Well, we’ve yet to unpack our bags still. Go ahead and judge us, they still won’t get emptied any sooner! I did move a few things around to pack another bag for a work trip to San Antonio!
Usually, Amanda would go with me so that we could eat out, and she’d shop while I was in class. This time, she passed because she was pretty swamped at work. She has a funeral that’s popped up to prepare for on Saturday too.
We’re already booked for our next trip, the last week of October. This is a work trip for me. I’ll be doing training for my union position. I should have done this years ago, but the local’s funds were nowhere near enough to cover a trip like this.
I’d previously been the secretary/treasurer years ago before Amanda was even sick. After two terms, I didn’t run again. Until my replacement ran things into the ground and resigned when there wasn’t enough money to pay himself. Yeah, as bad as it sounds, I took over with $86 in the account, years behind on taxes, reports, and reconciliations. I’m happy to say we are in great shape now after lots of hard work.
This trip will be to Utah, my training being in Salt Lake. The plans recently changed from a road trip to flying when I was able to secure cheap flights. We fly in 4 days early and immediately head south to hit the “Mighty 5”, as they say; all 5 of Utah’s National Parks: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. I spouted from memory, hopefully I got them right!
So I guess we are still making a road trip, just flying there and then road-tripping! After four days on the road, we will spend four more, counting our late departure day in Salt Lake. We fly in early, before 10 am, on a Friday and out late, at 6 pm, on the following Friday. We are trying to make the most of our time there.
This will be a cost-effective trip. My flight and four days of rental car and hotel are covered. I also had a travel credit with United. So, the difference for Amanda’s flight was only $20. We’re just left paying for food and our pre-Salt Lake hotels. We’ll change hotels every night before Salt Lake, so no cooking. Lots of hiking hippies around the national parks, though. So, there is plenty of plant based fare to choose from; I’ve already scoured many menus! While in Salt Lake, we will have a kitchen, so some cooking will be in order.
It will be our first flight together in ten or so years, I think. Our last being a Mexico trip to the Pacific coast in Oaxaca. Maybe we flew to Ohio for a Cleveland Cllinic trip after that, but either way, it’s been a while.
I have TSA precheck, a speedy way to get through TSA. No removing liquids, laptops, coats, or shoes, and you get to miss the long lines. Amanda hasn’t got hers yet. I jokingly told her she needed to ensure it was done before this next trip because I didn’t want to wait in the peasant line with her! I loved the glares when I would walk past a hundred people in line at Des Moines to go right ahead of them; worth every penny!