We left home last Wednesday morning in the wee hours for our latest cross-country adventure. The Byler branch of my vast family tree is having a reunion in Black Canyon City, Arizona. These reunions not only afford a wonderful time with seldom-seen family but provide an excellent excuse to take a few weeks to play tourists. It's our turn to be obnoxious, avoid using turn-signals, drive at least 15 miles per hour under the speed limit, ask dumb questions, and make general nuisances of ourselves. And we do it well.
Our airport experience, for once, afforded no fodder for a good story. We entertained ourselves by sending photos of Paul and his man bag (his idea, by the way, lest you think I mock him without his consent) to our friends. Everything went smoothly and on schedule; we even scored upgrades to seats with more leg-room. The plane was devoid of any crying infants and the flight-attendants were friendly and catered to our every whim. We left Cleveland at 8:46 AM and landed in Phoenix shortly after 10:00; a miracle of modern flight and changing time zones.
Then, things started to get interesting. The car-rental guy tried his best to talk us into extra insurance (37 plus a day), extra driver, me, (10.00 a day), a bigger car (9.00 a day) and one or two other needless additions. We haggled, ie, Paul asked polite questions and I used my sarcasm to it's best advantage.
Car man: You don't want to try to make it up those mountains to the canyon in a four-cylinder. Paul: are you saying it isn't capable of getting us up those roads? Me: We'll get out and push then. I assured Car Man we will not be increasing our car size at the seemingly going rate of 1.5 million. He assured us there is NO WAY he can do anything extra for us at Paul's offer of $100.00 more than our reservation contract AND he said they are completely sold out of cars. We left with a bigger car (surprise, surprise) and a two-driver contract for 95.00 more.
Phoenix greeted us with sunny skies, warm temperatures, and the promise of no rain. For two winter-weary Ohioans, a literal oasis in the desert. We spent the evening with my niece, her husband and a cutie-pie grandson. Swimming, BBQ brats, catching up on twenty years of life. As long-time residents of Apache Junction, they had a full itinerary planned for our enjoyment over the next two days. Fun times.
Relaxation is gradually becoming more than just an abstract concept.
No comments:
Post a Comment