Day 8 Saturday, June 23rd
Well, this is the one day of any vacation that everyone dreads
..the last day. But it is also our most anticipated day. We have a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon scheduled.
We wake up early to go have breakfast in the hotel restaurant again. We finish breakfast pretty early and we are supposed to be at the Grand Canyon Airport at 10:30 for our 11:00 flight. The Grand Canyon airport which is an airport specifically for airplane and helicopter tours is literally ½ a mile from our hotel. The planes that land there, well, we were able to see the pilots face when they would come in to land. It was pretty cool.
Anyway, we had a little time to kill, so we walked to this Native American craft festival they were having next door to the hotel. They were pretty much just setting up everything, but DW wanted to find a bracelet she was looking for. She said she wanted to come back later.
Well, now we go over to the airport. We check in and they make us watch a safety video. The helicopters are taking off about every 15 25 minutes. Finally, it is our time to board. Colton is the lucky passenger who gets to sit in the co-pilots seat. The rest of us are in the back.
We start out flying over the Forest that we had taken our Sunset Jeep tour through the night before. And then the pilot says we are approaching the rim
..and the view when you read the rim and first fly over the Grand Canyon is breathtaking. I look over at DW and she has tears in her eyes. Absolutely incredible.
The pilot talks to us through the headphones during the trip. And then he starts telling Colton about the controls. And of course
.he lets Colton fly the helicopter. What a thrill for him. And while the pilot is not speaking to us, there is inspiring music played through the headphones.
And then comes our Disney moment
the music that begins playing is the theme song to Fantasmic! As soon as it begins playing, Colton turns around and looks at me and smiles. A little bit if Disney at the Grand Canyon.
The helicopter tour lasts about an hour. We fly from the South Rim to the East Rim over by the North Rim and back. Completely awe-inspiring.
And way too soon, it is over. We get back and the pilot says he has to shut down for awhile and asks if we went to take pictures and look around. Of course we say yes. He was great.
DW said it was the best thing she had ever done. This coming from someone with a fear of heights. She really overcame her fear of heights on this trip.
After the helicopter tour, we go back to the Native American Festival. DW finds a bracelet she wants, as well as a few other items. I have a seat and watch the dancers.
After the Festival, we decided to go back to the rim and probably take one last little hike and say our good-bye to the Canyon. We took a few last looks and said our farewell. We were going to go back to the hotel, have dinner and have a little more pool time before getting to bed early. We planned on leaving for home about 6:00 am the next morning.
We once again have dinner at the hotel restaurant as the choices to dine in Tusayan is very limited. After dinner we get on our bathing suits and head to the pool. We pretty much have the pool all to ourselves. It is cold, but not nearly as cold as it was the other night. DW swims with us this time.
We go back to the room and pack up as much stuff as we can pack and load ahead of time. I have the van 90% packed before we go to sleep.
Ah
.the end of another fantastic pozey family vacation. Well, except for the ride home.
2003
you DO need a trip
You'll have a blast I'm sure. My boss will be there that week too...better for the lighter crowds! Mike wanted to go over Christmas...as if I'm going to say NO
well, I have seen lobster on the menu at McD's before...in Maine of coarse 
they just take advantage of their location!
I am so, so excited about this trip!! 
) is worth it!!if we do do it, I would like to do it on December 20, that's Jeremiah's birthday.....
