Road Trip

Hello, from Texas! We are home from our fun road trip, and it is good to be reunited with our two puppers! Mimi took good care of them, and we are all happy to be settling back into our normal routines.

We did a lot of fun things on our road trip, and I want to jot a few notes here about the highlights:

: The week was relaxing, and felt like it didn't fly by. The best part was that we broke up all of the driving, so even though it is quite far to Vegas, we did it in batches and did fun things along the way.

: On our way to Vegas, we stayed in Clovis, NM and Gallup, NM -- the journey took us through all kinds of different weather, which was a bit bizarre! We even drove through some snow! Luckily it didn't last long. The scenery along the way was so beautiful -- lots of rolling mountains and beautiful, big trees.

: Vegas was a lot of fun! This was my first, real time there, and there was so much to see! Our first evening there, we walked the entire strip and checked it all out. So many lights!! I found it to be very clean, and though there were a lot of people there, it didn't really feel crowded. It was interesting to us that the two sides of the street had very different feels. The main side, with most of the hotels, felt very upscale and fun...the other side felt a little more seedy. It was definitely a very good place to do a lot of people watching!

: Chris had two days of meetings while in Vegas...they went well! While he was away, I spent a lot of good time relaxing, reading, writing, etc. It was nice to have that down time.

: Chris' boss, Jay, was in town for the meetings too, and we enjoyed a yummy dinner with him at Buca di Beppo. It was good catching up with him.

: The Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson One show was incredible!! When we got to the theater, I discovered that Chris had gotten us FRONT ROW, CENTER seats! I couldn't believe it! It was so fun to watch the show up close, and actually see the faces of the performers, etc. We had a little interaction with the show as well, as some of the actors/dancers came by a few times. There were so many fantastic parts, but one highlight was during Thriller -- one of the zombies was right in front of us! Thriller was definitely one of my favorite numbers. Another was Man in the Mirror, where they actually had a hologram of Michael Jackson dancing and singing with them. It was so life-like, and so unexpected, that it actually brought tears to my eyes. It seemed like he was really there! Crazy technology. What a phenomenal experience, and so very happy that we got to share it together!

: On our journey home from Vegas, one of our stops was at the Grand Canyon! It was about two hours off our main path (50 minutes each way), but it was definitely worth it! What a majestic work of art created by God! It's so unreal to stand and look as far as your eye can see, and it's still the Grand Canyon. We took so many photos, and none of them do it any justice. It's impossible to capture the grandness! WOW! We spent about 2 hours there, and I'm so glad we were able to go.

: In Arizona, we stopped at a little Indian shop off the highway. We took some pics with their fun dinosaur and teepee displays, and I found a fabulous donkey souvenir! It was made by Huichol Indians and their process is to cover the surface with beeswax and then press in the colorful beads one at a time in a very specific pattern with a long needle. It's a one-of-a-kind piece, and it's so colorful! He looks great added to my collection.

: We stayed in Albuquerque for two nights, and Chris had a business meeting and a Board Meeting phone call on Friday. While he did those, I walked around Old Town and enjoyed seeing all of the art and culture there. Our hotel was very nice, and we enjoyed the town. We especially liked St. Clair Winery -- our waitress was great, and the wine and food were fun! It was within walking distance of our hotel and was how we wrapped up our road trip that last evening.

I really cherished this time with Chris...I'm so glad he had the idea to combine a vacation with his work trip. We talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company...loved every minute of it!