Day 5- Albuquerque to Grand Canyon-- Celebrating 30!

Hi guys-- Before I even start this blog...I can't believe that I'm already in the Pacific time zone. It's 745 here and I'm exhausted!

Today was a "rain rain go away" -type day. We started off in Albuquerque and were actually kind of sad to leave. Stopping at Starbucks on Central Ave. for a breakfast sandwich and big 'ol cup of joe, we bid good-bye to New Mexico.

We gave Maverick his "scooby snacks" and made our way into the misty, early morning rain to Arizona. Tim drove and dodged rain clouds for few hours while I was on the phone, trying to get my Blackberry fixed. Still no help, so I'm going to feel a little out of touch for the next couple of days. Maybe that's a good thing every once in a while.

The good news: it's my 30th birthday and we were right in line to hit the Grand Canyon. I've never had the privilege of visiting this Great Wonder, so despite the rain, I was pumped! So pumped, that I got pulled by the 5-0 going a "little" faster than I should. Tickets in AZ, not so much fun, but I wasn't going to let it dampen my day!

By the way, I keep forgetting my "playlist" for the day, so here's a combination of yesterday and today:

"Tangled Up in Blue" and "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan
Vs. Album- Pearl Jam
"Angel"- Aerosmith
"Leave This Town" - Bill Mozingo
"Come Monday" - Jimmy Buffett
"Dead and Gone" and "Live Your Life"- T.I.
"You're all I Need"- Method Man
"Let Me Ride" - Dr. Dre

Upon arrival at the "entrance" to the Grand Canyon, we realized that a two-lane road would have to lead us another 45 minutes to the South Rim. A bit of a buzz kill after a 7.5 hour drive. But, it was worth it.

As I sat on the natural ledge, I contemplated my last 30 years of life. In sitting at the edge of a canyon thousands of years in the making, I realized, more importantly, I should be thinking more about my next 30 years. While Tim climbed and hiked around, I sat with Mav and we solved the world's problems. I took inventory of my hopes and dreams and concluded: my next 30 years are going to be unbelievably great! I can only expect ups and downs, successes and failures, love and loss-- much like my first 30, but with a better head on my shoulders.

Hopefully, it will include:
1) a new line of work, marriage & children (seeing the same for my brother and friends)
2) growing ever closer to God and having that relationship manifest itself in my daily life as love and grace for everyone
3) watching my Mom FINALLY retire and travel cross-country with my Dad and Aunt Ann
4) seeing my friends turn into parents and watching their children grow, and
5) spending some great quality time with my loved ones.

Don't wanna waste another moment. It goes too fast.

By the time we took in every glorious sight and got back in the car, all of us were exhausted. Mav even started falling asleep sitting up (see photo- coming soon). None of us were in great shape, so the arrival in Kingman, AZ at our hotel was a huge relief. My birthday dinner: Domino's pizza and breadsticks, using the carton as a plate. To top it all off, we saw a crazy double rainbow on the way back: HERE'S TO NEW BEGINNINGS!

And so I write, watching reruns of Scrubs and That 70's Show.

I do need to give a shout out to my wonderful friends that I didn't get to see on the trip :(. Liz- wish we could have made it to Austin- next time for sure. Mel- we were so close! Josh- you're right, my choice was regrettable--Denver is definitely on the agenda very soon!

Tomorrow, we make the last stop before Palm Springs: LAS VEGAS for the 4th! How awesome is that? Amazing how things work out.

I'll probably hit the pillow pretty early tonight--but gaining a few hours is great! We will be early to rise, making a quick 3-hour puddle jump to Vegas. As our friend Jason says, "Put it all on Black!"

~Em