Grand Canyon

We stopped and had lunch just inside Arizona on our way home from Anaheim, and then we (Grandad, Nama, Joey, and Breeana) turned off at Quartzsite, Arizona, and started our trip toward the Grand Canyon. Looking at the map, it looked like it would be a shorter drive if we turned off on U.S. Highway 60 toward Sedona where we wanted to spend the night. WRONG! Granted this was a more scenic drive, and as long as it was flat and in the desert, it was beautiful and we weren't losing any time. What we did not know was that it soon went up and up and up into the mountains with winding turns. Our driving speed was reduced to 15-25 mph most of the way around all those horrendous curves. Joey and Breeana were getting more and more car sick by the minute. We finally got into Prescott and stopped so we could all get out and stretch our legs. Poor Joey and Breeana could hardly hold their heads up. They were so car sick.

It was dusk, so we hurried up so we could get to Sedona before long. Ha! Somehow neither Grandad nor I saw the signs telling us where to turn, so off we went in the complete wrong direction. Fortunately we didn't go too far before we looked at the compass and saw our mistake... back to Prescott! This time we stopped and asked for directions. We took U.S. Highway 89A to Sedona. Oops... several miles later, the highway was closed! Oh... so that's what that flashing sign was all about way back there! An Arizona State Trooper was nice enough to give us a map for a short cut to Interstate 17. Two extra hours and two sick kids later, we realized that we should have just stayed on Interstate 10 into Phoenix and then taken Interstate 17 to Sedona. Is this beginning to sound like a Griswold family vacation?

By this time we were starving and tired and cranky, but we had nonrefundable reservations, so we had to continue on until Sedona We finally found Sedona and found The Arroyo Roble Hotel. We unloaded the car once again, and the kids found their bathing suits. Grandad took them down to the pool, and I ordered pizza to be delivered to our room. By the time they finished swimming and the pizza arrived, it was midnight before we all climbed into bed.

What a surprise we had when we woke up. The view from our room was spectacular, and the mountains were so red and interesting. We packed up quickly so we could go to the Grand Canyon. Before we even started though, we stopped at a Walgreen's and bought wrist bands for both the kids to wear to prevent them from getting car sick anymore. They worked perfect!

Joey, Nama, and Breeana	Notice the wrist bands.

The mountains outside of Sedona	Joey, Grandad, and Breeana

The Grand Canyon was awesome and breath taking. There were a couple of places where we could walk out on little points and look way out. Even though there were rails and protection, it still made our stomachs queasy. Joey, Breeana, and I could not stay there very long.

We left the Grand Canyon and retraced our way back to Flagstaff and then went on to Holbrook to spend the night. We were lucky and found a brand new Holiday Inn Express, and we had a great room. Once again we were too tired to go out to eat, so we ordered Chinese to be delivered to our room. In the morning we went down and had their Continental Breakfast, and then we were off to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.


The Petrified Forest
The kids were more impressed with the Petrified Forest, but they were expecting the trees to be standing.		I don't think the kids were too impressed with the Painted Desert. I thought it was beautiful.

We left the Petrified Forest and started our final journey toward home. We had one more planned stop along the way and then we would be going home. After driving for a while, kids started getting hungry, especially Breeana. She said she wanted to find a McDonald's. Nobody else wanted another hamburger. We had had so many hamburgers on our trip. She really... REALLY.. wanted McDonald's. She was so mad at us because we kept telling her we were not going to go there. We drove into Springerville and looked for a restaurant. There were a few, but none of them looked good to us. Of course there was a McDonald's! We drove all the way through Springerville, which doesn't take more than three minutes, and we found NOTHING. We drove through it again. This time we turned down a street and in a couple of blocks we were in Eagar. Eagar was even smaller than Springerville. As we drove a couple of blocks, we saw a sign advertising a restaurant. We circled back and came across this restaurant. It was the Vintage Hideaway. What a treat. It was the neatest little restaurant. It was an old historic boarding house. We were explaining this to the kids, and Breeana, who was still wanting McDonald's said... "I don't want to eat in a "boring" house!" We cracked up at her. She protested even after we were seated. The inside was so neat. Our waitress was very sweet and courteous. She took our orders and then explained that the upstairs rooms were gift shops. GIFT SHOPS!!! What more could Breeana and I want? We went upstairs and it was so quaint, and each room was filled with antiques and little old knickknacks. I immediately found a couple of things that I just had to have. Then I heard the kids calling me from another room. They had found the most fantastic china plates with Pandas on them. I fell in love with them. But alas, it was at the end of our trip and we had spent so much money. I just could not justify buying the plates. I wandered into a couple of more rooms and then Grandad called me back to the room where the Panda plates were. He found more! There were a total of 14 plates! Oh man... how I would love to have those plates. Let's see... birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas... Ed doesn't have to wonder for a very long time what he can get me.

We went back down and enjoyed a completely delicious lunch. Bree and I had taco salads that were fantastic. Joey had a Philly sandwich, and Grandad had a chili soup and half a sandwich that had both sweet and sour tastes... I can't remember the name of it, but he really liked it. Then he could not resist ordering a slice of homemade key lime pie.

We left there and headed for New Mexico. Guess who was at the New Mexico state line to greet us? Yep, a New Mexico State Policeman! The speed limit dropped from 75 in Arizona to 55 in New Mexico. He zapped us with his radar. He was nice though... just checked for registration and insurance and then wished us a good day. BUT... we had to make sure we drove the exact speed limit FOREVER because he kept popping up behind us. From the Arizona state line through Quemado, Datil, and Magdelena, NM, there is absolutely nothing. It is a long straight road that goes forever with nobody on it... except us and that NM State Policeman, of course. Talk about BORING!

We finally got to our last sight seeing destination. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Very Large Array, just outside of Socorro, NM. Remember the movie "Contact" starring Jodie Foster? This is where it was filmed. All those radar satelites look so eerie. They all point up to the sky and they are listening for sounds in outer space. Spooky! They look like they are creatures from outer space themselves.

We left there at 6 p.m., and in the hour that it took us to get to Socorro, kids were hungry again. We went to San Antonio and ate at the Owl Cafe where they make the best hamburgers. This is normally my most favorite place to stop and eat when either going to Albuquerque or coming back home from Albuquerque. This time, I still could not stand the thought of another hamburger. I did indulge in a Tecate beer though.


	S P E C T A C U L A ...R....

The Painted Desert
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