Trips that come to mind…
The 2004 Greece trip
The 2006 Greece trip
The Switzerland trip with Pat’s Family
The 2002 sailing trip to the Bahamas with Robert, spending February in the tropics on my own sailboat, and seeing the Space Shuttle take off and fly right over our heads
The 2008 sailing trip to the Bahamas with Robert and Ann, and spending the coldest part of the winter in the tropics on my own sailboat for a second time
The trip to Big Bend Texas with Robert
The trip to Arizona, New Mexico, and big Bend with Pat
The trip to Big Bend with Robert
The trip to the Grand Canyon with Brencie when she was little
The trip to the Grand Canyon with Pat
The trip to the Grand Canyon, Montana, and Wyoming with Robert and Joshua
The six weeks in Yellowstone
(I see many of the great trips were with Robert.)
And first place goes to ….wait for it,
Brencie, and Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon!!!!
What made this trip great was getting to share with Brencie some things that we had never done before. Showing Brencie, as a child, new and exciting experiences and watching her face when she sees something she has never seen before, are priceless.
There are other trips I took with my kids that were also wonderful. Driving to Kansas with three kids and their mother in a Volkswagen Beetle was pretty memorable. Also, Driving to Kansas in our station wagon with a car load of teenagers was unforgettable. Tracey was just recently telling me how much fun it was for them to hang out with Jon and help deliver papers.
I have selected the trip with Brencie because it has special significance. I was trying to maintain the father-daughter relationship that I wanted while living apart. This trip was very meaningful in that respect.
Republic Airlines announced a promotion where if you bought a roundtrip ticket that flew through one of their hub cities each way, they would give you a voucher for a roundtrip ticket anywhere they flew in the continental US. I found a trip from Chattanooga to Birmingham, Alabama, that stopped in Memphis both ways. It cost like $70. I bought tickets for Brencie and me. Then one Sunday Brencie and I flew to Birmingham via Memphis, had lunch in the airport, and flew back to Chattanooga, also via Memphis. I remember Brencie was sick with flu or something, but she went anyway. Brencie got a window seat. The best part of this trip was seeing the look on her face when the plane took off from Chattanooga. I got to be with her on her first plane ride.
Then for our free plane ride we went to the Grand Canyon via La Vegas. Our connection in Vegas required we spend the night on the way out, but not on the way back.
We got off the plane in Vegas and the first thing we heard was the sound of coins hitting the pans on the slot machines. We had a cheap hotel with a pool that was not near the strip and not near the airport. We were looking for a taxi and a limo driver said he would take us for the same price as a taxi, so we did it.
When we got in the limo I asked Brencie: “Have you ever ridden in a limo?”
She said: “No.”
I said: “Me neither.”
When we got to the motel we went swimming. The sun was so hot the pool water was real warm. That night we went to the Circus Circus casino. The mezzanine was all games for kids and the center of the casino was constant circus acts, one after another.
The next day we went to the Grand Canyon. It was a 30 minute flight and a bus ride. We stayed at the Bright Angle Lodge right on the south rim. The mules go down the Bright Angel Trail right by the lodge.
We planned to hike and camp in the canyon but we didn’t know about the reservation requirements. You have to reserve your permit about a year in advance. But we found out they hold back 10 permits per day for people like us who don’t plan ahead. The office opens at 7:00 AM. It’s first come. We got up at 4:00 and got in line at the office. We were fifth in line. We got our permit to hike and camp in the canyon on the following day.
On the day of the hike the temperature was around 40 degrees. We were wearing jackets. As we descended Bright Angle Trail we took off clothes until we were sweating in shorts and t-shirts. It’s 7,000 feet at the rim and 3,000 or 4,000 feet where we camped. We only went half way to the river. We filled our half gallon water bottles every mile at the water stops. We backed against the rock wall to let the mules pass. The other side of the trail was sometimes a 1,000 foot drop.
At the camp site we pitched our tent. It was a nylon tent, and the air was very dry. As a result there was some static electricity going on. We were playing cards in the tent and Brencie looked at me and started laughing. I looked her and her hair was sticking straight out from her head. We had a good laugh. I had long hair then.
I don’t remember what we ate. I remember the hike back out was brutal. It was hot and we drank a lot of water. I had to stop very frequently since I was carrying the tent and camping gear. Brencie didn’t seem to be having any trouble. She was carrying her pack with her stuff. We saw people running. We were told they run to the river and back as part of their training.
I don’t remember the bus ride back, or the flight back home.
Of all the places I have been my favorites are The Grand Canyon and Santorini, Greece.
Σχόλια