I just back from a ladies' weekend in St. George. I went with all of my in-laws on the Sabin side: Merlene, Kellie, Denise, Sharon, Syd and Jessie. We had a great time and I loved having this chance to be together without all of the kiddos (no offense kiddos). With two cars, we were able to be flexible and do different things if needed or wanted. We left on Thursday afternoon and stopped in Cedar City for dinner and to buy some groceries.
Some of us (Me, Kellie, Sharon and Denise) woke up early on Friday to hike Angel's Landing. I did this hike 17 years ago with Cameron and he did it again with the older kids last Spring. I envied them and was so happy to have this chance to do it again myself.
Much of the trail was familiar, but I was surprised at how much I did not remember from the last time. In my mind, the chained section of the trail was rather short and straight. In reality, this section was much longer and more strenuous than I remembered. While it was only a half-mile it took us as long to do the chained section as it did to do the other 2 miles of switchbacks.
Much of the trail was familiar, but I was surprised at how much I did not remember from the last time. In my mind, the chained section of the trail was rather short and straight. In reality, this section was much longer and more strenuous than I remembered. While it was only a half-mile it took us as long to do the chained section as it did to do the other 2 miles of switchbacks.
We took this picture of the switchbacks but were too busy holding on tight to get a picture of the chained section. Sharon was particularly unhappy about the last half-mile of the hike. I didn't think she was afraid of anything. Now I know that she is not especially fond of heights. Thankfully, she has forgiven me and we are still friends, or at least family (to quote her: "you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family). Good enough for me.
We finally made it to the top
and the view did not disappoint. It was crazy awesome!
The squirrels however, were crazy obnoxious. They were not shy in the least, climbing in and out of our bags and even attempting to climb up our legs and backs. Eek!
After our hike, we were waiting for the others to join us at the lodge and, much to Sharon's dismay, I made myself right at home. No shame here (sorry Sharon).
We all met up and most of us walked to this vantage point of The Court of the Patriarchs.
We then headed to Oscar's in Springdale for lunch. I had to get a picture of the pregnant lady taking a swig from the bottle (it's water, of course). We played Taboo that afternoon and then went to see the movie, Austenland. Some of us laughed so hard we cried. Others didn't think it was funny at all. I won't disclose who was in what group except to share that I was in the first. Enough said.
The next morning, Jessie and Merlene went shopping while the rest of us (Me, Syd, Kellie, Denise and Sharon) decided to hike the Red Cliffs Nature Trail. This is our "before the cliff-jumping" picture:
There is no after pic, but Kellie and Denise looked the same and the other three of us looked like soaking wet river monsters. Sharon was smart enough to wear a swimsuit and Syd was smart enough to accept my offer of a different colored shirt and we had a great time jumping in the freezing cold water. Not such a great time getting out while hyperventilating from the cold, but hey, we survived and made some pretty fun memories in the meantime.
That evening, after a failed attempt by some to go to the temple (it was closed for Women's Conference), we went to the Brigham Young House for a tour. Tours are not my favorite, but Sharon stealing fruit from the pomegranate trees made it a little bit interesting for me. Never mind the signs that said picking the fruit was illegal. In her defense, the missionary said we could, and she was the only one brave enough to climb the thorny tree.
That night, we ate dinner at George's and then headed to the play (Thoroughly Modern Millie) at Tuachan. On our way, we got a little sidetracked in the roundabout.
Even Denise participated in this rogue (and once again, illegal) activity. She told us later that she was contemplating climbing up on the horse. Wow! We didn't know she had it in her. Too funny!
And one last pose outside the theater...
Looking good, Sabin ladies... thanks for a great weekend!
Love you all.
Love you all.
