Here it is
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Might have been me. I had 5 speculative bookings for the rim and canceled 4. Two were for the same night. I’ve learned to book now, question/cancel later!
This trip to GC and Sedona is all an attempt to make me feel better about canceling my Japan trip that has been rescheduled twice. I’ve been so bummed about canceling that, but nothing is telling me to continue hoping it will be ideal (which is what I want when spending a lot of time and money on a trip). But I’ve got 8 nights planned between AZ and NM and soon my excitement about that will override my disappointment about Japan.
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My niece is in Thailand and tested positive for Covid. Has to stay over until Thurs. Another student (she’s on a trip for her master’s degree) also had to stay. A third student tested negative so they told her to get out while she could.
I just left the GC yesterday (currently sitting in Phoenix airport)having spent two nights at El Tovar. If you want to eat dinner at El Tovar make reservations as soon as you are eligible. Nice view from the dining room. No reservations needed for breakfast or lunch, but expect a wait. Not a lot of food options at the GC so plan ahead. High masking rate in Flagstaff when we stopped at a grocery store.
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That was the only decent restaurant we ate in. All the others in the park were horrible.
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Going to CO in August. Last thing to do is get reservations at Rocky Mountain National Park…which won’t open those dates until July 1, we are told…
Testing positive is a risk of traveling internationally and will be a risk for some time. No one should travel internationally now if they can’t afford a delayed return (financially or otherwise).
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We’re not at all picky about what we eat, we (H and I) have a wide range. In the past, we’ve considered Xanterra properties to be very good with food, but I’ve no idea how Covid affected that. Those run by Aramark we despised. Time will tell what we think now. Even back then, different folks had different ideas about what was considered good though. I’m sure that hasn’t changed.
FIL’s idea of a good meal is Hardee’s or Popeye’s when we visit him. I’m not sure what he’s going to think of the food on this journey. Same with my aunt. I’m not sure of her dietary preferences at all.
We might opt to stop at a grocery store on our way in to get some “no cooking or fridge required” foods. I’m not sure yet.
ETA: I just looked at El Tovar’s menus. We won’t be eating there unless we could get menus without prices for FIL. We’d never hear the end of it, which is a bummer, because the lamb looked tasty. We’ll either bring things in or fetch them from food trucks for him (so he won’t see those prices either). Fortunately H and I don’t get hung up on food when we travel - as long as we don’t have to eat in restaurants we could eat in at home. That’s our only personal rule. We can also look on the bright side - we’re not fixing our own while camping. 
Hardee’s is Carl’s Jr. in most of the west. Maybe you can start a taco chain comparison?
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I’m hoping we can steer him more toward other things. We’ll see. He was born in 1928 to a large farming family and learned a lot of lessons through the Depression. What he was never able to learn is that once you have a huge amount saved for retirement, you can actually start to use it when you’re in your 90s to buy things you prefer over what’s cheapest, and you don’t need a coupon for every single purchase.
With my aunt, I know what she eats at Thanksgiving, but that’s about it. I think she’ll be open to new things, but she could prefer “meat and potato” traditional American.
I guess there’s always pizza (somewhere). They both like that. I saw hot dogs listed at the food trucks at the GC. Hopefully they’re good ones and not the cheapest version money can buy. I know Amtrak has them too if they prefer that to the dining car meals which are included when one buys room/roomettes. If FIL gasps at the prices on their menu we can simply tell him that’s what the coach/business folks have to pay. Ours are “free.”
Meanwhile I muse about H and I sneaking off to Chinatown in SF to eat at Hong Kong Clay Pot (which we loved) or there was a terrific Thai place near the Botanical Gardens - or try somewhere new. Maybe we’ll get food delivered and everyone can take their pick when in SF. We’ll figure that all out as we go along.
H and I are flexible. This trip is for FIL’s 94th birthday and to let them see some sights they’ve never seen. If we must eat oodles of hot dogs along the way, so be it, but I hope not!
I know FIL is not always reasonable or listen to you (just saying this from stuff you posted in the past, God bless him…) but maybe start reminding him that this is YOUR (you and H) trip too! Everyone gets some input on where you eat. Or he can choose to not eat that meal!
But we totally did that with my mom sometimes. Tell her prices were different or take her $ that she insisted on and return change that would make her happy but that was not indeed correct - cause we’d add in our own cash so it seemed like she didn’t spend as much.
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I’ll admit I’m hoping that both are so struck with seeing the new sights that having new food too at least interests them. I think that’s more likely with my aunt, but time will tell. I don’t want to set a high bar for expectations myself and be disappointed though.
H and I will have our own trip (somewhere - not planned yet) in August and we just came back from the Feb trip which was also our family, plus the DIL/GF who came for part of it are as adventurous as we are. It’s ok if we center one on the previous generation if it helps them enjoy it more. Both have always looked at our pictures with a bit of wistfulness. Now they get to see some things for themselves. That’s the main part I hope they truly enjoy.
I think it’s very nice of you to take the older generation on a trip across country. I hope it works out well for all of you.
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I would leave them alone, at that age they get to do what they want to do. If they want to eat meat and potato, more power to them. Spending more money doesn’t always make people happy regardless of their retirement account.
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We’re not dragging either on this trip. It’s one H and I thought about, then he proposed it to his dad showing him Amtrak’s route map, photos of rooms, and more. His dad took an interest and selected the things he’d like to see. Then it was a choice of H and FIL going alone or my going with them. I hate to pass up any trip TBH. I have coupons that allow me to take someone else with me for free sharing my roomette. I opted to ask my aunt if she’d like to come. She said she’d love to.
As for food, we’ve already said we’ll go with the flow - or at least I thought I did. This trip is about them, not us. H and I wouldn’t be going if FIL hadn’t been interested. It’s our B-day present to him - 100% our dime (multiple dimes 
). He’s not spending any of his money. My aunt knows if she wants souvenirs, that’s on her, but that’s it.
I’m not sure why you think we’re forcing anything TBH.
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@Creekland , what you and your H are doing is a very nice gesture and will be an amazing memory - many wishes that it all goes well! I wonder if it’s worthwhile to let Amtrak know you’ll have two elderly (? I forget how old your aunt is) people on this trip - maybe they might have some special services or perks or just be a little more attentive to make sure their needs are met.
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Good idea checking on services. My aunt is only 67, though does have some health issues. My mom was second oldest and this aunt was the youngest of six kids with a wide range in years. It’s why this aunt was my favorite growing up. She’s not a whole lot older than my sister and me.
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No, I’m not saying you are forcing the trip on them, I think reading the first two paragraphs here, kind of why I made that statement. Sorry I don’t know how to partially quote something yet.
Different travel question. At the beginning of the pandemic, like everyone (details differ, what happened didn’t), Eurowing flights we had going from Germany to Poland got canceled and they wouldn’t give refunds, just vouchers.
A couple minutes ago I received a German email from them that reminds people to use their vouchers or if they’d prefer a refund to “click here” and provide bank info to get it. Scam (sure sounds like it) or real (would love to get money back)? Has anyone heard if Eurowings is turning vouchers into refunds at this point?
I’d go directly to the Eurowings site (not using any link in the e-mail) and see if I could find that information on their website. Not a chance in the world I’d put my banking info into anything that came from an e-mail.
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