotels (dog-friendly, of course, since Guster would be with us), and organized our car and keto eating for the big trip. Finally, the time came to head out.

First leg of the trip was from the South to the Pacific Northwest via the northern route. Now, we've been the northern route *several* times already, by train and car. So, we wanted to see something we hadn't gotten to see before. In the past, we've missed Mount Rushmore due to snow (in May and June--what?), so we were excited to be going in July sans snow!

Also, on year for my birthday, Deek got me a Shakespeare bobblehead for my dash, which I adore. We call him Shakey because he bops up and down to car movements. Since we love him so much, we decided to do Shakey across America!

First Day (North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia)

Virginia is for lovers. Perfect that I went there with Deek then! <3

West Virginia has some of the coolest bridges!

But also some of the *slowest* "fast food establishments we've ever encountered.

This is our second or third time in WV, and we always get super slow service.

Keto eating: 2 Jr. Bacon cheeseburgers with no bun or condiments

I got you, babe!

There's no one I'd rather adventure with than Deek! <3

Apparently some hotels have a hotel bird.

Second Day (Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri)

Shakey, looking impressed as always. LOL!

Gus, looking car terrified as always.

Long hours in the car call for read alouds and fun things like a chat pack.

Y'all know I had to bring Percy Jackson because...Percy!! <3

St. Louis Arch--been there (on another trip), done that, got pictures. ;)

We altered our travel plans a little, specifically so we could stay at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Independence, MO. On one of our cross-country northern route trips, we stumbled upon this place, just weeks after it had opened. It was one of the nicest places we'd ever stayed, and the rates were really reasonable. We assumed the low rates had to do with it's recent opening, so we didn't expect to be able to stay there again. 

But...good news! The rates are slightly higher now but still completely reasonable considering what you get here. The place is SO, SO nice. I can't even stress it. And it's pet-friendly, but you'd never know pets stay there. It's that quiet and clean! If you're ever in Independence, MO, definitely check it out!

We got in to the hotel in time for dinner, so we researched some keto-friendly places and discovered The Salty Iguana. Through some inside joke, Deek and iguanas have become forever associated in our family, so when we saw the restaurant was iguana themed, we *had* to go.

YAS!! They took the iguana theme and ran with it!

Awesome, keto-friendly food! YAY!

Y'all, we had this thing called a Hot Pot (sans the shrimp because we don't like seafood and sans rice because keto), and it was simply amazing! I mean, I would drive back to Independence, MO just to stay at Stoney Creek and eat that Hot Pot meal again. Holy crow!

Stay tuned! On my next post, I'll tell you about the surprise amazingness that is South Dakota and how we finally met a member of our critique partner group, Meradeth Houston, *in person* after years of working with her! 

If you missed it: Here's my blog on ketoing across the nation and about how to organize your car for a long road trip!