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Archive for November, 2010

Day 56: A day of natural distractions

Posted in Country, Planning, Road trip on November 4, 2010| 4 Comments »

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(Apologies – slide show uploaded backwards, so pretend I went to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest first, and ended in Sedona!)

I purposely stayed in Sedona so I could wake up and see the red rocks. However, I did not remember that when I first awoke. In fact, I didn’t remember anything. For the first time on the trip, I woke up completely confused. I had no idea where I was, when it was, nothing. Thankfully, I remembered WHO I was. It took longer than it should, but I finally pieced it all together and got myself up, out of the motel and on with the day.

Daylight Sedona did not disappoint. My only regret is that I didn’t have time to go hiking or horseback riding on some of the many trails in the area. More things for the next time list (which is rapidly growing). I wanted to try to stick to my schedule and arrive at Tina’s Aunt Marion’s home in Albuquerque, New Mexico by 5ish – keeping in mind that I lose an hour since I go back to Mountain Time.  

As you may have guessed, I wasn’t on time. I’m going to blame Mother Nature. The world surrounding the roads between Sedona and Albuquerque are much too beautiful not to stop and take pictures every few minutes along the way. And there were some pretty big distractions:

  • Coconino National Forest and Oak Creek Canyon
  • Meteor Crater – “the best preserved and first proven meteorite impact site on Planet Earth”
  • Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert – “In the mid-1800s U.S. government mappers and surveyors exploring this area carried stories back east of the remarkable ‘Painted Desert and its trees turned to stone.”’

I was also tempted to get back on good ole Route 66 again, but held off, except when Aidan told me to. So you’ll see a few of those pictures mixed among the landscape photos, but not many. I do think I’ll devote one future vacation to the route, though. It deserves it!

I finally arrived at Marion’s about 8:30, and was welcomed with homemade beef stew – thank you, Marion! We figured out our plan of attack for the next couple of days including Santa Fe, Pecos, an acapella concert and, of course, Albuquerque. I think I’d better charge the camera battery…

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Seeing red in Arizona on Day 55

Posted in Uncategorized on November 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

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Arizona is breathtakingly beautiful. Ok, maybe not every street in Phoenix, but it’s just a short drive to some of nature’s finest sights. It’s amazing to think it wasn’t long ago that the entire place was desert. You’re reminded, though, when you are on one of the mountain peaks and look down on the city. It’s hard NOT to notice that there are only a couple of blue spots in the big picture you see in front of you. So no, Arizona couldn’t be my settling place, since you know I need at least a large body of water. But I do think this is a fabulous place to visit and will be back.

The main reason I’ll return is that I have family here: my Aunt Ri and Uncle John. I haven’t seen them since they moved here four years ago – and it feels like even longer. Every Memorial Day weekend when we were young, my cousin Tara and I used to go with our families to a condo John and Ri rented down the Cape. They were always memorable holidays, especially when Ri decided it was time we knew about the birds and the bees. Not only did I never forget that, neither did my mother!

While not quite as eye opening as my earlier lessons, I did learn a lot today, as John and RI showed me around their adopted area. We went to the top of South Mountain and got some beautiful views of the city. We drove completely around the city (always keeping it to our left, as Uncle John pointed out). And we explored Old Town Scottsdale, which is a great western town, complete with cowboys and indians, as you’ll see in the slideshow.

After much too short of a visit, I got back on the road and made my way to Sedona. I didn’t need Aidan to tell me when we got there – you see red and just know. I did actually make one stop before I got there, though. I was lucky enough to make it to Montezuma Castle National Monument  just before closing time. It’s a five-story, 20-room dwelling built into a cliff and dates back to the 1100s! You can’t go in it, but it’s amazing to look at and think about how and why they built it and lived.

When I was kicked out of the historic site (gates must be closed) I tried my best to get to Sedona for sunset. I didn’t quite make it, although I did see the sun go down. It just wasn’t quite the scene I’d hoped for. (But then again, what ever is?) I soon drove into Sedona, and was able to get a few pictures before dark. I’d planned to go to Flagstaff tonight, where rooms are cheaper and it’s closer to tomorrow’s destination (Albuquerque), but I decided to stay over and wake up in Sedona. I need to see the red rocks in the real sunlight – after all, I’ve come all this way…

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Days 51-54: A taste of living in the heart of Hollywood

Posted in Country, Dreams, Planning, Road trip on November 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

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Excitement is in the air. Hopefulness. Possibility. Dreams can come true. You feel it all here, throughout Los Angeles, throughout Hollywood. Anyone can be anything, you just have to make it happen. I love it here. I totally didn’t expect to, and am sure it has a ton to do with the fact that two of my best friends from high school, Mike and Jay, live here, but it is so incredibly different from I expected.

Yes, it’s a city, but it’s not a crazy city like New York. Nor is it a walking city like Boston, London or San Fran. But it’s not a boring city like, well, I don’t want to insult anyone, but those cities know who they are. It’s definitely a livable city. And I could see me living here. My biggest fear, though, is that as soon as I moved here, Mike and Jay and their families would move back east, like Dan and Mike, two of our other high school friends, already did. They are all working on building their individual careers enough so it won’t matter what coast they call home. That, ideally, is what I’d love to do, too. Make enough to live comfortably and be able to fly where I want, when I want (if it’s not in driving distance of course – I’ve gotten pretty comfortable in the car, if you haven’t noticed).

I believe much of the reason I feel I could settle here has to do with how I spent the last few days. As you can see from the previous two posts, I did a bit of the tourist stuff (how could I not?), but mainly I hung out with my friends. We went out, ate (including at Joan’s on Third where we had a star sighting: Jeff Goldblum), walked, shopped, got a manicure and pedicure (where else would you find organic nail polish?) and mostly talked. We hashed around some movie ideas (including one based on this blog: stay tuned). I applied for some jobs. I did laundry. And – hold your breath – I baked! I guess being on the road for 50 days brought out a bit of the homemaker in me, so I made my friends my grandmother’s whoopie pies and apple crisp. I have to admit, they both tasted pretty darn good.

Now it’s time to get back on the road. It is so hard to leave, but I know this time it won’t take me 15 years to get back. I promise!

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