Traveling Kings

2011.01.03 Get Pizza, Find Pool, Go To Bed

Before going to bed last night, we made a logistical change to today’s itinerary.  Instead of leaving Phoenix early, spending the entire afternoon at the Grand Canyon, and heading on down the road, we decided to sleep in and spend the night at the Grand Canyon.

When we got up at 9 am, everyone else in our traveling party had already gone.  Scott & Erin, KK & PK hit the road by 7 am, and Joe & Judy left around 8:45 am.  While I was jealous of their ability to leave early, I don’t think Stephanie or I would have been coherent enough to do that.

We locked up the vacation home and pulled out at Noon.  Not too bad.

Orange Roses really spruce up a Road Trip.

Just a few miles down the road, we passed a Maricopa County sheriff’s office.  Out front were several inmates out picking up trash and watering the landscaping.  Their outfits were something right out of O Brother Where Art Thou.

2012.01.02 Fiesta Bowl Championship

Finally, Gameday is here!  With a 6:30 pm kickoff to the Fiesta Bowl, all we wanted was for the morning and afternoon to get over with as quickly as possible.  As it turned out, we really had five days in one, and in the end, we didn’t mind at all.

Part 1 – Time Stands Still

Our family rustled themselves awake at various times throughout the morning.  We had plans to leave the house around 2:00, so nobody was in much of a hurry to do anything.

Mallory and Marissa provided us a diversion by putting on a new act of their Angry Birds puppet show.  (Good news, the bird got her egg back.)

General Pig and the Angry Bird

Joe and Judy announced plans to go fill up their car and get a newspaper.  I followed them in our van to do the same, just for something to do.  While out & about, I did see two men driving a golf cart on the city streets in Sun City.

2012.01.01 Desert Botanical Garden

Today was not only the first day of the new year, it was also moving day for our family.  Our lease expired at the first vacation home, and we had to pack up our belongings and move to a second location.

We were required to be out of the house by 11 a.m. and we were pretty pleased with ourselves by pulling out of the driveway at 10:29.

Marissa could not let Joe have all the fun popping balloons.

Most of our gear was packed away the day before, but there was still some last minute cleanup.  Such as what to do with the 72 balloons that Mallory received as part of her birthday present!  Uncle Joe took the lead on that project by locating a knife and yelling “EEEE-YAAAAAHHHH!” with gusto as he popped each balloon.

2011.12.31 Fiesta Bowl Parade & Family

Howling Coyotes!  Stephanie was awakened by coyotes at 4am this morning, and this was just another surprise for us by the city of Buckeye, Arizona.  We have spent the last three full days in Buckeye and this town does not cease to amaze me.

It started the first night we arrived when we drove a few miles down the road to Walmart.  We encountered only a handful of cars as we drove down the six lane street to the store.  Once at Walmart, we had the place to ourselves.  I have never seen a brand new Walmart with as few people in it, as I did that night.

A typical example of the deserted streets in Buckeye, AZ.

As we continue to drive around town, it sure appears we are living in a ghost town.  Scott & Erin visited the Buckeye downtown today, and compared it to the smallest of small towns (Perkins, OK to be exact).

This town has overbuilt to the nth degree.  Rumor has it, they expect a population of 100k by the year 2020.  Their population as of 2010 was 50k, and to their credit the population in 2000 was only 6k.  One unbuilt, planned community in Buckeye will hold 300k residents!

2011.12.30 Scottsdale and Tempe

When I woke up this morning, I did not expect the day to include a meeting with a man who ran the 4 x 100 relay with Thurman Thomas at the Missouri City Junior High School.  But it was that kind of day.

Our agenda today included a trip to the Fiesta Bowl Ticket Office so that four members of our family could exchange their tickets.  The ticket office is handily located within the Fiesta Bowl Museum in downtown Scottsdale.  Scott, Erin, Joe & Judy visited Scottsdale yesterday, so they were our official tour guides.

Justin Blackmon is gracing the window of the Fiesta Bowl Museum

On our way to Scottsdale, there was a lot of conversation in our vehicles about the cell phone towers disguised as palm trees.  We passed several of these, and Stephanie was explaining to Marissa where to look when Marissa interrupted her and asked, “What’s a cell tower?”  I guess you need to know your audience.