Happy 34th Birthday, Dad!
His best birthday gift – at least for Ethan, Ehlana, and me
– was the day-trip air and ground tour to the Grand Canyon
that we all went on today. Mom and I
visited the Grand Canyon once back when we were
hiding in the west, but we didn’t see it from the air; and it was a lot more
fun to spend the day sightseeing with our family.
Spending the day flying and at the Grand
Canyon meant that we needed to start the day early. Mom and Dad skipped Tai Chi, and I don’t need
to know why they needed the extra nap time; but I went outside to enjoy the
sunrise and exercise. I helped Grandpa
with making breakfast after that while Grandma took care of Ethan and Ehlana;
and then we ate quickly; Dad opened his gifts; and those of us who weren’t
ready to go out yet hit the showers while Mom and Grandma took care of the
clean-up.
The flight to the Grand Canyon was awesome, and Ethan,
Ehlana, and I loved learning about the Tonto National Forest, Navajo
Reservation, Sedona desert, and everything else our guide told us about to keep
us entertained for the hour or so it took to reach the Grand Canyon. For the next half-hour, I was pretty much
lost to the moment; taking in the amazing view below us; and listening to our
guide tell us about our little contribution to the seven natural wonders of the
world.
Spending a few hours at the Grand Canyon leaves you wishing
that you could just stay and spend a couple of months exploring – or at least
that’s how I felt today when we were back on the plane for the trip back. Our first stop on the ground tour was a
scenic overlook, and Ethan and Ehlana helped make that particularly
entertaining for everyone in our group.
They’d have likely forgotten all about the Grand
Canyon if they’d heard some of the comments the twins whispered to
us now and then – or been with us for the question and answer time back at
Grandma and Grandpa’s tonight!
The Grand
Canyon Village
was our next stop, and while we had fun picking up a few souvenirs and gifts
for friends, by comparison; shopping was actually pretty low on the highlight
list today. Our last stop was at one of
the canyon lodges, where the view of the canyon was definitely more interesting
than the food we had for lunch – at least for Ethan, Ehlana, and me.
It was time to head back to the airport after leaving the
lodge, and the flight back was a bit of a wind down time – Ethan, Ehlana, and
Grandpa even had a little nap. We still
had a drive back to Grandma and Grandpa’s condo from the airport, but then had
time to go for a swim before getting ready to go out for Dad’s birthday
dinner. I love Sunday night buffets at
the Inn, and Grandpa likes to tell us about
how much he misses those meals while he and Grandma are travelling; but I now
know that he’s not being totally honest about that. The restaurant they took us to for dinner is
one of their favorites; the food was awesome; and I’m sure that the Stone
family would probably get along great with the family that owned the place.
We spent about an hour and a half at the restaurant, and
then headed home again for a quiet evening in – or at least close to home. I went for another long swim, and we all went
for a walk around the neighborhood before doing the question and answer time
with Ethan and Ehlana in the living room.
Since some of us – Mom and Dad – didn’t get much sleep last night, we
all turned in comparatively early; but I’ve been working on my computer since
climbing into bed.
Catching up on email took a while, and I had a short chat with
Rowen. I’m not doing any extra studying
this weekend, but there was a bit of family business work that needed to be
dealt with; so I spent a half hour or so doing that too. Once I finish this, I’m going to find
something mindless to watch until I’m ready to sleep, and since that pretty
much covers the news for today; I’m going to move on and do that.
Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.
“Goodnight, Cassie.”
