Home Again

We arrived home Tuesday night and slept in our own beds. I kept Hannah home from school on Wednesday so she could sleep in. She did not even wake up until 9am.... that was so unusual for her so I guess she needed the sleep.

Our past night in Phoenix was quite an adventure. We had asked a couple of local people who worked at the hotel where to go for a great steak dinner. They recommended Cartwright's an upscale eatery about a 30 minute drive away. We took showers and gussied up for our last dinner on vacation. Twenty minutes into the drive onto Highway 74, I heard a small bump sound at the back of the minivan and about 10 seconds later Hannah said, "Does that noise sound normal to you?" I could hear the unmistakable sound of rushing air. I replied "I don't think so" and Gary hollered "What noise?" (he can not hear for shit) . However, we all heard the dashboard make a dinging sound, the tire low pressure light came on and the van sort of lurched as it came down to rest on the rim of a totally flat tire. "Just friggin' lovely" said Gary.

Did you know that in a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan the spare tire is under the console between the front seats and you had to release it from the floor of the inside of the van with this do-hickey tool? Neither did we. Thank heavens the serviceman that AAA sent out knew where it was and he was such a nice person. I can't say enough nice things about AAA. They had a repair truck there in less than 10 minutes. The lady I spoke with on the phone said the highway we were on was rated a red flag priority due to unsafe roadside conditions (oh yes, that made me feel so safe) so help would be on the way ASAP and it was. The serviceman sent us to Discount Tire and they fixed the flat for free. Yes, I said FREE. Can you believe that? It was our lucky day! We continued on to Cartwright's and had the absolute BEST dinner. My filet mignon could be eaten with a spoon... that's how tender it was. The service was fabulous, the atmosphere superb and the food delicious. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful vacation.

So, here it is Friday.... we've been home since Tuesday night and I still have 3 suitcases full of stuff to put away. blech. I hate unpacking.