Phoenix, AZ.... cont.
First of all, I would just like to say to Karen that my suitcase was holding both my stuff and Matt's, and it also had my huge Shakespeare book and a couple others besides. So there. :-)
Friday, April 14
We had plans to go to Kartchner Caverns on Friday. Our tour wasn't until mid-afternoon, but it was a 2.5-3 hour drive and we were supposed to be there an hour early (to "enjoy" the museum before going on the tour). So we planned on leaving between 9 and 10 so that we could have a picnic in our extra time. Well, I woke up super early and decided to go ahead and get in the pool. I peeked into Matt's room and he was definitely still asleep, so I went on my own. It was really nice... quite peaceful by the golf course in the morning. The water was COLD, but I dove in and just started swimming laps, and it felt so good. It definitely woke me up, and it was really refreshing. My grandparents both came out at one point and just thought it was great that I was enjoying their pool. :-) I'd been swimming for about a half an hour when I lifted my head to take a breath and nearly swallowed a lizard that was swimming along right next to me! I jumped out of the pool to get the net and save the lizard, and as I was doing that, Mimi and Matt both came out. Matt wanted to get a picture of the lizard so when I put it down next to the pool he took a couple, and then he picked the little guy up and took some close-ups. It was funny; I'm sure the poor animal was terrified. Who knows, perhaps we thwarted a suicide. Just kidding. Anyway, I put the lizard on the other side of the fence but he just sat there and didn't move or go anywhere, so Matt decided that wasn't good enough and he picked him back up and flung him into a bush next to the green. :-) Poor flying lizard. We got back in the pool and swam around for a little while, but we didn't stay for too long, because we had to get ready to go. Naturally, once we were ready (by about 9:00, which was when Papa wanted to leave), Mimi took another hour to be prepared to get on the road. Oh, Mimi. She just wanted our picnic to be perfect, and then by the time we got to the exit for the caverns, she'd decided it was too windy to have a real picnic, so we stopped at Subway and got sandwiches. :-P
The caverns ended up being really cool. The museum was ... well, it was interesting, but not for an hour. Matt and I ended up wandering around the gift shop for a while before our tour was called. And then our tour guide was really annoying. And I feel bad saying that, because he only had one arm and I almost feel like it's not p.c. or something to call him annoying, but I swear, he kept telling these awful jokes and saying really stupid things about the caverns to try and make us laugh... it didn't work at all. I would have preferred a "boring" tour guide who just told us all the cool stuff about the caverns. Like the different formations and how they're made, or whatever. But anyway, the cavern by itself was neat. I'd never been to one before, and apparently this is different from most of them because it's "living" - it's still being formed. So not only is it more humid than others, it's also a lot warmer. Most caverns, Matt told me, are pretty dry and cool -- these were a constant 71 degrees with 99% humidity. Crazy. After over an hour inside the cave, it felt cooler outside in the dry 93 degree weather than in the cave. It was like the difference between the Carolinas and Phoenix was right there in front of us.
I like Phoenix better.
So after our tour, we headed back into Phoenix and went back to the grandparents' house. We hung out there for a while and then decided to head out to a pizza place nearby for dinner, where we ran into my cousins and their parents. Sarah, who is eight and (apparently) kind of obsessed with me, hung all over me at our table until her parents dragged her back home. It was funny then, but by Saturday I was honestly exhausted by Sarah's boundless enthusiasm for cousin Kira...
After dinner, Mimi, Matt and I ventured over to the Marcuccis' again and played a game of Scrabble with Kathy and Sarah. It was fun, and Sarah was actually pretty good. (I wasn't. But I never have liked Scrabble. So, oh well.) She exacted from me and Matt a promise to come over again on the next night to watch School of Rock with her. :-)
Saturday, April 15
This morning we were supposed to go to an Easter parade that Sarah was dancing in with her little school of dance. Kathy had told us she'd be there to pick us up at one time, and called while Matt and I were swimming in the pool to say she'd be a good half hour earlier, so we (I) kind of flipped out and ran to get ready on time (which didn't happen). She ended up leaving on her own to get Sarah to the parade on time, and we met them there. Well, when we got to the parking lot by the beginning of the parade, it was full of beautiful old cars -- I guess it was some kind of show for people to bring cars that they'd fixed up, but whatever it was, it was really cool. So Matt and I decided to go back over there and look around after the parade.
The parade itself was pretty much what you'd expect of a neighborhood Easter parade. A couple high school marching bands, a bunch of boy and girl scouts, some dance schools dancing their way down the street... some fancy cars with "important" people in them, you know. And there were some mini cop cars driving around, that was fun. And horses with bunny ears. :-) So it was cute, but I also kind of got tired of it by the end, and Sarah didn't show up until it was almost over, so... yeah. The cars were way cooler than the parade by the time we got back over to them. We took lots of pictures, and Mimi was all excited when she found a car from the year she was born. (I'm telling you, some of these were OLD cars!)
Afterwards, we went home for lunch and to relax by the pool for awhile before heading out again to go see Stephen and Vince in a bike race. Brian's a huge biker, and so he's trying to get his kids into it, too. And they're all pretty good -- Stephen and Vince ended up placing in their age groups, so that was neat for them. We hung around and watched the races for a while, but it was really hot and Matt and I were beginning to really feel the sun after being out in it all day long, so finally Mimi and Papa took the two of us and Sarah to a bookstore they really like called Changing Hands. It has both new and used books, and the used books (when you can find them) are really cheap, so it was a cool little store. And Bounds and I can pretty much keep ourselves occupied for hours in bookstores, so we had to tear ourselves away when it was finally time to go. We had a lot of fun, and found some good buys, too. :-) We took Sarah back to Mimi's house for dinner (hamburgers), where I ended up taking a nap while Bounds played cards with Sarah. We were both exhausted, but he managed to find some energy from somewhere to keep her occupied so I could sleep. Then we had dinner outside on the little patio, which was really pretty.
After dinner, Matt and I took Sarah home while Mimi and Papa stayed behind (they were tired, too). We watched the movie with her and Kathy, and eventually Brian and Stephen as well. It was fun, but I was falling asleep by the end of it. It was nice to go home and fall into bed after that. Especially knowing that we were getting up early the next morning to sing in church with Mimi. Wow.
Once again, I'm out of time... Sunday and Monday later. :-)
ps. I'm going to ITALY!!! Winter Term '07!!!!
pps. Next time you go on a road trip, double check your windshield wipers. More on that some other time. :-)
Friday, April 14
We had plans to go to Kartchner Caverns on Friday. Our tour wasn't until mid-afternoon, but it was a 2.5-3 hour drive and we were supposed to be there an hour early (to "enjoy" the museum before going on the tour). So we planned on leaving between 9 and 10 so that we could have a picnic in our extra time. Well, I woke up super early and decided to go ahead and get in the pool. I peeked into Matt's room and he was definitely still asleep, so I went on my own. It was really nice... quite peaceful by the golf course in the morning. The water was COLD, but I dove in and just started swimming laps, and it felt so good. It definitely woke me up, and it was really refreshing. My grandparents both came out at one point and just thought it was great that I was enjoying their pool. :-) I'd been swimming for about a half an hour when I lifted my head to take a breath and nearly swallowed a lizard that was swimming along right next to me! I jumped out of the pool to get the net and save the lizard, and as I was doing that, Mimi and Matt both came out. Matt wanted to get a picture of the lizard so when I put it down next to the pool he took a couple, and then he picked the little guy up and took some close-ups. It was funny; I'm sure the poor animal was terrified. Who knows, perhaps we thwarted a suicide. Just kidding. Anyway, I put the lizard on the other side of the fence but he just sat there and didn't move or go anywhere, so Matt decided that wasn't good enough and he picked him back up and flung him into a bush next to the green. :-) Poor flying lizard. We got back in the pool and swam around for a little while, but we didn't stay for too long, because we had to get ready to go. Naturally, once we were ready (by about 9:00, which was when Papa wanted to leave), Mimi took another hour to be prepared to get on the road. Oh, Mimi. She just wanted our picnic to be perfect, and then by the time we got to the exit for the caverns, she'd decided it was too windy to have a real picnic, so we stopped at Subway and got sandwiches. :-P
The caverns ended up being really cool. The museum was ... well, it was interesting, but not for an hour. Matt and I ended up wandering around the gift shop for a while before our tour was called. And then our tour guide was really annoying. And I feel bad saying that, because he only had one arm and I almost feel like it's not p.c. or something to call him annoying, but I swear, he kept telling these awful jokes and saying really stupid things about the caverns to try and make us laugh... it didn't work at all. I would have preferred a "boring" tour guide who just told us all the cool stuff about the caverns. Like the different formations and how they're made, or whatever. But anyway, the cavern by itself was neat. I'd never been to one before, and apparently this is different from most of them because it's "living" - it's still being formed. So not only is it more humid than others, it's also a lot warmer. Most caverns, Matt told me, are pretty dry and cool -- these were a constant 71 degrees with 99% humidity. Crazy. After over an hour inside the cave, it felt cooler outside in the dry 93 degree weather than in the cave. It was like the difference between the Carolinas and Phoenix was right there in front of us.
I like Phoenix better.
So after our tour, we headed back into Phoenix and went back to the grandparents' house. We hung out there for a while and then decided to head out to a pizza place nearby for dinner, where we ran into my cousins and their parents. Sarah, who is eight and (apparently) kind of obsessed with me, hung all over me at our table until her parents dragged her back home. It was funny then, but by Saturday I was honestly exhausted by Sarah's boundless enthusiasm for cousin Kira...
After dinner, Mimi, Matt and I ventured over to the Marcuccis' again and played a game of Scrabble with Kathy and Sarah. It was fun, and Sarah was actually pretty good. (I wasn't. But I never have liked Scrabble. So, oh well.) She exacted from me and Matt a promise to come over again on the next night to watch School of Rock with her. :-)
Saturday, April 15
This morning we were supposed to go to an Easter parade that Sarah was dancing in with her little school of dance. Kathy had told us she'd be there to pick us up at one time, and called while Matt and I were swimming in the pool to say she'd be a good half hour earlier, so we (I) kind of flipped out and ran to get ready on time (which didn't happen). She ended up leaving on her own to get Sarah to the parade on time, and we met them there. Well, when we got to the parking lot by the beginning of the parade, it was full of beautiful old cars -- I guess it was some kind of show for people to bring cars that they'd fixed up, but whatever it was, it was really cool. So Matt and I decided to go back over there and look around after the parade.
The parade itself was pretty much what you'd expect of a neighborhood Easter parade. A couple high school marching bands, a bunch of boy and girl scouts, some dance schools dancing their way down the street... some fancy cars with "important" people in them, you know. And there were some mini cop cars driving around, that was fun. And horses with bunny ears. :-) So it was cute, but I also kind of got tired of it by the end, and Sarah didn't show up until it was almost over, so... yeah. The cars were way cooler than the parade by the time we got back over to them. We took lots of pictures, and Mimi was all excited when she found a car from the year she was born. (I'm telling you, some of these were OLD cars!)
Afterwards, we went home for lunch and to relax by the pool for awhile before heading out again to go see Stephen and Vince in a bike race. Brian's a huge biker, and so he's trying to get his kids into it, too. And they're all pretty good -- Stephen and Vince ended up placing in their age groups, so that was neat for them. We hung around and watched the races for a while, but it was really hot and Matt and I were beginning to really feel the sun after being out in it all day long, so finally Mimi and Papa took the two of us and Sarah to a bookstore they really like called Changing Hands. It has both new and used books, and the used books (when you can find them) are really cheap, so it was a cool little store. And Bounds and I can pretty much keep ourselves occupied for hours in bookstores, so we had to tear ourselves away when it was finally time to go. We had a lot of fun, and found some good buys, too. :-) We took Sarah back to Mimi's house for dinner (hamburgers), where I ended up taking a nap while Bounds played cards with Sarah. We were both exhausted, but he managed to find some energy from somewhere to keep her occupied so I could sleep. Then we had dinner outside on the little patio, which was really pretty.
After dinner, Matt and I took Sarah home while Mimi and Papa stayed behind (they were tired, too). We watched the movie with her and Kathy, and eventually Brian and Stephen as well. It was fun, but I was falling asleep by the end of it. It was nice to go home and fall into bed after that. Especially knowing that we were getting up early the next morning to sing in church with Mimi. Wow.
Once again, I'm out of time... Sunday and Monday later. :-)
ps. I'm going to ITALY!!! Winter Term '07!!!!
pps. Next time you go on a road trip, double check your windshield wipers. More on that some other time. :-)
posted by Kira at 12:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home