Arizona National Parks Day 1

Day 1 – Saturday, March 11, 2017

 

We got up and intended to leave the house at 7:30 to catch our 9:15 flight but our Uber driver was running late because of a wreck so he was 15 minutes late which normally isn’t a big deal but…

we arrived at the airport without incident but when we went to check our bags there was a huge backlog of luggage because the airport’s conveyor belt wasn’t working.  Nick and I looked at each other and said, “There’s no way our bags are making it onto this flight.”  Then we got in the security line and Grant, who was wearing a knee brace, didn’t clear the metal detector the first time, nor the 2ne time.  Once he took the brace off, he finally got through but then his bag was pulled over and checked.  Apparently he misunderstood my instructions to get a water bottle and put it in his backpack.  He took that to mean that he was supposed to fill up his water bottle.  So TSA had to dump his bottle out.



We got to the gate with plenty of time then had an uneventful flight to Tucson– the kids sat in the row in front of us and no one got into a fight.  We landed at 10:45am and the bags took forever to show up.  That is everyone’s bags but ours.  We were told that they might make it onto the next flight out of Dallas and that they could be there as early as 12:30pm.  So we went to the rental car section and got a Chrysler Pacifica mini-van from Enterprise after waiting behind a man who took forever because he didn’t have a reservation, couldn’t remember his cell phone and got mad at the lady behind the counter. 

 
As soon as we got into the and were heading to grab a quick lunch, Ryan “lost” her iPod touch for a bit so we had to pull over, search the car, search her body, go back to the rental car desk, then it finally showed up (in the car).  By then it was 12:15 so we just decided to wait for the next flight to arrive with our bags

So we dropped Nick off and parked illegally while we waited another 30-45 minutes.  I finally was told to pull into the cell phone waiting lot (aptly named) then Nick texted that he was out front.  We pulled up and he was out front with only one of the two bags – mine…sigh.

 By now it was 1:00 (so really 2:00) and we’re starving and crabby.  We ate lunch at a Wendy’s then drove to Saguaro National Park.  It was exciting to see the sign and get the pictures but that was definitely the highlight of the park.
 

 We bought the magnets and hatpins, got the map and got the passbooks stamped.  Then we drove the 10-12 mile loop around the park (we went to the Eastern side of the park).  We saw the Saguaros and that was that. 

We’d planned to take a 5.6 mi hike but it was 100 degrees outside (literally 100 degrees) and Nick didn’t have a hat or shorts. 

 So we were there all of 45 minutes at most.  But we’ve officially hit park #21! 

 

We drove to the Hampton Inn and here’s a bit of luck – this is the first time on one of these crazy trips where we’ve actually stayed at a hotel right next to the airport we flew into.  We’re ¼ of a mile from the airport but still no bag.  However the room is nice – it’s big – triangle sized, with two king beds.  Apparently this is what I requested – who knew. 

I exercised in the workout room and then showered and we drove up to a restaurant, Guadalajara.  The sign said the lot was full but just then a car was pulling out and we got rock star parking.  Then we were told that the wait would be 30-40 minutes and it was under 40 seconds when our pager went off.  We honestly think they made a mistake but we didn’t say a word.  We got a great table outside and ate a very average meal but served with very above-average tableside made salsa and very above average mariachi singers.  They even played a song Nick requested. 

After dinner (it was now 7pm but feeling like midnight) we drove to Target to get some basics for the boys (all of Grant’s stuff was packed in Nick’s bag) like socks, toothbrushes, long johns and a bathing suit for Grant.  We grabbed some food for lunches then headed back to the hotel.

We’d been here about 10-15 minutes when the kids decided they were going to the pool.  I said I was staying behind to type of the day’s adventures and as soon as they left, their bag showed up.

All’s right with the world.  I think we got all our gremlins out today (although I’m knocking on the hotel nightstand as I type this).  The only additional bad news was that the USA baseball team lost 7-5 to the Dominican Republic team in the Baseball World Classic and we couldn’t see the game anywhere.

The rest of this trip is going to be spectacular.