Although the day seemed like any ordinary day, it wasn't. Jason and I woke up at our usual time, went to work, and did our daily routine as though it were a regular Wednesday. The unusual buzz of excitement that filled the air came from knowing that the Grand Canyon would be awaiting us that evening. As soon as my workday ended, I headed home to finish packing. I said goodbye to our cuddle buddies, Fred and Peanuts, and then left to meet Jason at Marta. We took the train to the airport with all our luggage and checked in to the Delta Kiosk. As expected, we were made to wait in line to go through the "security" check-points. A large, albeit loud fan faced us as we stood watching the TSA rummage through people's luggage. Once through security, we found our gate and grabbed a bite to eat. There was a Boars Head Cafe where we picked up some yogurt and hummus, which we ate at the gate. Shortly after finishing our food, we boarded the plane. Jason sat by the window, and I sat next to him with my hands tightly grasping the seat of the chair. I hate flying.
During the flight, Jason listened to the audio book "The Handmaid's Tale." I watched some tv but mostly slept, as it was late into the evening. It was the smoothest plane ride I'd ever experienced. No turbulence, no crying babies, and no horrific fart smells. Perfection. Below is a picture of Phoenix, AZ as we landed:
We arrived in Phoenix, Arizona around 9:30 (12:30a.m. our time). After finding our luggage and picking up our rental car, Jason drove us all the way to the Grand Canyon. We spent the time talking, laughing, and yawning. We enjoyed each other's company and the scenery. Neither one of us had ever been out west. It was very dark and the road was a bit hypnotic but what we could see was beautiful. We even saw some snow sitting atop a mountain. It was lovely. Eventually I grew very tired and Jason kindly let me sleep while he drove. I'm still not sure how he managed to stay awake that long or how we got there safely, but we did. We arrived at our hotel, the Yavapai Lodge, at 1:50 a.m. (4:50 a.m. our time).
We walked into the lodge and checked in, feeling excessively exhausted and relieved to be able to rest soon. A lady gave us a key and instructions on how to get to our room. We had to drive just a little further, where our specific lodge would be waiting. I drove, as Jason was utterly exhausted by that point. We grabbed our things and found our room on the second story of a lodge. To our surprise, we pulled open the door to find an unknown foot resting on the edge of our bed. We also saw trash and Kleenexes thrown onto the floor. At first we thought we went into the wrong place. We quietly backed out of the room and closed the door. We examined the door number and our key. Come to find out, we were, in fact, in the correct room. The emergency exit door was located directly beside our room and was cracked open. We guessed that someone had broken in and stolen our room for the night since we were arriving so late. We immediately returned to the front desk to inform them of the situation. The lady at the front desk called security and informed them as well. She apologized, saying this kind of thing has never happened before now. She seemed uncertain what to do. She informed us that they cannot clean the room because the housekeepers were gone until tomorrow morning. We asked for another room, but they were booked for the evening. She called around to a nearby hotel and found a place for us. It was cheaper, so that helped. Unfortunately, it meant we needed to drive another 20 minutes. I drove as Jason rested. We left the park and made it to the hotel in no time. The man at the front desk knew who we were immediately. He seemed genuinely upset about our situation as well. He was very kind.
We walked to the second building and found our room. We slowly opened the door, half expecting a foot to be seen upon entry. Empty. Finally, we could rest. We collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep instantly. What an adventurous day!
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