because i dragged my feet booking a hotel, i wasn't able to
find a hotel in the park or just outside of it.
we stayed in flagstaff instead, a small college town just an
hour south of the park. after we checked into our hotel, we walked
around for a bit, grabbed dinner, then snuggled up in our king sized bed
and watched alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
we laughed at the ridiculous situations they all got themselves into.
later, i asked the boys to set out their clothes so we'd be prepared.
my plan was to grab breakfast in the lobby and get on the road early
so we could get to the trailhead by 8:30am.
it was then i learned my firstborn didn't pack tennis shoes.
as he dug through his suitcase, he said "ithought I packed them".
he didn't. all he had were flip flops.
somehow he had forgotten them...even though he knew we were HIKING.
i got a teensy bit annoyed, but told myself this was a minor problem.
at 7:30am the following morning, we were at a 24 hour walmart,
buying generic converse, and were out of the store in 15 minutes. *yay*
we got to the park at 9am, a little later than we had planned and
were lucky and found easy parking by the trail. oh how beautiful it was!
it had probably been 15 years since i'd been to the grand canyon and it was
every bit as wondrous as i remember it.
the boys could hardly believe it was real.
I heard them say "wow and cool" a dozen times,
then finn reminded us all that it was carved by the
colorado river.
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| grand canyon: finn {11} + scout {7} |
they were frozen for a few minutes,
then asked if we could start hiking.
we found the start of the bright angel trail,
i snapped a quick photo with my phone and we were off.
it was so easy going down. we made friends along the way,
the most memorable being a father and son from hamburg, germany.
the teenage son was studying here in the states for a semester and spoke
excellent english. he was older {i.e. cool}, loved soccer and surfing so
the boys had lots to talk about with him.
as we hiked, I reminded the boys that coming up was much harder
and that a good rule of thumb is allow twice as long to hike back up.
after and hour a a half, scout reminded us that we should turn around.
he was right.
we said goodbye to our german friends and hiked back up.
it really was twice as hard and twice as long, but it was a great workout too.
i love physical challenges so i wasn't complaining.
because of all the soccer scout is playing these days, he did just fine,
and though finn and i aren't quite as fit, we survived and were just
a bit sore the following day. {scout wasn't sore at all}. *grin*
 |
we got on the road about 2:30pm,tired and very hungry.
we had a 3 hour drive back to phoenix...without traffic.
i was hoping we could meet up with family for dinner, but halfway there,
it was clear it wasn't going to happen. we'd be getting in too late.
we got take-out, found a comfort inn on the side of the freeway,
and were asleep by 9/9:30pm. we slept so well...and slept in a bit the next day.
before we headed home to san diego, we quickly met up with my sis heidi,
her husband greg and their new baby girl Anoka. we were introduced to lux coffee,
a hip little coffee house in downtown phoenix. it was perfect...great coffee and
great bacon. {uncle greg was kind enough to treat us}. i loved on Anoka a bit
and finn and greg talked about space and video games and then got on the road.
we drove back on a sunday, 4/10, which was my birthday!
i received several sweet phone calls....some went to vm but some i heard come in
and was able to chat. those added even more fun to my day and our roadtrip.
since baking a cake wasn't in my plans for the day, finn suggested we have a treat
to celebrate. i asked what he had in mind and he said ICE CREAM. i loved the idea.
we stopped for a late lunch in yuma, and found a southern ca staple, in-and-out burger.
we filled up on burgers, fries and shakes. it was exactly was i was craving and the
boys said it was THE best shake they've ever had in their lives.
we arrived home aound 7pm, exhausted but happy.
the boys got out of the car first and then came back to the car
bouncing a bit and asking me to hurry. for what reason, i had no idea.
then as i walked up the sidewalk to the front door, i saw this sign.
c had left us a note welcoming us home.
it was very sweet and made us all smile.
~ we saved celebrating for the following evening.
my dear friend melissa watched the boys and c
treated me to dinner at bo-beaus, a small french "restaurant tucked
away in ocean beach that i'd been wanting to visit forever.
it was delicious and i left very grateful....for the life i have
and all the people who add so much to it.
