5 Things – Sedona, AZ

I’ve had a love affair with Sedona for many years. Seriously, I think it’s been almost 15 years now. With all of that love and history, where do I begin? [Can you hear me humming?]

Here are my “5 Things” about Sedona.

1. Peace

There is something about Sedona and the Red Rock area that puts me at peace. I’m not sure what it is. I just know that when I’m there, the stupid self talk stops and the still,quiet voice inside gets heard.  Also, I think I’m just generally a much nicer, happier person when I’m there. That self talk can do a real number on your disposition.

The Sedona area is said to be the location of some spiritual vortexes and there are certainly quite a few folks making money selling tours and what I’ll call “vortex paraphernalia”.

Depending on your beliefs, you can chalk it up to the vortexes supposedly there, I guess. My personal beliefs don’t necessarily run that way, but I can’t deny that there is something different about the place. I just know that when I can use a little peace in my life, I’ll find it in Sedona.

2. Diversity

Sedona is a place where everyone can find something. For such a small town, that’s pretty amazing. And the diversity is everywhere in everything!

• You can tent camp next to Oak Creek or find a posh $250+ a night bed and breakfast. [We splurged one year ... if you are going to splurge on a B&B in Sedona, I can recommend this one!]
• You can find a quick deli snack or a $50+ a plate meal.
• You can be in the desert one minute and in a riparian area – so green you can’t imagine – it in the next.

I’ve not been there yet with someone who didn’t find something to like about the place. You can go to shop, hike, visit galleries, mountain bike, ride horses, or just hang out. In the times I’ve visited, I’m not sure that we’ve ever done the same thing twice. It’s all good!

3. Umm …  Red Rocks

OK, seriously. There is no place on earth like Red Rock country. I actually think it’s better than the Grand Canyon – although that might be because it’s more accessible.

The colors are just stunning everywhere you turn and the formations are just awesome. Most pictures don’t do the area justice … although on our recent trip, I certainly tried! [It's an amazing place to practice your photography habit!]

One of my favorite places to visit is the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The architecture is just amazing and the church itself is so simple. The simplicity makes it a perfect match for the amazing “cathedral” of rocks around it. I just love it!

There are hikes and tours to just about anywhere you would want to go want to go – and you can find something suitable for all ages and abilities. [I don't hike, normally. I will here. It didn't/doesn't kill me.]

At the end of the day, however you get wherever you get, a good long sit and stare is necessary and appropriate!

4. Water

When you are surrounded by desert, water is important – and interesting – and wonderful. Oak Creek is life to the areas around Sedona. The area gets about 10 inches of rain each year and depends on the run off from the Flagstaff area. But, no matter what the season, water is a main attraction.

In the summer, Slide Rock State Park is packed with folks trying to cool off in the cold waters of Oak Creek. I must tell you that it’s not my cup of tea … but clearly it works for a lot of people!

I think I prefer to experience the life of the canyons here in other ways. I love to sit and eat at The Hideaway where you can thoroughly enjoy a great pizza and cream soda (or whatever you like) on a terrace overlooking Oak Creek. And I’ve recently ventured into the canyon itself … the hikes into the Oak Creek area – West Fork Oak Creek Trail and Huckaby Trail were two that got us “waterside” and allowed us to see the area from a different perspective!

5. Tlaquepaque

OK … this may be a stretch, but I have to put Tlaquepaque (pronounced Tla-keh-pah-keh) in the mix just because it’s a fun word to say!

Seriously though, you can watch artists sculpt in clay as they prepare the models for amazing bronze sculptures. You can get a great meal. [Can I get a WOOT for beer-battered fries prepared in the local brew?] You can sit and listen to musicians play in the courtyards. It’s an amazing place … and one of the many places to see artists of all kinds in the Sedona area.

Oh, and the flowers, fountains, and sycamore trees in this place are just wonderful! And, at Christmastime? Forget it. You just want to stay!

For me Tlaquepaque represents all of the cool places to discover in the Sedona area. It’s a place where you can see/get things you just can’t anywhere else – some are pretty pricey (fantastic art usually is) and some are perfect for taking a bit of Sedona home with you.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you get a chance to visit Sedona, don’t turn it down. Whether for the day or for the week, it’s worth it. Yep, everyone goes there – it’s not off of the vacation radar. There’s a reason for that – embrace it!

Oh, and while you’re there? Don’t be afraid to “go off-road” a bit. There is a lot to see and do … and learn!

[Wow. I may have just sounded like your mother there. Sorry about that! Now, go book your ticket! What are you waiting for???]

I'll be hoppin' along now ...

Red, White, and the Bluest Sky Ever

The challenge over at Beth’s this week was “Independence Day” (or food) and I’m so glad that she didn’t say “the 4th”!

See, Husband and I were truly experiencing independence this Independence Day. Little Man and BK are spending a few weeks at their Gram’s house and we found ourselves on our own for the long holiday weekend! What to do?

We headed to one of my favorite places on the planet – Sedona, AZ – for a get-away and it was a wonderful weekend full of exploring Red Rock country. [Also, we got to eat many meals in restaurants without worrying about meltdowns and kids' menus.]

I must confess before we get to the pics. I don’t hike – well, not normally. But, you really can’t experience all of Sedona without going off-road at least a little. So, like all sensible people, I decided that I could do two hikes a day – one in the morning and one in the evening. [Um, suffering for art? Nah, I'll blame the heat!]

So, without further ado, we’ll start with nature’s red, white, and blue and then move on a sampling of nature in northern Arizona!

It’s monsoon time in the desert so it’s quite common to get late day rains. We thought we were going to get rained out of a sunset hike in Red Rock State Park. Instead, we got treated to a lightening show followed by this rainbow (which actually ended up being a double). Then it passed and we were able to hike away!

Oak Creek supplies water to the area and it’s truly a life giving thing. There are quite a few riparian areas in Sedona and they are just stunning in their colors and creatures – so different from the high desert that surrounds them. Amazing!

I had my polarizing filter on almost the whole time we were out and about. I love the green of this funky old tree against the blue sky.

This guy. Oh my word! He was just hanging out when we walked by on our sunset hike. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get my camera to focus so that I could capture him. He stayed still for something like 20 attempts – just posed. He finally moved when the guide with us moved his hand to show us the petroglyphs that were above him!

I have no idea what these are, but they just begged for a picture. They were the only plants like this and were surrounded by a field of green!

OK … this next one is funky and I like it. We went up to the airport to watch the sunset (popular place to watch the sunset, by the way). We’d been out hiking in Fay Canyon until right up to sunset and we were tired! I wasn’t even going to take a picture because the sunset wasn’t all that pretty. But, we’d driven up there, so I took a shot just after the sun sunk behind the mountain.

I forgot that I had the polarizing filter on and this is what the sunset looked like to my camera. The shadows in the black are the layers of the mountains west of town.

Did I mention that Sedona is one of my favorite places on the planet??? Yeh, I get kind of carried away. These are seven of the almost 500 pictures I shot in four days! (More pictures will be coming in my 5 Things – Sedona post.)

I hope you enjoyed and if you get a chance to visit Sedona? Do it!

I'll be hoppin' along now ...

Really? It’s Just a Flight, Right?

My mother is a wonderful grandma. [She's also a wonderful person, but that's really beyond the scope of this post.] Every year, she and my dad invite my kids to spend a month or so with her – without us. She’s done it since Little Man was 6 months old and I can’t tell you how much he looks forward to the visit every year!

[Yes, we know, we are very lucky. Yes, we know, that some will hate us for the blessing that is my mother. We can live with that.]

So we’ve reached the time when, for a little while, Husband and I revert back to DINK-dom. Ahhh … but not really. You see, once you have kids, you can never go back to anything else because you are ALWAYS thinking about … worrying about, missing, doing impressions of … your kids.

I do, however, embrace this time. It’s catch up, work hard, and don’t feel guilty time. I need it – desperately. But, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that it’s getting harder and harder to put them on that plane. It’s getting much harder.

I would now like to share with you my experience for this year’s flight – the one that took my children almost 2000 miles from home. It’s OK if you laugh with at me. Really.

5:00 AM

Ugh. What? Oh. Dang. We need to hurry. Good thing Little Man slept in his clothes last night. Is Gram up?

5:30 AM

Ugh. OK … are we all ready? Little Man, you ready to go? Where are you? (Already downstairs in the car. Might be a tad excited.)

Awake enough now for self-talk and a stomach ache.

This is just nerves. Stop it. They’ll be fine. OK, gotta get going.

6:00 AM

Leave for the airport. Little Man talks non-stop. BK still trying to figure out why she’s up so dang early. Frankly, so am I.

6:45 AM

Arrive at the airport. Small talk abounds – little airport discussions. Little Man still talking – the car screw is his favorite part (that would be the circular ramp to the parking garage). When exactly did he become a morning person?

7:15 AM

Checked in. On the way to security. Little Man has had a bathroom stop. Husband and I are now realizing that they will be gone in about 10 minutes. Security guys somewhat empathetic to our plight tell us to move out of their neutral zone – but allow us to remain in the security line at the front so that we can watch.

We say a quick good-bye. Kids don’t cry – at all.

7:25 AM

Security is cleared. [They made BK walk through without my mom ... what? I can't even begin to explain this.] They are gone. Husband and I leave for work. Not much to say. Sad.

7:55 AM

Scheduled take off.

8:00 AM

I arrive at work – grouchy and, now that the adrenaline is gone, very tired. Did I mention yet, that this all happened on a Monday. Just wrong.

8:15 AM

Logged on to FlightAware and watched the plane climb out and away. [I have never done this before in my life. I'm not sure what possessed me to do it this time.] Got quite a bit of my “Monday work” done while I watched that plane, that lovely little green line, safely move across the country.

9:40 AM

Checked the flight status for the 20th time (they were at 39000 feet and being guided by the folks in Fort Worth) and quietly realized that I’d become a bit obsessed. I mean, really? What would I have done if that little green plane graphic would have disappeared from the screen. Wait. Bad thought. Not good to think of this when the plane is in the air!!!!

The self-talk began again.

It’s just a flight. Do you have any idea how many flights come and go with no problems. You do. I know you do. This is just a flight. People do this all the time. YOU do this. It’s fine. Stop worrying.

10:55 AM

Announced to the coworkers lucky enough to be in my office that my kids were at 700 ft. Sick, I know, but relieved. It was at this moment that I realized that my life had all but stopped for about 2 hours 49 minutes. Stopped for the duration of a flight – for something I had absolutely NO control over.

10:56 AM

Called my dad to tell him to call me when he got them. Made sure that he was going to be there to help.

11:10 AM

The phone rang. Kids were wonderful and were fantastic travelers. “Everyone said so.” They were heading to lunch. Everyone was fine – a little excited and a little tired.

Looking back, the stress I felt during this everyday 2 hour and 49 minute flight is stunning to me. My parents are completely capable of taking care of my kids. Frankly, if they weren’t, there would be no flight. Still, it was somehow very comforting to watch my kids and my mom fly safely across that screen at 39000 feet with a minute-by-minute play-by-play if I’d have wanted it.

And then, somewhere in the echo of all of the relief, I heard the voice of  our Pastor who spoke about faith and expectations on the Sunday just prior to this crazy Monday flight. One where I was reminded that God is in control and that worry doesn’t change a thing … “less worry about the future means more peace in the present.” Coincidental timing? I don’t think so.

They’ve been with their Grandparents for a week now. In that time, Little Man has learned to fish, entered a fishing derby, and caught numerous fish (which he also released). BK has gotten to know her way around and has witnessed her first real fireworks show. They are sharing a room and taking care of each other just as well as my parents are taking care of them.

They are fine. They are alive – I mean really living. They are having the time of their lives and doing things that we simply couldn’t do here at home. Life is good.

They got on that plane … and they’re still flying! We all are.

I'll be hoppin' along now ...

5 Things – Seattle, Washington

I’ve fallen in love with the city of Seattle.  OK, since I’ve only been there once, it might be a crush … work with me!

Here are my “5 Things” for Seattle and the surrounding area!

1. The weather

I may have mentioned before that at certain times of the year, I just need a change of climate. The Seattle climate is exactly what I’m looking for … partly cloudy/sunny and cool – even the rain is nice. It’s good soup-eating weather and I love it!

2. The skyline

I believe that my crush with Seattle started with the skyline. It’s simply stunning. The water and the architecture and the history of the city make it all very alluring. And, as it turns out, dang near impossible to capture on film.

We saw the skyline from quite a few vantage points … Qwest Field, the waterfront, and the Space Needle. Every time I came to a place where I could, I found myself sneaking a peek. You know, that sort of sideways, flirty glance that’s all flush with that “I just met you and we’re hitting it off” excitement.

3. Nature

Seattle is situated in a beautiful part of the country and you can find evidence of what early pioneers to the area might have found within a short drive of the downtown area. Of course, the waterfront is delightful and offers ferry rides to the islands in Puget Sound. But, one of the treasures we found was east of Seattle proper.

Snoqualmie Falls and the little town of Snoqualmie were wonderful stops that took only part of a busy day and added so much to the trip!

The falls and a local railroad museum are the right size and time-frame for a short stop … which makes them nice for little ones!

4. The usual suspects

There are a few “must see” places for all tourists in Seattle and, for the most part, they live up to their hype!

The Space Needle is expensive, but how can you not do this? I find it very interesting and clever that the buildings in its immediate vicinity are distinctly shorter than this historic landmark that is far shorter than other buildings in the adjacent downtown area!

The Pike Street Market is amazing … so diverse and alive. The colors, sights, and smells make it a wonderful place to spend the morning and grab some lunch in one of the many little restaurants or shops!

5. The atmosphere of innovation

The city of Seattle seems to be dipped in innovation – you can almost feel it as you walk down the street! From the purely capitalistic motives that caused the city’s founding fathers to make disastrous early decisions to the plethora of organizations making innovations in today’s world, it’s hard not to be inspired on some level. [Oh, and the Amazon.com building is just stunning - especially at night!]

The refrain that you hear through much of the city is that they want to do something NEW and, often, BIG. Seattle can make you uncomfortable with the status quo. It’s a perfect place to recharge your creative battery!

• The Underground

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour in Pioneer Square is a wonderful walk through some of the wackiest and amazing city history I’ve heard yet.  The foundng fathers were eclectic (perhaps nuts) to be sure and they made some really bone-headed decisions. But, today stands a beautiful city on a tide flat. A city bustling with culture and variety – history and innovation – the old and the new. It’s pretty hard not to be amazed and impressed.

This little trip through history isn’t suited to little ones, but teenagers and older are good to go. There are also adult versions of the tour.

•  The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour

Just north of the city (about 25 miles in Mukileto, WA), this place is frankly just cool and amazing! The sheer size of the aircraft that are produced in the Everett plant can make you somewhat speechless. Boeing has been doing some insane things – and they have been for some time!

To give you some perspective, the tour guide told us that the Boeing plant building in Everett could hold all of Disneyland and still have room for 12 acres of parking.

While there are some very cool exhibits for the kids, this is a pretty grown up tour unless your little one is EXTREMELY interested in airplanes and engines or is EXTREMELY patient!

• The Museum of Flight

This might be the best designed and implemented museum plan that I’ve ever experienced.

The Museum of Flight is just the right size for spending a few hours learning some amazing facts about air travel and it’s history … and the exhibits are really extraordinary.

If you have an interest in the history of flight … from the Wright Brothers to today, this is a great find. Spend the day. If you have little ones with you, you will not probably get the full effect, but it’s still very much worth the price of admission!

The only negative I could find for this was the cafeteria could have used a bit more choice … really, that’s the only downside!

The folks in Seattle don’t seem to be afraid to attempt something new – never been tried. They also don’t seem to be afraid to fail. That’s a pretty freeing environment for innovation!

This is, admittedly, a rose-colored and romanticized view of a city of over a million people. I mean it ain’t all roses and rainbows in this city (you’ve have to have some more sun for that). There are the homeless toughing it out in an awfully unforgiving climate and the other trials and tribulations that come with a city of this size.

Nonetheless, I was impressed with Seattle’s ability to draw and keep so much innovation. It’s not the meteorological climate that draws this spirit. I think it’s a different kind of climate.

What ever it is, I like it a lot. There is an energy and optimism to it. A feeling that all of us have something to add – and that it’s our civic duty to add it.

They should bottle that! It’s intoxicating … addictive!

Wild Horses

I live in a place where wild horses still run. It’s a beautiful thing.

The first time I saw them,  I was in awe. Looking back, I think that part of that awe had to do with the fact that I’d seen them – it was a new experience that not everyone has the privilege of seeing.

The horses aren’t always there and they aren’t always easy to see. You have to pay attention. You have to look for them. I think many of my neighbors are too busy commuting to notice them most days. Sad, really. [I really hope I'm wrong about this, by the way.]

As I began to travel the road where they can be seen daily, I started looking for them. It was as if I was looking for a sign. Something that I could hang my day on. If I saw them, my mood was instantly buoyed. The day was sure to be a good one.

I’ve been traveling that same road for some time now and I still look for the horses. I am still in awe and my mood changes instantly for the better when I see them.

I saw them today. As I scanned the horizon for more of them, I thought a bit about these amazing, beautiful creatures out in the middle of nowhere … just being.

There are loads of wild creatures around here. Most of them are of the I-wouldn’t-want-to-meet-you-accidentally variety. Most of them are members of a species that has not been domesticated.

Yet, here, on this stretch of road where a bunch of domesticated humans travel to-and-from work every day there are a bunch of wild horses … following the road less travelled.

Ironic. Wonderful.

Twitter at 30,000 Feet

It’s getting to be late evening. The skies are clear and full of stars. The moon is insanely bright. There is not a cow to be smelled for miles. BK is snugly ensconced in bed between her grandparents (I’m not reading anything written by the American Academy of Pediatrics for a couple of days.). Little Man is snuggled into his own personal big bed heaven. I am alone. It is quiet. I am exhausted.

Today I flew across country in a scenario that included more children than adults. This is something that scares the crap out of me and something I do not advocate. That said, people do it all the time. I’m a grown up. Meh.

I need to tell you that my children are EXCELLENT travelers. They really are (except now they won’t be because I’ve gone and bragged on them and that never ends well). But I will also tell you that I’m seriously considering only taking one of them home with me because today was just freakin’ nuts.

This brings me to the thought that triggered this blog topic tonight.

Someone should really consider figuring out a way to tweet from a flight. I bet you’d get some pretty interesting stuff … like, you know, from the lady who was forced to sit next to us today and those guys a couple of rows up who tried to open a tab so that the flight attendants would keep the beer coming.

If it would have been technically possible to tweet from 30,000 feet (and if I would have been stupid enough to try it given the situation), the feed might have looked something like this.

jenstwit: The pilots aren’t here. The plane is full. I’m stuck in the back. This is not good.

jenstwit: This airline is NEVER late. Why today? Please, please please pray that we take off soon.

jenstwit: BK has fallen asleep. We’ve not taken off yet. This is not going to end well.

jenstwit: Yay! We are in the air. They are making announcements – chatty today. Really? Is this necessary? BK is still sleeping – wait, no, crap she’s up. This flight is over 3 hours. We are in trouble.

jenstwit: BK just tore a hole in all of the snack bags. Goldfish are flopping around everywhere. We’ll have to eat them. Little Man is OK with that.

jenstwit: BK moves like Little Man talks. Nonstop. 

jenstwit: Little Man is melting into his seat. He reminds me of melted butter right now – no form, slippery, and impossible to clean up. BK is still moving.

jenstwit: Just got a Coke. Ahhh … BK just grabbed the can. The lady next to us is kind.

jenstwit: Little Man is watching a movie. Excellent. BK is fighting a nap like she’s never fought in her life. I’m going to win if it kills me. If I don’t win, the lady next to us might kill me. This might be life or death.

jenstwit: OK, that was overly dramatic. The lady next to us has the patience of Job. (But she’s also had the travel day from hell – even before sitting next to us – and you never know when someone will snap.)

jenstwit: Please, please, please pray that they turn the fasten seat belt sign off soon!

jenstwit: What will I do if Little Man has to go to the bathroom? Please, please, please pray that he won’t have to.

jenstwit: You know … when Husband tells me that he doesn’t think that the diaper he put on is on quite right, I need to listen.

jenstwit: BK just leaked all over her pants, my shirt, and my jeans. Quick thinking and me throwing most of the diaper bag on the floor as I quickly found diapers saved the day.

jenstwit: Finally, BK is asleep. She still hasn’t stopped moving, though. Can’t get comfortable. I need a nap.

jenstwit: When is this plane going to land?

jenstwit: How much longer?

jenstwit: Crap, Little Man’s movie is over and I can’t move to get him something else or I’ll wake up BK. 

jenstwit: Crap, BK is awake again and not happy about being  in a middle seat. Come to think of it, I’m not too happy about being in a middle seat either.

jenstwit: Amen. We can see trees.

jenstwit: We have crap everywhere. Is there an FAA penalty if I just leave it and walk away?

jenstwit: We’re heading off the plane. Last ones off. So late that they are actually boarding the next set of passengers. … don’t care. We are getting off the plane and there will be more adults soon!!!

Now that it’s quiet and I’m removed from the drama of it all, I can tell you that I still think my kids are excellent travelers. BK is at a stage where she needs to move and we were not in any position to accommodate her. Little Man was a real trooper and did what he was asked to do. And … the lady next to us told me that she thought they’d been good (even after she had to hold BK while I found a diaper for that little leaky moment).

But … given my mental state at the time, I still think it would have made for a good laugh for those with their feet on the ground!

The Desert Made Me Think It!

The longer I live life as a desert rat, the more bizarre my dream vacations get. Seriously. I now believe that the sun may actually have singed my brain cells permanently.

When the heat has gone on too long (hmmm … let’s say early-October) and the slim chance of rain has evaporated (yep, that pun was intended), you tend to dream of water.

Many may say, “That’s not so weird. Heading to the beach is a perfect way to refresh!”

Not. So. Fast. Sorry to disappoint (and perhaps concern) but, frankly, the possibility of sunny days is just too high at the beach. By October, I’m looking for a series of partly-cloudy/cloudy days to erase my sun induced coma. Oh, and bonus points are awarded for rain! And if the location includes an ocean or a bay??? Practically perfect!

Hmmmm … clouds? Several options. High probability of precip and a large body of water? Well, I guess that means that the pacific northwest is dang near the perfect spot!

Decision made. Dream vacation dreamed … time to soak everything in! (I’m so punny today!)

All joking aside, the pacific northwest is really a perfect place to get away in the fall.

1. It’s chilly to cold (i.e., we got to wear winter clothes, drink hot beverages, and have soup for every meal!).
2. It is partly cloudy/cloudy most of the time (i.e., we got some great lighting for the 400 plus pictures we took but, for the most part clouds were the rule of the day).
3. It rains (i.e., water falls from the sky and makes everything wet and clean – ahhhh).

As an extra special added bonus??? Just for us (and the 100s of Packer fans who found themselves in Seattle over the weekend)? Green Bay beat the Seahawks at home (i.e., it was a good Sunday!).

All-in-all? Just about as good as it gets!

The desert can bake your brain for sure. It makes you pray for rain and cold weather on your long-awaited vacation. It makes you search cold weather destinations and rate the soup! It’s all too twisted for words sometimes!

Soon, most of the country will be shivering and under the slush and snow of winter. We’ll have the windows open to enjoy the fresh desert air. We’ll all remember why we live here and the frostbitten will long for a desert vacation in the sun by the pool!

I imagine that I’ll still be secretly dreaming of clouds and precipitation and green trees and maybe even snow … well, at least in a passing thought one time in the next 6 months!

To quote Melvin Udall in As Good as it Gets …

Sell crazy someplace else, we’re all stocked up here.

The Lady on the Bus

OK … it’s been ages since I’ve been in here. It certainly hasn’t been for a lack of things to say – as my husband and many of my colleagues will certainly tell you. But, I’m sitting in a hotel room sort of waiting to go to sleep so…

So, back to the lady on the bus. Today, at the airport, we were taking the shuttle bus to the terminal. We were just hanging out on the short trip when the bus stopped. Now, there’s a bunch of construction in the parking area right now so this, in and of itself, is not a huge thing. And, to be fair, there were only about 7 people on the bus. But …

Is it OK for the bus driver to stop the bus in the middle of a route for a smoke break????

I’m not kidding. She stopped the bus in the middle of the lane, got out, smoked a cigarette, got back on the bus, and resumed the route.

We weren’t late and it was so shocking that it was actually funny. Still…

Over and out.