Ayala Octoberfest part 2

Day 2

Those of you who know me well know that I live on itineraries while on vacation. I am seriously afraid that I will miss out on something exciting if I do not plan out the day's activities well in advance.

We did have a plan but, we were very flexible with our time on this trip ... we slept in and had an amazing breakfast at Mike and Rhonda's "The Place". Never been there?? Too bad 'cause it is some seriously good eats.. and like Nancie said, " If you do it right...you won't have to eat again for three days!"

We left there with VERY full tummies and headed for Snowbowl ski resort to take a trip on the Scenic Skyride ( AKA Chair lift during ski season)

Turns out that the road is a very scenic one which we all enjoyed very much until it got a little too winding. About this time the thought crosses my mind. " I cannot believe no one is getting car sick yet." Hmm.

Jen, " I feel sick"

Me, " get the puke bowl" ( never leave home without it!)

Jen, " I left it in the hotel... I'm gonna throw up."

Fortuantely, she had her adorable little plastic tote we made for last summer's vacation which quickly got emptied and then filled with Jen's breakfast. Thankfully, we were just pulling into the parking lot about then.

After about 5 minutes of puke stories from everyone in the family while dad cleaned up the mess... we trudged up the hill to the sky ride. Oh the joys of being a parent~

Now, I know what you are probably thinking about now.... Michelle...on a lift?....hundreds of feet above the ground ? with only a small metal bar to prevent her from plunging to an early death??

Yeah. It's true. Time for mom to suck it up and take one for the team. I was not going to let my extreme fear of heights ruin this really cool experience for the kids.

See that red line up the middle??? That is the sky ride. We climbed a little over 2000 feet in altitude over the space of 25 ( terrifying) minutes.

If you look carefully.. you can see the lift up the side of the mountain here.

This was when everyone on our lift was still smiling. Two minutes later Jen and Jocelyn both had a death grip on the safety rail and were repeating, " We're gonna die... We're gonna die."

My thoughts exactly.

"We ARE NOT going to die." I said. Wish I could have believed it.

A few minutes later....

Jocelyn ( who apparantly is also deathy afraid of heights- who knew?) started talking to herself, "Don't look down.... don't look down"

Of course

we looked down.... then quickly shut our eyes.

Chino, Jolie and Jan were on the lift in front of us... yucking it up.. singing songs ... havin' a grand old time. Lucky them.

Boy were we glad to be at the top of the mountain! Boy... was I ticked that the camera batteries had died and I did not have back-ups in my purse. Oh well. Take our word for it. The view was amazing.

And because Jen has the world's smallest bladder, We got to use Arizona's highest bathroom. Wahoo. 11,500 ft elevation. It was pretty darn chilly up there!!

The ride down was a little easier. Very peaceful. Incredible views. This time Jen and Jolie rode with me and half way down the mountain we broke into an inspired rendition of " God Bless America". Good Times.

After a gorgeous ( and uneventful) drive back to town..

we visited the Pioneer History Museum.. housed in Flagstaff's hospital for the poor. Chino and I got a kick out of the "Operating Room".. talk about your ancient artifacts!! Glad I wasn't a nurse back then.

Jolie liked this marble game in the children's area ( Yes... it really was cold enough

for that jacket)

Jocelyn and Dad had fun dressing up in Pioneer garb and playing with guns ( yes,. toy guns!)

After exploring the main building... we checked out the old log cabin and logging train. Educational and Entertaining... my favorite!

Then.. back to the hotel for naps/swimming/ and a Phineas and Ferb marathon before dinner. Ahhhh... the good life.

After dinner... Chino wanted to sit out in the courtyard around the fire but... our thin blooded Arizona daughters boycotted that idea and headed straight for the warm cozy hotel of their dreams. Party poopers.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 3....