Heading home to BC, Canada

Today was a day of travel--first by a lovely little Nissan Versa Note from Sedona to Phoenix.

We had lunch at Le Grand Orange with L's aunt and then hotfooted it over to the airport, checking in way too late. We jumped on a WestJet plane from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to Vancouver International Airport.

Next to our plane was the Disney Frozen WestJet plane. Very fun!

Take-off was smooth, as was the rest of the relatively empty flight (we spread out across three seats).

 Finally, after 3 hours or so in the air, we started to come into Vancouver.

 There is some amazing First Nations art in the new arrivals area...

 

After that it was a couple of SkyTrains and a fabulous neighborly pickup from our local SkyTrain station. After dinner at our local Vietnamese place, we are finally home. And it feels FABULOUS!  We will be cleaning up this blog in the next couple of days. Thanks for joining us on the trip. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did ;-)

The Bandit Trail, The Martian, and The Train Game

The day started early with a walk for D and L's dad up the Bandit Trail. It is a great trail behind the property that gets some good elevation.

 It is pretty rough, with tones of cacti, but luckily no critters of any kind that D could see.

 And the views were absolutely astounding.

 Even as we got back down and onto the road to head home.

It was a cold and rainy day so we decided to hit the movies. D listened to the audio book of The Martian--it is one of the best books she has ever heard/read. The movie is OK but really doesn't come close to the level of the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ej3ioOneTy8

After the movie we went to Acai Bowl for a cup of pure health and longevity. D had the Sedona Bowl--full of red beet juice, acai berries, other fruit, and granola.

 And what else is perfect for rainy afternoon than Ticket to Ride (the Train Game)!

Thanks for a nice few days, Sedona, Arizona.

A Santa tree, Tlaquepaque, and Montezuma's castle

We started off the day helping out at a volunteer thing with L's parents. First, we helped throw out some rubbish. The place held a surprising amount of interesting artifacts, including this one...

Our main task was to help decorate the Santa tree for the Festival of Trees. It took a surprising amount of time to finish the tree, which looked something like this all the way around. It will be auctioned off for charity sometime in December.

The we headed out to Tlaquepaque, a key tourist shopping destination in Sedona. From the shopping centre, we could see a grey home on a hill--formerly owned by none other than Lucille Ball.

Tlaquepaque means 'the best of everything' and was apparently fashioned to resemble a Mexican village. D enjoyed the fact that trees were growing throughout the complex.

 There were also some amazing statues and art galleries. This was D's favorite.

 Then we went to Montezuma's castle, about a 30-minute drive south of Sedona.

Interestingly enough, the structure is neither a castle nor connected to Montezuma. Instead, it is a well-preserved set of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings near Camp Verde. Apparently the dwellings were built and used about 700 years ago and housed about 35 people. Hopi clans and Yavapai communities trace their heritage to this area and return home for ceremonies periodically.

 The dwelling is built up high into the cliff face and has been well preserved for hundreds of years.

Beaver Creek runs near the dwellings and must have been the source of water for the community.

Sunset in Red Rock country on the drive home. Simply sublime.

Sunny Sedona: a baptism, nice lunch, and hanging out with family

It is much warmer in Sedona in November than it is in December (at least according to D who about froze last year when we visited for Christmas).

We sped around Safeway at breakneck speed this morning trying to get food for the baptism. We made it and even got to the church on time. The baptism was lovely and then we gathered at a space next to the church for lunch. It was a simple spread but a good one.

After many hours of adult communing and kids in the playground, we headed back to L's parents' house for presents, more food, and hanging out. We watched a surprisingly good movie on TV in the evening--Shattered, starring Maria Bello, Gerard Butler, and Pierce Brosnan. A recommended TV or Netflix movie if you find come across it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ziSx_KSqX9A#t=4

The road trip is over, but the vacation continues

We headed out of Chicago today, which signified the end of our road trip. We are going home via Sedona for some time with L's family. O'Hare was busy, and it was strange to be in an airport instead of driving places.

 We flew out on October 31st, the last day of Pink October (breast cancer awareness month).

 It was a very rainy day and a very busy time on the runway.

 But we got up and on our way smoothly.

 And soon we were into better weather...

 ...with mountain ranges...

 ...and waterways.

It felt weird to get out of the car, but would have been extremely long if we'd driven it!

We drove from Phoenix to Sedona and soon saw some familiar sights, including Kokopelli the flute player: the symbol of happiness and joy.

 We took a walk in uptown Sedona at sunset, which was beautiful.

 Red rock country is quite amazing.

We will continue to blog until we get back to Vancouver, even though the road trip of the Eastern US is really done. We are still driving around, but this is for family more than for road tripping. D might try to do some touristy stuff in Sedona because the weather is good and the area is beautiful.