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North America » United States » Arizona » Tempe
October 3rd 2008
Published: October 8th 2008
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1: Oh my virgin ears! 41 secs

A Premature Goodbye...



After getting my car repaired in San Diego, I wrestled with the thought of staying one more night and going strait through to Flagstaff, AZ, but decided to go ahead to segment the drive and stay a night in Big Bear City. Big Bear Mistake, yo. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty town in the mountains with that Bavarian feel I love....NOT! And, of course, being a Monday it was absolutely dead. Only three others stayed at the Hostel and I had a very low key evening chatting with the owner who seemed to be happy to have someone to talk to. So, ultimately I would have much rather spent another night hangin' with Jessica Jean, but I guess I had to cut loose from the West Coast at some point.

The Wonders Of Flagstaff



Having visited Flagstaff twice before, I was confident driving in towards the evening and trusting the next two days would be a significant improvement from Big Bear Boring. I hadn't expected, however, a more ecclectic bunch than I had seen in San Fran or L.A.! After getting settled in the Grand Canyon Hostel off Route 66 I met a few other travelers. I asked what they'd be doing this evening. Because they had nothing planned I suggested we get a beer across the street at one of the many bars (it is, after all, a college town). We recruited a few others, but shortly our small crowd was reduced to two; J.P. from South Africa and myself. Fortunately he was extremely charismatic, easy to talk to and an active listener. We proceeded to two other bars and chatted about everthing from Amy Winehouse (who he considers "a noodle") and comparing South Africa and U.S. currencies.
During this time I was invited to join him and a few others who were unable to go on the Grand Canyon tour because it was filled for our own adventure in the morning. Although I have been there before, I figured it would be better than an entire day spent alone in the Hostel. It turned out to be a great choice! Starting early we all piled into the car. There was Lauren, a teacher from France, Kijo, a science teacher from Japan, Andrew, a farmer from Scotland, J.P., Nature Conservationist from South Africa, and myself. Once at the largest canyon in the world we walked around and decided to hike down into the canyon. The hike, including the distance from our car, totalled only about 2.25 miles, but left me sore the next day. After a long day in the canyon, we went out for dinner at Cracker Barrell and finally made it back around 9pm.
I enjoyed a rejuivinating shower, and joined J.P. and a couple other guests for cocktails in the hostel kitchen. Once again J.P. and I outlasted the others and decided to go for a walk. I enjoyed seeing famliar sights and being flooded with memories from my visits before...Bun Huggers, baby! And, for the record, no sunset here topped the one Amanda and I witnessed coming down through Utah so many years ago! J.P. and I compared constellations since they are far different in S. Africa and had yet to run out of topics to discuss. Our conversations went late into the night, but morning would come quickly. Because he would leave early in the morning to reach Vegas and I would sleep in, we said our goodnights and goodbyes. This was a much "friendlier" goodbye than I
Culture ClubCulture ClubCulture Club

Kijo, J.P., Myself, Andrew, Lauren
usually experience, but a little langua never hurt anyone, right? (:

Eileen...to the left



Resuming my nomadic lifestyle, I hit the trail to Tempe, AZ taking a detour through Sedona to view the red rock formations, canyons and check out some shops. I even got to hike up to a Buddhist shrine. It was pretty interesting, but, in comparison to the lush and colorful Northwest, wouldn't be my depiction of sanctuary. Well...I suppose peace is a state of mind and being anyway. Moving onward, I arrived in Tempe, AZ around 5pm. I lucked out that Eileen wanted to go work out for a bit, so I took a short nap to gear up for some Rock Band action at a local bar. We enjoyed a pizza dinner, live music and playin' rock band with others at the bar. Tired from the drive and the nights exertions, we retired for the evening.

Softballs and Masks



Jumping into Eileen's daily routine left me little down-time, seeing as she, too, is a highly involved person when it comes to her social life, work, volunteering and sports interests. We started with happy hour at Cadillac Ranch and proceeded to the local park for Eileen's double header softball game. Shortly after we met up with a friend of ours from high school and went to the local haunted house. I expected the generic jump-fest that lasts a few minutes, but this production was significantly better than most I've seen. There were four different houses each themed differently; dilapidated gold mine, crazy clowns, down the rabbit hole (a creepy twist on Alice in Wonderland) and a 3-D house. Highlight: stumbling down a tunnel to be greeted by hyena-like figure and unable to control the direction in which I ran. Lowlight: Eileen getting popped in the open eye by a bodiless head. Fortunately, her recovery was quick and we were on to the next scare in no time.

Volunteering and October Brews



Saturday started early as Eileen, her roommate Ashley, and I had to rendezvous with two of their co-workers to help facilitate "Save the Family"'s Kids Karnival. We had to amp up the energy as we zipped around taking pictures, supervising the inflatable fun castle, and painting faces (which I do believe was my specialty). As the day wore on, I was exhausted. Sitting down and looking around, the timeless classic Chicken Dance Polka song came on. I watched the kids flock toward the speakers and it brought to mind what I would picture a pre-mature Woodstock as; kids hopped up on cotton candy and sno cones, flailing arms around to the music in what seemed to be slow motion (which could have been my own cotton-candy-high) wearing goofy grins and face paint.
Once back at the house and sufficiently rested, we headed out with a few friends to Mesa's Oktoberfest. I didn't have it in me to do too much, so we enjoyed a brew, a slice of pizza, a risky ride on the "Gravitron". I mean, is it REALLY that great of an idea to serve a whole lot o' beer then spin people around so hard the center of gravity lifts them off the ground propelling them upward? Shortly after this, we called it a night.

Sunday: A day of rest



Sunday was dedicated to the couch more than anything. Eileen and I ventured out with a friend of hers to a Baptist Church in Phoenix. It was such a great experience,
A Frightening Fairy TaleA Frightening Fairy TaleA Frightening Fairy Tale

Diana, Eileen and I with the creepy (and transexual) Alice and White Rabbit
being genuinely welcomed with hugs and handshakes and worshiping with ALL our strength. The music was beautiful and, though the choir was charismatic and soulful, it was apparent who the glory was for. This continued for over two hours and I savored every minute. Walking away with more inspiration than I have felt in a while, I realized I need to be much more deliberate with my down time and devotions. That aside, Eileen and enjoyed a kosher lunch together at Chompy's and hung out around the house the rest of the day.

Monday: A Realization



This day was to be a day of transition; laundry, packing, cleaning and corresponding. As I sat down to finish and publish this blog, I realized I hadn't brought my laptop in the house. Not like me, since I don't want my hardware to fry in the hot car. Upon further inspection, though, I realized it wasn't there to fry. Tracing my steps and searching the house one more time, I called the hostel in Flagstaff and, sure enough, I had left it wedged between the bed and wall for security purposes. Worked pretty well. This little hiccup in
OktoberfestOktoberfestOktoberfest

Eileen, Ashley, Mark, Lauren, Meeee
my travel plans changed my route somewhat. Leaving Tuesday morning I packed up early, being sure to leave nothing behind. I stopped in Flag, picked up my laptop, and headed on to Albuquerque, NM rather than El Paso, TX as I had originally planned.

Hump Day (hee hee)



I slept in late this morning (not realizing I had also lost an hour to the time change] and plan to see what Albuquerque is all about. I've heard a lot about hot-air balloons and art, but first must find Sears or Goodyear. I wanna get my car checked before the long haul to Keller. I'm so excited to see family there and was half tempted to go on a coffee binge and drive strait through, but, aside from it not being too safe, I wanna take the time to check out the areas in between. Driving in last night at sunset was picturesque. Like any native painting you might have seen the sky was indescribable. Blazing red rocks and mesas, the city in a bowl below and some kind of haze above the desert that was nothing like smog. Unfortunately it is difficult to take in while driving into the east, and the 40 is highly travelled by Semi's, which deterrs me from pulling off to the side of the road. Perhaps I'll get an even better view tonight.





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9th October 2008

ha ha
now how funny was that joke!
9th October 2008

Ang- So much we don't get to talk about in our phone conversations so it is always nice to hear how you spend much of your hours. What a trip! Oh, and 'You look marvelous'!! Be safe. Love you much! Mom
14th October 2008

Holy Beer, Batgirl!
Sister! Sounds like you're managing to find fun and friends everywhere you go! Glad you and Eileen (...to the left!) had such a good time; I can definitely see you being very proficient at face painting (it's all those years of finding better things to do with your time in the classroom...(drawing on yourself)....take that, pops!). And way to embrace that European heritage (it's in there somewhere, isn't it?!?!?) and head to Octoberfest! Uckas!

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