
Our first stop was Tuscon, Arizona. Since it was a long drive to get there, we stopped off in El Paso for the night. The next day we were off again. I was very excited because in Tuscon we were going to meet a few cousins for the first time. As we arrived, I was exploding with questions about them.
Quickly I dressed for the pool and my family went to meet my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. When we got to the pool I met my cousins, Cealan and Rory, for the first time. (My other cousins, Enzo and Hudson, were arriving the next day.) They were also very keen for our arrival. My brother and I were shy at first, so were Rory and Cealan. Soon though, we warmed up to each other and were playing happily in the pool. We had lots of fun.
The next day we went to the pool again and I met my other cousins, Enzo and Hudson. At first they were shy, but soon we were splashing and playing the entire afternoon. The first part of our trip was playing and hanging out at the Omni hotel pool a lot!
On our last day in Tuscon, my family and my Mimi went to see Biosphere II. A place that has habitats from around the world. It is a huge research facility to study the Earth. It was very interesting and exciting. (See the videos below) Our guide told us about the eight people who lived in Biosphere II for two years doing research and never coming out of the building! I was fascinated. Two hours later the tour was over. I had just done one of the 50 things to visit before you die. That's one off my bucket list. It was amazing.
We got back to the hotel and met up with Enzo and Hudson and my aunt and uncle. (Cealan and Rory and their parents had already left.) We played that last night and said goodbye with lots of hugs. I miss them all.
The first part of my trip was so much fun. We had a family reunion, visited Biosphere II, and played at a great hotel.