Spring Break '04
VACATION TIME!!! We were invited to go to Scottsdale, Arizona with David's Family. It was their Spring Break and they had an extra room at a time share, so naturally with the promise of warmer weather we couldn't turn it down. Lisa's parents also came out and that was a lot of fun having both of our families together. Here's a breakdown of what we did day to day. Click here to see pictures of our trip.
Day 1: Travel to Arizona
So we hoped on a plan in Grand Rapids and headed to Cleveland, OH to catch our connecting flight to Pheonix, AZ. We had a pretty smooth trip on our way out to Arizona and David's dad and brother picked us up at the airport in the convertible that he had rented. It was pretty interesting trying to get 3 nice size suitcases and a set of golf clubs into the little car, but we made due. The weather was beautiful and we rode with the top down to the resort.
Day 2: Lisa's Birthday
This was Lisa's 24th birthday, and the day everyone else was getting in to town. So we picked people up at the airport, and spent the afternoon relaxing around the pool. That evening we went to a Wild West destination. They had all sorts of neat shops and activities going on. Laura and Brian rode the mechanical bull! We ate dinner at a Western Grill where most of us got ribs (except David and his dad, who ended up going back to the hotel early b/c David was feeling very sick). We had a balloon artist come to our table and make up some fancies animals and aliens! He was quite talented! Lisa got a cake with a sparkler on it, and the band sang Happy Birthday to her! It was rather embarrassing, but fun. After dinner we headed back to the resort. We opted to wait until the next day to open presents, since David was not feeling feel.
Day 3: Relax
Today we decided to just relax. We slept in and then moseyed out to the pool. Lisa was able to open her Birthday presents. From the Slighter's she got a board game that they made called "5 Straight". Dad Slighter took a piece of cherry wood and used a router to make the lines on the board, and then painted in the numbers. Then mom Slighter helped make the playing cards. They had 4 different pictures of us on the back of the cards, which really personalized our game. And then there are also the playing chips, which dad made using rubber cat stamps! It was a really beautifully crafted piece of work, and we really enjoy playing the game. Lisa received a watch from David that she had wanted. From the Taylor's, she got a beautiful jewelry box to store all of her jewelry in! Plus she got some travel jewelry storage containers, and a "scrapbooking bag" which had about one of everything from the scrapbooking store! In the afternoon we went to lunch at a neat outdoor cafe called Buckets. They had really good food, and served their seafood in metal buckets. The presentation was really beautiful, and we all enjoyed our food. Then we headed to Old Scottsdale and shopped. That evening everyone but David and I went horse-back riding. Since we had a long night the night before (David being sick and Lisa's back injury), we stayed back relaxed for a bit. Then we took a cruise in the convertible, and met up with everyone else for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We had yummy food and also fed some swans in the little pond at the restaurant.
Day 4: Golf & Sun
Today we decided to spend the whole time relaxing at the resort. Well, in our own ways. Mom & Dad Slighter, Dad Taylor, Brian and David played a round of golf to start off their day. They couldn't have had a better day, it was very nice out with lots of sun. While some played golf the others, Lisa, Mom Taylor and Laura hung out at the pool working on their tans. We all caught up around the pool for lunch and just relaxed (apparently that's what you're suppose to do on vacation). It was just beautiful. We also spent some time relaxing in the rooms, playing games, talking, etc. Steph was flying into town tonight, so she joined us later on. We went with Dad Taylor to pick her up at the airport, plus we got to ride in the convertible again! Nothing eventful, but a really good vacation day.
Day 5: Now That's What I Call Off-Roading
Today we got up early and were headed to Sedona. We made several stops along the way. Our first stop was in Prescott, which is known for being Arizona's first capital and also having over 500 buildings in the National Register of Historic Places. Lisa was feeling less than great so we didn't do a whole lot of walking around here. We then headed a little further north to a Jerome, (America's Most Vertical City). We walked around the shops and got ice cream at the local store, yeah we also found our way into the fudge store as well :) Finally we hoped on the road again and headed to Sedona for our Broken Arrow sunsest jeep tour, by the Pink Jeep Tour Company. The kids (David, Lisa, Steph, Brian, Laura) were in one jeep, and the adults in the other jeep. We had SUCH a great time on the tour! It was fun watching and hearing our parents scream as they were going up and down the rocks. Our guide said that they put about $14,000 of extra modifications into the Jeeps suspension system so they can do what they do! It was so much fun. It was quite exhilarating! For dinner we went to a small pizza joint, Pizza Picaso. Then we headed back to the resort and went to bed!
Day 6: Big Dig
Today was another early morning, and another travel day. Today we went to the Grand Canyon. Of course we couldn't just drive straight there, so we made a stop at Montezuma Castle. This was a pretty neat place. This is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. You'll have to check out the link above for more info. After seeing the "Castle" we continued on our journey to the Grand Canyon. We made it there in the early afternoon. Now it was Lisa's turn to be a little sick! But she was able to enjoy it anyway. It was such a stunning site. It was so much bigger, so much more grand than any of us ever imagined. There was this tiny stretch of river below, and we were told that part was about 5 miles on the river, so you know it's pretty far down there! And we had to use the binoculars just to see a speck of a resort on the other side of the Canyon! It was really breath taking. We went to many different stops along the way, and saw different angles of it. We left just before sunset which made the rock in the canyon turn very pretty colors. We headed back to the report before sunset so we could get there at a decent time. The Slighter's were leaving FIRST thing in the morning, so they needed to get some sleep!
Day 7: What Dust?
The Slighter's took off this morning (5am), and the rest of us relaxed for the morning. Then Steph, Brian, Dad, and the two of us went on a 2-hour ATV trip through the desert. It was SO fun. The scenery was really beautiful, and these 4-wheelers were a blast! We were totally covered in dirt by the time we finished our tour! It was a bit ridiculous! But it was really fun. We went back to the resort and took showers to get the dirt off! Then we headed back to the pool! Trying to enjoy our last few hours of sun! For dinner we ordered Chinese in to the room, and just relaxed and chatted, played games, and watched movies. It was a nice end to our vacation.
Day 8: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggitty Jig
So here's where we tell you how sad it was to leave the nice warm weather and head back to cold Grand Rapids. God had a different plan for us today! Due to a tremendous lightening storm, we had to spend an evening in St. Louis. We were actually quite lucky that our plane was able to land before the storm got really ugly. The airport was closed for about 2 hours with no planes landing or taking off! So, we got a hotel room, and shared one last night of fun away from home. Sadly, there was still a day 9... in which we were booked on a plane that was delayed, after another plane that was delayed... we were supposed to be home a little after dinner time, and didn't end up landing until after 10pm. So much for getting home a day early to relax! Oh well, we had a great vacation, and were so happy to be able to share it with our families. We had a really great time being with everyone. We will miss the 80-90 degree weather, but hope it will be here soon in Michigan! (we'll keep our fingers crossed!!!)