Saturday, July 1, through Saturday, July 15: Family, Friends, and Travel Plans

It is always nice to enjoy the room accommodations at the downtown Jonathan Club. I originally booked a regular room, but upgraded to a suite for the two nights. Tom and I were invited to a casual early lunch at Honoria Vivell's home in San Marino. Honoria has been a friend of mine for 33 years. She lost her husband unexpectedly in April, 2009. Fortunately, she later met and married Richard Petrie. They will be celebrating their 2nd anniversary on July 5. Richard was not available for lunch, but we had a nice visit.

And Tom fit right in!

Molly and Matt's wedding was at San Gabriel Country Club. Tom and I were asked to come early for family pictures. Molly is the daughter of my brother, Peter. Molly's mother, Terry,was the mother of the bride and the matron of honor. How special!

And, then there was the father of the bride and the bride!

The weather was perfect. The venue was beautiful. The bride and groom were awesome!

It was a evening of friends, family, and celebration.

Later that night, Tom and I were charged with picking up four trays of mini chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A and dropping them off at the Shelton home. It was very fitting. Bride Molly was born in Atlanta and Chick-fil-A was born in Atlanta.

The next morning, Dudley Doan, the grandmother of the bride, hosted a lovely brunch at her home adjacent to San Gabriel Country Club. This was the first time I have ever 
visited her home. Lovely pool in the backyard!

After the brunch, Tom and I headed back to Williams. Every two hours or so, we switched drivers. We arrived home by 7:00 pm.

The next morning, I drove to Cinder Hills Kennel to pick up the dogs. One of the owners of the kennel said that Libby began throwing up that morning. That was a warning sign for me. I was going to watch Libby for the next day or two.

That afternoon, Loretta Scholbe arrived. Loretta was scheduled to spend two nights at my Williams home. I have known Loretta for over 40 years. Her ex-husband, Roger, and my ex-husband, Bill Madden, served in the army together. All four of us lived in West Germany from the mid to late 1970s. Loretta is currently living in Washington State and is heading to a family wedding in Austin, Texas. It was a fun visit.

The morning of the 4th of July, I took Loretta to Bearizona, the Drive Thru Wild Animal Park. It is always a nice place to take guests.

That afternoon, all three of us celebrated the 4th of July by grilling hamburgers and having the usual side dishes --- baked beans and coleslaw. It was a festive time!

Before the end of the day, I found out through Facebook --- and contacting a mutual friend --- that a wonderful lady, Dorthy Westmoreland, was found dead in her Grand Canyon apartment. She had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and it must have got the best of her. Darn! Dorthy had a bright and shiny smile and attitude. Dorthy called me the day before "what would have been" Richard's 79th birthday. She will be missed!

Early morning on July 3, Loretta headed off toward Austin. It was going to take her two more days to reach her distination. I also received a call from Camping World. My travel trailer warranty work had been completed and it was ready to be picked. It only took them four weeks this time 😎. Tom and I drove the half hour to Camping World and brought the trailer home. I backed the trailer in the RV barn successfully!

Libby was not right. She no longer was throwing up, she had diarrhea. So, I called and made an appointment for her on Thursday, July 6. It was time to take her back to Canyon Pet Hospital in Flagstaff. She had a 10:00 am appointment. After some testing, it was confirmed that she had another bout of pancreatitis. Fortunately, it was caught early and home care was recommended.

Friday night, I had a little bit of cabin fever. So, I suggested to Tom that we should go have an adult beverage in town. We first headed to Bearizona --- to have cocktails at the new Canyonlands Restaurant there. But, Bearizona had a power outage, so we ended up at Spenser's Pub at the Grand Canyon Railway. It was happy hour and they offered complimentary chips and salsa.

It was fun chatting with several couples who were in Williams on vacation --- and heading to the Grand Canyon.

The Verizon internet in my home has not been working well. I decided it was time to get a real internet connection through CenturyLink. In conjunction with DirecTV, they were running a promotion of $44.95 per month for two years. The technician is arriving on Monday for installation.

On Saturday, Tom and I took the dogs to the Bill Williams trailhead --- only five minutes away. We walked only about 1 1/2 miles --- it is monsoon season and the clouds looked threatening!

The CenturyLink technician, Everett, arrived mid morning on Monday, July 10. It took him several hours to hook up everything. My home has no landline, so Everett had to activate a line for the internet modem. Before he left, we made sure all was in working order. Yeah!

Later that afternoon, I drove up to the Community Center at the Grand Canyon. Dorthy's Memorial Service was at 6 pm. I sat next to my friend, Nancy Charette. There were close to 150 people in attendance. It was a nice send-off!

Since I was going to vacation in Eastern Europe beginning July 16, I decided to have a color touch-up with my hair stylist Shawna. On Wednesday, Tom and I drove to Flagstaff. He ran some errands while I was at the hair salon. We also picked up a few groceries at a non-Safeway option --- Basha's.

Thursday was the arrival of newly weds, Molly and Matt. Less than two weeks ago, Tom and I were toasting their union at San Gabriel Country Club. My niece Molly, and her new husband, Matt, were on a cross-country drive to the east coast. Matt has never been to the Grand Canyon, and Molly was there as a teenager. We had a late dinner of appetizers and sandwiches.

What fun to share a few days of their honeymoon! On Friday, I took Molly and Matt to the Grand Canyon. Tom, bless his heart, took the dogs to the Cinder Hills Kennel. 

It was a beautiful day at the canyon. The first stop was the Visitor Center and taking a shuttle to South Kaibab Trailhead. The second stop was parking in the Bright Angel Lodge parking lot and visiting Kolb Studio, Bright Angel Lodge, El Tovar Hotel, and Hopi House. 

The third stop was the Yavapai Geological Museum and a view of the Colorado River with the bridge that transports hikers across the river to Phantom Ranch and the rest of the Kaibab Trail.

That evening, we had a final and farewell dinner at the Red Raven Restaurant. It was the first time for Tom, Molly, and Matt. Always a great place to dine!

The next morning, Molly and Matt headed off to spend the night in Ft. Smith, Oklahoma. Tom headed off to Nevada, and I headed off to California. I'll be spending the night with my sister, Carrie. Then, we head off to Eastern Europe the next evening!