We left on May 8th and returned in the early hours of the 22nd. It was a long trip, but we couldn't have asked for it to go better! The first day was long, but surprisingly, Jacob was such a trooper. We left our house at 5am and drove throughout the day until we reached Reno, NV at 10pm. Our first stop that day was for breakfast and we decided that it was the perfect time for Jacob's first McDonald's experience.So once we got to Reno we stayed the night there and then left early the next morning to continue our journey. Next destination: Las Vegas. Once again, Jacob tolerated the trip very well as long as we stopped every 2 hours or so for a snack and some playtime. We stayed in Vegas for the night then continued onto Phoenix the next day.
We arrived at the Legacy Golf Resort and wow, we were impressed. Each room on the property is a condo, varying from a studio to a 2 bedroom. We had picked a 1 bedroom condo and it was perfect! It was very spacious and allowed Jacob plenty of room to play after such a long trip. The kitchen was fully stocked with everything we could have possibly needed. A full size refridgerator/freezer, dishwasher, coffee pot, hand mixer, plates, bowls, cups, silverware, cooking utensils, pots, pans, can opener....everything we have in our kitchen at home! It also had a washer and dryer, full sized dining room table, patio, and jacuzzi tub in master bedroom.
We stayed in Phoenix for 8 nights and we were busy everyday! On Monday, we took Jacob to his first baseball game to see the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was so neat to be able to go to a different ballpark. Cody and I both really enjoy baseball, but have never had the opportunity to visit another team's stadium. Jacob even got some autographs and to meet Baxter, the mascot.Tuesday, we hung around the resort, went to a presentation for our timeshare and spent some time at the pool. Nothing too exciting, but it turned out to be a fun and relaxing day.
Wednesday, Jacob had his first visit to the zoo. For attending the presentation on Tuesday, we were given free passes to the Phoenix Zoo. It was incredibly hot that day and poor Jacob was miserable within minutes of walking through the gate. Daddy ended up wetting a burp cloth we brought and draping it over Jacob's head to keep him cool. After that, he was much happier. Unfortunately, due to the heat many of the animals were in hiding, but they did have a petting zoo, which was definitely Jacob's favorite part. Thursday, we drove to Oro Valley, about 100 miles south of Phoenix, to visit friends we met while working in Lynden. We spent most of the day there and it was really nice getting to visit with them.
Friday, we went to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park. Again it was really hot, but this place was so neat, we had fun anyway! It is similar to Northwest Trek that we have here in Wa, but instead of Northwest animals, they have African animals. We started the day on the safari, which took us into an area where the animals were free to roam. We saw several animals up close and even got to feed a giraffe! After the Safari, we walked through the rest of the park. The setup was so much better than a zoo. At most zoos, the animals covered shelter is quite a ways from the viewing point. Here it was just the opposite. They had the shelters set up directly in front of the viewing points. We were so close that we could have touched many of the animals, but of course didn't!
Saturday we drove into Glendale and saw some of my family. Family I hadn't seen in years! Uncle Steve and Aunt Jessica moved to Arizona shortly after we moved to WA (1994) and I had only seen Uncle Steve since that time, none of the rest of the family. Aunt Debbie also drove over from California to spend the weekend so I got to see her for the first time since 2000. We spent a few hours hanging out at their house visiting, went to lunch and then visited at the house some more until Uncle Steve had to go to work. That night when Aunt Jessica got off work, we went to the casino while Kourtney babysat Jacob. We originally only planned on visiting them 1 day, but we had such a good time that we ended up going back on Sunday for a while. I didn't know when we would get the opportunity to see them again so I wanted to spend as much time there as possible.We left Phoenix on Monday morning and once again made stops for the night in Las Vegas and Reno. On the way back we also were able to stop in Eugene and spend a few hours with Amy and Kayla. Then we headed home.
It was a long trip, but went very well!
