Grand Canyon Part 1

Our trip to the Grand Canyon started off with a little bit of a surprise. Two days before we left, we received a call explaining that Justin's Grandma would need to come with us on our travels. Unfortunetely , there was a problem with the people who were watching her ranch and Chrissy would no longer be able to drive her there. We shuffled around our transportation to the airport and welcomed the change.

Justin picked up his 3 nephews (12, 15 & 19) and his grandma on Monday afternoon. They settled in for a nice dinner and then we hung out outside and played games, etc after Paige went to bed. I slept on one couch and the boys slept on the floor (We gave Grandma the bed- Yes my mother raised me right!).

On Monday morning I woke up at 5:15 AM, dropped Justin and Tyler off at the Bart at 5:30 AM. Keith and I stopped and picked up some coffee and headed home to get the rest of the family ready to go. My dad picked us up and dropped us off at SFO by 7:30 AM. We had a little trouble since Grandma realized she did not actually have her ID in the stuff she brought. Luckily, she had a credit card with her picture on it which they accepted with a little extra security. Our nephew Joseph was on crutches because of a skateboarding accident and also had to go through the whole screening (They even tested the poor kid for explosives). It took us a little longer to get throug security, but we made it.

Our flight was slightly delayed, but it was not a long on into Las Vegas. Paige did very well. Joseph and Tyler had never been on a plane. It was nice because Joseph and Grandma got to pre-board and get us seats. Justin, Paige & I were able to family board before there were too many people on the plane too. So we all sat in one row and had an uneventful flight. When we landed, we got a wheelchair to help Joseph and Grandma through the large airport. It was like having our own personal guide which was great.

We upgraded from a basic minivan to a Toyota Sienna which was great. It actually had 8 seats so Paige, Joseph & me (We both get car sick sometimes) were able to sit in the middle. Grandma sat up front. Justin & I switched off driving on the way there, but he did drive most of the way. We got lunch and some drinks. Then we headed towards the Grand Canyon. About 30 minutes into our trip we made a pitstop at the Hoover Dam. It was HOT. Some pics are below.

Justin, his Grandma, me and Paige.

3 generations in one pic.

From left to right: Keith, Justin, Grandma, Tyler, Joseph. Paige is in front.

After our short trip, we continued on. We stopped a couple of times. We got into our hotel at about 6:15 PM. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to drive there, but we weren't in a rush. We got settled in. Our rooms were HUGE and the beds were so comfy for a Best Western. We went to the hotel restaurant for their buffet, which was in my opinion a waste of money. It was $18/person, for a total of $140! And it was not that Good. We should have gotten Pizza, but it was dark, we were tired and didn't feel like exploring the area.

The hotel had a bowling alley and game room. We put Paige to bed, turned on the moniter and hung out next door in the boys room. The boys and Grandma went and bowled. I turned in around 10:30 PM. Justin & Keith stayed up until 2AM when his brother Dan & Dan's wife Michelle arrived. It was along day. Stay tuned for my blog on the next days events.