This story actually starts on Day 7, my first night at the Grand Canyon. I am always a very observant person, but when I'm alone, I am even more so. And when dining alone, I spend most of the time just people watching. I also make friends with everyone - the hosts, the wait staff, the bussers, the chefs, the managers, basically anyone that walks by.
So as I mentioned before, Wednesday was opening day of the Grand Canyon North Rim and the associated resort services. Apparently, there had been a glitch with the reservation system, so the dining room was overbooked and the staff was a bit overwhelmed. So during my meal, I watched the semi-chaos occurring around me. At one point near the end, a waitress was busing a table near me and couldn't carry everything, so she left a tray of dirty glasses on a chair, expecting to come back for them. She must have gotten distracted elsewhere because she never came back. 10 minutes or so later, a super handsome waiter picks up the tray, commenting that it was an odd place for it to have been left. I filled him in on exactly what had transpired. He reacted with surprise, "I didn't expect that level of detail." Yeah, well, that's me.
Fast forward to Thursday night dinner. I am waiting to be seated, and super handsome waiter (SHW) sees me and we smile and acknowledge each other. I end up seated right near that kitchen door, a prime spot for observing everything that's going on. SHW comes by and asks,"Are you an employee? Why do you look familiar?" I remind him about the tray from the previous night, and he's like, "Oh yeah, that's right." and he smiled and went back to work. I made lots of friends with the staff that night, chatting with everyone about this and that. They're all so nice.
So last night, the dining room was a bit chaotic again, but I got seated right at my reservation time, this time close to the bar - another prime location for me to chat with everyone. And who do I get as my waiter? SHW. We finally introduce ourselves officially, and he still seems pretty skeptical that I'm not a secret shopper or something, since I dine alone and know the entire staff by name already. And they know me. I've even changed my order because Chef Paul came out and recommended to me something different than what I had already requested. I assure SHW that I am indeed just a regular guest, but that I have just made friends with everyone. And to further emphasis my point, throughout the meal, various staff members come to talk to me about how I am and what my next plans are. Anyway, SHW does a great job with my meal, even though he had 5 tables where all the other waiters only had 4 (yes, I notice things like that). Unfortunately, I was so exhausted that I couldn't stick around much after I finished my meal and instead had to retire to bed. So, in conclusion, to my favorite, and the most handsome waiter at the Grand Canyon Lodge, Timothy, thank you for making my stay memorable.
So last night, the dining room was a bit chaotic again, but I got seated right at my reservation time, this time close to the bar - another prime location for me to chat with everyone. And who do I get as my waiter? SHW. We finally introduce ourselves officially, and he still seems pretty skeptical that I'm not a secret shopper or something, since I dine alone and know the entire staff by name already. And they know me. I've even changed my order because Chef Paul came out and recommended to me something different than what I had already requested. I assure SHW that I am indeed just a regular guest, but that I have just made friends with everyone. And to further emphasis my point, throughout the meal, various staff members come to talk to me about how I am and what my next plans are. Anyway, SHW does a great job with my meal, even though he had 5 tables where all the other waiters only had 4 (yes, I notice things like that). Unfortunately, I was so exhausted that I couldn't stick around much after I finished my meal and instead had to retire to bed. So, in conclusion, to my favorite, and the most handsome waiter at the Grand Canyon Lodge, Timothy, thank you for making my stay memorable.
Not a ton to report from today. I left Grand Canyon Lodge at 10 AM and drove to Vegas. The first portion of the drive was backtracking a good part of the drive in. But then I turned west and drove through Zion National Park. I know I visited Zion as a kid, but I have absolutely no memory of it.
It was really beautiful driving through there today, but pretty crowded. Cars everywhere. I also drove down through Virgin River Gorge. That was pretty as well.
I arrived in Vegas around 4 PM and have just hung out all evening. I had a ton of pictures from the past 5 days that I needed to organize and upload.
Big day tomorrow. Stay tuned.
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