My (perhaps disappointed) readers will know that I fell woefully behind on posts earlier this week, delaying both my Monday Morning Movie Review of 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life (which should be live by the time you read this post) and my Tuesday post.  My intent Tuesday was to write a bit of an overview of my travels the week before Christmas into the Christmas weekend.  Ironically, those travels, as well as family get-togethers and being a hardworking (if grumpy—from lack of rest, I promise!) uncle created delays in my writing.

That said, I want to make good on my daily posting commitment, so consider this short preview of my recent travels a make-up post for Tuesday.  After starving earlier this week for portly content, you might find yourselves soon o’er-engorged with the meaty, chubby goodness of my self-indulgent, navel-gazing posts.

Before launching into the preview, I’ll note that I’ll be dedicating the next two or three editions of SubscribeStar Saturday to more extensive overviews of my travels, complete with loads of pictures and other goodies.  If you want to read all about my adventures in Arizona and beyond, subscribe today!

My older brother is a frequent flyer on Delta Airlines, so much so that he’s reached one of those silver-encrusted tiers that comes with some freebies and such, the biggest one being a free companion ticket.  His wife is a very hardworking attorney, and they both realized the ticket was about to expire, but she would not be able to travel with him due to work.  So it was that he proposed the two of us take a trip.

I initially proposed Montana, but then realized we’d be heading there in late December—and that’s before I knew a major blizzard would wreak havoc across the nation.  I quickly revised that to Phoenix, Arizona, and he booked the flights.

One of the limitations of the companion ticket is that we have to fly out of the same airports, so we after some wrangling with our schedules, we realized the best option was for me to drive to Indianapolis, where he lives, and then fly out together.  I spent the night in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Sunday before Christmas, then finished the trip to Indianapolis that Monday, and we flew out together.

I’ll fill in more of the important details on our trip, but the highlight was definitely visiting Grand Canyon (as I have learned, it is not “The Grand Canyon” to the National Park Service, but simply “Grand Canyon,” in the way it’s no longer The Facebook).  Just look at this majesty:

As you can see, there was snow on the ground in northern Arizona, which made it even more spectacular—and treacherous.  We were walking very close to the edge along the Rim Trail, and the snow was hard-packed and slippery.

One other highlight:  I spent far too much money on this incredible shirt (I did not purchase the hat—next time!):

I was caught mid-laugh and my doughy fatness is on full display, but, dang, I love that shirt.

More to come, my little portlies.

Happy New Year!

—TPP