If you want to live life...

...it's time you head to Southern Utah.

(warning: this post is long. Just my fair warning)

Trevor seems to have these "things" that just make him happy, that really just make him feel like he's "livin' life." I suppose we all have those things, it's just so easy to see Trevor's. It's totally in his face (which I love)...and...he usually goes on mini rants to me about how I could be living' life too if I tried out these joy-isms (sometimes I love a little less, but appreciate the thought). Thus, I've recently been on the look out for all of the things Trevor believes adds up to livin' life, so I can do just that. Live life. As a perk for him, when I figure out what these little joys are to him, I simply say..."Livin' life to Trevor is....(fill in the blank)." Trevor has many great suggestions, a few of them being....

Livin' life to Trevor is reading instead of watching TV.
Livin' life to Trevor is eating things you haven't tried before.
Livin' life to Trevor is driving with the windows down and no AC.
Livin' life to Trevor is getting outside to be with the wonders of nature.

It's that last "livin' life-ism" that took us to St. George, UT for my little time off between jobs. For those unaware or those aware, but have yet to behold it's beauty - portions of Southern Utah are natural wonders. I'm sure anyone that's visited Zion's, or Bryce Canyon, or Moab, would all share similar sentiments. So Trevor and I are taking this opportunity through our blogpost to encourage everyone that has the chance to go hike Angel's Landing, or the Subway, or Bryce Canyon or just drive between Zion's and Bryce to just do it. It's amazing. It's livin' life.

The following is a really, really long post, including A LOT of pictures of our time spent in southern Utah. Emjoy, we sure did!

Bryce Canyon National Park

I'm not really touching those rocks. This is the result of about 10 minutes of Trevor trying to tell me how to hold my arms so it looks like I'm touching these rocks. Turned out pretty well if I say so myself.

Zion National Park
Welcome to Angel's Landing. Many people are probably familiar with this hike. We've posted on it before. It's just really something you should do if ever in Zion. It's so sweet. Plus, it's funny to see first-timers when they climb over the first semi-scary camel's hump, think it's done, and then you point out the second - way taller, way skinnier - camels hump that we will be climbing. Just a dream. Ask Brandon and Mere.

Behind us is the 2nd camels hump we scaled over

A Few Other Activities
Of course we got some great R&R time in. How often do you have zero responsibilities because you're in between jobs??? You've got to take advantage. We went to the pool a day or two, watched a few of the NBA playoff games, did plenty of reading, and good eating. Mere and Brandon joined us for a couple of days, so we were able to play tennis as well. The last morning we were there we played golf. The picture of me happens to be on a hole that I got a real birdie - no mulligans....kind of. I call it a real birdie because I hit 4 legal shots in a row from tee-off to ball in the hole. Sure, that doesn't count the 6, and yes, I said 6 balls I hit beautifully into the water. I can't help it, I've got a slight slice.

One other special treat was our experience at "The Cactus Room," a little restaurant right outside of Virgin, UT. There's no way I can do this place justice over a blog. The slightly stale, old house smell, the waiter that stared at me AND Trevor a little too long, the waiter that was also our chef and took a solid hour cooking our meals, the gross tasting water, the weird Indian store attached to the restaurant with all "authentic" items...even the occasional Sponge Bob toy???. This is the kind of restaurant that's in movies, scary movies, where they end, if you get my point. But, as Trevor likes to say, we were livin' life!

A few photos that resulted from boredom at The Cactus Room.

I'm out.

ps. for those wanting to see photos of our Subway hike....stay tuned. That deserves a post of its own.

Trevor & Lesley's Travel Tips: SoCal

It's been quite a while since the last installment of our Travel Tips segment, but we're back in action. Lesley had a work trip back in March so being the devoted husband I am, I tagged along as we headed to the land of celebrities, sun, and silicone. That's right..........Southern California. We had a great time visiting Jason & Megan, Brett, Darla, and the Moorheads and enjoyed a weekend away from the snow. We learned a few things along the way and are passing our tips along to you, our faithful, loving readers...... If you have any tips of your own, pass them along in the comments section.

#1. Get free stuff by calling your friends/family
You can get free stuff, or discounted stuff, in southern California with a little bit of planning. Many times there are promotions for southern California residents where you can get half price into Magic Mountain, discounts with a pop can at other parks, or other deals. You just need to plan ahead. Call your friend or relative in SoCal before you go and ask them if they know of anything. The hip people in LA-LA-land always seem to have some hook up. On our trip we scored free admission to Universal Studios, free tickets to a Clippers game, and could have gone to Dancing With the Stars if Lesley's work schedule had allowed (I was heartbroken). Just plan ahead and see if anyone knows of anything.......you might be surprised. And thanks to all those who hooked us up.

#2. Priceline.com's Name Your Price
This is a real dream. I discovered this on our honeymoon and we used it again in SoCal. Basically, at priceline.com you can say how much you want to pay for a rental car. You can't pick the rental company, or the make and model of the car, but you do specify what size car you'd like (compact, mid-size, SUV, convertible, luxury, mini-van, etc.). You just make your bid and see if one of the companies accepts it. Don't be afraid to bid a steeper discount than the site suggests. We paid $14 a day for a car that normally rents for over $30 and got a Mustang convertible for a similar discount on our honeymoon. I felt kind of like a tool driving this little sports car around the souther California freeways, but still, a deal's a deal. I recommend using this whenever you need to rent a car.

#3. Knott's Berry Farm
This place is by far the most underrated amusement park in souther California, and consequently, it's the best bang for your buck. They have great rides, good funnel cake, and the lines are SHORT. We didn't wait longer than 10 minutes for any single ride. If you go after 4 p.m. it's only $25 to get in. That's half the normal cost and half the cost of the other parks. We got their around 4:30, did all the rides at least once, watched some Indian firedance thing, and still left around 8:30. If you've never been to Disneyland before, you gotta go there. But if you've already been and want a good amusement park without the long lines and steep prices, Knott's is your place. Here's a video of Lesley enjoying life on the Supreme Scream.

Well that's pretty much it for our suggestions this time around. We welcome any comments with other helpful tips. We hope you've enjoyed them and will find them useful next time you head down to the City of Angels.



Below are a few more photos of our time in LA-LA-land.

Universal Studios

Knott's Berry Farm

Clippers Game ................................................. Jason, Megan, Les, Me

We had to sit behind the nappy hair or Curtis Terry, from UNLV. I saw him out in the concourse before the game started and almost said something rude to him but decided against it. He ended up sitting right in front of us. I should have punched him in the head. Freaking UNLV.