2007-04 A Quick Tour of a small part of San Diego

Ray attended some meetings in San Diego and had a little time after he first arrived to check out the harbor area. He noticed in the hotel they had some cruiser bikes available to ride around the area on, so he took one out. The cruiser bikes are single speed, large seat, high rise comfort style bikes which work well on flat terrain. The bay side area is very flat, so it was a nice way to get around.

I went out to the bike rack to pick one out, went back to get the key and then tried to remove the lock. Unfortunately, the lock didn't open. I had to go back in and get all the keys and try them until I found one that fit. I raised the seat and was off and pedaling--for about 100 feet when the seat had settled back down to the lowest level. NO matter how much I tightened it this kept happening, so I finally wedged the U-lock between the frame and the seat and that kept the seat in a comfortable position for riding.

The area around the hotel is filled with marinas and businesses catering to boat and ship ownership, building and repair. I first went west and out to Shelter Island. This is a long strip of land that provides a protected area for many large boats inside the harbor itself. There are many statues and benches along the peninsula including a memorial for the tuna men who started the tuna industry here. A duck boat was out in the bay while I was there, and I later saw one (maybe the same one) out on Harbor Drive as he was heading back to the east.

This took me back past the hotel, and I kept riding in the direction of Harbor Island. This is another long strip of land in the bay filled with large boats and fancy hotels. Both areas had very nice views of downtown, and Coronado Island, which faces the ocean. Lots of military aircraft are in the air, and military boats in the water due to the naval air base located on Coronado Island.

Not a lot of time to see much else, but if I would have realized the Padres were playing a home game Wednesday evening, I probably would have went down watch the game. As it was, I discovered they were playing when I flipped on the tube about 9:30.

2007-04 Arizona Vacation

During the kid’s spring break, we went down to visit LeAnn’s mom in Apache Junction Arizona. Apache Junction is just east of Phoenix. LeAnn’s mom has been spending the winters there for over 20 years. Mariah did not join us this year as she was supposed to be on a trip to Brazil with her high school band, but due to an air traffic controllers strike which occurred in Brazil as the kids were en route, the trip was cancelled. You can read all about it in the previous blog.

We got in late on Sunday evening, and went to pick up our rental car. When we got to the desk, they did not have any minivans available like we had reserved, so they transferred us to another agency which was able to rent us a van.

On Monday, we went swimming at the community pool in grandma’s park, trimmed up her cactus (and only got a few cactus needles embedded in our skin from the prickly pear despite wearing gloves and using tongs) and drove around the park with the kids in grandma’s golf cart. They really have a good time driving this around. We enjoyed relaxing as we prepared for our two day trip to Sedona and the Grand Canyon on Tuesday.

We made it up to Sedona in the late morning and stopped at the information center for some information on tours. The volunteer there was very helpful and mapped out a self-guided tour that would allow us to see the highlights of the Red Rock region. Our first stop was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is built on an outcropping and a beautiful view of the valley. Parking is very limited and you have to wait in line for someone to leave before you can pull in, but fortunately, most stays are pretty brief and they have guides controlling the flow.




Our next stop was the airport mesa overlook where we could see north and westward. Sedona strings out through the valley from east to west. We stopped at a pull-off and parked for a quick hike. We went over the rise and then could see back east and south. Although we couldn't see the Chapel again, we could see the fancy house situated just below the chapel.




We drove north from the airport lookout and into the canyon valley, before heading down to the red rock loop and Crescent Moon Ranch state park. Crescent Moon Ranch state park had a nice hiking trail that went down to the base of the cathedral rock formation. At the end of the trail was a swimming hole, but no one was swimming at the time. A bunch of people had piled rocks up to form pyramid type structures. There were hundreds of these in a large rock bed which was full of flat rocks. The trail continued on the other side of the creek, but you had to wade across the water to get too it, so we just headed back.

As our day was ending, we headed up to Midgley Bridge which crosses Oak Creek. As with the entire area, there are plenty of hiking trails emanating out from this point. We walked down a little ways and took some pictures of the canyon back towards Sedona. There were a group of people who had hiked down to the river and were picnicking and playing Frisbee.

We then headed to the downtown area to stroll around and check out the gift shops and have a treat. The evening was quieting down and some of the stores were starting to close as we headed out of town for our overnight accommodations in Williams. When we arrived in Williams, we went downtown to find a place to eat and stumbled across the Pine Country Restaurant which provided large portions and good food.

Wednesday brought us to the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Tusayan just outside the gate and watched the IMAX film on the grand canyon, picked up our day pass, and headed in. The crowds were large since it is a holiday week and lot of people are on vacation. We parked our car near Mather overlook and started off on the Rim Trail. The views are just spectacular from any place along the canyon. Rather than moving our vehicle from place to place, we just used the shuttle service provided. They were convenient and could get you closer to the places you wanted to be than you could drive and park. Some of the roads that used to be open to traffic are now just used by the shuttle buses.

We had wanted to hike a short way down into the canyon with the kids to give them the interior view, so we headed to the south Kaibab trail head. We loaded with water as the trail is almost 100% in the sun, except the first section which is up against the canyon walls and fully shaded. That felt really good on the way back. We hiked down to Ooh-Ahh point, which is aptly named as you can see out in many directions from there along with the spectacular views looking back up to the top of the rim. The total trip is listed as 1.5 miles, but seems longer. We were amazed at how many people we saw that had no water, no backpack (supplies), or inappropriate footwear (sandals) that were taking the hike. We saw people of all ages from 2 to 60+ taking on the hike. It is quite a draw for all who come.


We made it safely down and back and then headed off to lunch at the Canyon Cafe. A little souvenir shopping and then a couple of last looks at the canyon from this main area before we headed off to watch the sunset from the Desert View lookout. This was one of the first tourist sites with a watchtower built out of the native stones to allow enclosed viewing in 360˚ so you can see both the canyon to the north, east and west along with the desert to the south. This is also one of the best sites for actually viewing Colorado River as it comes in from the east. We then loaded up and headed back to Phoenix.

Thursday was spent relaxing at the pool and then dinner at the Organ Stop pizzeria. This pizzeria has an original full size theatre organ which was used in the 20’s and 30’s to provide music and sound effects for silent films. The largest pipe is 33’ tall and it requires 4 giant turbines to provide enough air for the pipes. The organ and the organist are raised out of the floor and then plays for about 45 minutes doing favorites and requests. Various sound effects and instruments are also played from the organ keyboard. Instruments range from xylophones, drums, piano, and brass. The 4 organists who play there are great musicians and who put together their sets on the fly. We sat through 2 sets as we ate and relaxed.

Friday morning we got up and went golfing on the sand green course next to the park appropriately called Sandy Greens Golf Course. The fairways are bare desert without grass and the ball bounces every which way if it hits a stone or pebble on the way to the green. The ball is teed up for every shot on a rubber tee like those used in the mats at the driving range. The “greens” are compacted sand and are dragged with a carpet after each group to keep them smooth. You can see bird tracks along with our tracks from being on the green. Golfing on the desert course requires a different set of skills especially around the green.

After golfing we headed to the local flee market to look for bargains. The flea market consists of 4 aisles that are each about ½ mile in length. The whole market is under a roof to protect the vendors and shoppers from the sun and rain. The variety of merchandise ranges from cheap knock-offs to fine handicrafts. The aisles are wide and it is easy to get around. It opens early in the morning and starts to get quiet shortly after noon as the heat drives people home.





In the afternoon, we drove up to Tortilla Flat, a small town along the Apache Trail on the way to Roosevelt Dam. It has a restaurant, gift shop and ice cream parlor with some very good prickly pear ice cream. It has been a tradition to sign and leave dollar bills which are then stapled on the walls. They have estimated they have over $80,000 stapled to the walls. The place burned down in 1987 and all the money stapled to the walls was lost too. We passed Canyon Lake on the way to Tortilla Flat and it was crowded with boats and swimmers. We all felt it would be quite a trek to trailer your boat in and out of the lake going back and forth on the narrow, winding road.

On the way home, we went to dinner at the Mining Camp Restaurant. It is a restaurant at the base of the Superstition Mountains built in 1961. They serve all you can eat ribs, chicken and ham family style (large serving platters from which you dish your own helpings). All the place settings are tin and laid out on large wooden picnic tables as you walk into the mess hall. The food was terrific, and we were stuffed by the end of the evening. Usually, it is very crowded, but since it was Good Friday and the menu only includes meat, it was not busy.

We had Easter dinner on Saturday at LeAnn’s mom’s along with LeAnn’s nieces Beth and Laura, who live down here now. We were glad they were able to come over for a visit and dinner. We cooked ham on the grill and ate outside, which is a treat for us Minnesotan’s at Easter time. We started to wind down and get packed up and ready to go as we had an overnight flight back to Minnesota leaving at midnight.

My [non-existent] trip to Brazil

Friday - 3/30/07
9:00am- I arrived at Eagan High School where I sat around waiting for something to happen until 10:00. We then began loading the buses with our instruments and baggage until 10:30. We the headed off to the MSP airport on a bus that I though would break down at any minute.
11:00am- We arrived at MSP airport and unloaded our baggage and instruments and headed for the tram that would take us to the place to check in. We started a line and within about an hour we were all successfully checked in, had our boarding passes, and were ready to board our flight to Atlanta. Our flight was at 2:15 so we had a lot of time to walk around, play cards, and get ready for the trip.
2:15pm- We were on our plane and were ready to leave. It was a small plane one row of 3 and another row of 2. Our band took up most of the plane. The flight was good, not too rough, and it was short 2 hours and 3 minutes.
5:30pm- We landed in Atlanta at about 5:30 pm (Atlanta time). Our flight to Rio de Janiero was not until 8:40 so we had plenty of time to walk around, get to know some people, get some things done, and eat. We sat around playing cards, eating, and having a good time although we were almost delirious we were so tired.
8:20pm- (or so) An announcement came on saying that the flight to Brazil would begin boarding now, starting with Zone 1. Some people got on, but I was not to board until Zone 5.
8:30pm- An announcement came on saying that the boarding process for the flight to Brazil has been put on hold for a while. I was freaked out, and thought that something was wrong with the plane, and I knew that I did not want to get on a broken plane that was going to be flying over an ocean for 9 hours. We sat and waited...for a long time.
8:45pm - We heard an announcement that said the flight to Brazil had been delayed until approximately 9:30pm. We were annoyed, but we sat and waited...for a long time. At this point, minutes were passing like days.
9:30pm- An announcement from the Captain of the plane said that they were having problems with the Air traffic Control people in Brazil. He said they were on strike and that we were just waiting to leave until it was all settled. We didn't want to leave unless we knew for sure we could land in Brazil. He said we should be able to leave at about 10:00 but we should stay tuned until then.
10:30pm- We were still sitting at Gate E36 at the Atlanta Airport. I was really hard to sleep but we were all really tired. We started playing more card games, doing Sudoku, and coloring coloring books.
11:00pm- I was walking around, stretching my legs, when someone from our group told us that an announcement was made saying that the flight to Brazil had been cancelled. We were all really mad, but we couldn't even believe that it was happening. We were trying to stay positive, and we were hoping that we could get on another flight.

Saturday 3/31/07
12:00am- The band directors and the leader of Macy's travel went to the Delta counter tried to negotiate hotels for us somewhere in Atlanta. They issued us 27 rooms at a Comfort Inn, and we headed out to find a bus that could take us there. It was a small bus, so only about 25 people could get on at once. The first group, which I was in, headed to the hotel, where we were forced to sit outside because it was dead quiet in the hotel. The lady at the front desk then told us that they were sold out and that there were no rooms whatsoever available.
1:00am-After waiting for about an hour, and trying to find other rooms in Atlanta, with no luck, we called the bus, and headed back to the airport, where we tried to go back through security with no luck. We met up with the other people in our group who did not go to the hotel.
1:45am- We were back at the airport, and we asked to people who were still working at the airport, for blankets and a place to stay. We sat on the floor until we figured out where we were going to sleep. We were told that if we were hungry, Wendy's and Dominoes were open, and if we were hungry we could go there. I was going to get some Wendy's, but we all wanted food, and the line was about a mile long, and there was only one man in the kitchen. I decided it wasn't worth it.
2:00am- I am still awake, but just barely, and I headed to the atrium of the airport, where we were told we could sleep. We set up camp in the middle of the atrium with the few blankets we had, and we attempted to get some sleep. I think I fell asleep at about 2:45 and sleep until about 3:30 or so. I then got up, and then tried to go back to sleep again.
4:00 am- I decided that the sleep I was trying to get was just not coming to me.
5:15 am- I got up and went to the bread shop that was in the Atrium and got a cheese bagel with cream cheese. I ate it and in my sleeping area, and then at about 5:30 we got kicked out of our area by the cleaning people. Let me tell you, we were really mad.
7:00am- We were still sitting around, waiting to find out what we were going to do. We were all really tired, and I think I fell asleep on a chair that only has one arm. Uncomfortable.
9:00am- We were given vouchers for food by the airlines, and so me and my roommate Megan went to get some food. We got Chinese at Manchu WOK- Fried Rice, and some juice. It tasted really good, but there was a ton of it.
11:00am- We still had no idea what was going on, and we were sitting around waiting, trying to make the best of it.
12:00pm- We were brought together, and we were told that there was not physical way that we were going to Brazil. They told us that they had arranged a special flight for us back to Minneapolis, and they were waiting to get our boarding passes for us.
1:30pm- We got our boarding passes and headed through security to get to our gate for our 3:00 flight. There was no plane when we got there, so we just sat and waiting for what seem like forever.
3:00pm- We finally boarded our flight and we were headed to Minneapolis. The flight was 2 hours, but it was extremely bumpy and I felt sick the whole time.
4:30pm- (Minneapolis Time) We arrived in Minneapolis and found our parents some of which were not happy to see us. Luckily, my parents were understanding and they were just happy I was alive.
5:00pm- Luggage started coming in, slowly but surely. We waited and waited. Some of us got our luggage, some of us didn't. I did not get lucky this time, and neither my personal luggage or my ginormous Tuba had arrived. For all I know, they could be in Frankfurt, Germany, where out plane to Rio really went, or they could be in Brazil, or they could be in Atlanta, or somewhere in the MSP airport.
6:30pm- I just gave up, and we got a number to call and we left the airport.

This trip has been the worst trip ever. Everything that could have possibly went wrong did. Up until this point, (Sunday at 12pm) I still do not have my luggage, although we are still looking for it. We doubt that this trip will be rescheduled, and we will not be able to get all of out money back. However, I am alive, and no one was injured or sick. There was no emergencies, and we are all okay. I have one goal out of this trip- I want to go to Brazil before I die. No matter what it takes.

Note to Self- Never travel to a country where the whole government is striking, and the country is about to fall apart. It is not worth it. Make sure all is clear before you go. :)

Sunday 12:25pm - My luggage has arrived at MSP and it should be delievered withing 12 hours.