We’ve been having lots of conversations about past travels so I am going back to post about some of them.
We were both asked to attend a conference in Phoenix, Arizona – all expenses paid, including for Christine (our nanny) to come along to watch the kids while we worked. The conference was from Oct 25-27, so we decided to take the remainder of the week to visit the area a bit. With 3 kids under 3, without Christine, from Oct 28-30. Such are the decisions we make when we’re extremely sleep deprived 🤷🏻♀️
There are no pictures of the resort we stayed in during the conference, which is too bad because it was luxurious! Not surprising since we were either working or trying to catch some sleep. I was still breastfeeding Felix at the time as well, so there were some logistics around that.
The only pictures we have of this time are these two sharing a bed.
Early on the morning of Thursday Oct 28, Neil picked up the rental car and dropped Christine at the airport while I finalized the packing. He then returned to the hotel to pick us up for the drive to another hotel. It was during the loading of the kids when his phone rang. It was Christine calling, saying that she had not been allowed to board the plane as she had no visa to re-enter Canada.
Ugh.
It took a while to sort out since the closest Visa centre was in Los Angeles. We eventually dropped her off at the bus station – she was going to take a bus to LA, get her visa, and fly back to Toronto so she could be at house for work on Monday as that’s when we also had to be back at work. Fortunately, her mom and brother lived in LA, so she had a place to stay and could visit her relatives.
After settling in at the new hotel, we were able to go out exploring for a bit.
First visit was to Hole-in-theWall (Papago Park).View from the chamber over Papago Park.The kids are more interested in the pebbles around them. 🙂Little Felix cozied up in the carrier.Probably entertaining the kids while Felix is being fed.🤱🏻Views in the area.Guess what this is? Answer is at the end of this post.It was deserted in Papago Park itself – maybe it was too hot? It’s about 10° cooler in the shade!Oasis.The Children’s Museum was closed for renovations so we decided to visit the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting instead. It’s got over a hundred restored fire fighting “trucks” and equipment used between 1725 and 2004.Not sure how old this ladder is – it extends to 20 ft. Currently, in Toronto, there’s a ladder that extends to 114 ft.Cinderella firefighting carriage.He’s too little to take a turn at the wheel.
Their expressions at the end of the ride are priceless. 😂At the end of a busy day hiking and driving fire trucks. We put the sofa bed mattress on the floor for them.Felix swaddled and sharing our bed. While the kids sleep, Neil and I are busy planning our next adventure.Rest stop on the way to Coconino National Forest, close to Sedona.😱Dad and daughter.It’s a 3 hour drive to get here – totally worth the drive.They collected their “treasures” during their walks and stored them in those bags. The bags were used for many years.Prickly Pear cactus advancing on the kids.Not sure if this one is poisonous. Noone was allowed to touch it.Pinned during sleep.Our last full day was spent at the Dessert Botanical Garden and packing up. These are Creeping Devil Cacti. It grows about 2 ft per year.More Creeping Devil Cacti – they look like snakes.Seeking some shade – again, the place was deserted. Good but crazy hot!Answer to the question posed earlier. It’s a dead saguaro. These giants can grow to five stories tall and weigh up to eight tons.
Remember when people could travel?
Haha
So many adventures, but I don’t remember any of it.
That was a really long time ago! I don’t remember it. I was too young!!!