Chapter 4 – Arizona – January 2025
"Arizona Law Enforcement Academy in Phoenix," Tony was on his cell phone via the Bluetooth connection in his truck as he navigated towards home on I-95. Ziva was also in traffic headed home from NCIS, but they figured out that she was about five miles closer to home than he was.
"When do you leave?" she asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
"It's only for three days; I think it's the same three days the kids have that break from school for King Day and teachers' workdays. As far as I know, I have to be on site two hours on Monday morning, and two hours on Wednesday afternoon to help them with implementing their new modules for refreshment training on dealing with hostage situations and with active shooters," he replied.
"They are training on a Federal Holiday?"
"I asked the same question, and the answer is yes. It was the only time that some of the teams from the agencies further out in the state could get to Phoenix for training," he answered her question with a slight chuckle. They always seemed to think alike. "FLETC gave me the option to fly out on Sunday if I want."
Ziva turned into the exit lane for home, "I am about to get off the interstate, and I have to stop for milk and a few other grocery items before I get to the house. Remember that Gibbs is staying for dinner tonight; when I called him before I called you, he and Tali were starting to put dinner together. The stew is in the crockpot and they are making rolls or biscuits to go with it. I will see you at home. We can talk about the trip more tonight."
~Arizona~
The DiNozzos boarded the Sunday mid-morning flight to Phoenix; ready for another adventure. Each had the usual carry-on backpack with books, toys, stuffed animals, and other entertainment for the trip and while at the hotels where they would be staying.
"How long does Abba have to work before we can go see the Grand Canyon?" Anthony asked for the fourth or fifth time. He really wanted to see the canyon in person after seeing images of the brightly colored rocks of the canyon walls online.
Ziva reminded all of the children that the trip was both for their father's work and for a family vacation, "Abba has to be at the training center at 0700 tomorrow morning, local time, and when he is done around 0900, he will come back to the hotel in Phoenix where we will stay tonight. Then we will drive about four hours to the South Rim of the Canyon. We will stay in a hotel near the Grand Canyon tomorrow and Tuesday nights, and then drive back to Phoenix on Wednesday morning. Abba has to be at the training center around 1200 on Wednesday, local time, and after he is done there, we head to the airport to fly home. We should be back here around midnight."
"Are we gonna ride the train?" Rivka had seen the pictures of the Grand Canyon Railroad and the adjoining hotel on websites as the family researched the trip.
Tony nodded, "Yes. Remember that we are staying at the hotel and riding the train to the park on Tuesday morning. On Monday, after we check-in, we will drive to several of the overlooks on the South Rim to see the Canyon."
"Way cool!" Riv and Beth responded together.
~Arizona~
After a bit of a mix-up with the two hotel rooms that Ziva had reserved, the family finally was settled in for the evening. She had made the reservation for two rooms since none of the hotels near the training facility had capacity for more than four people in a room or suite. When she phoned the facility directly, she clearly stipulated that the two rooms be either adjoining, or at least next to each other. She had followed up with an email, just to have the request in writing, and the hotel's assistant manager had replied that the request would be noted and honored.
At check-in, only one room was listed under Ziva's name. She pulled up the confirmation email, clearly showing two rooms, and the desk clerk, the weekend manager, and the facility manager – via phone – took nearly an hour to get the second room for the family. They finally found the reservation under Tony's name, but spelled incorrectly!
After check-in and getting settled into the rooms, which were on the same wing of the same floor, but not adjoining, they walked to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner. Tony and the boys were in one room, and Ziva and the girls in the other.
On Monday morning, Tony took a shuttle bus to the training center with the other participants. Ziva and the kids got breakfast, made sure all their belongings were packed and loaded in the rental vehicle, and waited for Tony's time at the training facility to be over. He managed to text Ziva about thirty minutes before he would be free to leave, so she was able to get checked out of the hotel, and over to the training center to meet him.
The drive to Williams, Arizona was about four and one-half hours with a stop for lunch at a fast-food restaurant. At the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, they again had two rooms. After getting checked in, and taking gear inside, they drove to some of the scenic overlooks on Arizona highway 64. The light dusting of snow on the ground and canyon walls added to the spectacular colors of the natural wonder.
The family headed back to the hotel as the sun set; they decided to have dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. The buffet-style meal included traditional rail dining car food as well as popular favorites, including roast beef, turkey breast, chicken, pot roast, and many varieties of vegetables, pastas, salads, and desserts.
On Tuesday morning, the train ride to the park from the railway depot included breakfast, snacks, and beverages, as well as in-car entertainment. Even though it was the most expensive of the options that allowed children, Tony chose the observation car just for the experience and views. The about two-hour ride into the park ended at Grand Canyon Village, the historic area of human presence in the park. The family explored the shops, sights, and historic areas until time to head back to the train station about four hours after arrival.
On the way back to the hotel, snow began falling. The family watched the snow from the observation dome, glad they were riding in comfort within the train car. Tony was happy not to drive in snow, even though he really didn't mind and was used to it from home.
"The canyon was beautiful," Ziva noted. "The colors of the rock formations are so much more pronounced in person than one can ever imagine from the pictures."
"I liked seeing all the animals," Tali added.
LJ jumped up in his seat, "Look!" He pointed out towards the west side of the train where some elk were grazing beside mule deer. The others watched the animals as the train rolled past.
Anthony snapped some images with one of the family's digital cameras. "I really liked the eagles we saw yesterday at one of the observation points. They were so close and didn't seem to be afraid of people."
"Neither did the squirrels," Riv commented. "Those beggars wanted food from us!"
Beth laughed at the memory, "But Abba said the signs told people not to feed them!"
LJ again pointed out into the forested areas alongside the tracks, "Is that a cat over there?"
Tony peered where the little boy was pointing, "I think that is a mountain lion."
While all were duly impressed with the Grand Canyon and its natural beauty, the highlight of the trip for the kids was yet to come. They relaxed at the hotel on Tuesday evening after dinner at the same restaurant as the previous night. Ziva reminded her family that they needed to on the road back to Phoenix early on Wednesday morning to get Tony to the training center for a lunch banquet and his final training session that afternoon.
~Arizona~
"See you in a while," Tony kissed his wife before heading inside to the last of his work-related duties for the trip. "Have fun!"
Ziva headed out of the parking area and towards the final activity that she and Tony had picked for the trip; a visit to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM for short.) MIM is the only global musical instrument museum in the world. The exhibits ranged from various instruments from all over the globe, displayed by region or country of origin, to an artist gallery, and a mechanical music gallery.
Once inside, she led the kids to the orientation gallery for a ten-minute overview of the museum and its displays. They then wandered through the Artist Gallery, viewing instruments played by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, and others.
The next room was the Mechanical Instruments Gallery; all of them were fascinated by the self-playing assortment of musical instruments. While the instruments themselves were interesting, only Tali and Ziva read about the history of them. The others were content to look and move on.
When the family entered the next display gallery, the children were hooked. The Experience Gallery allowed for hands-on with multiple instruments and techniques for creating music and musical sounds. They never went any further to view the upper-level rooms containing the historical displays by region and country. The interactive experience held the kids' attention for the remainder of the time that Ziva had allotted for their visit. Wisely, she set an alarm on her phone about twenty minutes into the time in the gallery.
LJ loved the percussion area of the interactive room. He tried all of the percussion instruments many times and with his siblings helped create a family musical piece.
Tali was drawn to the piano and piano-type instruments; Ziva figured that her daughter's interest and prior lessons added to the girl's curiosity with the computerized piano sounds.
The twins were engrossed in the interactive digital motion recording to generate sounds. Given their interest in gymnastics in the current school year, Ziva was not surprised that her two ended up spending a good bit of time at that activity.
Anthony tried almost all of the instruments and activities but kept returning to the computer that used light and sound to create a musical show. Luckily, the family was mostly alone in the area as the number of visitors on that weekday was low. They had the space to themselves for a good bit of the three hours. When Ziva's phone alarm sounded to let her know it was time to leave, she had to almost drag the kids and herself out to the rental van to go to pick up Tony before heading to the airport to fly back to DC.
"Abba! Abba!" LJ, Rivka, and Beth tried to get their father's attention to tell him about the MIM experiences. He patiently listened to their stories and comments on the ride to the airport, the wait in the boarding area, and even on the plane trip back to DC. Tali and Anthony added in their perspectives as they could when the younger three wound down.
Ziva smiled at her kids; she had thought the Grand Canyon itself or the train ride would be the subject of the discussion on the way home and was pleasantly surprised that the Musical Instrument Museum had been the activity to make the largest impression on her children.
