4/25/08 – California Here We Come!

Sedona was beautiful. It was nice to drive through the dramatic red mountains on our way to Starbucks every morning (our resort was about four miles from town). I can see why many artists live here. We really enjoyed all the public art—see a few of our many photos at right—along with FireCat’s “new image.”

Yes, Sedona is also a new age haven. There are offices and ads everywhere. It was interesting to sit in Starbucks every morning and overhear the new age “guides” who use Starbucks as an office. It was like being a fly on the wall in a therapy visit. It seemed innocuous enough, more like a visit with a good friend than a therapy session, but it‘s a little scary that people base life decisions on things said by someone they hardly know and who have little or no real training.

I guess many people are searching for answers, whether they gravitate to religion, education, or new age “healers,” and there are many others who are only too happy to tell someone else what they should do.

I’ve reached a point in my life where I realize there’s a lot I don’t know, and that’s OK. I rarely feel a desire anymore to convince someone else they should think like I do, because how do I know I’m right? Even if I am, why should they agree with me? That needs to come from their own life experiences and analytical thinking. I enjoy sharing thoughts and opinions with others—it often catalyzes new thinking on my part—but I have little patience any more with those who seem to need me to agree with them.

This trip has been a nice opportunity to see along the way how different people “do that.” Some—like Jacquelyn and Nick—are very open to hearing and sharing differing opinions without needing to convince or change their own minds. This is one of the things I enjoy most about being with them. Others are “debate-focused,” some stay intellectually-focused on a topic without claiming an opinion, and others just don’t talk about topics where there is disagreement.

Well, today we are on our way back to California. Tomorrow FireCat drops me off in San Pedro for a cruise to Mexico to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday. He has some plans in LA and will then return home and I’ll join him there May 4. It has been a wonderful trip and it feels a little strange not to be finishing it with him, but he is not a fan of cruises so we deal with it. Sigh…. ;)

I’m not sure of the Internet access on this ship, but I’ll post again when I’m home, at the latest.

4/19/08 – Sedona

I really liked Flagstaff. After playing trivia in the brew pub we found a cool European coffee shop—interesting organic foods and coffees and an unusual band that turned out to be from San Diego. They were kind of a mix between a barbershop trio and traveling minstrels but all decked out in suits and hats that made them look like Frank Sinatra.

Thursday after trading we drove down to Tempe and had dinner with my cousin Kevin, whom I haven’t seen in over five years. He also joined us Friday morning for trading and lunch and we had several hours to talk. It was wonderful to catch up and talk about the changes in both of our lives, and in both of us. His life has been very difficult the last few years, and continues to be, but he is re-creating himself and there is also a sense of possibility and excitement in that. I have always respected those few who have the courage to choose introspection, self-responsibility and change, and it was good for me too to be inspired by his example and talk with him about some of our family issues.

Last night we drove to Sedona and have a lovely place here. I slept in this morning, took a hot bath in the big jacuzzi tub, lay down on the bed to cool off and fell asleep again. We took a drive into town this afternoon and stopped for groceries. It’s nice to have a few days off to just kick back and enjoy a little before trading starts again on Monday.

It’s beautiful here. The rocks, the soil, all the interesting geological formations—they’re all red. In fact, they call it Red Rock Country. The weather isn’t too hot yet so I look forward to taking some walks and maybe experiencing the “energy vortex” for which Sedona is famous. ;)

4/16/08 – Gallup, NM

Whew, we finally made it to Flagstaff. Last night we stayed in Gallup, NM and it is the first place I just couldn’t wait to get out of. It’s not just that there was nothing there; it actually had the weirdest feel to it. It was very windy, with dust blowing everywhere. FireCat’s van started flashing warning lights about the brakes as we neared the area. My body reacted the whole time we were there with sneezing, stuffy nose, headache. I’ve never had allergies but it sure felt like I was allergic to Gallup.

The motel we checked into had these old, worn steps and just felt kind of seedy. I noticed as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep that my thoughts were negative and I felt creepy. I’ve never had this feeling before but I realized that the place itself—the air, the earth—seemed to be affecting me. We went to a wonderful little coffee shop this morning, but the frittata was way overdone and FireCat and I both lost money in the market today. This was just the strangest thing, but I was glad to gallop outta Dodge—I mean get outta Gallup—this afternoon, and it’s the only place we’ve visited so far that I think I’ll try to “dodge” in the future.

Now we’re sitting in the Beaver Creek Brewery and I’m having a glass of California cab while FireCat samples the local beers, so life feels like it’s getting back to normal. ;)

There’s a trivia game in this pub—it’s kinda cool. They ask a question with 5 multiple choice answers. It’s time based and they flash scores on the screen from all the people in the bar who are playing. FireCat is doing really well on the music questions, but not so much on the soap operas. ;)

There are also trivia cards on the bar and the two women next to me are asking each other questions from those. I guess this place is designed to try to make people smarter. A nice concept for a bar.

And…FireCat is the new lead scorer in the electronic big screen trivia game! OK, I played the game but I only came in 4th place. Fun though!

4/13/08 - Santa Fe, NM

We left winter behind today. We had another beautiful drive from Vail, back to Denver, then through the Rockies again to Taos, New Mexico, which sits just at the foot of the Rockies on the west side. It is a quaint little town; we had some good Mexican food there, turned in early and watched a movie in the van.

This afternoon we drove to Santa Fe and enjoyed walking around "old town," doing some window shopping of the beautiful pottery, artwork and colorful clothing here, and browsing the Indian street vendors' hand-made jewelry. FireCat found an engraved silver guitar pick that he couldn't resist. Although there's still a little snow on the surrounding mountains, the sun was out and it was lovely. Temperatures for tomorrow are projected in the high 70s so that is a big change for us.

We will be trading in the morning and then driving down to Albuquerque for our favorite sushi. I spoke with my cousin Kevin this evening. He lives near Phoenix and we will be able to stop and see him at the end of the week on our way to Sedona. It has been a long time so it will be good to reconnect and catch up.

Sante Fe is the first place we have returned where we have been before on this trip, so we are feeling like we are really heading home now. We both have mixed feelings. We are not sure how it will feel to be there. We have talked today about what we might be doing differently in our daily lives at home that we wouldn't do "on the road."

In many ways the routine is the same. We trade every weekday. We find time for reading, movies, talking. Sometimes we cook and sometimes we eat out. I try to find time to walk, although I miss the beach that's at home. We seek out musical entertainment, and perhaps have had more opportunity to find the kind of music FireCat appreciates. Of course, we drive more too, and we socialize with new acquaintances rather than old friends and family. However, much of what we do is similar to what we do at home--we just do it in different places.

We feel fortunate to be able to take our work with us so that we can experience different parts of the country. We hope to take that to different parts of the world. So far, we have found only a couple places we would consider returning to for partial-year living, but we are not finished looking. ;)

I have spent over two years preparing myself to live lightly on the earth, becoming a citizen of the world with easy mobility. This trip has been an initial foray to test whether the reality of the experience can measure up to the imagination of the dream. It has gone better than expected. Yet also it gives me renewed appreciation for the Central Coast of California and I look forward to going home for awhile.

But I get ahead of myself, for the current adventure is still in full swing....

4/10/08 - Avon (near Vail), Colorado

I feel like I am living in a painting. It is so beautiful everywhere we go. The images as we walk down the street look like those you see in pictures. It's amazing. Here's a little taste of what Firecat and I look like walking about Vail Village in the snow. We went for the free outdoor concert last night--it was quite a crowd and no one seemed to mind the weather. Of course, most of them are dressed for skiing. I've been very sad that I lost my gloves somewhere previously on the trip--no doubt someplace where the weather was a lot warmer. ;)

We've been having a nice time here. The resort is built to look like a city, with domed skylights for the ceiling so that you have natural light and feel like you are walking through small village streets when you leave your room. There's an indoor pool, jacuzzis, etc., with shops and cafes as part of the resort, so it really does feel like you're walking through a little town.

I like it better outside though. The weather is invigorating, the views are gorgeous, and if you keep moving you don't feel too cold. It's been beautiful to watch it snow, and to walk outdoors while it's snowing. For someone who is definitely not a morning person, I've enjoyed walking to Starbucks to trade each morning--it sure wakes me up! (See photo at right.)

FireCat finally received his new computer today and I have been working on a newsletter for my book website, so we are getting a few things accomplished, too. (If you haven't seen my site, check it out at www.PRfortheProfessions.com. It's a public relations manual for professionals--health care, legal, financial, and any other professional in private practice such as an architect or engineer--I'd love to have you pass the link along to any professionals you know!)

I also put a photo at right of the pond here in Avon. It's a short walk from town and I've been going down there to walk around the lake for exercise after trading all day. It's just beginning to thaw around the edges so there's no ice skating now, but it sure is beautiful. I've seen gorgeous geese and birds that I've never seen before. I lived in Fort Collins, CO for a couple of years in college and I feel the same now as I did then: "I could live here if they had an ocean." FireCat says that if I wait until after 2012 they might. ;)

We're leaving here Saturday morning and heading for Albuquerque to that great sushi restaurant we like. They get the prize for the best one on the trip. Then we'll arrive in Sedona a week from tomorrow (Friday) for another week at a nice resort there...but FireCat and I agree that we'll be coming back to Colorado again in the future.

4/5/08 – Snow!

We arrived at the Christie Lodge near Vail tonight. It’s a great place with an indoor pool but the best thing…we looked out the window after dinner and the snow was falling (see the view from our room at right). It’s so beautiful! The snowflakes are huge but falling gently. The cars and grass are covered with snow, as well as the deciduous trees, and there’s a light outside in front of the trees that highlights the snow falling through the air and onto them. Mmmm, heaven.

Coming up I-70 through the Rockies from Denver today was awesome. Unfortunately I was driving and had to keep my eyes on the road occasionally. Still, as another spectacular view opened up around each bend, I couldn’t help feeling expansive in myself in the majestic strength of the space and yet very small at the same time.

We had a nice visit with FireCat’s ex-wife Lee on the way up here. She has a lovely home in the foothills of the Rockies near Golden, CO. FireCat hadn’t seen her in almost 30 years so I think it was a good time of re-connection and perhaps some healing. Among many other things she is a photographer and had many nice photos she had taken of FireCat during his days as a musician that she gave to us. It was a little scary for me how much some of them looked like my friend Dan.

Lee’s daughter is at university pursuing a career in horticulture so perhaps we will entice her to come visit Cal Poly some day. She is the third person we have met in the last week who has been to Ireland recently, so maybe the richest country in the world (it’s capital is always Dublin’--OK, it’s corny but it’s the way I learned to remember it in elementary school) is beckoning us for a visit.

4/5/08 – Back in the West

Yeah—I finally got to meet Randy! FireCat has known him since he lived in Kansas City in his early 20s. Randy is a guide, with training and talent passed down through several generations in his family. He did a natal chart for me when I first knew FireCat and I couldn’t believe how much it sounded like he knew me, although we had never met or spoken and FireCat had told him nothing about me except my birth time and location. I listen to that CD again about once every year or so and every time I’m amazed and think, “Gee, I wish FireCat paid attention to everything that’s in here!” ;)

Anyway, I have spoken to Randy briefly on the phone a few times but never met him, and I was really looking forward to that. It was like meeting an old friend—one of those rare individuals with whom you can delve right down to the important stuff without a lot of small talk. He reminded me a lot of my friend Harvey, who is able to find something to connect with in everyone he meets. Randy has an innate interest in other human beings and a ready and infectious laugh, despite battling a potentially fatal illness resulting from radiation exposure during his Viet Nam War service.

We are hoping Randy will be able to come out and see us in California for some R&R. He is the type of person with whom you feel you could spend oodles of "quality" time and still just scratch the surface of the depth of who he is. Yes, I'd like the chance to walk him along a few miles of my neighborhood beach! ;)

After seeing Randy in Kansas City Thursday night, we drove to Denver on Friday and enjoyed another good sushi dinner at Sonoda’s in Aurora. Today we are coffee-ing up at Starbucks and enjoying the view of the snow-covered Rockies after driving across desolate flatlands for so long. We will stop and see FireCat’s ex-wife in Golden, then drive up to Vail where we’ll be in a timeshare for the next week.

Unfortunately I hosed—almost literally—FireCat’s computer before we left St. Louis. I spilled a glass of water on it and we haven’t been able to get it back on ever since. We tried ordering a new one from there but they sent one that FireCat can’t use so we need to hole up in one place for a week again so he can send it back and wait for delivery of a new one. Vail isn’t such a bad place to have to wait though. ;)

It feels great to be back in Colorado again. I went to college here when my ex-husband was getting his PhD. It’s a progressive state, much like California in that way, and it’s beautiful with great weather. I’ve always said I could live here if they had an ocean.