Touring holiday to Nevada, California & Arizona

Hi folks, this has the potential of being one of my biggest ever posts on here, so I think that I'll break it down into 3 seperate sections - what we did, general advice from our break & answering any specific suggestions/thoughts from previous posts.

Before I start, if anyone thinks that I can help them in any way with their planning, or if they have any questions about what/how we did things, please give me a shout. We had an absolutely marvellous time, and if I can help anyone else to enjoy their holiday even more, I'd love to help.

Just bear in mind that this holiday was done over 3 and a half weeks in early May and is heavily biased to keeping our 2 children happy and contented, also, I'm not going to say that any of these were the best things to do in each place, but they are (some of) the things that we did and this is how we got on.

OK, our holiday first.(don't be surprised if I keep coming back and editing the post )
Las Vegas 2 nights Stayed in the Excalibur for two nights and found it perfectly fine with 2 small children. LAS definitely is NOT a destination to take children/young families and 2 nights was perfect to get over the 25 hour journey (3 cheers for portable DVD players). The biggest hit in LAS for the children ? The Bellagio fountains and the 'fun fair' at Circus Circus.
Picking up the hire car (a base Chrysler 300, more later) from the hotel itself, rather than the airport is an absolute winner of an idea, it saved us loads of time and a dollop of hassle.
long boring journey through the desert towards Flagstaff (250 miles) (after you've crossed the truly awesome Hoover Dam) although the last bit b4 Flagstaff was more stimulating, then an absolutely stunning drive down 89A to Cottonwood (just past Sedona) for about 50 miles. The Interstate is quicker, but this route is gorgeous. Make sure that you stop off at Oak Creek Canyon Viewpoint for a truly breathtaking sight. We travelled past Sedona for a few miles to Cottonwood for a couple of nights which was better sited for going on the Verde Canyon Railroad which is a very relaxing (if not overly stimulating) way to spend 4 hours. If you fancy it, book in advance as it often sells out. Travelling along the Verde Canyon in the open air, trying to spot the Bald Eagles (or as MTK calls them Boiled Eagles) was a real chillout and at night we had a really enjoyable evening with at Blazin M's Chuck Wagon, just down the road, which was great fun.
Flying over the Red Rocks of Sedona in a Biplane was an absolutely wonderful expereince (according to Mrs Cat :j) and worth every $.
For some R&R, having a mooch around Jerome was a nice way to spend a bit of time.
If you do fancy spending some time in the Sedona area, towns like Cottonwood are a LOT easier on the pocket.;)
A few days in the Phoenix area in which we didn't do to much at all. Visited Goldfield Ghostown which was fun and had a trip out to Canyon Lake (website doesn't do it justice) for a bit of scenery spotting !!
Off to Tucson for 4 nights (150 miles down the 'Old Road' to an absolutely stunning B&B, with the most hospitable Innkeepers you could imagine - if you've never stayed in a US B&B, you don't know what you're missing, this place/these people was (in our mind) special.
We really enjoyed the Desert Museum, Pima Air & Space Museum & visited the Boneyard (IIRC, you can only visit the Boneyard from PIMA). If you fancy the Boneyard (& it was a real eye opener for me), you must have proper ID to go on the tour i.e your Passport. Pinnacle Peak was a fun place to eat.
We REALLY enjoyed Tucson and could have happily stayed here longer.
Very long, very boring drive through the desert from Tucson to San Diego (Via Phoenix), over 500 miles of near mind numbing nothingness, but the repeated Border Control checkpoints & the trip through the mountains stops your brain from shutting down completely.
San Diego for 4 nights (everyone loves San Diego !). Visited the Zoo (of course), USS Midway and took a harbour cruise. If you take a cruise & a tour of the Midway, you can save a few $$$. Checked out some of the local smaller beaches/bays/inlets and had some really, really enjoyable beachtime with The Cats.
Mrs Cat indulged in some quality Retail Therapy at the Outlet Malls (:eek::eek::eek:). Or for a bit of Easy retailing after visiting the Midway, go to Seaport Village, just along teh Seafront
Went to Legoland California, which was perfect for smaller children and their parents.
Then over the Scenic route (in fact, the undescribably fantastically scenic route via Highway 74 from Termecula - the final 20 miles were truly breathtaking. Palm Desert is HOT, as in REALLY HOT. We got there at 9.30 at night and it was 96deg f :eek:. TBH, with temps hitting 114 deg during the day, we didn't explore the Palm Desert are to much, but the Cable Cars (30 deg cooler at the top) were a great trip out ($3 less if you go after 3.00pm, see it is a MSE tip idea ), the enormous wind farm is worth the drive through and going on the bumper boats in Palm Desert for a soaking to cool you down in the evening was great fun.

Time for bed, I'm bushed. More tomorrow :beer: