{phoenix wandering}
{flagstaff & grand canyon: mather's point and GC village}
{downtown sedona}
{tlaquepaque, modeled after a mexican village}
{desert botanical garden in phoenix}
{historic scottsdale}
{taliesen west: frank lloyd wright's architecture school}
last week, i had many firsts:
- driving a convertible
- skidding out on the ice on a highway in said convertible
- taking a trip in the US by myself
- seeing a cactus
- laying eyes on the grand canyon
on that thursday, i flew to phoenix for a work meeting, and made the most of it by extending my trip until mlk day the next monday. i had always heard that consultants can fly wherever they want when traveling after a work meeting, but the moment had never presented itself until now. all of my consultant dreams - a pretty short list - were coming true!
in arizona, i drove from phoenix to flagstaff to the grand canyon to sedona and back to phoenix. i really enjoy driving. many people wrinkle their noses and say really?? when i tell them this, but for me, it's very therapeutic. this may be (and probably is) a result of not owning a car since my senior year of high school, and not having to even think about oil changes or flat tires (thanks, dad!). despite my love of driving, i've tried as hard as i can to live in cities that do not require a set of wheels. right up there with driving is my love of exploring a city via foot, something that is still new and exciting to this orlando, florida-bred girl (read: not walkable).
in arizona, i drove from phoenix to flagstaff to the grand canyon to sedona and back to phoenix. i really enjoy driving. many people wrinkle their noses and say really?? when i tell them this, but for me, it's very therapeutic. this may be (and probably is) a result of not owning a car since my senior year of high school, and not having to even think about oil changes or flat tires (thanks, dad!). despite my love of driving, i've tried as hard as i can to live in cities that do not require a set of wheels. right up there with driving is my love of exploring a city via foot, something that is still new and exciting to this orlando, florida-bred girl (read: not walkable).
highlights of this trip: a visit to taliesen west, frank lloyd wright's winter home from 1937 to his death in 1959 and home of his architecture school; all of the hole-in-the-wall southwestern taco joints i could find; cruising down the highway and giving in to the only genre of music available on any radio station (country); seeing the grand canyon for the first time = literally in awe; striking up random conversations with strangers on the top of said canyon; meeting up with second cousins in scottsdale and having a happy heart.
"those roads provided breath-taking views. there's something special about an empty road going on and on and on to the horizon where the sun burns the world away a dancing, shimmering heat haze that reflects the crystal blue sky, literally blurring the line between heaven and earth."
- dave gorman
