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It was around noon when we left the place we called home for the past few years and after grabbing a quick bite at our favorite brunch place Eggs and Things<\/a>, located on Cochran Street, said goodbye to Simi Valley, California…..our home for over a decade.<\/h4>\n
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Our journey started on a silent note as we were trying to understand the feeling that we were feeling. It felt strange taking one last look at the “Welcome to Simi Valley” ……a sign which had meant home for over a decade.<\/h4>\n
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As soon as we exited 118 Freeway, which we lovingly called “Our Freeway” and made our way onto 210-W it started to rain.<\/h4>\n
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It felt like a bizarre goodbye.<\/h4>\n
I don’t know who poured more….. the clouds or my tears.<\/h4>\n
Our journey continued with nostalgic songs, my trusty journal<\/a>, and my favorite pen<\/a>.<\/h4>\n
Kids will be kids and I soon got a jolt to reality when both my kids, just less than 100 miles into the journey after eating all the gummies<\/a>, chips<\/a>, cookies<\/a>, and pretzels,\u00a0 decided that it was time to shake things up. One cried for hunger and the other for the bathroom. So we made a quick pitstop at a gas station and grabbed fries from the self-order kiosk at McDonald’s, Victorville, California.<\/h4>\n
It was around 6 pm when we reached Las Vegas.<\/h4>\n
Earlier we had decided to take a drive and enjoy the Strip but due to the office rush hour, decided to avoid it which ended up to be a good decision as there was an accident on the strip and we would have been stuck in the traffic for over an hour.<\/h4>\n
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We continued to drive on I-15 and just stopped for gas and snacks at Arco gas station, Moapa, Nevada.<\/h4>\n
After Moapa, Nevada the terrain suddenly started to change.<\/h4>\n
I-15 runs mostly flat and is parallel to the Virgin River for its entire length in Arizona, but the terrain became abruptly more rugged at mile where the Virgin River Gorge began. Though it was nighttime, we could still feel the narrowness of the gorge. It was beautiful and scary.<\/h4>\n
It is one of those drives where you to keep your eyes on the road, all the while. I wish we could have taken pictures but it was a pitch-dark night and our cameras refused to cooperate. Besides the traffic was crazy with trailers and trucks.<\/h4>\n
By the time we reached St. George, Utah it was already 11 30 pm. We had forgotten to take into account that Utah is in a different time zone than California. As most of the city was closed we had a midnight feast at Denny’s.<\/h4>\n
We drove around the city and were mesmerized by the city’s architecture especially the temple of St. George in Utah.<\/h4>\n
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The St. George Utah Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), designed by Truman O. Angell and completed in 1877.<\/h4>\n
The building has worn out over time and will be closing for seismic and other upgrades end of this year. It is now open.<\/h4>\n
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We stayed at Best Western Plus, Abbey Inn, St. George, Utah<\/a> located on Bluff Street. The hotel is perfectly located for a trip to Zion National Park, Snow Canyon, and all the nearby attractions.<\/h4>\n
By the time we checked into our hotel, it was already past midnight and we were all tired from the drive and had a good looong sleep.<\/h4>\n
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If you do plan to go to Snow Canyon, do not miss to visit the Tuachan Amphitheater located at the mouth of the Padre Canyon, adjacent to Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins, Utah.<\/h4>\n
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Day-2: St. George, Utah-Zion National Park-Page, Arizona<\/span><\/h2>\n
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After having breakfast at the hotel and exploring the city, we hit the US-89 towards Zion National Park which is located in Southwestern Utah, near the town of Springdale.<\/h4>\n
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