Some of my friends here have been asking me about my recent trip to the USA, so I thought I would start a discussion about it. 
Being Australian means that any trip to the USA is a pretty expensive trip as flights and the logistics of such a trip can add up to a huge amount of money. The trip was something that we had wanted to do for a while, but due to the expense and having young children, we put it off. But when we worked out that we could make the trip a business trip with a family holiday on the side, then it suddenly became affordable. And with the kids at an age where they are now able to appreciate it, we decided to do it.
We went in March and flew out on my birthday which was an amazing present! We flew into Los Angeles where we spent 3 days visiting lots of tourist spots. We then went over to Anaheim where the work part of our trip kicked in at Expo West which is a very large natural health trade show. Luckily the expo had child care, so the kids were looked after on site while we spent 3 days catching up with our suppliers, mentors and scoured the place for new products. We then spent a day at Disneyland (how could we miss that when the expo was next door?) before starting our road trip.
We rented a huge Chevy SUV for the trip and after negotiating this beast through the traffic snarls of LA, we headed north along the coast through Big Sur (amazing) to Monterey for a night and then San Francisco for two nights. After San Fran, we headed inland to Yosemite National Park which is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. This was my second visit there, but this time it was far different to the first. We drove in under clear conditions but woke the next morning to a blanket of snow! My family was amazed as they had never seen real snow before and we all had a ball playing in it for the day. After another night there, the snow theme continued as we drove to the ski resort town of South Lake Tahoe where I once lived and worked in a ski resort. We were there for 3 nights where I went snowboarding again for the first time in 12 years since I moved away from the cooler states. My kids also got to experience the ski resort as well with some more snow play and tubing. I also caught up with an old friend there a few times. See my snowboarding video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwumrmXRrRo
(Beware: Video is long and boring, made more for my own memories that anything else) LOL ;-)
We briefly left the snow behind after that and headed into Death Valley which is the lowest altitude (below sea level) place in the USA even though the surrounding mountains are higher than any in Australia! Incredible! One night there, then on to Las Vegas for a night before heading to Hoover Dam and then reacquainting ourselves with snow again at the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was a highlight of the trip as we took a flight over it, followed by a tour of another canyon and a boat ride down the Colorado River. An incredible day! After our second night, it was a mad day long dash back to Anaheim for our last night before a business meeting, then more sightseeing at Venice Beach before flying home. We were originally meant to stay a night at Lake Havasu before getting back to the LA region but had to change plans for our business meeting.
All up, we were in the USA for 21 nights, stayed in 10 different hotel rooms, visited 3 states (California, Nevada and Arizona) and drove an unknown amount of miles! It was an amazing but very hectic trip. Next time we will take it a little easier!
Have you visited any of these places and have something to share from your trips? Perhaps you even live in this region?
Also, have you ever combined business trips with family trips? Or do you prefer to keep them separate?
Being Australian means that any trip to the USA is a pretty expensive trip as flights and the logistics of such a trip can add up to a huge amount of money. The trip was something that we had wanted to do for a while, but due to the expense and having young children, we put it off. But when we worked out that we could make the trip a business trip with a family holiday on the side, then it suddenly became affordable. And with the kids at an age where they are now able to appreciate it, we decided to do it.
We went in March and flew out on my birthday which was an amazing present! We flew into Los Angeles where we spent 3 days visiting lots of tourist spots. We then went over to Anaheim where the work part of our trip kicked in at Expo West which is a very large natural health trade show. Luckily the expo had child care, so the kids were looked after on site while we spent 3 days catching up with our suppliers, mentors and scoured the place for new products. We then spent a day at Disneyland (how could we miss that when the expo was next door?) before starting our road trip.
We rented a huge Chevy SUV for the trip and after negotiating this beast through the traffic snarls of LA, we headed north along the coast through Big Sur (amazing) to Monterey for a night and then San Francisco for two nights. After San Fran, we headed inland to Yosemite National Park which is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. This was my second visit there, but this time it was far different to the first. We drove in under clear conditions but woke the next morning to a blanket of snow! My family was amazed as they had never seen real snow before and we all had a ball playing in it for the day. After another night there, the snow theme continued as we drove to the ski resort town of South Lake Tahoe where I once lived and worked in a ski resort. We were there for 3 nights where I went snowboarding again for the first time in 12 years since I moved away from the cooler states. My kids also got to experience the ski resort as well with some more snow play and tubing. I also caught up with an old friend there a few times. See my snowboarding video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwumrmXRrRo
(Beware: Video is long and boring, made more for my own memories that anything else) LOL ;-)
We briefly left the snow behind after that and headed into Death Valley which is the lowest altitude (below sea level) place in the USA even though the surrounding mountains are higher than any in Australia! Incredible! One night there, then on to Las Vegas for a night before heading to Hoover Dam and then reacquainting ourselves with snow again at the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was a highlight of the trip as we took a flight over it, followed by a tour of another canyon and a boat ride down the Colorado River. An incredible day! After our second night, it was a mad day long dash back to Anaheim for our last night before a business meeting, then more sightseeing at Venice Beach before flying home. We were originally meant to stay a night at Lake Havasu before getting back to the LA region but had to change plans for our business meeting.
All up, we were in the USA for 21 nights, stayed in 10 different hotel rooms, visited 3 states (California, Nevada and Arizona) and drove an unknown amount of miles! It was an amazing but very hectic trip. Next time we will take it a little easier!
Have you visited any of these places and have something to share from your trips? Perhaps you even live in this region?
Also, have you ever combined business trips with family trips? Or do you prefer to keep them separate?
by : RawBill1
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