Happy New Year!!! Ahh, how is it already 2017?! I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Our neighbor had a party at his place, so we went, and rang in the New Year with champagne, cheese, and macaroons.
Last week, I recapped the first half of our Mini-Moon, and today, I’m sharing the next stop on our newlywed roadtrip: The Grand Canyon!
OUR MINI-MOON | PART TWO | THE GRAND CANYON
WEDNESDAY
We left Sedona around 1pm. The drive to The Grand Canyon was only 2 hours. But we needed to run a few errands first. We had an entire backseat full of stuff from the wedding that we wanted to ship back to our house. A few gifts, our ketubah, extra kippot, the smashed glass, a few items we purchased in Sedona, etc. We found a shopping center with a UPS and a Safeway. So while Alex took care of the shipping, I ran into Safeway to buy a 12 pack of waters, granola bars, apples, and cans of V8 for the remainder of our trip.
After a Starbucks run, one gas stop to fill up the car, and a scenic overlook stop for photos, we were on the road. We pulled into El Tovar just before sunset.
We decided to do a little exploring, so we walked around the South rim, and I got to see the Grand Canyon for the very first time. It was incredible. Especially having the opportunity to watch the sunset over the canyon, it was just breathtaking.
After the sun went down, we went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. We ate at the lodge, and finished the night playing cards while drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace.
THURSDAY
Believe it or not, but my husband was actually the one who suggested we watch the sunrise over the canyon. We quickly dressed, and rushed outside, camera in hand. Afterwards, we showered, packed up the room, loaded up the car again, and went for a huge breakfast to fuel up.
After breakfast (and a selfie), we were ready for our day hike of the canyon. We hiked the Bright Angel Trail. We orginially talked about an hour hike, at most. But the views were just stunning, the weather was perfect, and we were in great moods, so we kept hiking down, down, down. 
Me, totally unapologetic about wearing a Gorilla Pod around my neck!
At some point, we realized we had been hiking down for well over an hour, and that meant we’d have to spend just as much, if not more time, hiking back up. So we turned around, and went back up. What a workout. By the time we got back to the car, my FitBit was reading 10,000 steps — whoop!
We left the Grand Canyon, and on our way out, Alex suggested we go see the most watched IMAX in the history of IMAX: Grand Canyon, the Hidden Secrets. Beforehand, we grabbed lunch at a ridiculously festive restaurant, we were the only ones there….
After the movie, we were on the road, and ready for our next stop! We killed the time by listening to comedians on Pandora.
And that concludes Part II of our Mini-Moon! Stay tuned next week for Part III!