I can't remember a time I didn't want to be a mother. I waited to meet the man who would love me forever and be a father to my children. At 39, he hadn't arrived. I knew I was meant to be someone's mom, so my life plan changed. At 41, I got pregnant on my first try with home insemination! Nine months later, my beautiful boy, Tate arrived! We've been together now for over a year. I'm happy, exhausted and in love. I wouldn't have my life as a choice mom any other way!
Wednesday morning we go to sleep in for a while!! Sooooo nice. Even nicer was that we weren't going to be leaving for anywhere that day that required packing all our stuff up!!! Per our usual, Tate ate his breakfast in the room, and a couple of hours later we headed down to the lobby for me to enjoy the complimentary breakfast and for Tate to have his requisite hot cocoa. Then my mom and I took the boys down to swim in the pool! Tate only lasted about 30 minutes...it was a tad warm! :)
We got cleaned up and headed to Chase Field to watch the Diamondbacks play the Dodgers! My dad, an avid Dodgers fan, was in heaven. Tate loved it as well though by the 8th inning he was ready to go! It was alot of fun though, and Lindsey joined us for the festivities!
For our last meal I chose The Rainforest Cafe (by the way...my dad had me choose all the restaurants for the entire trip). I can't stand going to chain restaurants when I'm out of town; it's a tad harder with an allergy kiddo though. The Rainforest Cafe is also known for their awesome handling of patrons with food allergies...they make all sorts of accommodations, and will send the chef out to talk with all guests. They didn't disappoint in Phoenix either. Tate was over the moon, and the boys enjoyed the restaurant immensely. My dad, mom and I, well we tolerated it with love :)
Tuesday morning we loaded up the truck to move to Phoenix by way of Sedona! :) Well first up was some breakfast on Route 66!!! Daddy and Scotty went for the 'free' buffet breakfast (was included in our train package) but me, Lindsey, Tate and Mommy headed for a traditional breakfast cafe on Route 66!!! The pancakes were scrumptious! The tables were worn! The waitresses were overworked and cranky, but so very nice! It was by far the best meal we'd had in 3 days!!!
I knew Tate wouldn't be able to eat anything, so he ate in the room upon waking as usual and had some hot cocoa and a ring pop! for our breakfast out! Happy boy!
We climbed into our suburban and started our journey to Sedona! A few squabbles and hurt feelings (as always happens when 6 people have been together for an extended period of time in close quarters I suppose!) we arrived. And goodness it was a good 10-15 degrees warmer in Sedona! We intended to walk around and have some lunch and shop. The views were gorgeous, but it was soooo hot!
We got a few trinkets, the boys met some snakes (so very random...instead of singing on the street for money, people brought out their snakes for your entertainment!) and we had some yummy lunch. We went to a place called Oaxaca. I was very leery of it but they were so awesome! The waiter checked with the chef for me when I went in to ask about their handling of food allergies with nary a second glance and with a smile! Then once lunch was finished he came out with sorbet for the boys and when I said I wasn't sure, he told me he checked the ingredients to make sure it was safe! How awesome was that?!?! Of course the boys didn't want dessert...seriously you're killing me kids! But I was eternally grateful!
Always on the move!
Practicing his baseball moves!
Such a happy boy!
We stickily walked back to the car and got in for the drive to Phoenix!! It was quite the day of driving for my poor dad. We arrived in Phoenix and dropped Lindsey off to hang out with a friend until we returned home! Finally made it to our hotel and let my poor dad out of the car to enjoy some down time! My mom, Scotty, Tate and I headed off to dinner---I drove the huge bus!! Ack!!!
We went to a wonderful restaurant called Rusconi's American Kitchen. I had called the week prior to check on allergen safety and to make a reservation. This was hands down our best experience dining while on this trip, probably of all time. The food was divine. Our server, Taylor, was awesomely fantastic! He walked up to our table, introduced himself and immediately said he knew we had a member of our party with food allergies and could he go over them with us so he could go speak to the chef. He verified that we had previously discussed that Tate could have the mac and cheese, but wanted to see if there was anything Tate could have. My mom ordered a salad and he returned to tell us that it was served with almonds, and that they would leave them off her salad so as to not contaminate the table!! I was so impressed with the food, the service, the ambience...everything! This place made my trip perfect!!!
With our bellies happily full we made our way back to our hotel. Tate and I had our room to ourselves :). What a lovely night's rest!!!
Tate slept the entire night away in his roll-away bed. I wish I could say Lindsey and I slept as soundly :). His pillow fell to the floor numerous times, and I have no idea how I head it fall, but I did. So I must have replaced it at least 4 times. Morning dawned in the Grand Canyon and it was gorgeous....we even got to laze about a bit. My dad and Lindsey did the Hermit Bike Tour; Tate and I were supposed to do it with them, but I'd unfortunately broken my wrist the week prior (more on that later). My mom, Scotty, Tate and I hung around in our suite for a while, finished packing things up and enjoyed the early morning views. It was beautifully quiet with noone on the rim when I woke up. Simply lovely being able to open my front door and walk 10 feet and see the Grand Canyon.
We made our way to breakfast, and as always Tate had already eaten in our room, so he had his usual hot cocoa. My mom and I had some pretty bad pancakes :/ as did Scotty, but we were fortified!
We made our way back to our cabin to pack up all our stuff. We had to be completely packed with our suitcases in the room for the concierge to pick up to load onto the train later in the day. We dropped our carry on items at the front desk then headed off for the Junior Ranger 'Walk on the Wild Side'
Tate got a couple of splinters about 5 minutes into our walk, but he persevered!
We saw some fox tracks and some deer scat (Ick! deer poop!). We also found what appeared to be the thigh bone of a deer!! The boys had a fun time and even got their Junior Ranger badges!
That's Tate to the immediate right of the ranger!
And most importantly of all, Tate got to christen some trees in the Grand Canyon! (He had come to me about 30 minutes into the 60 minute program to say he had to go to the bathroom; I told him he'd just have to wait. He went back to the group and hung a bit, but then the ranger came to me and told me he really had to go and I could take him to a tree...what a happy boy! Sucks to be a girl sometimes!)
Ready to take the pledge to become junior rangers!
We took the shuttle bus back to Maswik Lodge to look around there then decided to walk back to the rim! Once back to the rim we were making our way back to our lodge and we came across the Bright Angel Trail that one of our guides had told us about. I wanted to walk down it with Tate, Scotty and my mom...should have been about a 20 minute round trip 'hike.' Scotty was too nervous to try it, so I had to leave him up at the top with my mom, and Tate and I made our precarious way down. I don't know what possessed me, who is deathly afraid of heights, to take this on, but we did it! It was a lovely walk down into the canyon, albeit not a terribly far walk down. And a long long walk back up :) Tate and I had a great time!!
After much huffing and puffing (on my part) we made our way back to the top! We got Scotty and my mom and made the trek back to our hotel to grab some lunch at the Arizona Room. As always the food left a lot to be desired, but our waitress was just lovely. I forget her name, but this was her 3rd 'tour' at the canyon as an employee! An aside...all the people who work in the Grand Canyon have to live there on the premises! There are dormitories and apartments for all the staff. Most of them are living like college students! Pretty amazing in my opinion. It reminds me of the staff on cruise ships from all around the world...it's much the same. All the name tags have the staff member's name as well as where they're from. The come to the Canyon for a stint of several months, make money and return home. I really felt so blessed for all that I have knowing how very hard these people are all working for probably not that much money amongst tourists who I know can be most unpleasant, especially when they're tired, hungry and hot. It did make help me have patience and not be frustrated even in light of how they were unable to accommodate Tate's allergies. I just took it all in stride and was thankful I'd been able to go to the store in Sedona and bring some food with me. My dad and Lindsey finished their bike tour and ended up at the same restaurant as us, just a tad bit after we sat down. We went ahead and left and just sat outside enjoying what was going to be our last few minutes in the Grand Canyon.
Then it was time to make our way to the train depot to return to Williams. As we walked to the train depot we saw an elk just ambling along walking along the street! What a great way to end our time at the Grand Canyon.
We boarded our train and headed back to Williams. This leg of the trip had champagne and sparkling cider for all in the dome car! There was more entertainment in the form of a lovely lady who played the accordion! We had such a blast!!!
The engine of the train!
And then there was a TRAIN ROBBERY!!!! So.Much.Fun. The robbers boarded the train and took our money, but then thankfully the sheriff boarded and told us everything would be ok!!! We survived the ride and made it safely to our hotel...thank goodness!!!
We went straight to dinner then headed to our rooms for some shut-eye! We were 6 very exhausted people...I was looking forward to being in the same hotel for more than one night the following day!
The Grand Canyon had been more than I had ever imagined. I hope to one day return with Tate and do the bike ride or a mule ride and maybe even a helicopter ride! No matter where you look or how many times, the Canyon looks different each time. It's awe inspiring and just breathtaking. True beauty on earth.
