A few weeks ago my mother came to town with her two friends, Darlene and Melinda, my nephew Joseph and Darlene's grandson Corey. This was the second time in 8 years that my mother has visited me. The first time was in 2004 she came out in December to go to my companies Christmas party since #3 was out of town. We had a great time but she had some problems with the altitude. I have to say I was surprised when she said she wanted to come out and bring friends. I was nervous since I have not done a lot of entertaining in the last few years. The only person besides Joshua that visits is Deb. As the weeks progressed, I spent a lot of time getting my house in order and trying to figure out where I was going to sleep 6 people in my little house. I was also trying to figure out how to entertain everyone with a trip to the Grand Canyon. Josh and I went there for his birthday last year and it was really pretty but not much to do for long.
The trip started off to a great start, Joshua was arriving on Wednesday night and he was staying at my house with the kids, while the ladies and I drove west; Joshua flight was to arrive from Denver at 11:00 p.m. but there was one delay after another and he did not actually get in until 1:00 am by the time we got his luggage and back home it was late or early depending on how you looked at it. My mom’s group arrived on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. and we were to head out right away. I wanted to get to Arizona around 2 or 3. Their flight arrived on time and we headed off to get the rental car. We were smart and rented a mini van, lots of room and not bad on gas. The interesting thing was that it was freezing that morning. It was June and so cold, but they enjoyed it since it had been 90 in Houston for weeks.
Once we got the van I kissed Josh goodbye and started the drive West. Now, remember this was the farthest West my mom has ever been, I don’t know about her friends but they were all excited. I pointed out a few things along the way, but if you have ever drove I-40 out of Albuquerque you know there is not much to see. Just lots of open land, we stopped in Sky City on the Acoma Pueblo to get gas and stop at Mickey D’s, this was the first stop and my mom found a slot machine. Apparently it was the frog game she likes so we played slots in the truck stop for a while before we started out again. The road continued and we passed Grants and then Gallup, not long before you get to the Arizona border there is a tourist attraction on the side of the road. I have never stopped there but one thing I learned about this group, they were all about the tourist traps. So we spent some time looking at “authentic” Native American jewelry, pots, arrows, etc. They even had a little farm area with horses, pigs, goats and a buffalo.
After that we were on the road again, our destination for the night was Sedona; I wanted to take my mom to somewhere that I loved and to a place that held so much peace for me. We stopped in Flagstaff for lunch and headed down 89A for the drive down the mountain and into Oak Creek Canyon. I stopped at an overlook so they could get their first glimpse of the beauty of Arizona only to discover that they could hardly breath in the high altitude. A small walk from the parking lot to the overlook had them completely winded. I was baffled until Phyllis pointed it out later. We headed down the road into Sedona and checked into the hotel. Everyone was happy and comfortable in their surroundings. Mom, Darlene and the kids went to swim in the pool and Melinda and I hit the streets of Sedona for some serious crystal and gem shopping. One of my main thoughts about Sedona was that the grocery store was a half a block away and they sold Blue Bell ice cream, so I walked over and got my favorite.
The morning came early for me since I was up half the night watching Mystery Diagnosis on the health channel. But we got up and drove up to the airport so they could look out over Sedona. I took the time to hike back down the mountain and get my mind focused and enjoy the quiet that was until my mother drove up behind me while I was in the middle of mediating and honked the horn. But that did not diminish the beauty of where I was. There is something about Sedona, just spending the night there does so much for my inner peace, it is my grown up sanctuary. When I was a kid I always thought of my grandmothers house in Florida as my sanctuary because nothing bad ever happened to me there and now that she is gone I look as Sedona as my place to go for solitude and renewal.
After lunch we headed North to the Grand Canyon having to stop only once or twice for tourist things. We got to the Grand Canyon and the ladies were hit with the stress of hiking in the high altitude but the kids were great. So we left the ladies to their leisurely stroll and went off on our own. This was the most amazing part of the whole trip, when Joseph and Cory saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, I heard the words, beautiful and amazing coming from the mouths of an 8 year old and an 11 year old. They were memorized by it. I had forgot how it feels to see something from the perspective of a kid, they are so open to new adventures and their passion is plain and simple and when they see something they like they say so.
We did not spend a large amount of time at the Grand Canyon since we had to head back to Albuquerque and Joe wanted to go to the gift shop. The drive back was uneventful but a long drive after playing all day. We got back to Albuquerque about 2 a.m. (another long night for me). Saturday, we spent the day playing around New Mexico, we explored Tent Rocks. http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/rio_puerco/kasha_katuwe_tent_rocks.html,
Joe and Corey were really interested in anything Native American and rocks. So what better place than there to take them? Besides it is just cool. After that we drove up to Santa Fe and took the Turquoise Trail (http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2094/) down the mountain. The one thing my mom wanted to do was drive up to Sandia Crest (http://www.turquoisetrail.org/sandiacrest.htm) so we took the scenic drive down and then up. Unfortunately due to the winds we could not take the tram or the ski lift during this trip but it was still beautiful to see. After this the day was slower, the ladies went to the casino and Josh & I took the boys to play putt putt golf.
Everyone headed home on Sunday morning and I was left exhausted and ready for the next vacation. Once everyone left and I finally went to bed for some well deserved sleep I did not wake up. Monday came and I was still asleep until the office called looking for me because I am never and hour and a half late getting in. I was confused because I was sure it was Sunday and not Monday. They are still laughing at me every chance they get.