Southwest Trip--Day 1

Saturday:
They say getting there is half the fun. They lie. Jean and I were up packing on Friday night until about 11:00pm. We were actually all packed a few hours before that, but then we re-packed. It was annoying, but it did allow us to only check our bikes and bring everything else in our carry-ons. It was a good idea--and a money saver--but that alarm still went off at 3:30am. Yep, up at 3:30am, out of the house by 4:30am, then off to the Park & Fly Shuttle, then off to the Delta terminal, then wait in a LONG security line. When all was said and done, shortly after 6:00am we were PACKED into our tiny seats in row 42 for the first leg of our journey. Departure was at 6:30.

We landed on time in Salt Lake City, but we had to wait about 20 minutes to get to a gate. Yes, our gate was changed--changed to a farther gate from the one we had to get to for our connecting flight. Of course! Then we had to wait for more than 240 passengers to gather their belonging from the overhead compartments (belongings which may have shifted) before we could make OUR move to the aisle. Being in the back of the plane sucks. By the time we actually disembarked, we had to pretty much sprint to the next concourse to board the next plane. Translation--no food.

Our flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas was uneventful, and after what felt like an eternity, our bikes did pop out onto the baggage carousel. From there, we were shuttled to a black-hole of time known as the rental car counter. I waited with the luggage while Jean stood in line for 45 minutes at Avis. Forty five minutes! I was actually calling customer service from my cell phone in the lobby, but of course, it's wasn't Monday through Friday, so unless I had a roadside emergency, no one wanted to talk with me. We did get upgraded to a Rav4, but that was still an ridiculously long wait.

Once in the car, it was time to find some food. We were fortunate enough to find a Whole Foods just outside of the airport, so we were able to get some good natural food. We grabbed some additional food for the week and couldn't wait to get OUT of Vegas. Highway 15, here we come.

The two-hour drive from Las Vegas to Zion National Park was fine, but we had been traveling all day, and it was getting weary. We found our accomodations--the Canyon Vista B&B, which was perfect--Matt and Trista were excellent hosts, their property was just outside of the national park, and the amenties included two dogs! After throwing our bags down, we hooked up with our friends, Mike and JoAnne who were also in the area vacationing. Dinner at the Whiptail, then it was lights-out time as my battery went to "E." Plans were made for the following day though...