Sunday, May 18, 2014

Cali

August and I left in the cool darkness of the early morning to catch our flight to LAX.  We would be visiting Jerry for a 4 day weekend in Lompoc, just north of Santa Barbara, where he was staying for two week work trip.  My son must share my love for travel- from the moment he was hit with the bright lights of airport security he was all smiles.  He spent most of the 2 hour plane ride looking out the window and shrieked in excitement when the plane barreled down the runway in LA.  Luckily for me, he promptly passed out moments after leaving in our rental car for the 2.5 drive to Lompoc.  My drive gave me time to think- mostly about how I had come out here almost two years ago, to the exact same place, driving down the exact same roads... and now here I was with my baby in tow.  And how travel is different with children- but really not that different... it is still exciting, and maybe even more so, because now I experience the joy of travel through the eyes of a child.  And that is what has always driven me to travel- the opportunity to experience something that felt completely brand new, giving me that disorientating sensation of knowing nothing, yet feeling everything. 



Baby's first trip to a winery.

Teaching August the art of the swirl.


 
Drive to Jalama Beach State Park.






Enjoying the beach on my first Mother's Day!




Can I have some?







Passed out.

The famous Jalama Beach burger.


The hotel pool.



Sunday, March 30, 2014

Days 6 and 7- Petrified Forest and Painted Desert NP, and Santa Fe





Our last full day on the road and I was starting to get that end of vacation sadness.  I wanted to go back to day 1, and do it all over again.  We spent our last day touring Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park, both beautiful in an understated way.  The highlight for me was the Painted Desert Inn, which had its heyday in the late 30s and 40s. Today it has been beautifully restored and serves as a visitor center overlooking sweeping views of the Painted Desert.  I must admit, while planning this trip the words “painted” and “desert” evoked wildly romantic notions of an artist's desert that was alive and dancing with color.  I even bought a new shirt prior to our trip, merely on the notion that "it would go with the Painted Desert".  The reality was no disappointment, and I can only imagine what secrets she reveals at sunset.  Someday I will have to go back to experience this.

 

We spent our last night at a ridiculously, almost obnoxiously large resort just north of Santa Fe.  But it sure was nice.  At check-in I heard the magical words “automatic upgrade to our suite” and we took the elevator up to our palace on the 5th floor.  The door opened to a huge living room and dining room, with southwestern décor, kiva fireplace and balcony.  Connected was the bedroom, with another kiva fireplace, balcony, and second bathroom with a soaking tub and separate glass shower.  What a way to end a fantastic road trip!
 
 
Petrified Forest NP




Painted Desert Inn

Ahhh... the Painted Desert




Our insanely nice room in Santa Fe, or at least half of it!

My favorite meal in the Southwest- chile rellanos, sopapillas with honey, and a margarita


Enjoying the pool at the Santa Fe resort

Day 4- Grand Canyon and Sunset Crater National Monument


There was a distinct shift in weather as we headed southwest towards Grand Canyon’s south rim.  It didn’t get cold right away, but the wind and clouds spoke of what was to come.  Sneaking in the back way, we made our way into Grand Canyon NP at the less popular East Entrance.  By the time we reached the first viewpoint, already late in the day, the cold had infiltrated.  Bundling up in hats and winter coats it was hard to believe less than 24 hours ago we were laying out in our bathing suits by the pool.  Such is the reality of spring. 

We two nights at the Masawik Lodge (the only lodge with availability back in January when we booked), located a quick ¼ mile walk from the rim.  Our room was dated, but clean, quiet, and serene on the 2nd floor, looking out into the ponderosa pines.  The lodge also contained a massive cafeteria which I quickly discounted, mentioning “oh, maybe we’ll eat there once…”  We ended up eating there not once, not twice, but FIVE times during our stay.  The cold brought with it an insatiable hunger that demanded retro comfort foods not often indulged in, such as tuna melts, onion rings, pancakes, and meatloaf.  In fact, the next day we spent most of our time alternating between hot meals at the cafeteria, naps in our room, TV watching, and brief trips out to the rim hoping to catch a peak of the sun.  As the cold wind howled, kicking up dust and dirt, we gave up on any plans to hike below the rim.  Around 4 pm the snow began and closed in one the canyon.  We watched from the historic Kolb Gallery, perched precariously on the rim.  The warmth of the gallery matched with the Native flute music that they piped out helped diminish any disappointments from the weather, as we bought books and souvenirs from the Grand Canyon, already planning in our minds our next trip back. 

We got up early Thursday, searching for a sunrise that would not be.  We left Grand Canyon with a still present biting wind, and headed for hopefully better weather back in the desert.  Leaving Flagstaff we made a quick stop to stretch our legs at Sunset Crater National Monument, containing a volcano that erupted a mere thousand years ago.  We jumped on I-40 and drove east to Holbrook, our stop for the evening on the historic Route 66.

Our first Grand Canyon View, Desert View at East Entrance

All bundled up!



Glimpses of sun



Stopping for a hot meal in Flagstaff

Sunset Crater National Monument

A hike through lava fields

Dinner in Holbrook on historic Route 66

The Wigwam Hotel