Friday, June 3, 2016 ~ I woke up at 3:45 am to catch the 4:30 am Sunrise Tour. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed it more than the sunset because there were very few people. The beauty and quietness gave me an opportunity to reflect on everything that has happened in the past couple of years and to ponder the future. To quote my mother "everything happens for a reason".

I arrived back at the lodge around 6:00 am to find both boys awake. We decided to take advantage of the early morning and had breakfast overlooking the Canyon at the El Tovar. After breakfast, we walked around the village and visited some of the historic sites and gift shops. Then it was time to go back to the lodge and pack our bags for pickup.

We hung around the lodge until it was time to head to the train depot. The wifi was spotty, so I downloaded all my photos and sorted and edited them. The boys played video games. I was cornered by an older man who was there with his wife who has Alzheimer's, diabetes and other ailments. The conversation was nice and cordial until another man arrived and a conversation about politics began, that was my cue to leave. We caught a bus to the train depot and people watched until we boarded the train for the trip back to Williams.

Champagne was served on the return trip to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks. Everyone was in a great mood. The seating is two and two, so having three people means that one person has to sit with a stranger. The boys were going to trade seats half-way through the trip to take turns sitting by me. A family of five arrived and had two young adult sons with autism. One son, Andrew, sat by Jacob and they soon became fast friends. Jacob never asked to trade seats with AJ.

Upon arrival back at the hotel in Williams, our bags were in our room and all we had to do was eat dinner and go to bed after our very eventful day.

Collecting Memories - Not Things, Summer 2016 ~ Paula, Jacob, and AJ