Our First Getaway

B and I haven't been away on our own since Elina was born...that's 11 1/2 years that we haven't gone anywhere without the kids!  For Christmas 2015, all I asked my parents for was for them to watch the kids for one weekend so that B and I could go away.  We never claimed it, so we thought we'd claim it this year.

We had to really think about what kind of place we wanted to go to.  We considered going to L.A. to do Disneyland without the kids for funsies and to eat some good Asian food.  But then I thought about all the traffic...I really wanted to go some place where we didn't have to think about what time of day it was.  So I remembered J's recent trip to Sedona and to Antelope Canyon and I thought, "I'd love to go away and do some hiking and see some beautiful things."  I started doing some research and figured out that we should stay in a tiny town called Page in northern Arizona.  I think B would have preferred LA, but after I showed him some pictures of the Arizona area, he knew it would still be fun.

At the same time, Evie got her Flat Stanley project where she had to send her Stanley to someone for a visit.  We decided we'd just take Stanley along with us on our adventure!

My parents came to help us with the kids from Thursday through Monday.  Luckily, J was able to come down from Austin to help for most of the time, too.  I had a detailed schedule typed up for each day and we reviewed it all before I left.  The kids were sad, but not for long because they knew they'd have fun with everyone.  Elina actually said, "How come you're ditching us?" I told her we hadn't ditched them in 11 1/2 years.  Isn't that long enough??

We left early Thursday morning and flew into Flagstaff.  It was weird to freely sleep on the flight.  Actually, it wasn't weird...it was quite lovely.  Ha!  Then we drove 2 hours up to Page.  It was a beautiful drive up!  We stopped by Horseshoe Bend on the way up and hiked around.  It is an amazing place!  We just can't believe there is no railing at the edge though.  I mean, even B was a little weak in the knees near the edge.  He reminded me that if someone fell, then that person was just dead...there would be nothing to save him/her.  I guess if you put it that way...

We stayed at the Hampton Inn and had one of our best hotel stays....it might have something to do with traveling without kids...maybe?  The hot breakfast every morning was SO yummy....waffles, oatmeal, eggs, protein, yogurt, fruit.  We looked forward to breakfast every day during our stay--partly because of the delicious food and partly because we never get to eat full breakfasts at home.  This was such a treat!  Then, there was always fresh, bold coffee or hot water for hot cocoa or tea available at all hours!  What??  Every morning we grabbed a fresh cup of coffee on our way out..and every evening we treated ourselves to hot cocoa in our room.  Life is great!

Here is what else we did on our trip--

KAYAKING LAKE POWELL

We started our day at 8am in 30F weather with our guide Craig.  After a 45 minute boat ride out onto the lake, we stopped and launched our kayaks into the calm water and kayaked until we hit the mouth of Labyrinth Canyon.  After trudging through icy mud, we hiked through the beautiful canyon.  It was amazing...the canyon got narrower and narrower.  I loved how the sandstone curved from the wind and water weathering it away.  It's just amazing how powerful these two things are!

Then we hiked and kayaked back to the boat and had a wonderful lunch.  It was just sandwiches, but they were so delicious because we had worked up an appetite.  Then we took a 45 minute boat ride back to the marina.

It was a perfect, chilly day...we enjoyed hiking in the canyon and all over the rocks.  Kayaking was so peaceful...the surroundings were unreal.  Totally loved this day...especially because we ended the day by going back to the hotel and taking a nap!  Dreams are coming true, folks.

MONUMENT VALLEY
On our way out to Monument Valley, we stopped at Navajo National Monument.  It was an interesting and beautiful place...and there was still snow on the ground!  We learned a lot about the Navajos in the visitor center.  Then we hiked down to see the cliff dwellings in the canyon.  I couldn't believe they could build these little houses in the canyon wall.

Then we continued on our way to Monument Valley for a sunset tour.  We had a great time with our guide, Larry (who is actually a Navajo medicine man).  He drove us through Monument Valley and shared many legends and stories with us.  It was so neat to see all the landmarks we've seen in movies.  It felt surreal.

HIKING
We did an awesome hike out of Lee's Ferry called Spencer's Trail.  This was 2.2 miles straight up 1600'.  It was a tough, but amazing hike...walking along sheer edges with the Colorado River right next to you.  The view up top was unbelievable...totally worth it.  On the way up, B always had the extra energy to find a big boulder out yonder to climb onto.  I always told him to go on ahead because I'm really good at taking pictures.  Really, 3/4 of the way up my legs felt like Jell-o.  Luckily, the hike down was pretty quick.

We also did Water Holes Canyon near Page.  This was another slot canyon hike and it was just beautiful.  Even though we had already hiked through Labyrinth Canyon, I still couldn't stop gawking at the way the sandstone erodes here.  It is breathtaking....and so quiet.  I love it.

This was truly a getaway for us...sleeping in, watching whatever we wanted on TV, eating in our beds, exploring new places, having uninterrupted conversations with each other.  It also brought us back to our pre-kid days when we used to hike all the time.  On this trip we hiked every single day!  We also saw a gazillion stars at night!  The skies there are so clear.  I really loved everything about this trip.

So did the kids miss us?  They missed us, but they also had tons of fun with their grandparents and their aunt.  Were the grandparents and aunt tired afterwards?  Yes!  J said the things they discovered were (1) that I drive around way too much and (2) that I have exactly enough time to accomplish nothing during the day.  She's right on both accounts!  But that's just the season we're in right now.  It's a crazy season and we all need a break though.  I'm so thankful we have family willing to help so that we could do this.  Hopefully, we'll be able to do this at least once a year.  Maybe?  Pretty please?  Any takers?  =)