A (future) Southwest Saga

During the time that Team WestEnders was all together for the holidays, we opened the discussion we like to call “where in the world should we go for our Summer vacation?” And lemme tell ya, it’s always…ahem…a spirited conversation, to say the least. Mostly because Husband and Derek tend to amuse themselves by throwing out random places chosen strictly based on how 1) inappropriate (“we’d NEVER go there”); 2) undesirable (“why the heck would we even WANT to go there?”); or 3) sheer ridiculousness (“seriously, guys, NO ONE EVER goes there, for good reason). So yeah, it’s…a process.

Frankly, the only member of our merry little band to express, you know, reasonable and valid sentiments about the destination was (not surprisingly) Riley. But rather than brave the onslaught of nonsense being perpetrated by his father and sibling, he pulled me aside privately later to share his thoughts. His first point made a great deal of sense, when considering things logically: he noted that our successful recent forays have involved a combination of nature appreciation and urban exploring. In other words, he wanted to make sure we didn’t just go on a hiking expedition, but also had a city to wander around as well.

His second idea sprang from a more personal preference, however; he lobbied that we NOT stay at any more AirBnB properties. When asked for a reason, he shook his head ruefully and admitted, “It’s just…not my thing.” Further gentle prompting elicited, “We’ve just had some…weird experiences.” Why, whatever could he mean? Well…I suppose he might be referencing the condo in Boulder, where the owner evidently stockpiled every partially-used shampoo bottle ever left by guests…and provided a pantry chock full or expired Power Bars, presumably for her renters’ culinary delight.

Or for that matter, the chic, upscale townhome in Vancouver last year, which lacked a couple of modern conveniences we (admittedly spoiled Americans) take for granted… such as central AC and a cable subscription…but nevertheless boasted skylights in the bedrooms that graciously allowed the 5 a.m. sunrise to beam directly onto the less-than-grateful faces of its slumberers.

Oh….kaaaay…I’m gonna go ahead and give him this one. “So what you want,” I clarified, “is a name-brand hotel chain where all the locations are designed to be exactly the same, and you therefore know what to expect ahead of time?” “YESSS!” he enthusiastically replied. Alrighty, then…Marriott, here we come!

After that minor detour to the planning journey, we could get back to the business of actually nailing down someplace we’d all like to visit. Since I’ve mentioned that my people weren’t inclined to be what you might call “helpful”, I wracked my own brain and came up with…Arizona…as a potential answer. After all, it automatically fulfilled one requirement, in that I’m the only one of the fam who’s been there before (just once, to the Grand Canyon, a loooong time ago). Plus, I knew that the others were intrigued by the Southwest, as a region they’ve never set foot in at ALL.

So, the one assistant I could count on—that would be Riley again, of course—did some research with me on activities, environment, blah blah blah, to try and decide if it would suit our needs. And whattya know, we discovered natural wonders galore (a national forest, a U.S. park, a tourable cave), and an interesting variety of landscapes (mountains, desert, canyons)…all just outside of (drumroll, please…) Tucson (estimated population just under a million, fulfilling our demands for “civilization” to balance the “wilderness”). Ding ding ding: I think we have a winner!

The rest of the Male Contingent were mostly amenable to this suggestion—but to be honest Derek’s only comment was that we’re “continuing to live out a Chainsmokers song”, thus he was totally cool with that. (You see what I’m working with, here? Goof. Ball….although if he insists that we stick with this trend, the only choice for our next stop would have to be…Paris…so perhaps I shouldn’t shut him down just yet! TBD…) Husband, on the other hand, voiced—admittedly rational--concerns about “how HOT it’s going to be in that part of the country…in July”. While this is certainly fair…there’s also not One. Damn. Thing. we can do about it, sooo…I think we’re just gonna have to commit to some early morning jaunts to beat the worst of the blazing sun….and otherwise suck it up.

Whew! Dealing with the Getaway Committee can be so challenging at times! But once we had…Board Approval…I dutifully scouted and booked our flights. And then I was free to tackle…the accommodations conundrum. The problem here is that we are now 4 basically full-sized humans, who need space to spread out and not be on top of each other for 5 days, and especially enough beds so that we can sleep comfortably. (Hence the reason I’d moved toward private rentals, which sometimes can land you at the sweet intersection where affordability meets square footage. Buuuuut you also take your chances on the…quirky…which apparently I’ve been forbidden from doing. Siiiighhhhh….)

Fortunately, I finally figured out that what we really need from here on out is: a 2-bedroom suite (with Queen beds). Once that became clear and I knew what I was seeking, it was just one more small step until I reached…yep, one of the Marriotts! (Riley was thrilled…) And as usual, that’s all I can do ahead of time, so now…we wait… but we can dream of cacti…caverns…and cowboys to come!