We had a wonderful Christmas Eve of adventures and fun! First we went to Sedona, which is a town/area south of Flagstaff, AZ that has beautiful red sandstone formations.
GPS on the way to Sedona. It looked like a tangled string :-P
Sightseeing puppies
Oak Creek
Check out those rock wall cacti!
Don't slip and fall!!
Look out behind you!
After Sedona, we headed to Las Vegas! On the way we spotted this random S or 5 on a hill??
Looks like they cut away the hills for the roads but left a median "pyramid" !
We passed by the Hoover Dam on the way to Vegas so of course we went to check it out! There was a security stop before reaching the dam, which seemed to me that security guards were basically racial profiling because they just glanced in the car and let us through. While we were waiting in line, we had this view of Lake Mead:
Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Water above the Hoover Dam
Lots of "security" although there was nobody enforcing anything. It was peculiar to me how many signs and facades of security there were. Is Hoover Dam really a prime spot for terrorist activities?! In any case, Hootie luckily fit in the space below, so he joined us to go see the dam :)
This area is called the Arizona spillway and is where excess water goes when the water level rises too high. That dark area is a chute/tunnel where the water goes down!
Either that or it's an EPIC water slide :-D
Lake Mead
Hoover Dam!!
Hootie-ver Dam :)
Colorado River
Hootie can't read so good...
Looking down on the Hoover Dam
Soakin it in!
Lake Mead
Hazy, dusty Las Vegas!
We have family (on my Chinese grandfather's side) in Las Vegas who were kind enough to invite us stay and dine with them for the next couple days. We first stopped at Uncle Eugene's (Papa Ku's cousin) who would be housing us, and then went to Evangeline's (another cousin of Papa Ku's) house for dinner. We met a lot of family whom we'd never met before and it was wonderful seeing a few familiar faces also! It was a terrific Christmas Eve!!
Uncle Benjamin (my grandfather's brother-in-law) playing piano. He just turned 90 but looks about 70. He's never been in a hospital, which he credits to his morning exercises. Papa Ku and I plan on doing them with him tomorrow morning, I will try to get a video of them!!
A little dancing before dinner :)
Nemo, Dori, and Bubbles!! Can you spot them all?
Here's the gang!! Most of these family members have the last name Chen.
Ben, Papa Ku, Jason, Mama Ku, Uncle Benjamin, myself, and Auntie Chiao Tseng. In the Chinese culture, pretty much anyone older than you gets the name Uncle or Auntie. Actually, everyone has very specific names/titles that indicate whether they are maternal or paternal, which makes it much clearer when addressing people because you know exactly how everyone is related! It's very smart, although it can still get pretty complicated!
Auntie Chiao Tseng with her two grand-nephews and grand-niece
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!! Hope you are able to spend it with family, friends, and loved ones :) <3
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