The countdown is on

I signed up for a week-long Grand Canyon backpack trip through Sierra Club seven months ago- it seemed like the time would never come! Suddenly I am looking at the calendar realizing the adventure begins next month. Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is something I have wanted to do my whole life, ever since I was in grade school. When I was a kid my dad put all of his change into the center counsel of our 1978 GMC conversion van. That was our Grand Canyon fund. He promised to take me to the canyon by 1989. That was before he won a trip to Hawaii through Carquest Auto Parts, fell in love with the island, and lost interest in dragging his daughter half way across America to look at a hole in the ground.

I booked my flight today- $428 round trip from Kona to Phoenix on Hawaiian Airlines. After the hike I'll head to Scottsdale to visit Jen, a life-long friend who grew up in Indiana right next door to me. And I might have a couple of spare days in there, does anyone want to meet me in Vegas sometime between Oct 7th- and October 14th?