My wife and I are back from vacation.  I drove about 4000 miles last week going from Southern California as far east as Bella Vista, Arkansas, making some stops along the way both going and returning.

The primary reason for the trip was to be at the 80th and rumored to be last Thanksgiving family reunion of my mother’s family.  The rumor turned out to be correct.  There will be an attempt to create an annual summer reunion.  It would be a shame if something didn’t continue to happen.

We took a side trip on the way home to stop at the Grand Canyon for lunch.  We’ve been there several times but this was the first time we’d been there alone.  We had lunch at the El Tovar Hotel.  The hotel was built around 1905 with the restaurant being added sometime later.  Our purpose in visiting the canyon and hotel was really for the lunch.  As it turned out we need not have bothered.  The service was poor, the food slow to arrive and when it did it was lukewarm at best.  It would have been rather tasty if it had been hot.  I just read several reviews of the hotel and restaurant and discovered that our experience was not unique.

I recommend that if you happen to visit the Grand Canyon that you make arrangements to dine someplace other than at the El Tovar Hotel.