Fall Break 2020

 Normally, we spend fall break on the beaches of San Diego.  This year, partly because of COVID, we needed to have a different view, so we headed north to Utah.  We go to Utah frequently, however, this time we wanted to explore places we don't normally go. 

One of Stan's birthday presents this year was a National Parks senior pass.  We hadn't had a chance to break it in yet, so we decided this was the perfect opportunity.  Our first stop was to Moab and Arches National Park.  Moab is a really cute touristy town.  I think the whole town lives off of the tourists and the outdoor activities.  There were ATVs, mountain bikes and RVs all over the place, and this year it was PACKED. I'm glad I made hotel reservations a few months ago.  When we arrived in Moab, we ate dinner at a little brewery called The Spoke.  The food here was really good and I would definitely recommend it if you are ever in Moab.  After dinner, we were all pretty tired after a long day of driving, so we went to the hotel.  We stayed at the Springhill Suites.  It's at the end of the town and is the closest hotel to the park.  It's right on the Green River and is really nice, again, another recommendation if you are in town.  Since we were only there for the night, we didn't enjoy all the hotel had to offer.  In the morning, Stan and I took a stroll on the walking trail behind the hotel at sunrise.  It was really beautiful.  After our walk, we went back to get the kids up and moving so we could start our day.

Green River...the view on our morning walk 

We headed to Arches National Park.  I was really impressed. Not unlike parts of Arizona, but the park itself was really well kept and quite a peaceful place.  We were only there for a few hours, so we just drove up the main road, with some stops to explore and to take photos.  

Our main destination for this trip was Park City, so we left Arches around noon and headed north again.  It was an uneventful drive and we were glad to finally get to our rental.  We rented a place in Park City, right behind the Olympic Ski Training Facility.  It was a great location with a gorgeous view.  We unpacked our things and then met my sister and her husband for dinner.  It was great to see them, since they live just 40 minutes from Park City.  After dinner we returned to the house and played some games and visited.

Nikki's main "to do thing" was to go to Lagoon Amusement Park.  Ethan and I weren't super thrilled to go, so Stan took Nikki to Lagoon, which was fine with me because I'm usually just the bag holder, and Ethan and I went hiking with my sister and my niece and her husband.

We went up to Brighton Ski Resort.  Ethan had found an "easy" trail to hike on, so we started.  Only problem was, there was quite an elevation gain.  The altitude got to me and it was a really difficult hike because of it.  So about a third of the way up, we turned around and went down.  We went a little down the road to a trail called Silver Lake, which had practically no elevation gain and was around a beautiful lake.  It was really nice and I enjoyed it.

Ethan before we set out for our first trail.  He was probably wishing he had some younger people who could keep up with him.

The view from our steep climb up near the ski resort

Silver Lake

On Monday, we were all really tired from the past three days of non stop, so we just took it easy.  We slept in, and hung out at the house.  We did drive in to Salt Lake, visiting the U bookstore, and eating lunch at our must stop place, The Pie.  The rest of the afternoon was relaxing at home, napping, reading, and watching tv.  

Tuesday was spent exploring downtown Park City.  We were a little disappointed that the ski lifts were closed, so we ended up just walking up and down the main street, exploring the shops.  Not an exciting day, but when I think about it being in the low 70's and Phoenix still being in triple digits, the stroll was beautiful.  

Wednesday was our last day in Utah.  We decided to go up to one of my favorite places, Cottonwood Canyon.  It's so peaceful up there.  We found an easy hiking trail and strolled along Big Cottonwood River.  It was a picturesque fall day.  Nikki and I collected fall leaves to use in her classroom and Ethan was busy climbing. 

Since it was our last evening, we went out for a nice dinner right next to the Olympic Park in Park City.  

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and it was nice to get away for a little bit.  

13 weeks

My injury happened 13 weeks ago and surgery 12 weeks ago.  Almost the entire three months, I was not allowed to place any weight on my right leg.  It's slowly gotten better and I've been doing leg lifts and bending my knee, but that's it.  My mode of transportation has mainly been my seated scooter, as hopping on one foot is hard on the entire body.  Two weeks ago, I was given the blessing to start putting weight on my "bad" leg, at least walking with crutches.   Since then, I've been really working hard at trying walk.  It's been very painful on my ankle because my quad muscles have atrophied so much.

I went for another check up with my surgeon today. He said knee-wise, my X-rays looked beautiful.  The only thing keeping me from returning to work now is my weak muscles.  He told me two more weeks of PT to work on walking without crutches. I also need to be able to bend/squat down and get up off the floor.  Things I used to take for granted.  So, for the next two weeks, I am going to work hard so I can go back to work!

Here is a photo of my knee today.  You can see the scar is looking good.  You can see a bump near the scar.  That's actually my plate sticking out. I have a plate with 8 screws sticking through my bone!  It still grosses me out to look at it.  My PT says it should go down a little bit as I heal.  My quad muscles look almost non-existent but it's hard to tell from that photo.

Aloha, Hawaii

It was finally time to return home.  It was such a wonderful two weeks and it flew by.

Our first flight was a short one to Honolulu.  We had about two hours layover before heading to Phoenix.  Both flights were uneventful.  I had upgraded two of our seats because of my leg and Ethan was the lucky one who joined me.  The flight actually went pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were back home in the heat.

Ethan and I were in the first row.  There was so much leg room that I was able to straighten my leg and keep it propped up the entire trip.  The food was excellent and it was an enjoyable flight. I'd highly recommend Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaii - Last Days

We spent our last couple of days just hanging out and enjoying being there.  In the morning, we took a drive up country to Kula and Haleakala.  We wanted to go into the park, but it was so cloudy, the man at the gate said we really wouldn't be able to see anything.  So we turned around and just enjoyed the beautiful views from above.  After coming down the mountain, we  went to a vineyard in Kula.  It was so beautiful up there that I could have stayed all day.

A view of Maui from Haleakala

The grounds of the vineyards

Stan and his buddy enjoying some coffee

Sitting at the store across the street from the vineyard

On our final day, we headed back to Lahaina.  It was the fourth of July when we were there last and it was so hot and crowded, that we really didn't enjoy it too much. It was much better this time with fewer people and cooler weather.  We ate some really good burgers for dinner and then just took the "scenic route" home to enjoy our last few hours on the island.

A final sunset

An old building in Lahaina, an old whaling town

Lahaina's elementary school that I would love to teach at.

Air & Sea - Hawaii days 10 & 11

Today the family woke up early and headed down the road to board a boat.  They were headed on a snorkeling adventure to Molokini Crater, about ten miles south of Maui.  Because I'm stil! non-weight bearing on crutches/wheelchair/scooter, I could not go, so I just hung out in the condo. 

They were gone for about six hours and came back tired and sun burned. They saw many different fish and had a good time.


The rest of the evening was pretty low key. We went to Kihei for dessert at a place called Maui Pie. It was so good. I had the haupia chocolate pie.

The next day the boys headed for the air.  Their choice adventure was a helicopter ride.  They did a west Maui / Molokai flight and had a blast. They got to.sit in the front by the pilot, which was like a dream for Stan.  They came back with lots of photos and facts about what the pilot taught them.

While the boys took to the air, Nikki and I went shopping. when we got to the mall, most shops were closed, so we opted for a manicure and pedicure.  it was the first pedi I'd had since surgery and it felt so good. 

That night we went shopping in Kaanapali.  It was fun walking around playing tourist. 

Maui - Hawaii Day 8 &9

We left Oahu and Headed to Maui on Wednesday. Honolulu Airport was an absolute zoo and with my scooter, it was not.fun.  But we made it.

We got to our condo on Maui.  It is absolutely gorgeous with the best view.  The day we got in, there was a king tide and with the condo on the water, I actually felt sea sick, so.I had to sit inside.  Ethan went right into the water and Nikki and Stan were watching the turtles swim.  It was a low key day, just hanging out.

Where I sat

.

Pano of our balcony view

Thursday was the fourth of July. We had plans to go to Lahaina for the fireworks show that evening.  For something to do, we took a drive upcountry to see my parents old house.

.

My parents house in Kula

That afternoon we went to Lahaina to walk around.  Fireworks were scheduled for 8 pm and we had dinner reservations for later.  But once we started walking around, it got so crowded and with my scooter, I found it hard to navigate, not to mention that half of the shops had a step to get into, so I couldnt go in anyway.  It was hot and humid, so we ditched our fireworks p!an and headed to Kaanapali, a beach community just north.  We had a nice dinner at a restaurant on the beach and went home.  Ethan was anxious to get back in the water before.dark.

Oahu -Last two days - Hawaii days 6 & 7

Our last two days on Oahu were pretty low key. 

On Monday, the plan was to go hiking.  We headed to Manoa to hike the falls trail since Ethan really wanted to see a water fall.  Since I'm physically unable to hike right now, I waited in the car while everyone else went hiking.  Manoa is very lush and.jungle-like so I just rolled down the windows and read a book.  It was quite pleasant.

On the hike, they all said how muddy and slippery the trail was but how beautiful it was. here are a couple of photos:

Stan's selfie

.

My view from the car

That evening, we headed to Ala Moana to shop a bit.

Tuesday was our last full day on Oahu. We decided to make it a beach day.  We headed back to Kailua Beach.  This was really hard for me.emotionally because I reached a point where I was frustrated not being able to.get in the water and not able to get up from the blanket.  I'll admit a.few tears were shed in my frustration. 

After the beach we went home to get laundry done and to clean up.  That evening we went to Waikiki to watch the sunset.  It was a nice ending to our first half of our trip.I

Ethan and Nikki on the wall at.Waikiki