When Bryna was still working on her degree she had to go to Phoenix AZ twice for a one-week residency. The first time we flew but Ana was still in Bryna’s belly we just found out she was pregnant didn’t even know if it was a boy or girl. The second time we drove to Arizona, Ana was only 10 months old. Both times we had fun as a family, and this was Ana’s first road trip.
The first time we went to Phoenix Arizona we decided to fly. At the time we had two dogs and put them in a kennel for the time we were gone. Everything went smoothly until we tried to pick-up our rental car. Weeks before I reserve a car at the airport, but when we got there they were closed. We found out baseball spring training was in town and every car was taken early. After running around, we finally got a van for the day, and ended up trading it in for a car the next day.
It was a busy week, Bryna had to get up early for class, and after she had homework to do. After the homework we still needed to eat, every day ended up being late to bed.
The next time Bryna had her residency was in late July 2018. After looking at all of the options we decided to take a family road trip and drive to Phoenix. We had lost one dog since the first trip, but we would take Jimmy with us this time. We purchased a roof rack for extra storage space, booked the hotel and drove off to start the trip.
When the GPS tells you that the trip will take 35 hours that is a lot to take in. Of course, we broke that up into a couple of nights. There were no problems driving it just took a while.
The hotel we stayed at had a pool. Soon after Bryna was in class Ana and I went for a swim. Ana loves the water and wanted to stay in all day. In Phoenix temperature 106° F (41.1° C) but the pool was in shade for the first half of the day. When the shade was gone we had to retreat back inside. Even in the pool with the temperatures it was too hot for Ana and I to be outside.
Bryna was very busy, getting up early to eat breakfast, get ready for class. Ana again after class had a lot of homework. The hotel we stayed at did have a kitchen, so I tried to help with the cooking.
After Bryna was done with the residency we had time for a quick trip. The Grand Canyon was about 3 hours away, but we decided to stop in and see Ana’s grandpa in Wisconsin.
Phoenix to Wisconsin is 27-hour trip, so again we ended up stopping for the night. This would be the first time my dad would see Ana. When we got to grandpa’s house, he was so happy to finally see Ana, and the rest of the family. The next day we went to see my Grandma, Ana’s great Grandma. She was also so happy to see and hold Ana for the first time. Later in the day My sister Rose came over and everyone went out to eat that afternoon.
Overall, both trips were fun. But would I drive or fly if we had to go again. That would depend on what we were doing. If we flew the second time, we would have to arrange anther flight to Wisconsin, along with another car rental. We had fun driving on Ana first road trip.
