Antelope Canyon Paige, Arizona

Antelope Canyon 

     I was referred to Antelope Canyon by a friend who had gone recently and adorned her Instagram page with the majestic photos of its beauty. I realized it was on my way home (Via road trip in my ol’ faithful Ford Explorer) and knew I had to make the time to visit. I approached the small town of Paige, AZ and about five miles from the heart of town was the most breathtaking beauty hiding underground. Something you should know when you head there are there are two locations (1) is the Upper Canyon and (2) is the Lower canyon. We arrived at the upper canyon location, which is mostly above ground and easily accessible for children and the elderly. However, there was an overwhelming amount of tourists with selfie sticks (bus loads!). We decided to head across the street to the lower canyon, which was empty and significantly cheaper. We met with our lovely tour guide (because you can only enter the canyon with a tour guide) and trekked across the sand and walked about ¼ mile to the stairs. WAIT WHAT? Stairs? I looked down and there was a thin metal ladder that they consider to be called stairs. The stairs traveled down about three stories but for a wimp like myself who is afraid of heights it felt like a skyscraper. You have to go backwards down the stairs at most points with the handrails because of the steepness so I don’t recommend it for adults or people with small children under the age of five. If you are afraid of heights like I am, be aware that you can see through the stairs all the way down so either focus on your hands or shoelaces. Once we got into the canyon it was beautiful! There was a nice cool breeze that found their way traveling through the shapes of the rocks. Our tour guides are from a Native American tribe that were knowledgeable with the history, stories and forming of the Canyon.  The light was better in the middle of the day (we started our tour at 12:40pm so the sun was directly ahead, making the most beautiful rays of light. Our tour guide told us incredible stories, showed us fascinating rock formations and taught us the secret to getting the perfect shot in the lighting given. All the photos I have posted are from an iPhone, so you can see how easy it is to snap the natural beauty. If you would like an individual photo tour, you can pay a little more to be on your own and take your own time through the canyon with a guide. 

Happy Travels!
                                  

Day at SeaWorld

RIP My Normal Life

Craptastic Day at SeaWorld

My day at SeaWorld was filled with joy! And Bird Crap. My mother and I took a spur of the moment trip to San Diego this past May to have one last trip before I went off to college. I did everything I was supposed to do as a SeaWorld Guest. I used their complimentary lockers; I took plenty of touristy photos, some even with incoherent thumbs up and cheesy grins. I tried not to make the stink face when I was around the flamingos that reeked of fishy poo. I rode the fun adult rides and facebooked some pictures of me petting the stingrays, which was coolest thing ever! -I even plotted how I could sneak one out to take home as a pet, but came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t fit into my mom’s 1994 fanny pack or my drawstring bag. I did everything a SeaWorld guest would do. So why did I get crapped on?

It was lunchtime and we were famished. We had settled on the least expensive thing, a hamburger to share. I sat down on the quaint metal chairs and waited for my mother to return from getting her drink so we could share our burger. I admired a little boy sitting in his stroller holding a hot dog like a lollypop. He was pointing at a bird smiling. All in an instant a pelican swooped down, and pecked the hot dog out of the boy’s bun and gobbled it up in one swallow, before shrieking at the boy and flying away. The boy of about two watched the whole thing, awestruck. When it hit him he cried and screamed, “the birdy took my wiener!” “He took my wiener!” (Hysterics)“my wiener!” –You get the point, he was devastated about his missing sausage. In horror the mother who was on the cell phone and hadn’t been paying attention turned and tried to console him. I sat in amazement, catching flies in my open mouth.

My mother returned and I took a bite of my hamburger. “Yummy! I’m starving!” I thought. As I lifted the burger to take a second bite I felt a drop. -More of a plop on my cheek. Immediately I smelled the fishy crap and tried wiping it off. My mom assured me it was nothing, probably my imagination. I then looked down at the burger depressed because the overwhelming smell of the fishy stench that had fallen on my face had completely killed my appetite. It was then that I noticed a blob of white on the burger.

“Mom, you sure you didn’t put mayo on this?” I hoped that she did.

“No why?” she said.

I then turned the poo burger towards her and rushed to the bathroom to wipe scrub burn it off my face.

Luckily we got a new (free) burger, which we took into the covered cabana and ate under security of a thatched roof. I hovered over that burger like the hunchback of Notre dame, to insure no bird could drop anything on it again, although I’m sure I just freaked the normal people out sitting near me.

Just remember three things when you go to SeaWorld:

1.     Take Cover

2.     Birds are not your friends

3.     Don’t get the wiener

Thanks For Reading 

Photo Cred : http://pilskalns.blogspot.com/2011/04/world-bird-watery-wednesday-pelican_12.html