The Adventure Begins!

Would you believe that I arrived in Flagstaff on November 22^nd instead of November 21^st because I missed my flight!? Can you imagine that? yep, I arrived at the airport in Antigua only to be told that I had brought the wrong passport with me. I dashed home and literally tore the place apart looking for the correct passport. Eventually, I had a moment of clarity, I had left it with the receptionist at my office along with an authorization for mail collection! Unfortunately, there was no way of retrieving it before my flight closed. I had to re-book my flights (an unplanned and unwelcome expense) and cancel my overnight hotel stay in Miami as well. 

A Day Late and an iPhone Short

To make matters worse, I dropped my phone between the seat and the car door then slammed the door on it! As you can imagine I was practically wailing! How could this be happening? Luckily, my friend/gal pal/confidant and travel buddy Lyn is very practical. She calmly assured me that the important thing is that I can manage to get a flight out the following day. I would overnight in Miami and arrive in Flagstaff the day before my birthday. In addition, the Grand Canyon day tour can be postponed to the following day. Lyn had arrived in Flagstaff on Friday with the intention of having an entire day to settle in and relax before my arrival. Now as luck would have it, she had an additional day alone which she did not mind in the least.

I arrived at my hotel in Flagstaff just after 1 pm and was happy to see Lyn’s familiar face after my long overnight journey. We immediately went to get food at Macy’s European Coffee House since I was parched and starved after my long journey. After our late brunch, we strolled around the town’s Heritage Square which is rather pretty or ‘quaint’ as some would say. We wandered around the shopping center and bought a few locally made gifts. We met the charming Scotty McPeak of the family-owned and operated procurers of virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegar Olive the Best and bought some amazing herb-infused olive oils and bread dipper mixes.

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I was entranced by the small-town setting and was surprised that quite a few of the folks we met had moved there from other states. Lyn introduced me to the Sweet Shoppe where I had the most delicious strawberry sorbet over old fashion vanilla bean ice cream. We returned to our hotel at dusk and settled in for an early night since our tour guide was scheduled to pick us up at 8:30 the following morning.

Too Excited to Sleep

I couldn’t sleep. I was tired after my flight and ideally, the warm shower after our stroll in the chilly afternoon air should have done me in, but I was wide awake. I snuggled in the comfy bed and must have dropped off to sleep at some point because I was rudely awoken by the shrill ring of the phone at 3:30 am. My sister was calling from another time zone to wish me a happy birthday. Of course, I could not go back to sleep after that conversation! but I resolutely burrowed under the covers to try.

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Eventually, it was time to get up and get ready to seize the day! Our tour guide Christian was right on time to take us on our Classic Grand Canyon Day Tour and one of the most amazing birthdays I’ve ever had.  Our tour began with a scenic ride through the Ponderosa Pines of Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks. The first stop was the Bashas’s supermarket for sandwiches, water, and other essentials to take on the trip. Our next stop was the Grand Canyon Information Centre where Lyn and I bought matching hoodies since it was colder than we thought it was going to be. Unfortunately, the Cameron Trading Post is temporarily closed so we were unable to visit the Native American Fine Arts Gallery there.

So Much Beauty

There was so much to see on the way to the Grand Canyon! tantalizing glimpses of the Painted Desert and the gorge of the Little Colorado River and the beautiful pines. I’m telling you, if you haven’t seen this amazing scenery, you should put this trip on your bucket list.

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Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon, the views were breathtaking. The beautiful pastels of the canyon, against the backdrop of unbelievably clear, blue skies was everything and more than I’d ever expected. We took a million photos of the gorgeous scenery, yet each one seemed not to have captured the stunning beauty of the canyon.