One of the things I value most in my life is the friendship I’ve been able to maintain with the girls I grew up with in Cincinnati. I have always thought it serendipitous that we found each other at such a young age and continue to love and support each other in this, our 40th year. We are all spread out around the country from Phoenix to Cincinnati to Savannah to London. But ours is the rich, easy, wonderful friendship that comes from knowing each other for thirty years. So I new that my time in Phoenix would be the recharge I needed after six weeks of being on the road.
Sus and Eric live in Phoenix with their precious children, Joseph and Evie, ages 4 and 2 respectively. They fed us, entertained us and gave us comfy beds to sleep in for four days. Fortunately for me, as Sus kept reminding me, the weather in Phoenix was unseasonably cool. So there was no return of my dreaded heat rash and Sus was spared my endless bitching about the heat.
I loved being able to hike with my friend each morning and watch our kids play together. My kids were in love with the idea that most homes in AZ are equipped with pools, as a matter of survival no doubt. So they were able to swim to their hearts content every day. I could have stayed in Phoenix for another week, but thought I should take the opportunity to see more of California.
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| Anna at the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix |
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| So happy to be in Sus's pool. |
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| Reading to Joseph and Evie |
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| Jackson loved making jokes about not being able to be a "tree hugger" in the desert. |
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| Evie and Sus |
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| Ditto. Just love this kid! |
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| The wonderfully hospitable West family |
From Arizona, we drove toward the California coast. Given that Alex wasn’t with us, we made a very brief visit to Joshua Tree. I was able to show the kids where Alex and I have spent so much time and they were able to finally envision the place they’ve heard so much about. We basically pulled over, made dinner, hiked around to take a few photos and moved on. The kids are looking forward to when we go back to climb as a family, especially after feeling how sticky the rock felt under their feet.
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| Beautiful JT rock! |
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| Jackson exploring |
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| Sitting under Geronimo |
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| On top of Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs |
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| Windmills....all over southern California |
The California coast was nothing short of extraordinary. I realize that words like breathtaking are born out of experiences like mine, where around every turn on Highway 1 I would gasp and utter, “Wow”, because there really were no words to describe the beauty I was seeing. We hiked in Big Sur, camped under giant Redwoods, played on a rocky beach, and saw elephant seals molting.
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| Anna trying to convince herself it's warm enough to swim in the Pacific. |
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| Our favorite campsite under the Redwoods. |
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| Gasp "wow"! |
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| The pool at the Hearst Castle was lined with Vermont marble. |
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| Jackson said, "Look Mom, I built Luxor." |
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| Elephant seals. So entertaining to watch. |
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| There were hundreds of them. |
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| Pfieffer Beach, cold and windy but awesome! |
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| Fun to watch the waves crashing in. |
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| Awesome tidepools |
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| Despite constant warnings, this kid's hand is always in a hole |
I realized how unrelenting the wind was and that the cold Pacific Ocean keeps temperatures pretty cool in May. Everything we saw was spectacular and I didn’t really want to leave the area after our short stay. But it was time to get back on the road and head toward Vegas once more to rejoin Alex.
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| Jellyfish at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium |
