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All it's been here for the last month is Rain and Gloom, and if I didn't have that wonderful break in Arizona a few weeks ago, I think I'd be a danger right now to myself and others. So I will ignore the disgusting weather outside my window and do a write up of a nicer time, in a galaxy far, far away.
Late as usual, sleep-deprived, and on the third day of a 3 day headache, all my connections to my flight went smoothly and I was off to Arizona. I was very happy to watch them load my new suitcase as I waited for take off--it's bright lavender :-P and so easy to spot. And I took time on the plane to mend the holes in the pockets and the lining of my leather jacket and then napped. I had a change of planes in Phoenix, which is a nice airport with some really cool looking red rocks, just sticking up in the middle of town, in view from the terminal. And then onto Tucson, and there was the beautiful![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mererid in the Tucson airport--and much hugging and squeeing did ensue. We then picked up our trusty steed, a red Dodge Neon we fondly dubbed Narya, and off we went through Tucson. Tucson is mostly dry and sandy, but with all the floods they've been having it was much greener than Maryland is this time of year which was a real treat, full of cacti, palm trees, eucalyptus, blooming bougainvillea, lantana, and gallardia--just beautiful.
We picked up Mererid's mom who is just a riot and adorable and drove back up to Phoenix to spend the night withmererid's sister persephones_rev's house. We stopped for dinner at Carl's Jr's which I had been curious to try since I was in LA; we don't have them east of the Mississippi. OMG, their fries do rule! For you greasy french fries connoisseurs, they beat McDonald's hands down and actually remind me of what McD's fries tasted like when I was a kid--yeah I do have a long memory recall for flavors. I'm already in withdrawal for some.
So we continued on. Driving a red car, I knew to keep under the speed limit, buuuuuut I got pulled over anyway because allegedly I didn't come to a full stop at a red light at which I made a right turn. And all the while my passengers were giggling away, with mererid's mom threatening to declare herself an illegal alien to the officer--such a hoot her venerable mother is--oh, it was a good time! But I was perfectly servile contrite with the officer who gave us a warning, and off we went.
We arrived at the lovelypersephones_rev's without anymore ado, and she and her spouse were the bestest of hosts availing me of every comfort, and even live entertainment in the form of their vivacious munchkin Griffin, who is much of the cutes and has every Star Wars toy you can imagine a little kid having who has a Star Wars fan for a parent who can use him for excusing her habit. (-;
So mererid and I hit the Waffle House--yay Waffles!!!--in the morning and we were off north to Flagstaff, and thank goddess the head ache from hell decided to finally wander off after breakfast and the world was bright, and shiny and new. We saw lots of cacti and yellow wildflowers as we drove through the lower lands, and an ostrich farm, though we didn't see any of the ostriches, and I think I talked mererid's ears off on that trip. The highway got windy as we started climbing the heights and seeing pine trees. But damn, if the speed limit wasn't still 75mph up those curves and most of the traffic was zooming by us!
We arrived in the cute little town of Flagstaff and pulled into the Best Western with the Big Pony in front and the Very Frequent and Noisy Train (which we got to find out about the volume and frequency of that night) across the street. We got settled in there, and then took the windy road down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona, where crazy fuckers were also driving at ridiculous speeds. The rock cliffs got more dramatic along the way, and the road took tight and very scenic turns around the mountains along Oak Creek. We made a stop at a Highly Entertaining Bathroom, took a Bingo photo op at the scenic overlook, and headed on.
We thought Sedona would be filled with New Age kitch, but it was really more usual tourist trappy, but the rock bowl around it is marvelous to behold. Snoopy Rock is highly amusing to view. We walked around a bit, took pictures, and had dinner at a mexican restaurant that had the surprise treat of an upstairs with a clear view of the setting sun painting many hues on the red rocks surrounding us.
And that was the first two days of the trip.
To be continued . . .
P.S. Thank you to all the wonderful icon makers out there for the pretties and sillies!!!!
Late as usual, sleep-deprived, and on the third day of a 3 day headache, all my connections to my flight went smoothly and I was off to Arizona. I was very happy to watch them load my new suitcase as I waited for take off--it's bright lavender :-P and so easy to spot. And I took time on the plane to mend the holes in the pockets and the lining of my leather jacket and then napped. I had a change of planes in Phoenix, which is a nice airport with some really cool looking red rocks, just sticking up in the middle of town, in view from the terminal. And then onto Tucson, and there was the beautiful
mererid in the Tucson airport--and much hugging and squeeing did ensue. We then picked up our trusty steed, a red Dodge Neon we fondly dubbed Narya, and off we went through Tucson. Tucson is mostly dry and sandy, but with all the floods they've been having it was much greener than Maryland is this time of year which was a real treat, full of cacti, palm trees, eucalyptus, blooming bougainvillea, lantana, and gallardia--just beautiful.We picked up Mererid's mom who is just a riot and adorable and drove back up to Phoenix to spend the night with
mererid's sister persephones_rev's house. We stopped for dinner at Carl's Jr's which I had been curious to try since I was in LA; we don't have them east of the Mississippi. OMG, their fries do rule! For you greasy french fries connoisseurs, they beat McDonald's hands down and actually remind me of what McD's fries tasted like when I was a kid--yeah I do have a long memory recall for flavors. I'm already in withdrawal for some.So we continued on. Driving a red car, I knew to keep under the speed limit, buuuuuut I got pulled over anyway because allegedly I didn't come to a full stop at a red light at which I made a right turn. And all the while my passengers were giggling away, with mererid's mom threatening to declare herself an illegal alien to the officer--such a hoot her venerable mother is--oh, it was a good time! But I was perfectly
We arrived at the lovely
persephones_rev's without anymore ado, and she and her spouse were the bestest of hosts availing me of every comfort, and even live entertainment in the form of their vivacious munchkin Griffin, who is much of the cutes and has every Star Wars toy you can imagine a little kid having who has a Star Wars fan for a parent who can use him for excusing her habit. (-; So mererid and I hit the Waffle House--yay Waffles!!!--in the morning and we were off north to Flagstaff, and thank goddess the head ache from hell decided to finally wander off after breakfast and the world was bright, and shiny and new. We saw lots of cacti and yellow wildflowers as we drove through the lower lands, and an ostrich farm, though we didn't see any of the ostriches, and I think I talked mererid's ears off on that trip. The highway got windy as we started climbing the heights and seeing pine trees. But damn, if the speed limit wasn't still 75mph up those curves and most of the traffic was zooming by us!
We arrived in the cute little town of Flagstaff and pulled into the Best Western with the Big Pony in front and the Very Frequent and Noisy Train (which we got to find out about the volume and frequency of that night) across the street. We got settled in there, and then took the windy road down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona, where crazy fuckers were also driving at ridiculous speeds. The rock cliffs got more dramatic along the way, and the road took tight and very scenic turns around the mountains along Oak Creek. We made a stop at a Highly Entertaining Bathroom, took a Bingo photo op at the scenic overlook, and headed on.
We thought Sedona would be filled with New Age kitch, but it was really more usual tourist trappy, but the rock bowl around it is marvelous to behold. Snoopy Rock is highly amusing to view. We walked around a bit, took pictures, and had dinner at a mexican restaurant that had the surprise treat of an upstairs with a clear view of the setting sun painting many hues on the red rocks surrounding us.
And that was the first two days of the trip.
To be continued . . .
P.S. Thank you to all the wonderful icon makers out there for the pretties and sillies!!!!
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But yes, yes, I do have quite a collection now. Don't look at me that way!
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Well, if you are, I didn't notice because I was busy blotting up my own spills, my dear. (-;
But I had waffles, so that's what's important!(-; You were a good healthy person and had an omlette, right? Omlette's could be hobbity too if you want them to be. (-:
the Highly Entertaining Bathroom
It needs no description, right? (-;
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And I forgot to mention the Best Western's well-advertised DELUXE Continental Breakfast we had that morning. How could I forget such a scrumptious deluxe spread?(-;
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*laughs* So true!!! Did you see my EpIII bounty post? It got worse... ;)
Wow. Your pictures are beautiful. I sometimes forget just how gorgeous it is up north of here. :) I'm happy you had a good time out here in the good ol' west. :D
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Those aren't my pics--they're just ones I googled up to illustrate this report. One day I will figure out how to upload some pics. I still need to email you a couple. It is grogeous up there.
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Really? The pics were awesome, and not over-done like those you'd see in Arizona Highways and whatnot. :) Isn't it beautiful? That's part of why I choose to stay here... we have several levels of climates, various differing terrains, so much history, and no major natural disasters, always a plus in my book. :)
I look forward to seeing the pics you took, but whenever you get the chance, etc. :D