I am now going to tell you the story about how my wife and I found ourselves sitting in the lobby of an auto body shop in Salt Lake City. There is a little bit of background information I need to lay out before we get to that point but don’t worry. I will get you there.

So we planned a road trip of the southwestern United States because neither of us had spent much time in that region. We flew to Phoenix, Arizona and spent a few days in a nice hotel. When we went to pick up our rental car the dealer did not have the model we reserved and upgraded us to a Cadillac. Let me tell you it was one sweet ride.

From Phoenix we drove north to the Grand Canyon. We hiked down the Kaibab trail. We both grew up in the northeast and had never seen such scenery before. I remember having the experience upon first seeing the canyon that my brain did not believe what my eyes were seeing. At the bottom of the canyon we ate a glorious hiker’s stew in a cabin mess hall and then spent an uncomfortable night camping at a campsite that must have had thousands of previous occupants because the ground was as hard as cement. The next day we hiked up the Bright Angel trail which was longer, but not as steep as the trail we hiked the day before. This hike taught me to carry only what I need and nothing more, bring plenty of water, and never wear boxers hiking because they ride up the legs and chafe my inner thighs. By the time we made it back to the Cadillac our legs were dead tired. From the Grand Canyon we drove north to Sedona. On the way we stopped for gas. I could barely lift my legs out of the car to get to the pumps.

Little did I know, in less than a week I would be sitting in the lobby of a collision repair shop in Salt Lake City.

To be continued…