The alarm went of VERY EARLY today ... but we got the family up and out the door on schedule -- "wheels up" at 4:45. Yeah, that does seem absurdly early for a 6:40 flight, but hey...
No weirdness at all -- dropped the car at MasterPark (NEVER AGAIN, WallyPark!), got to the airport, dropped the bags at the counter, snaked slowly through security, AND still had time for an egg and cheese biscuit before scurrying to the gate.
Let me say this -- spending $10 for the "preferred boarding" (or whatever they call it on Southwest) is AWESOME. We were literally the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh people on the plane... which means we sat in the front row. Sure, we had checked bags... but I think I would be happy -- for shorter trips, at least -- to pay the $10 and get our carry ons up in the overhead in the front rows.
Flight was pretty uneventful -- a bit of turbulence, but nothing like we've had before coming in to Vegas.
Then a quick hop onto the shuttle to the rental car center, and then -- (cue angelic choir...) -- Gold Canopy Service at Hertz.
I don't often use Hertz. Perhaps because I'm cheap. But I went with Hertz to have a better chance of actually getting the car I reserved -- a "mid-size SUV... RAV4 or similar". We went to our parking spot and found a Ford Escape. Perfectly comfortable, plenty of room for the bags... though we did manage to fill it up on the first day! (Oh dear...)
Then we got on the road and headed to Springdale. We stopped once for a soda before leaving Vegas, then once on a reservation, where we bought liquor tax free and contemplated buying massive fireworks... Then we stopped again at a gargantuan Wal-Mart -- which WAS still in Nevada, but we weren't sure. So that gave us an opportunity to buy mixers and bread and, yes, carrots.
I nearly forgot -- we went to get some brunch in St. George... trying first at the Cracker Barrel, for sheer entertainment value.... until we looked through the menu and discovered that they really don't have anything vegetarian. In fact, on their "vegetable plate" they pointed out that "many of our vegetable dishes aren't strictly vegetarian". Oh. We asked the server for advice, and she recommended the pinto beans... which, according to the menu, aren't "strictly vegetarian". Oh. So we decided to bail on that, and then ended up at an Olive Garden for salad, soup, and breadsticks. Perfect, simple, and potentially slightly healthier?
Then we arrived in gorgeous, adorable, Springdale, which makes me want to sell up and move to this cute little town. We checked in to the Canyon Ranch Motel, which we love, and get a little settled before heading across the street to the shuttle stop to the park.
Let me say this -- I LOVE the Canyon Ranch Motel -- it's a cute, older motor hotel court arranged around a lovely grassy park. The hot tub and pool have spectacular views, and the staff is really friendly. So I love staying here. I do worry that there is construction happening next door, but I guess that's to be expected. Just don't ruin this little gem!
We went across the street and waited 5 or 10 minutes for the shuttle into the park... largely because we couldn't remember how far away the park entrance was! Well, let's just say it's a 10-minute walk. But now we know.
Got to the visitor center, poked around a little bit, and then decided to leap onto a shuttle bus. But the weather wasn't perfect, and the people on the bus were SHOUTING about nothing... which made us a little crazy. So we got off at the first stop -- the little museum -- and decided to go in and watch the orientation film. Because, well, I love an orientation film.
We had a little time to kill, so we listened to a ranger talk. And... well... not all rangers have great and fascinating things to say. 'Nuff said. So then we saw the film -- very pretty! -- and the day sorta caught up to me. I was fighting off sleep. We decided to have a quick look in the gift shop (LOVE a gift shop!), get our National Parks passport stamped, and then get back on the shuttle to the visitor center.
We plotted out a great run for tomorrow -- hoping we have better weather then -- and then realized we needed some way to carry water. This led us to two different outfitters, and to a new and awesome product by a Utah-based company. Tomorrow we'll run with it -- fingers crossed!
Of course, next to the outfitter was the Zion Pizza and Noodle Company -- hooray! We had decided we didn't need proper dinner, but some beers and one gorgeous garlic and rosemary pizza were perfect. Then back to the hotel, where we made some fresquourbons and had a chat with Tony and Sue. Then Wil and I got into our swimsuits and sat in the hot tub, enjoying a drink.
Perfect first day of a road trip! Tomorrow we'll spend the day here in Zion. Wil and I will do a half marathon in the morning, and Tony and Sue can take the shuttle or whatever. We'll meet up after our run (perhaps for FOOD!).
Excited about the vacation -- I feel like we need one!
