Griswold Grand Canyon Adventure

Roadtrippin in the family truckster with Clark at the wheel. Wasn't this a movie? Yes. Vacation...with Chevy Chase. And last week we lived it. With the exception of strapping old Aunt Edna to the roof of the car, I'd say we nailed our roles as The Griswolds. When you start your family vacation being pushed by your eight year old in a wheelchair through a busy airport at the crack of dawn while your husband pushes your fussy ten month old in a stroller while carrying all the luggage...you know it's gonna be a vacation for the memory books. I felt quite accomplished that I survived my wheelchair frisk at the airport and narrowly escaped death by wall with Gabe going full speed and unable to see (or care) where he was pushing me. We made it through security and check-in and then the airplane gods shined down on us. We scored an entire row for me, Isom, and Zach with Gabe one row ahead of us. Yay for room for roaming baby and hurt leg propping. Upon arrival to the desert, we were unsuccessful in our mission to find In-N-Out burger, so we waited for twenty minutes at Del Taco instead, only to then realize dinner actually awaited us at Grandma's house. Oops. As our week of poolside cocktails, cousins swimming, ladies pedicuring and massages continued, a few more mishaps occurred. One broken toe for my sister-in-law, one allergic rash outbreak requiring late night Benadryl run to Wal-Mart for Gabe, one severe allergic eczema outbreak requiring a trip to the ER for Isom (if you are keeping track, thats two ER visits in one week for The Majors...cant wait for those bills) and one bleeding tooth bash on the coffee table for Zach as well as two new teeth that chose vacation to pop through. At this point my sprained ankle wasn't seeming so bad! We enjoyed a casino sponsored fireworks display for the Fourth of July, and ate the BEST catfish this Southern girl has ever had the pleasure of sinking her teeth into. We then turned in for a good nights sleep before trekking to the Grand Canyon the next day. The Grand Canyon, a mere three hour drive that somehow turned out to be fifteen hours in the car. We did get out for blackberry cobbler for breakfast, a picnic lunch overlooking the hole, gift shop browsing with a Willie Nelson soundtrack, and bottomless fries at Red Robbin for dinner. Still not sure on how the crazy travel math worked out though. The boys liked the Grand Canyon and were sworn in as Junior Park Rangers by Uncle Bill---very cute. There were laughs and wildlife and nerve wracking moments on the edge of the canyon. But really, who has continually crazed vacations like this? As both Gabe and Isom appear to be allergic to the desert, I don't foresee a return trip anytime soon. Grandma will be forced to fly to Hawaii. I'm sure she's devastated about that. I guess our next Griswold adventure will need to be a jungle or forest environment. The Majors in the rainforest? Griswolds take Machu Picchu? Now there's a story...