Road Trip

Those of you who know EL know that when in the car and heading from point A to point B, it isn’t about a dining experience or bathroom breaks. It is about the distance between A and B and how fast you can get from A to B. I think it is a guy thing. (According to Tracy this would be classified as an "Ellisism"). Well okay, I may be exaggerating just a bit, but just a bit. He is good to ask if I am hungry and if I need a bathroom break I speak up.

I packed us a lunch, connected XM radio, threw our belongings into the Escalade and off we went on a road trip that would cover about 1300 miles in 3.5 days or 84 hours or 5,040 minutes.

It truly is not about what you do as much as it is about just hanging with someone you want to hang with. I am glad to have someone who likes to see the country. At times I may want to experience some of the country as opposed to just seeing it, but I would not trade the time I have with EL for anything.

Having no predetermined destination, we were at the mercy of where ever we ended up at the end of the day. Day one we made it to Bluff. Had wonderful accommodations.

We saw some beautiful landscapes. Monument Valley reflects the west as it is portrayed in so many western movies. Ones imagination can take you to the days of the wild west.

Next stop would be Cameron Arizona. This is a store, restaurant, hotel and post office just to the east of the south rim entrance into the canyon. Not bad accommodations either. I like rooms with a view.

We ventured south to Flagstaff before heading east into New Mexico. While in Arizona we took in Sunset Crater, The Petrified Forest National Park and The Painted Desert National Park. The Petrified Forest is in the desert…..No living trees, just huge petrified ones scattered around and about.

New Mexico license plates read “land of Enchantment”. I’m not so sure. Next stop was going to be Shiprock NM. However, we could find no accommodations in Shiprock so we went on to Cortez. Didn’t want to stay in Shiprock anyway.

Last day out and coming home. We chose a route through Colorado that was sure to be Colorado at its finest. And it was. Back home again. Until next time…….

Happy Birthday

It is a beautiful spring day. I had a list of things to do today of which some got done and others did not. I have had many wonderful calls from friends and family giving me birthday wishes.

Aging gracefully.....I don't believe I have had the experience of looking in the mirror and having some horrid feeling of how old I am looking or the birthday that sends you over the edge into a midlife crisis. It has been more subtle. The crows feet just sort of made their way to the corners of my eyes. The grey hair has been hidden for some time. Well maybe I was able to conceal it to some degree because of the color of my hair. It is now concealed on a regular basis. It reminds me of a story....the kids and I were at the store. Blake had a pair of binoculars and from across the store he proceeded to tell me (from across the store) how great they worked because he could see my grey hair. Thanks Blake, could you say that a little more quietly......Remember this was some time ago. And I am pretty sure I didn't have gray hair at that time. He was just being witty...It does make me laugh. Okay, maybe I am in denial.
I truly believe you are only as old as you feel. Of course at this time I am feeling a bit older than I really am. Life dealt me a hand I was not expecting. But I am working on getting healed up and back to my "energizer bunny" self. Thanks for all the wonderful thoughts and gifts. I am very blessed and thankful for all that I have.

Feet first

Dear friends and family,
I have decided to take the plunge into the blog world. One of my goals for the year is to expand on my creativity. I really enjoy visiting the blogspots of the kids. I think it is a fun way to share photos, experiences and thoughts, creatively, with friends and family. I have put this off for some time, not knowing where to start or what to say, so here I am. Visit me at cindiwithanipierce.blogspot.com.