A Birthday Getaway

Not my birthday.

Jan. 27 would have been my mom’s 68th birthday. I was dreading it and decided to take the day off from work, so I could lay in bed and cry if that’s how the day went. Then I got the brilliant idea to take the whole week off, and then it turned out that it was a Zoom-free week for Michaela’s school. So we decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon, which I’d always wanted to see.

Facing inclement weather, we took then less scenic I-15 to 1-40 route, which got us there safely and with minimal snow during our drive time. Good thing, too, because it proceeded to snow more than a foot on the route we would have taken!

When we got to the Grand Canyon, it was unlike anything I’d ever seen. There was snow EVERYWHERE. It was snowing. The ground was covered in snow. Buildings and cars were covered in icicles. It was in the teens when we arrived and highs were in the 20s during most of our stay. That’s a lot of weather for two San Diego girls!

Michaela loves the snow and had a blast diving in it, making snowballs and snowmen, and sledding. We drank gallons of hot chocolate and hiked around the rim on the canyon– which we couldn’t see! It was so snowy and so socked in with fog that we literally could only see quick glimpses of it when the snow slowed or the fog shifted. It was a real winter wonderland, and it was delightful.

Because of the weather, we ended up adding another night at the Grand Canyon, so we were there when the storm finally passed and the sun came out. So, on our last day there, we woke up at dawn to watch the sun rise over the canyon and then retreated to our room, which was in the park and had a view of the canyon, to warm up and soak in the panorama.

My mom always loved the colors of the desert and the idea of Arizona livin’ (sadly, she never went), so it felt right to be there on her birthday. Being there was a pleasant distraction, though I couldn’t help but miss her. It was weird to not buy a postcard for her on our travels. It was weird not to call her and tell her about our adventures. And of course more fundamentally, it was heartbreaking not to be able to celebrate with her by having breakfast, which was our go-to tradition.

I guess I have to get used to it.