It was time to get back on the road, so I decided to head west.

My first stop was in Las Vegas. I flew into Vegas because my roundtrip ticket only cost me $100.

I spent three days total in Vegas, which for me was too long.

I got in on a Sunday, and I was ready to head out by Monday night.

I’m glad I stayed, though, because I caught a Vegas Golden Knights game which was amazing. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the fans are one-of-a-kind.

I enjoyed several great things about Vegas: the café inside the Paris hotel and lots of walking.

Below you can see my itinerary:

SUNDAY

I flew into Vegas and took an Uber to Luxor. I picked the Luxor because rooms were $31/night (and you can’t beat that!)

Checking in was seamless with their virtual check-in, and I could get into my room before 3 p.m.

Once I got settled, I headed out onto the Strip to explore.

What’s so great about staying on the Strip is that most hotels are connected, so walking is easy.

Vegas does have a mandatory mandate, and by the end of my trip, my face was ready to raw dog the air.

For dinner, I stopped at a Mexican restaurant inside the Venetian. The best thing about this place was the chips. I ordered the margarita flight to drink, and I could only drink half of the classic. I took a sip of the jalapeño and pineapple, and that’s all I could stomach. I also ordered the queso fundido, and I could only eat five bites of it.

I redeemed my evening by stopping off at Diablo Cantina at the Luxor, and the fantastic bartender made the best mojito I have probably ever had in the States.

MONDAY

On Monday, I woke up and went searching for coffee.

I’ve only been drinking coffee since 2016, so I feel I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to getting my caffeine boost in the morning.

I turned to Yelp for help, and I began walking.

I initially couldn’t find my first choice, so I stopped at Citizens inside Mandalay Bay. I ordered a coffee, which was pretty good.

For lunch, I stopped at Eataly. If you’ve never been here, you are missing out. This place is magical, and it has everything you want if you are craving Italian.

I am a sucker for sweets, so I searched for a sweet treat, which I found at Mon Ami Gabi. I had the bananas foster and the best wait staff ever. Everyone was accommodating and so kind.

After eating half my body weight in sweets, I knew I needed to continue walking, so I took off down the Strip and began walking with no destination in mind.

I walked to the Stratosphere, and never did I feel unsafe.

But before I got there, I stopped inside Resorts World because it looked stunning, and boy, am I happy I did. This place is gorgeous inside and worth checking out.

I then headed back to my hotel to change for Fremont Street, an adventure in itself.

For dinner, I stopped inside Circa and ate at Victory Burger.

It should also be noted that you will love this hotel if you love sports.

TUESDAY

I woke up and headed to the Four Seasons to try out Press. The coffee was delicious, and the staff was excellent.

Whenever you think about Vegas, you think of the incredible hotel pools. Well, at least I do, so I had to check out the newest mecca – Stadium Swim.

To get in, you have to pay $20 (which I hear is much cheaper than in September, which was $60.)

I got checked in, and once I made it past the security barrier, I could finally say I’d been to heaven. I am a sports fanatic, and this place is fantastic.

I found my way to a seat and never got up. It was a bit chilly, windy, and cloudy, so I never once got into the pool, but I did get to watch a college basketball game on a giant screen I have ever seen in my life.

After spending a couple of hours at Circa, I made my way back to my hotel to prepare for the Vegas Golden Knights game.

The atmosphere here is fan-freaking-tastic! The fans are excellent, and the game was a lot of fun!

Afterward, I searched for food, and the only place open past 10 p.m. that was close was Ri Ra Irish Pub. I wasn’t expecting much from this place, but man, was it so good. I ordered the Caesar salad and the Jameson salmon. I was blown away at how great the food was – highly recommend.

WEDNESDAY

I got into my rental car and began driving. Destination: Arizona. First off, this state is stunning. If you need an escape, explore Arizona – it will not disappoint.

The first stop was in Prescott because my companion told me to check out Whiskey Row, which was cute. A local who stopped me to compliment my pink Nike’s told me to check out two places: the hotel and the restaurant attached to it.

I didn’t stay in Prescott too long because I was ready to get to Flagstaff.

On my way to Flagstaff, I stopped by Montezuma Castle National Monument, glorious at sunset. It’s a place to see.

From there, I drove to Flagstaff. Once there, however, I wasn’t blown away, so I decided that I wanted to get to Sedona.

But I quickly realized that it was going to be a bit of a drive, so I decided to grab an Airbnb to get some sleep. I found this quaint house at the end of a driveway tucked away in the hills. It was quiet, and the owner was very kind to meet me late.

THURSDAY

The following day, I was off to explore the state more.

The first stop was the Petrified National Forrest, which was fun to explore. After driving through it, I stopped off at the meteor crater in Winslow.

Man, is this baby huge!

According to its website, the crater was created about 50,000 years ago by a nickel-iron meteoroid only 160 feet long.

I spent about 20-30 minutes here because I was ready to get to Sedona, so I hit the road, and then an hour later, I was there.

AND OH MY GOSH, is this place magical. I mean, your eyes cannot believe how beautiful this town is. There is so much to do and see!

While there, I explored the Chapel of the Holy Cross., which is absolutely gorgeous during the daytime nightime.

I then walked around downtown, and stopped by a cute sweets shop called Cake Couture, which is known for its signature cactus cupcakes.

Unbeknownst to me, I went during peak hiking season, so finding a spot to park and then hiking 3-4 hours roundtrip was not in my schedule, so I missed out on physically getting out and exploring the beauty Sedona has to over.

I finished my day by eating at Shorebird. This place was freaking delicious – the food and the view were marvelous.

FRIDAY

My goal this entire trip was to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon, so I left my Airbnb around 4 a.m. and made the three-hour trip to see one of the greatest wonders on this planet.

AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. This place is stunning. I did not do any hiking because I came super unprepared, and it was 20 degrees.

I drove around a bit and then decided to head back to Vegas to catch my flight Saturday morning.

One last stop I had heading back was to stop off at the Hoover Dam, which is pretty impressive.

It cost about $10 to park, and I spent about 30 minutes here taking pictures.

All in all, I had a fantastic time in the mountains, and I cannot wait to go back and explore more of Arizona!