I jumped on a plane at 1:30 PM in Boston and the rest of family jumped on a plane in San Antonio and we all met in paradise in Phoenix. This trip was planned back in August and we kept it so simple and stress free, in planning. Bottom line, we did none. ;) We just were exited to all be together and explore a new part of the United States together. We didn't even start talking about food until the day before we left. At the airport, Carter learned, he can't throw a 8 ounce bottle of CeraVe lotion into a carry on. ;)
We were so excited to see the Boerckel's and Gunner! That same day we all arrived was Kelly's 37th birthday and Andy had been working for 5 weeks to surprise her with a fun girls trip for her and I to Moab, Utah to explore Arches National Park and Caynonlands National Park. He called me with the idea and he made it all happen. I was so proud of him and it was super special when he surprised her, on their pack patio, with a Camelback water backpack, flights, and a super fun place that we were booked to stay. She was completely surprised and it brought tears to my eyes witnessing her complete surprise, joy and and gratitude to Andy. That night, we went to a close by restaurant with some of their friends and it is probably my favorite meal and place I have been to in years. Buck and Rider. It was a fun night celebrating Kelly and kicking off Spring Break.
We had a relaxing Saturday morning and then Blake, Kelly and I headed to hike the difficult Camelback Mountain. I really didn't know what to expect but it was incredible and great training for 29029 Everest in 15 weeks. How amazing it that the Boerckel's have this less than 10 minutes from their house.
While we were hiking, Andy held down the fort and the 5 kids!
On our way out of town, their friends told us to come and get fresh grapefruit from their tree. We did and the entire car smelled like a delicious Grapefruit candle and we used dozens and dozens of these grapefruit while in Palm Springs.
About an hour from Phoenix, Andy's truck suddenly started overheating. I love when things like this happen, because we were all able to experience the kindness of strangers. We happened to pull up to a gas station and the gentleman directly next to us, quickly came over and he had been a mechanic with a Toyota Plant for decades. He helped identify the problem and all the guys learned a lot!
We had a "girls" car and a "guy" car!
7 months ago, we had booked a house in Palm Springs, via AirBNB, and in early February nearly 6 months later, they suddenly canceled on us, saying the owner had sold it. We were initially disappointed seeing that we needed to stay outside of Palm Springs to find something cool but is was a case of things working out better than could imagine. We found a fun 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in Indio that had a bunk room and an incredible arcade style game room complete with original pin balls games, arcades, shuffle board, foosball, a great grass yard to play, a pool, and a hot tub. We ate outside around the fire-pit nearly every meal and that's where you could find the adults 75% of the time! We knew We set up a huge Shipt grocery store order, relaxed and knew we were off to a great week.
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