Jorel here! Did you miss me? I don’t blame you! It’s been way too long since my last post, and you all are probably foaming at the mouth waiting for more news about Bailey Day’s ventures. Well, lucky for you, I have exactly what you need. You’re probably wondering…
Where in the world was Bailey Day?
Well, I’ll tell you! Day took a trip to the Grand Canyon state, Arizona! But she wasn’t there to visit the Grand Canyon. She was there to visit her beloved grandparents who she hadn’t seen in years! I went too, of course, but this is about Bailey Day, not me. I know what you’re thinking. Travelling to Arizona? During this crazy time in our world? You heathens! Now, now, as Day would say, “Don’t overreact, y’all!” We followed all of the standard pandemic procedures. Masks? Check. Social distance? Check. Hand sanitizer after touching anything and everything? Checkamundo! No germs were going to touch us! And besides, out grandparents are getting. . .well. . . to put it lightly. . .OLD! This might have been the last chance we ever got to see our grandfather who has had some serious health issues in the past. I’m glad that we travelled all the way to Arizona to see them. Let me tell you more about that!
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Day woke up bright and early one day with her bags packed and a long weekend ahead of her. But with her mother and brother (that’s me!) and cousins at her side, she was ready to seize the day. It was a slow day at the airport, so we had minimal problems going through security, although I accidentally set off the metal detector after it detected an old fruit bar wrapper in my back pocket. How embarrassing!
Anyway, how many years has it been since Bailey Day and I have flown in an airplane? Hmm. . .I’d say about 10 years. It’s not a new experience for us, but with how long it has been since our last flight, it might as well be. Day was very nervous during our first takeoff; she insisted that we hold hands until we were safely in the air. Not only that, but she insisted that we hold hands during our descent into the next airport as well! And just so you know, the rest of our flights followed a similar pattern, so I got to hold Bailey Day’s hand a total of 8 times, for several minutes each time! Jealous? I thought so. Everything went smoothly, and according to Bailey Day “That first flight was magical”. And regarding the second flight, Bailey Day simply stated: “It made me nauseous”. The view from the plane was great though.
We touched down in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the friendliest airport in the nation. We stepped outside of the cool, hospitable airport and into the scorching, unrelenting hellscape that was Arizona. I asked Day to describe what it was like for her in the Grand Canyon State, and Day summed it up in a single word: “Hot”. And I agree wholeheartedly. It was very hot. As my mom would say: “Praise the Lord for air-conditioning!”
After a long time of waiting and waiting and waiting some more to rent a car, and after a lot of driving and driving and driving, we finally reached our grandparents house. They were elated to see us and impressed that we all hadn’t melted down into our shoes yet! After taking showers and shooting the breeze with the old folks, it was off to bed for our sleepy heads!
When living in Arizona, staying cool is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself. A lot of people in our grandparent’s neighborhood owned swimming pools, a perfect tool to keep your cool in the summer. Our grandparent’s, gladly, were no exception. The first thing that Day wanted to do on her first morning in Arizona was to swim in our grandparent’s pool. We both got changed into our swimming gear, applied a generous amount of sunscreen to our exposed areas, and headed outside. Day wanted me to make a note of our grandparent’s pool cleaner, which my mom, her sister, and my grandparents have all passively agreed to nickname Ursula, due to its resemblance to an undersea squid creature. “Ursula was the best,” according to Bailey Day. I hope by that remark that she doesn’t mean that Ursula was the best part of the entire trip, because if that’s the case, Day and I need to have a talk.
Our grandparents have a dog named Pepper. “Pepper didn’t like you.” Thanks, Day, I know. Whenever Pepper would see me, she barked at me and ran away to hide under the davenport; not exactly a welcoming gesture. I tried my best to get on her good side, but every attempt ended in the same way; Pepper would bark at me and hide from me. At least Day found this whole thing amusing. Pepper did eventually warm up to me after a few days, but we never did fully become the best of friends.
Not only are the days scorching hot in Arizona, but the nights are on the border of scorching hot as well. We went for a few nightly walks during our time at our grandparents, mostly due to the fact that only a maniac would think that it was safe to walk around during the day. Even though the entire state of Arizona is pretty much a desert ecosystem, plants still grow in large numbers. And I bet I know what the state plant is! The cactus! Cacti literally grew everywhere. You couldn’t walk two steps without seeing some kind of prickly pear. The most impressive cactus we saw was the good old Saguaro cactus. They grew almost as tall as a two-story house! “I had no idea cacti could grow that big!” claimed Day.
Really though, the best part about being in Arizona was getting to hang out with our grandparents. Day requited to them her dreams of pursuing a career as an author, which they seemed fully in support of. Grandma and Grandpa told very interesting stories of their time in Arizona, like when that falcon picked up a neighbor’s dog and dropped it into the local golf course. That was a very. . .unsettling anecdote. And most of all, we played games with them. No, not phone games or video games. Real, physical, card games! With actual, genuine playing cards! We played Canasta, Golf, Train with a set of dominoes, and we would have played more if we had more time. It was good to get away from all of the screens and have some honest, old-fashioned fun.
All good things must come to an end, however. On the day of our departure, we did everything that we did to get to our grandparent’s house, except in reverse! We drove and drove and drove back to the airport and waited and waited and waited for our plane to arrive at the nation’s friendliest airport. Then we took two long plane trips back to our town, and drove the rest of the way home.
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Wow! What a trip! I wasn’t expecting to take a vacation this summer! “I don’t know if I would call it a vacation,” says Bailey Day. Well nevertheless, I at least feel refreshed and recharged after the trip. And I bet Day does as well! Expect to see more from her very soon! This is your insider to everything Bailey Day, Jorel, telling you to have a good one! Stay healthy everybody!
Jorel signing out.