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"And in the end, its not the years in your life that count.

Its the life in your years."

-Abraham Lincoln

As you can see, I have safely returned to my new humble abode at 269 Commercial Street in Portland.

I started my travels 3 weeks ago.  A journey that was supposed to be taken with a dear friend, turned into a journey that seemed almost destined for me to take alone.

During our last day in Arizona, Sue told me that I was brave for taking this trip by myself.  I told her some people would say I was foolish.  Here I was, a female in my 30's, driving cross country, by myself, in unknown parts, no real itinerary, and with no one knowing exactly where I was from day to day.  In hindsight, it was probably both brave and foolish.

I cannot describe how truly wonderful my trip was for so many different reasons.  I saw beautiful and magnificent sights, I experienced new things, I met people from all different backgrounds and went wherever the road took me, as they say.  Although I could have spent more time in each of these places if I had flown everywhere instead of driving, I do not regret that decision.  I would have missed out on the breathtaking views and so many unique side excursions.

There is something to be said for taking a long drive by yourself every once in awhile (although I probably took the driving to the extreme).   It gives you time..... something so scarce it seems in every day life.  Time to reflect and time to appreciate what surrounds you.

I used to think that some of my most challenging days were those where I worried about deadlines at work, how many billable hours I had or how much money I was saving.  And although I already knew that all of these things were trivial and unimportant, that fact for me was magnified last September.

Ironic and sad to think that so much clarity can be gained from a tragedy.

When the days seemed difficult last fall I began to choose one thing each day for which I was thankful.  I remember on a drive back to Maine with my parents in late September or early October, my car had a flat tire.  There we were, stranded somewhere outside of Newport on the side of the highway where the next exit was another 4 or 5 miles away.  The three of us were completely exhausted and frustrated.  I looked up at the beautiful sky, turned to my parents and said "today I am thankful that if we had to get a flat tire, it happened during the daytime hours, the sun is shining and that I wasn't alone."

Since those days I have been blessed to have so many things, moments and people in my life to be thankful for.  

I must thank all of you who "donated" to my trip and all of you who faithfully followed along with the blog day after day.  Thanks to those of you who sent emails, texts or posted comments with well wishes.  Thanks to my travel agent, John, who lined up hotels, restaurants and bars for me to visit in many cities.  Thanks to Lori, Alan and Sue for coming out to visit me on part of the trip.  Thanks again to Kramer & Sam for the GPS and to John for the laptop.  My life was made much easier because of both. 

Thanks to those of you who supported my decision to leave the working force for awhile and take this trip.  I am thankful most that I was in a position to create this opportunity for myself and that my travels returned me home safely.

I am not quite sure where my new road will lead me.  I only know that I am about to embark upon a whole new adventure, one that it seems I have been waiting to begin for some time.

Some of you may have heard the story about Lennie making a toast in Prince Edward Island while on a family vacation in 2004.  On one of the last days there we had dinner at a restaurant and Lennie stood and proposed a toast.  The gist of that toast was this.... "It will not be the money, the things I worry about or the tangible things that exist that I will take with me.  It is these moments and these memories that I will take with me in the end."

Adopting that same sentiment, I chose to return with very few souvenirs... only the memory of a truly remarkable experience.

Sensational Sedona

Alan, Sue and I awoke relatively early for our last day.  At least it seemed that way considering how late we were up the night before!  The three of us had decided to take the two hour drive north to Sedona, which we had been told by many people was a "must see" during our time in Arizona.

Everyone was right - it was well worth the drive.  Just look at this view!

The Coconino National Forest encompasses part of Sedona.  Within the forest is Oak Creek Canyon known for its rich red rock with some formations dating back ten million years.  We decided to explore this canyon by taking a jeep tour.  Also well worth the money!

There were seven of us on the tour (us and some "hot" girls for Alan).  Our tour guide Ken was interesting, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.

We learned that lava once flowed through the canyon and later the movement of plates and fault lines created what exists today.  You can see one of the fault lines here crossing diagonally from the bottom right in this picture.

There are few words other than absolutely amazing to describe the rock formations.  The deep red contrasting with the green of the trees, bushes and cactus were absolutely breathtaking.

Our off-road jeep tour was not without its own adventure.  At times it was similar to a roller-coaster ride where we endured heart-stopping drops like this one.

Our guide Ken left us at one point and Alan had to save the day by driving the tour the rest of the way!

Ok, so maybe that's not exactly what happened, but I think Alan was ready and willing to take over in the event that became necessary.

We ended our trip to Sedona by buying a bottle of wine and heading up to Airport Road to an overlook to watch the sunset.  A perfect way to end this part of the trip.

Well, that and our final trip to a local brewery!

I hope to finish my last blog tomorrow. 

My Final Visitor

I was very excited to see my friend Sue arrive since that meant one of the most important days of this trip was finally here...... Spa Day!!!

Three years ago I was given a gift certificate to a spa here in Scottsdale from Lennie, Sam and Kramer for a trip that I was supposed to take, but for many reasons, never did!  Finally the day had arrived that I could use their generous gift and take some time to relax (are you sensing a theme yet to this weeks activities?)

Alan decided to join Sue and I for a massage at the spa.  A little weary of allowing a male to invade our quiet, tranquil ritual of "spa-ing," we had a talk with Alan about appropriate spa etiquette and made no secret about the fact that his behavior would be closely scrutinized.

We arrived at the spa around 9:30am and checked out the facilities.

This was the rooftop pool, which at one end turned into a waterfall.  The lounge chairs around the pool looked out onto the desert surroundings made complete with the shadow of mountain ranges in the background. 

The massage and facial were excellent.  It was a beautiful spa.  In between treatments Sue and I met up with Alan to enjoy the pool and to take advantage of the other amenities available.

For example, this is the waterfall treatment area.  You could sit and soak in the warm water or stand under the waterfalls, each a different intensity in their water flow and pressure.

As I enjoyed my facial that day, dozing in and out of sleep something happened.  Something that has not happened in a very long time.  My mind went blank.  I was not thinking about one single thing.  I realized that what I was feeling was true peace and relaxation.  You may be thinking, well of course, I was at the spa.  But trying to relax, to escape your everyday life, inevitably allows your mind only to wander  more...... to allow in thoughts that you have been putting off thinking about.  At least that is how it is usually is for me.

Not Thursday.  

I cannot truly explain what that moment was like after the past year.

Sue and I finished the day with pedicures.  Ironically, you may recall this is how my adventures began.

It was a wonderful day filled with good company and good conversation.  Sue and I had time to catch up and we were happy to report to Alan that he passed "spa-ing" with flying colors.  Well, up until he encouraged the ladies at the front desk to take a picture of us as we were leaving our treatments, yet to take a shower.

But I suppose this provides proof that he was at the spa with us.

As the valet brought the car around, a familiar face awaited us..... Thunder!  Unfortunately Thunder was not allowed into the spa so needed to wait for us in the car.  We noticed that the valet was kind enough to crack the window for her, although I think she was a little upset with Alan for leaving her in the car all day.

Lori and Mike came over to play cards and say their good-byes later that night.  This was followed by Alan and I attempting to break in to the hot tub area of the resort which had been locked since 10pm.  Scaling a fence, I learned, is not as easy as it looks and I was unsuccessful in my efforts.

Alan and I decided instead to sit and talk on the balcony into the wee hours of the morning, while of course consuming some beverages.  Similar to my conversation with Lori at the beginning of the week, we talked about getting older.  This time, however, it was me explaining to Alan about getting older.  A scary thought considering that there are only 9 years between us. I never had a younger sibling to relay all my "wisdom" to.   Hopefully I was able to provide some.

I was lucky enough to receive another piece of mail Thursday.  A new friend in my life, Theresa sent me a donation!  Thanks Theresa, I hear you are feeling a bit under the weather.  Hope you get better soon!

Over the next few days I will have two final blogs.  One of which include stories from the last day in Arizona.  Check back often as I will have these completed by Monday or Tuesday.  Unfortunately I must go now and pack.   In a few hours I will be getting on a plane to return to my new home in Portland!  I hear that the weather isn't quite as nice as here.  My mom even offered to bring me a winter jacket to the airport.  I am a little scared.  Is it already snowing there?

My Second Visitor

So the plan for yesterday was to meet Lori, Mike and Alan at IronWorks in Glendale, AZ.  Earlier in the week Lori and I learned Restaurant Week was occurring here in the Phoenix area during our stay.  Restaurant Week is held in many cities and usually consists of high end restaurants offering a pre-fixed menu for a discounted rate.  Some cities participate in this week long extravaganza to raise money for charity, other cities hold these types of events to introduce newcomers to local culinary flavor.

Lori made reservations for 8:15 as she and Mike were picking up Alan the hour before at the airport.  Lori told Alan to dress “appropriately” to meet her new boyfriend and apparently this means khakis.  I opted for a dress (the first time I dressed up for anything in how many weeks?)

I arrived to the restaurant first.

My initial inclination that something was amiss was the parking lot.  It was not crowded, immediately making me question the necessity of a reservation.  In fact finding a parking spot near the front door was an easy task.  Since I did not see their car, I decided to wait inside for their arrival and perhaps enjoy a drink at the bar.  This was the second thing that clued me in that something was not quite right.  The bar was a combination of Cheers meets Caps Tavern meets one of those shady bars with no windows to prohibit outsiders, like me, from coming through the door.

There I was, no Lori, no Mike, no Alan, with a crowd of well…uhmmm…etiquettely challenged individuals staring back at me.  I walked out.  (You know I must have felt out of place if I left a bar!)

As I walked back out into the 90 degree night air, my company arrived.  I was literally jumping up and down to see familiar faces and gave Alan a big hug, almost forgetting about the awkwardness that awaited us inside.

After the hellos I tried to explain that I wasn’t quite sure we were in the right place.  As the four of us returned to the restaurant, we were greeted by a sign in the dining area that said “please seat yourself.”  It obviously was not necessary for Lori to make those reservations.  We sat in the dining room which we had all to ourselves, well except the workers who were sitting at a table near the other end of the restaurant.

The four of us were still laughing when the waiter came over and we asked for the Restaurant Week menu.  He had no idea what we were talking about.

Eventually someone did understand, we were provided the menu and thankfully offered drinks.  I quickly ordered a vodka martini.  They certainly had an interesting way to serve it!

The food was good - but there was way too much.  Here are our take home boxes!

Another family did eventually join us and you can see them in the background.

As my third visitor, Sue, was to arrive around midnight we decided to head back to the resort and play some cards and have a few beverages.

Alan, not liking to travel alone, decided to bring his friend Thunder along for the trip.  The pics below, show....well.... uhmm.... Alan and Thunder!   You can decide for yourself what is going on.

Sue arrived safely and we all had a late night.  I think I went to bed around 3am.  My apologies to my loyal fans for my late blog, but warning.......this might be the trend for the rest of the week!

The List

I was supposed to travel to the Grand Canyon yesterday with my friend Shelly.  We were to drive the four hours, stay overnight and return sometime later today.  Unfortunately for both of us, something came up at home, and she was unable to make the trip.  There are some people in my life that believe Shelly is my imaginary friend, so her absence will only lend more credibility to their belief!

I debated about traveling to the Grand Canyon by myself.  But another 8 hour drive (although not all at once) did not sound particularly appealing after all the driving I had done lately.  I opted instead to lounge by the pool in this 100 degree weather.  

Tough, I know, especially for you New Englanders where your highs for the days are the overnight lows here.

Last night I ventured out and visited the Gordon Biersch brewery in Tempe.  

There is a closer location, however, seven years ago when I traveled to Tempe for business I recall wishing I could spend more time in the area.  Tempe is home to Arizona State University and has a typical college town feel to it.

I needed to go to this brewery so I could knock off some beers on the list.  I was able to accomplish this task by ordering the Pilsner.

A few minutes before I was about to leave, a college professor also sitting at the bar, struck up a conversation with me.  He had a Spanish dictionary in front of him.  I inquired further.  He indicated that he was teaching himself different languages as a hobby.  Having just brushed up on my Spanish the night before at karaoke, we exchanged a few niceties in the foreign language, before I headed back to the resort.

It occurred to me as I sat there, however, that some of you may not know what the list is, despite the fact that I have somehow convinced you to send me money towards it!  (Why work, when I have that kind of talent?)

Several years ago Lennie came across this website called "My Life is Beer."  It was a challenge to consume hundreds of beers from breweries in the United States and Canada.  As proof of your consumption, you needed to keep the labels from each beer you drank.  If you were having a beer with no label or a draught beer, you needed to keep the receipt.  I do not recall all the details of the challenge although I am sure there are a few of you reading this who do.  Unfortunately the website no longer exists.  Lennie, as with many things, was meticulous about keeping track of the beer he consumed even creating a book with all the labels and the dates on which he consumed each one.

My family and I have decided to continue on with the list, hoping someday to complete the task that my brother once started.  We also hope to have a website and will send it to friends and family asking them to help us finish the list.

Here are some of the labels I have collected on my travels.  Not all of these beers are on the list. Lennie, in later years, began to add his own beer to the list from local breweries he visited that he felt were worth of this honor.  I have elected to do the same.

This morning I received a text which woke me out of a sound sleep.  It was from my cousin Alan who said "wake up and write on the blog, I am bored at work."  I texted him back and said "I don't understand....what's work?"  Alan by the way will be flying in tonight to visit for the next few days.   To get him back for waking me up, I've decided to introduce Alan to all of you using my most recent picture of him.....

It ought to be an interesting few days!

A Unique Karaoke Experience

Thanks to the suggestion of my parents, Lori and I traveled yesterday to Kokopelli Winery about 25 miles south of Scottsdale.  Kokopelli, a fertility deity, is a prominent figure in this area and can be seen on the wine glasses below.

Lori’s boyfriend Mike who also just "happens" to be out here, met us at the winery.  The wine tasting was to be your choice of six of their wines.  But after making friends with our host, Mariah, mine may have become a few more than just six.  

Here are the extra glasses of Cabernet that I received!

The food and the wine were both excellent.  Towards the end of the meal, Mariah even allowed us to come behind the bar and pour our own wine.

As with my last visit to a winery, I thanked our host for her generosity and told her to follow along on my blog.

In the afternoon I found out that I had received mail!  Beth, Nikki and my parents all sent me a little something to help with my beer fund!  Thanks!  I will be sure to report back to you which beers you helped to knock off the list!

Last night Mike, Lori and I were welcomed at the resort with a mexican fiesta of sorts.  I may have forgotten to mention yesterday that Lori and I are by far the youngest people at the resort.  Lori believes the average age to be mid-70's.  I would have guessed a little younger.  If this gives you any idea, when a song that first came out in the 1940's was played we heard one woman exclaim..... "ooohhhh, I was ten when this came out."  I think she was sitting near the woman who was 92.

Apparently this older crowd loves fiestas, as they were all present for their big night out and ready for some good food and good entertainment.  I was hoping I could provide the latter.  

This sight was only matched by our karaoke host, pictured below.

Joe, originally from Sicily, sang his first few songs in different languages.  I immediately worried that none of his song selections would be in English and I was going to have to sing in Spanish or fake my way through in one of my other fluent languages like Italian or German.  

Luckily for me (and the crowd) I soon learned that Joe did in fact have songs in English.  

If I wasn't already aware that this would be a unique karaoke experience, Joe also gave a power point presentation as he talked to the crowd.  This was followed by a trivia contest.  My favorite was number three "Cows and People."

After hearing some show stopping songs like "Bingo" (yes, one woman actually sang "b-i-n-g-o and bingo was his name-o")  I decided to entertain the audience with some ABBA.  When I got up to the microphone I told my geriatric karaoke friends this song was for my cousin Lori and asked them to encourage her to come up and help me sing.  They all began to clap and cheer.  Lori was not amused.  Needless to say, I sang alone.

Mike, however, did sing with me!  We closed the one hour (yes, ONE hour....who has karaoke for one hour?) show with a little Frank Sinatra.  Unfortunately it was a jazz version of Fly Me to the Moon, which neither of us could follow.  As you can see, we weren't really sure what to do.

At the end of the evening, I knew I had to get a picture with the karaoke jockey, Joe.

As Lori, Mike and I walked back to the room, we passed the 92 year old woman and her family.  One of them said "we enjoyed your karaoke tonight Chrissy!"  I said "thanks" and said to Mike and Lori....."look, my fans in Arizona love me!"

My First Visitor

It didn't take me long to realize this part of the trip was going to be very different.  For starters, I have stopped traveling from state to state or driving an absurd amount of miles everyday.  Did I mention that in 10 days I drove just over 2,000 miles?  It was definitely time to relax.

For those of you that know me well, I am not particularly a morning person.  So when the first of my four visitors, my cousin Lori, told me that her flight was arriving at 9am... you can imagine how thrilled I was.  Clearly she did not understand the concept of "unemploying."  I arrived on time to pick her up (again, if you know me well, you know this was a feat all on its own) and there Lori was...... all the way from Texas...... packed with just as much as I had been for three weeks, yet her stay was only for the next five days!  

We went out to breakfast and then came back to enjoy the 100 degree weather by the pool.  While there we enjoyed some outdoor entertainment.  We had some interesting discussions, most of which I cannot write on the blog.  Lori educated me on the pros and cons of getting older.....and I thought my previous experiences on this trip had been eye opening experience!

Much to my excitement, I learned that a fiesta had been planned at the resort for Monday night .....complete with karaoke!  We are already signed up!  Arizona watch out!

Lori informed me almost immediately after getting off the plane that she needed to be in front of a TV later to watch the Cowboys play.  Thanks to my travel agent, John, we ended up at Half Moon Sports Bar & Grill close by the resort.

Although there were no beers on the list on draught, I did sample the local brew, Bottoms Up.  

Thankfully the Cowboys won, otherwise I would have had real flashbacks to my childhood when my mom wouldn't talk to anyone after a loss.

The Beginning of Part II

It's a tough life, but someone has got to live it!

I stepped off the plane in Arizona today to 99 degree weather and checked out the view from my two balconies....

That' s right - two balconies!  Along with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen!  For the next week I am residing in a time share.  For those of you who decided not to come out and visit me on this part of the trip ......what were you thinking?

After a long 10 days of driving and trying to see everything I could, I must admit it was nice to unpack my things knowing I was staying in one place for awhile.  As a bonus, it will be near 100 degrees each day and I have access to a pool and a hot tub whenever I want to take advantage of them.  Which, by the way, is exactly what I did when I arrived.

Over the course of the next week, I will have four visitors.  I will share those stories as they each arrive.

I am in room 334 at the Villa Mirage in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Check out their website for great pictures of the property at villa-mirage.com.

I wanted to let you all know that I do read the comments that are posted in response to my blog every day.  It has amazed me how many people are reading along. 

Let me respond to a few comments that were posted recently.  Sandy, I was never particularly interested in history growing up either.  But I have found that there is a difference when you learn about something in person than just reading about it in a book!  It is much more interesting.

"Mr. Stubbs" - yes, I have spent my dad's $20 and he should send me more money!  Since you live relatively close by, could you go give him a good talking to for me?

A shout out today to a few people.  For those of you who also read the comments, you may see that my cousin Drew has posted a few times.  He is currently serving our country overseas in Baghdad.  Thanks for all you do Drew and for taking the time to read about my trip.  I am very proud of you, be safe out there!

My friends Nikki & Beth have both contacted me this week regarding donations to my trip.  Thanks guys!  I'll let you know when I receive them.

I have also received good news while on my trip that I want to share.  My former boss, Jay called the other day to tell me about the verdict on a case that I worked closely on while employed there.  I really liked my clients (sometimes a rarity in my profession) and empathized with their situation.  I remember I had also shared the circumstances of this case with Sam, Kramer and Lennie one night over dinner at Rivalries in Portland.  Lennie was particularly disgusted with the fact that my clients were being sued.  From then on, he would always ask me about this case when he saw me.  I think he, as am I, would be extremely happy to know that in the end the system worked.  Thanks for the call Jay.

I have also learned that my friend Nikki is pregnant and she gave me the ok to share this news with all of you.  She is due in April and Abby is very excited that she will soon have a brother or sister to play with (and torture)!

My day yesterday began with a call from Sam, Kramer and Sadie.  Earlier in the week my sister sent me some cute pictures of my niece.  Thought you would all enjoy seeing one too!

Look Sadie - you are a web celebrity just like your Aunt Chrissy!

The Conclusion of Part I

Thursday night I ventured out to a local watering hole around the corner from my hotel.  

Firehouse Brewing Company has an excellent Firehouse Red that I would recommend.  I sat at the bar, had dinner and a few (ok maybe more than a few) drinks.  The guys next to me, both self proclaimed hippies, (Altman and Lloyd) talked to me about various things to do in South Dakota.  It became painfully clear to me how much we all take the states we live in for granted.

After a late night (without any ass slapping incidents), I opted for a relaxing morning….. taking in a bit of the downtown area of Rapid City.  I then drove to Custer State Park where I hiked a little while admiring the beautiful scenery.   One of the men who supported the construction of Mt. Rushmore, Peter Norbeck, designed some of the roads leading into the park including the Needles Parkway and Iron Mountain Road.  Here is but a glimpse of this drive.

 

I have decided that wildlife must love me.  After my close call at Yellowstone, they certainly are drawn to me.

Later in the afternoon I visited Wind Cave just south of the state park.  This particular cave is the fourth largest in the world and is home to 95% of the worlds boxwork (thin blades of the mineral calcite that cling to the inside of the cave in a honeycomb or box pattern).

Strong wind currents that blow alternatively in and out of the cave suggested its name; they are caused by changes in atmospheric pressure.  The cave has over 125 miles of surveyed passageways which rangers estimate to be only 5% of what exists more than 200 feet below the surface.

For the last night in Rapid City, I chose to return to Mt. Rushmore for a lighting ceremony, held every night.  Much like other national parks, the ticket I purchased yesterday was good for a return visit.   Luckily for me, I had also saved my bottle of wine from my trip through Washington for this special occasion.  I consumed a glass while waiting for the festivities to begin.

A couple in their late 50’s sat beside me and we struck up a conversation.  They were from Springfield, Illinois and had rented an RV to drive cross country to “see what they could see," and had been driving since Sunday.  I could relate.  

They were talkative, entertaining, funny and it didn't take long for me to determine that they were good, genuine people.   The program, which lasted approximately 30 minutes ended with a dim lighting of the mountain.  It was incredible.

A park ranger then asked all the men and women in the audience who had served in the military to come down to the front and be recognized.  The man from Illinois stood up, walked down the stairs to the front of the stage.  The Star Spangled Banner was sung and then a moment of silence while the veterans helped to take the American flag down for the day.  I heard the wife, who just a short time before had been so happy and talkative, sniffle.  I looked over and she was wiping tears from her face as she watched her husband on the stage below. 

After the ceremony, the husband returned and embraced his wife.  It was evident that throughout their many years together they had endured many things.  I turned to quietly leave when the man turned around, patted me on the back and said, “it was nice to meet you, good luck with the rest of your trip.”

As this part of my trip comes to an end, I realize that the people I have met and talked to along the way has been almost as amazing as the places I have seen.  I have been moved by the kindness and generosity of complete strangers and have taken something away from each experience.

What I will take away with me due to the chance encounter with the couple from Illinois....hug someone you love today.