Tripped up

So, how was my trip, you ask? Well, let's see. Last week, the hubs and I moved heaven and earth to find a babysitter, spent too much money on a plane ticket, and dropped everything to travel 1,800 miles on very little notice to see both our favorite basketball teams in the Sweet 16 ... and they both lost. No, they didn't just lose ... they got annihilated. Sigh. Sadness doesn't cover it. Thursday was officially depressing.

But. Such is the life of a sports fan, right? We knew we were taking a chance on this. And some college kids bouncing a ball around is nothing to lose sleep over. Besides, McLurky and I were on our first no-kids-allowed trip together since long before Miss C was born. We had two whole days left in Arizona—what to do? Hey, I know—let's go here:

We were just about as unprepared as two people can be for a trip to the Grand Canyon (okay, maybe with the exception of these two). All we had were flip flops and shorts and more college t-shirts than anyone should be allowed to own. The canyon would be a spur-of-the-moment trip within a spur-of-the-moment trip. But a quick stop for new shoes and outerwear at a mall in Flagstaff and we were in business.

Back in the day, the hubs and I used to do a fair amount of hiking. It was one of the things we bonded over when we were first dating. Some of our favorite places that we have hiked are Shenandoah National Park, the Grand Tetons, and Switzerland. But then two sweet little girls came along and changed things a bit. So it was incredibly nice to have the chance to participate in a hobby we'd almost forgotten existed. If you had told me two weeks ago that I'd be hiking the Grand Canyon on Saturday, I'd have laughed. Hard. Spontaneity isn't in the vocabulary of a mother to small children. But yet, here we were. That alone was kind of awesome.

So we hiked about a mile and a half down into the canyon (and, more importantly, a mile and a half back up!). Of course, a mile and a half barely scratches the surface of that place, but it was a spectacular hike nonetheless.

We also got a couple of excellent meals in Phoenix—I highly recommend Matt's Big Breakfast and Pizzeria Bianco. You will wait an exceptionally long time at both places (the wait can run up to four hours at Pizzeria Bianco), but you will get a meal that is so worth it in both cases.

This pizza right here? Was to die.

All in all, we had a great time, and you'll get no arguments from me about this trip. Okay, I really wish we could have seen a win. Other than that, no arguments.