Hey blog fans, did you miss me?! We had our mid-programme break at the Grand Canyon and there was no internet access, so I wasn’t able to keep you updated. Though I have to admit I was quite pleased to have the enforced web silence – it’s quite exhausting keeping you informed of my progress!
So I left you in Miami. We flew from there to Phoenix and had a night in a hotel there. When I woke up the next morning, I was 37 – it was my birthday! And what a lovely day I had. Between all the calls, texts, messages, facebook wall posts and messages plus everything the fellows did, it was a very memorable birthday! We had a 5 hour or so drive to the Grand Canyon, with a stop in Flagstaff on the way, and arrived late afternoon. Just time to check into our lodge, and then head to Yavapai Point to watch the sunset (picture attached). After dinner we met in the bar and played air hockey (I wupped almost everyone I played!) and I got a whole bunch of presents including a Davy Crockett hat and a Yasser Arafat headscarf. So a lovely day all in all. Thanks to you all.
Saturday started with a bus tour of the south rim area of the canyon where we were staying. The rest of the day wasn’t so exciting, as I had to do some laundry. But it was nice to have some down time.
My lovely parents offered to give me a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon for my birthday and I booked that for the Sunday. In the end, 13 of us went on 2 trips. It was a totally amazing experience, though perhaps more in the thinking about it afterwards than at the time (the DVD of our trip attests to that through the yelping you can hear!!) Sunday got a little wiped out by a migraine, unfortunately. And then Monday we had a horrendously early start – 5.45 departure if you can believe it! Another 5 hours in the bus, then we were back in Phoenix, off to the airport and before I knew it, 4 of us were on a flight to Dallas. So back on the road… I’m now in Denver and will actually be here for 2 whole nights! But actually after this is gets better – in Seattle for almost a week and then 4 days in San Francisco, including a weekend in the Napa Valley.
Someone mentioned that they’d like to see some photos, so there are some on my facebook page. Thanks for all the comments and messages by the way, they’re really appreciated during my long trek!