This past weekend, as mentioned in my last post, we were able to go up to Sedona/Flagstaff. It was one of those kismet things. We thought we weren't able to because of finances, but then we landed a sweet deal - a friend of my in-laws has a condo in Sedona (on a golf course, of course) and said we could stay there no problem. So we ended up with about 3000 sq ft all to ourselves. We ate some good steak (sorry veggies, I like meat) at a random Route 66 themed steakhouse in Williams, some awesome pie at another place in Williams and slept like rocks (grin) on Saturday night. Spending time with Christian's family was a blessing. Even when our youngest nephew was squealing at the top of his lungs, it was refreshing to be around people we know care about us.
When we finally did have a chance to explore Sedona, the place was under construction making it feel inaccessible. We did check out Tlaquepaque, took a bunch of pictures (which we would totally upload if we could find our camera cable), and had a beer sampler at the brew house. Unfortunately it got to me, so much so that the elevation, dehydration and beer combination caused a migraine. It was the first time I ever saw flashing lights/sparkles with a migraine. Awesome.
A point of interest for us was the fact that everyone in Sedona was "comfortable." It was tourists and second (or seventh in the case of McCain) home owners. Everyone was very attractive, and no one really gave us a second look, or if they did, it was done covertly. It felt like Santa Barbara in many ways.
Needless to say, the return to Phoenix was a bit jarring. The heat not only bowled us over (Flagstaff being at 7000' was nearly COLD) but coming back to the apartment was depressing. Our stuff is still all over the place (by my standards). Many items (like my poor harp) haven't yet found their home. We still had no AC (although today we were given a window unit that has insufficient capacity to cool our entire apartment). Our refrigerator still doesn't seal. Our soap dish in the shower is still not cemented into the stall. We still don't have a vacuum (though the cost of a good vacuum is somewhat prohibitive) and I'm not sure how much good it will really do considering the mess the previous tenants left.
The only benefit to our return on Monday was meeting with a Christian couple who have connections to my dad's church in Santa Barbara. They were lovely and our conversation was encouraging. In fact, all of our dinner dates with couples in Phoenix have been somewhat encouraging. The only problem is they all live 45 minutes to an hour away. Sigh.
My favorite time in the day has become our pre-dinner prayer. It's helped to put things in perspective. Whether Christian or I are praying, we always try to emphasize the good parts of the day, and to re-frame the bad, thanking God for the whole thing.
So even when Bow String is closed (a road in Sedona), at least there's Arrow Drive.
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