Well, we drove to the airport late Monday afternoon and arrived two hours before our flight was supposed to leave. Shortly after arrival, we learned that our flight had been bumped from seven thirty to eight twenty or so. After getting through security with no problem, except I did not scan my laptop properly the first time. We ate some supper at the terminal and lounged around, waiting for boarding to begin. We did not board until around eight thirty, which was an impatient wait. We kissed Mom and Dad good-bye then boarded. What happened next had no good reason. The plane did not depart until nine thirty, which made the wait even more boring. There were some kids on the plane near our seats who would not be quiet with all their whining, complaining, and crying. Finally, the plane took off. It was exciting for us, since two of us had not flown before and one had not for ten years. We read, slept a little, and watched a movie during the trip. We had a little turbulance during the trip, but it was cool to see lightning from above, not beneath. Around ten fifteen, Phoenix time, we landed at Sky Harbor Airport. We met our grandparents then went to go find our baggage, which took some time. We drove to a nearby hotel for the night, since it was too late to drive up to Pine.
The next morning, we woke up still feeling tired due to the time change. We thought we had lost the new red phone, but it was soon found, much to our relief. We ate breakfast then began the two- hour drive up to Pine, in the mountains of northern Arizona. For the first hour, we saw cacti, and it looked like a desert. However, that changed when it became rockier and we saw trees. We finally arrived at the cute little cabin near the little town of Pine (which Grandma said that if you blink you could miss it, which is true). We got settled in and had lunch. After lunch, we went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa's future puppy JD. He was the biggest, fattest, cutest ball of fur. Then, we girls went to town to get ready for supper. We ate outside, even though it was in the 90's, but it didn't feel like it at all. That night, we discussed our plans for the next week and a half.
On Wednesday morning, Seth accompanied Grandpa Tom to a tractor breakfast, where some tractor-loving guys gather once a week for breakfast. Later, some of them would come by and try to work on Grandpa's John Deere tractor. We girls went to a little place for breakfast then went antique shopping. We enjoyed it very much. The stores were nice, clean, organized, and professional, not junky at all. They seemed to go on forever, and there was so much to see. That afternoon, we played a long, long game of Mexican Train. Grandma beat us all by a long shot. We had juicy steaks and baked potatoes for dinner, which was delicious.
On Thursday, we woke up around seven and ate breakfast. We drove to Kohls Ranch to go horseback riding for a couple of hours. It was a bit scary at first since none of us really knew how to ride a horse. However, that faded away soon. The first hour was fun. Most of our horses stopped to relieve themselves in the middle of the trail, which made us laugh. The trail was narrow in some parts, and it was creepy to ride so close to the edge of a steep slope. After the first hour, it started getting scary. We were getting sore and were looking for the end of the trail. Our horses got hungry and decided to stop by the edge of the steep slope to eat. Two of them actually wandered off the trail, which scared the two riders. After the ride, we were sore. The men went to Fireside, a local coffee shop, for a break, and we girls went to get ourselves pampered at the spa. Afterwards, we went to the Pizza Factory for a late lunch. It was good pizza. We went home and decided to go to bed early since we had to get up early the next day. That night, Grandma and I saw a skunk while sitting outside.
On Friday, we woke up around six thirty and got on the road to Tombstone, which is on the other side of Arizona, far to the south, almost in Mexico. We mistook the time of the route since we took the longer, scenic route instead of going through Phoenix. Arizona is a place of contrasts. It can be beautiful and mountainous, a desert with cactus, or an African savannah. We drove through Salt River Canyon, which was beautiful. When we stopped in Winkelman for gas, it was over a hundred degrees outside. Talk about hot winds. We went to Biosphere 2 and got to see how it works. We were plagued by little ants that kept climbing all over our feet, but we were forbidden to kill them. The further south we drove, dark clouds kept getting bigger and bigger. We rented a hotel in Tombstone, and the storm was no more than a couple miles away. We could see the rain falling in the distance, and it was beautiful. We drove into the old cowboy town to look for a saloon to eat in. The wind picked up, and then it started to rain. After dinner, the rain had stopped. The adults went to bed, and we kids watched some TV before going to sleep ourselves.
On Saturday, we woke up and got our things together. We ate breakfast in Tombstone then toured the shops. Mandy got a green hat, and Seth got his cowboy hat. We took a tour around the town in a covered wagon and learned about its history. We also visited Boot Hill, where the cowboys from the infamous shootout with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were buried. We then began the long drive back up to Pine, this time taking the shorter route through Phoenix. We saw dust devils in the distance and passed by the place where Dad got his cowboy hat a few years ago. When we got home, no one was really hungry for supper. We went to bed tired. And that was the end of the first week away from home.
