Grand Canyon

Here we are at our first vantage pont.

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The day started as we checked out of the motel - what great beds, they were hard to leave. We checked out and as we were leaving the smells from the complimentary breakfast drew us in, but to no available.  What smells good to Sue and Ann did not necessarily appeal to Matt and Christie. They had a large assortment of fruit with French toast and sausage. Christie was not going to have anything until Sue guilted her into it by commenting that we had been paying $2.99 for a glass of juice – the least she could do is have a free one. After breakfast we started for the Grand Canyon. We got about 10 miles down the road and Christie asked Sue where her pillow was.  Naturally it was not in the car, so we turned around and headed back to the hotel. Sure enough they already had it at the reception desk. This called for many comments from Matt about Ann and Sue checking behind him for stuff, but could not even collect their own.  Christie chimed in with the comment that Aunt Sue put the striped pillow case on the pillow so she would not leave it. Oh well what could I say to that.   Finally on the road we begin again for the Grand Canyon. The drive to Flagstaff was uneventful. As we approached Flagstaff we decided to stop at the Welcome Center for directions on the best route to travel to the canyon. We turned Garmin off because we were countermanding its directions and it was getting huffy and insistent with us. This time we followed the road signs to the Welcome Center. It turned out to be the Welcome Center for Flagstaff, but they were great about helping us get to the Grand Canyon and were really helpful with advice on the best way to traverse the miles. It turns out that the highway at the Welcome Center was Route 66 and we could follow this historic highway towards the Grand Canyon. We were told to follow that route to highway 89 and Cameron. We were also told that there was a good restaurant and jewelry store in Cameron. So we left the Welcome Center and started our drive on Route 66 (looks like all the other streets to us). We saw very little traffic going towards the Grand Canyon so we made good time. Decided to get gas in Cameron (at the only gas station we saw). We paid almost $3.20 for gas and bought ice and snacks. This is where we learned that the closest restaurant was in The Grand Canyon Park – we did not even look for the jewelry store (yeah us!!!). Started our ride up t he road leading to the Grand Canyon. We drove right by all the Indian stands along the way with their souvenirs and jewelry (Are we not being good). Finally the Grand Canyon – stopped at the first overlook.  First stop rest rooms – Sue, Ann and Christie got in line behind 4 ladies already waiting. We waited a minute and then Sue told Christie to push on the door (not going to do that herself) and see about the restroom. Good thing those foreign ladies obviously thought it was a 1-seater and there were at least 10. They followed us on in. After this adventure Matt and Christie got their first look at this marvel. We had a gentleman with very professional photographic equipment take our picture with our little cameras (see picture). We then began out excursion around the South Rim. Matt had commented earlier that he wanted to stop at all overlooks, but after the first 3 he began to feel the pangs of hunger, so he was given the map and told to pick the overlooks and we stopped at only select sites...Notable comments about all the sites – there are some stupid people in this world, saw all ages trip and fall towards the rim at every overlook. At the Grand View overlook there was a park service employee that was very informative and seemed to really enjoy his job. Last stop in the Grand Canyon was the gift shop (not as good as we claimed, right Rick?).  Drove out of the Grand Canyon heading southwest towards California. Matt had now really begun to comment on the lack of nutrition for the day so we stopped at the Yippee-ei-o Steak House. We went in for a great meal. Ann had a salad, Sue had an appetizer tray, Matt had hot wings (again did not have Sue’s share – celery) and a steak and Christie had ribs. All the food was great and we were full – but then she brought the dessert tray for us to see (very good marketing tool). We all then had to have a dessert. Christie and Sue were both going to have fresh strawberries so Christie asked if they should share, but Sue told her to get one of her own. Now the miracle of all this – all desserts were then consumed in their entirety but Matts. After this late lunch (4:30) we went across to view the IMAX show about the Grand Canyon. It turned out to be cheapest to purchase the family pack of tickets which included 4 drinks and 2 popcorns (Yeah right, we were going to be able to eat that). The movie was interesting and we got our popcorn and cokes to go. Started the drive to our next destination – Laughlin, NV. According to Christie this choice was no accident – casinos were involved.  Drove through the mountains and finally got to Laughlin – turned Garmin off because we could see the casinos and thought we could get there without her (Right!). Drove right past the turn and tried to turn at the next intersection. Turns out there is a river between us and the casinos, so we had turned into a parking lot. Left the parking lot and continued on down the street, finally realizing that we needed to turn around and go back. What do you know – Sue makes the turn into the same parking lot – guess we should have been using Garmin. Finally made the correct turn and found the Golden Nugget. Rooms were $39.95 a night so we splurged and got 2 rooms – everyone had their own bed. Shortly after checking in Ann, Matt and Sue left Christie to her own devices and proceeded to the casino (of course by this tine it is 11:30). We sat at a blackjack table that had no other players and started to play. Things got a little hairy at first, but soon we were on a streak. To satisfy curiosity all won – Sue $80, Ann - $130 and Matt - $80. Sue went back to the room and left Ann and Matt exploring other table games – Matt played roulette and won. Matt and Ann also returned to their room before they lost any money.

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Note: Pictures will be added tomorrow when we add today’s events.