TODAY is the day we get to ride the Hop on, Hop off bus. Only it's not really hop on, hop off with ADA capabilities. So we just hopped on and rode for the whole trip with out getting off. But that was After we ate breakfast in the hotel. They have a nice menu, but it's not included with the room, sadly. The breakfast buffet for adults was $18 (which reminds me, I really need to get all those people paid that have paid my bills here and there!).
We went over to the visitor's center, but we were not early enough to get on the first trolley, so we hung around for the second one. They are one hour apart during the winter hours schedule, so we hung around in the warm visitor's center, looked at brochures and visited in comfy chairs, being entertained by zip-lining squirrels. They had the cutest stuffed animals in that gift shop! Seriously. Way cute.
Time for the trolley at 11. It lasted a couple of hours, was cold and windy in the trolley because he opened up the flaps--in the very back where we were sitting. He really was a nice driver and and had a fun time overall. We were just way tired after it was all over. I don't think I even took any photos! It was just a nice drive all over town. It's a good thing that Donna is our driver (and the Trolley dude, Tim) because I never had any idea where I was at any given time. We'd pass a hotel or building and it would surprise me that we were back at that point. It's a whole "directile dysfunction" thing in my brain.
Our driver's name was Tim. He sang, he lectured, he joked and he drove.
After our little tour, we got back to our car and drove to a pub for lunch. Two food items had to go back to the kitchen because they were so awful, but my Rueben and sweet potato fries were yummy and Mom loved her white bean and ham soup. I think it helped to warm her up after that breezy bus ride around town.
All of us then went to the "Chocolate Fetish" store and bought some yummies to bring home. Or just eat. I did manage to bring some (2 whole pieces!) to Mike. They did not have samples!! I guess I could have asked, but didn't think of it until we were leaving. And of course, like most touristy places, they were extremely overpriced. We wandered through a few more shops and headed back to our hotel. The dinner was at a real North Carolina Bar-B-Que that our trolley drive told us about. I didn't want to leave the state without trying their bbq. It was good! Gail and I shared a platter and I actually ate fried okra AND Collard Greens! They were good, also. And we were good with chocolate and snacks for dessert back at the hotel that night. We ALL played games together in the breakfast room that evening after dinner and we had a good time playing "Push the Dummy." Donna's Aviano friends are so nice, but they have such potty mouths.
Gail, Mom and I packed when we got back to the room and go to bed at a fairly decent hour. But I did not sleep very well AT ALL. I was awake a LOT. Donna and Barbara were driving back to Atlanta to shop at "The Mart" on their way home to Warner Robins, GA. Since Mom and I needed to be at the airport by 8 am or so, we left around 7 to allow time for McDonalds breakfast for Mom on the way, and just because it's good to get there early, right? And because they TELL you to be there 2 hours early.
It is a good thing we were. Well, good for me and Mom. Not so good for Gail. OUR flight left at 10:15 a.m. Gail's didn't depart Asheville until 5 pm, poor thing. So she spent the day at the Asheville Airport.
I was glad for Gail's help as we were dropped curbside by Donna, as we had a lot of stuff to get to the ticket counter and check through--a wheelchair and a walker. We both had roller bags and all three had personal items AND we had to go find our own wheelchair to wheel Mom through security and to the gate.
The most exciting part was that we got hauled aside to have a personal pat down for Mom. Not once, but TWICE. Her liquids scanned "something" and they had to test and sort and test and re- test and pat down and then pat down again and test the gloves used both times. She was cleared, eventually, but we have no idea what set it off. I didn't know this until a TSA agent told me that morning --that when she brings her medically necessary liquids, if I were to put them in a zip-lock bag together, they wouldn't have to test them. Live and learn. It was kind of an exciting spectacle for passers-by, I'm sure. But it did take a lot of time for all that, so I'm glad we were there in plenty of time.
Asheville/Henderson Airport is a regional one, it's small, and we were on a TINY plane. Smaller than the one we boarded in St. George. I was able to check my roller bag clear through to St. George for no cost, so that was nice.
We waited about 45 minutes out on the runway, waiting for a gate to open so we could pull in at Charlotte, NC. We HAD been early, but not any more! When we finally got off the plane, we were taken to a golf cart whose driver whisked us very quickly over to our gate at another terminal. Charlotte is a big airport. We barely had time to take mom to the restroom and get a pretzel for us to eat on the plane before boarding!
The long flight to Phoenix was shortened by about 30 minutes, but still was 4 hours of just sitting. Mom was kind of tired of it after 2 hours. But she perservered. We made it to Phoenix with extra time to get to our St. George flight. The views over the desert between Phoenix and St. George were stunning-- Grand Canyon at Sunset! Mom gave me the window seat for that leg of our trip. We flew right over our house in Cedar on the way home. Seems a bit out of the way, yes?
Mike picked us up about 5:30 Utah time, we grabbed a burger cuz I had only had snack food all day long and wanted something a bit more substantial. Mom got a shake. And she got a cold. She developed a sore throat and cough on the flights home, poor dear.
