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Monday, September 24, 2018

Taking a Sun City Anthem Bus Trip...An Odyssey of a Blog Owner's Wife


Nothing Like a Sun City Anthem Bus Trip

Image result for cartoon bus full of seniors

It all started with the best of intentions.  My girlfriend Linda and I decided that since our husbands, Dick & Jack, refused to share our "nature experience", we came to the conclusion, "Who needs them, we're going anyway"!

And so we did...

...on a Sun City Anthem bus trip to what we both referred to as "The Great Unknown" to Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons,  Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Salt Lake City, before we would return 5 days later to those "lumps" who preferred Chicago Cubs baseball telecasts over accompanying their lovely wives on a trip, we had begged to go on for years !

What the "lumps" really complained about was the $859 it cost each of us to go, but after spending the greatest part of our lives with them, we believed we deserved it.

And so...we went !

My husband, the guy who writes this blog, dropped me off at 7:30am in front of Anthem Center to catch "the bus" along with about 50 other souls who, like us, wanted to explore "The Great Unknown"...

...before we, like the other seniors on the bus,  would enter "the FINAL great unknown".

The first day of the trip lasted 13 hours from 8:00am to 9:00pm with a scheduled lunch and dinner stop on the way to "no man's land" in Pocatello, Idaho.

Image result for Pocatello, Idaho

Not long after the bus "adventure" began, it was discovered that the lavatory on this massive transportation marvel wouldn't flush.

My guess is that might have been part of the master plan because our appetites left a bit to be desired as a result of the "fragrance" being emitted from the back of the bus.

But alas, we made it to our first "5 star dining experience" in Bountiful, Utah at the "Chuck-A-Rama" buffet.

Image result for chuckarama bountiful utah

The name was not very appetizing so we passed on "Chuck" and instead went to "Cafe Rio" across the parking lot in the same "Western themed" Strip Mall.

Image result for cafe rio bountiful ut

We were entering "The Wild West" and like "Blazing Saddles", the  beans we ate at dinner provided musical entertainment to the other people on the bus for the next three hours of our trip to get to our first "luxurious" hotel.

Image result for blazing saddles fart scene

Finally, at 9:00pm we reached "beautiful Pocatello" and pulled up to our accommodations for the evening, a Best Western hotel...

...with two floors, and NO elevator !

Oh, the amusement of watching seniors "schlepping" their vast amounts of luggage up those stairs, accentuated the "bean" effect of the meal we had consumed a few hours earlier, propelled us up those stairs as if NASA was preparing a launch ! 
Image result for cartoon seniors carrying luggage
OK, we slept and wept... as we pondered the next day's "adventure".

I must digress at this point and say a few words about the tour guide...the man who was to explain the fabulous sights we would witness...

...had a stuttering problem.

He meant well, but...he had a stuttering problem...

...which meant that all too often, many of us would look at each other and say...

Image result for huh?

On day 2, after another three hours on the bus, we stopped for lunch, and entered Yellowstone !

We had arrived at our first scenic destination...

...at the same time millions of other people decided to arrive !

As our bus "cruised" past the incredible beauty, along with the other million drivers, suddenly everything came to an abrupt halt !

Inching along, we finally came upon a buffalo who decided to join the traffic;  and the beast, knowing he was a protected species, decided to saunter along to enjoy the sights, stopping at will, and creating a traffic jam which reminded Linda and I of Chicago rush hour !



You have no idea how much we suddenly had a craving for freshly cooked "Buffalo..burgers" !


Well, Yellowstone was phenomenal. The sights would never be forgotten, and at 6:00 p.m. we went to check into our hotel in West Yellowstone.

I was excited to call my husband to tell him of the fabulous day we had.

His first question to me?

Did you see Yogi and Boo Boo ?


Image result for yogi and boo boo movie moving

Told you he was a "lump" !

When we checked into the "Day's Inn" (another "5 star'er"), we were told that there was a "scheduled power outage" between 1:00am to 4:00am.


Image result for huh?

This created a few new problems neither of us anticipated.

First, having no power,  trying to negotiate the path to the bathroom in the middle of the night was challenging without light to guide you there.


Image result for cartoon eyes in the dark

Second, we were told that the bus would begin loading in the morning at 7:30am with an 8:00am departure; however, the hotel restaurant, also "powerless," was unable to open until 7 am causing a backup in feeding the flock of starving seniors who had BEEN PROMISED a breakfast.  

A few boarded the bus still starving...including us...who couldn't get fed before the bus departed.

OK, so no breakfast, but we were in the Wild West, where pioneer women suffered...but...no "breakkie" doesn't work well with Sun City Anthem  "Princesses".


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So off we went to spend another half day at Yellowstone, before leaving the Park and continuing on to Jackson Lake Lodge where we were promised the "best view of The Grand Tetons" and the "The Longest Lunch Counter in the USA"...before continuing on to our final destination, Jackson Hole.

And...like Yellowstone, the scenery was breathtaking, and the lunch counter was....long !

We were scheduled to spend the evening at "The 49er" hotel that evening.


Image result for fortyniner hotel jackson hole

We arrived...and chaos commenced as the reservations evidently weren't updated, leaving a number of us in limbo as to our room assignments.

To solve the problem?

Lay all the keys out on a step with a name attached to them and one by one, have a man who stutters, call each person's name to "claim" their evening domain....

...except us and a few other couples who had no keys

Enough said...we eventually were assigned our room and it was time to dine !

This was Linda's "7...th" birthday, and our goal was to celebrate... cowboy style.

We had to walk about 4-5 blocks into the downtown area and there it was, The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar where I would take Linda for drinks and then into the Steakhouse for dinner.

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Linda loved the Bar due to a fellow patron giving her the attention she needed on her birthday.



Upon checking out the menu at the Steakhouse we noticed the "casual place" listed a steak ala carte for $66.


Image result for huh?

I love Linda, but my love had limits..and we ended up at "Bubba's BBQ".


Image result for bubba's bbq jackson hole


Enough said, ain't nothing like beer(s), wine(s), and BBQ while watching a few "Bubbas" with cowboy hats and big belt buckles doin' a 2-step !

Day 4 was traveling from Jackson Hole to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, so us bathing beauties could soak in a hot mineral spring and pamper ourselves, getting rid of the aches and pains of walking mile after mile and spending long hours on a bus...while continuing to digest Bubba's BBQ!



Then it was off to our final destination, Salt Lake City.   

As had been the tradition by now, we stopped for lunch in "No Man's Land Two" where we could choose between "Taco Time" and "A&W Root Beer" for our next dining experience.


Image result for huh?

After the bus driver polled the bus passengers, the group instead opted for only a "pit stop", making a quick getaway to Salt Lake City, arriving at about 3:00pm. 

Once we checked into the Hilton, the bus reloaded at 4:00pm.  and we departed for the State Capital Building to make up for our "Lunch debacle".  

The Capital Building was amazing after which we went into downtown for dinner on our own.

Day 5 took us into Salt Lake City's Temple Square, where the Mormon Tabernacle, Morman Temple, Family History Center, and other buildings are located.  Just fabulous! 

Now it was time to go home... passing a large fire that had engulfed a nearby mountain sparked by lightning and accelerated by high winds which caused the bus to do "the Macarena" on the highway as it traveled though Utah.
Image result for cartoon macarena moving
As we prepared to make our final pit stop, a gentleman from SCA-TV  decided he wanted to take a group photo, so we departed the bus in the middle of those heavy winds,  holding on to each other as we gathered together...

... looking toward the sky for a witch on a bicycle.


Image result for wicked witch on bicycle moving in tornado

I'm sure that picture will somehow find its way on SCA-TV or The Spirit magazine one of these days.

Oh yeah, one last episode.

The tour guide decided not to stop for dinner in St. George, Utah, and continued onward to Anthem Center.

We were hungry, so hungry, that we even started to crave...

Image result for taco time restaurants

&

Image result for a&w root beer logo

Got home to hubby only to find out the air conditioning wasn't working along with a house that only a man can destroy in such a short period of time.

Nonetheless...

A great time with a great friend to a great place with some great people !

LInda and I will never forget the wildlife !




Friends forever !


Linda Dawson & Marla Levey (Arendt)
  1. From Roseann Picca...to...Anthem Opinions

    Dick,

    I really enjoyed this article!

    Please tell your wife, "thank you" for giving me a few laughs.

    I don't know your wife, but I do know Linda!  We play Bunco on Monday night.

    I thank you for all the time you invest in keeping us informed of what is going on in our Community.
  2. Thanks Roseann.

    I know both Linda and her husband, Jack.  Love both of them.

    As far as the other one, after 32 years, I guess I'll just have to keep her..I still think she's as cute as the day I met her.
  3. From Rana Goodman...to...Anthem Opinions

    Marla’s adventure story was wonderful, funny, and gave me a mental picture of the whole debacle.

    However, adventure it was and sounds like she had fun in spite of the down side.

    Now I think we will plan that road trip in my daughter’s RV... LOL
  4. Rana,

    Glad you like Marla's "adventure"...now I have to stop laughing while I'm picturing you driving a huge RV across the country while talking on a CB radio saying "Breaker 19"
  5. From Diane Rosen...to...Anthem Opinions

    Your article was a riot. Especially love the "huh?"

    Good job!

    1. From Jill from Chicago...to...Anthem Opinions

      Loved this !

      Quite a journey.

      Marla, so proud of you for going and doing something that was appealing to you...

      ...and.. to Dick, next time hide the evidence by getting a cleaning lady to clean the house before she gets home.
    2. Jill,

      The garbage pick-up didn't get here until 3 days after she got home. The Garbage Company refused to pick up the 8 cases of empty "Bud" before that day !

      She wouldn't believe me when I told her I was getting in shape for Oktoberfest.

      Then again, the song "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" is now my new national anthem.

      God Bless the American Way !
      1. From Jackie B...to...Anthem Opinions

        Geez, I didn’t know Marla was a fun writer.

        I really like her spirit.

        What a trip.

        Too bad they didn’t make a stop where the town cooks outside in pits or something for them.

        Hate it when the potty on a motor coach doesn’t work.

        Been there!
        1. From Patsy McCarthy...to...Marla c/o Anthem Opinions

          Marla, thank you so much or a very needed laugh today.

          I loved your adventure into the unknown.

          I agree with several of the other responses.

          Dick, I have a wonderful housekeeper and all you had to do was let me know and I would have sent her to the house.

          And, why couldn’t you have asked one or more of your friends to put all those beer bottles in their trash cans???

          I, too, have a wonderful vision of Rana, Dan and the family in an RV cruising down the road! I’d give anything to see that!!
        2. Patsy,

          You're right, how stupid of me !

          I know I should have asked the Show Girls to clean up before they left to go to Jack's house.


10 comments:

  1. From Roseann Pica...to...Anthem Opinions
     
    Dick, 

    I really enjoyed this article!  

    Please tell your wife, "thank you" for giving me a few laughs. 

    I don't know your wife, but I do know Linda!  We play Bunco on Monday night.

    I thank you for all the time you invest in keeping us informed of what is going on in our Community.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Roseann.

    I know both Linda and her husband, Jack.  Love both of them.

    As far as the other one, after 32 years, I guess I'll just have to keep her..I still think she's as cute as the day I met her.

    ReplyDelete
  3. From Rana Goodman...to...Anthem Opinions
     
    Marla’s adventure story was wonderful, funny, and gave me a mental picture of the whole debacle.

    However, adventure it was and sounds like she had fun in spite of the down side. 

    Now I think we will plan that road trip in my daughter’s RV... LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rana,

    Glad you like Marla's "adventure"...now I have to stop laughing while I'm picturing you driving a huge RV across the country while talking on a CB radio saying "Breaker 19"

    ReplyDelete
  5. From Diane Rosen...to...Anthem Opinions

    Your article was a riot. Especially love the "huh?"

    Good job!

    ReplyDelete

  6. From Jill from Chicago...to...Anthem Opinions
     
    Loved this !

    Quite a journey.

    Marla, so proud of you for going and doing something that was appealing to you...

    ...and.. to Dick, next time hide the evidence by getting a cleaning lady to clean the house before she gets home.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jill,

    The garbage pick-up didn't get here until 3 days after she got home. The Garbage Company refused to pick up the 8 cases of empty "Bud" before that day !

    She wouldn't believe me when I told her I was getting in shape for Oktoberfest.

    Then again, the song "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" is now my new national anthem.

    God Bless the American Way !

    ReplyDelete
  8. From Jackie B...to...Anthem Opinions

    Geez, I didn’t know Marla was a fun writer.

    I really like her spirit. 

    What a trip. 

    Too bad they didn’t make a stop where the town cooks outside in pits or something for them.

    Hate it when the potty on a motor coach doesn’t work. 

    Been there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. From Patsy McCarthy...to...Marla c/o Anthem Opinions

    Marla, thank you so much or a very needed laugh today.

    I loved your adventure into the unknown.

    I agree with several of the other responses.

    Dick, I have a wonderful housekeeper and all you had to do was let me know and I would have sent her to the house.

    And, why couldn’t you have asked one or more of your friends to put all those beer bottles in their trash cans???

    I, too, have a wonderful vision of Rana, Dan and the family in an RV cruising down the road! I’d give anything to see that!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Patsy,

    You're right, how stupid of me !

    I know I should have asked the Show Girls to clean up before they left to go to Jack's house.

    ReplyDelete