It's all about how you look at it...

Perspective. It makes a difference. I've been thinking about perspective recently in different contexts - work, home, marriage, spiritual. There are many common cliches that address perspective.

"The grass is always greener", "Seeing the glass half full", "Get a bird's eye view", "Hindsight is 20/20" - well you get the picture. 

Perspective changes from person to person. The way I view the ants marching by the hundreds through my house is very different than the way my husband sees it. My opinion of how fast to drive and how close to follow definitely changes depending on who's driving! And of course if you speak to my sons, their perspective is completely different.

Bright Angel Trail

The way I perceive things also changes depending on when or how I look at them. When we took our little jaunt down Bright Angel Trail descending 800 feet or so into the Grand Canyon, I enjoyed the view. It was gorgeous with varying colors that changed as the shadows moved.  When we started back up the trail, my eyes and thoughts were fixed on the trail in front of me and only occasionally did I look up to see how much farther I had to go. It was discouraging to see the canyon walls looming above. But once I made it back to the top, I looked back down at where I once had been and stood amazed that I had trudged along that zig zagged trail and made it to where I was standing. 

Later when I looked at the photo that my son, Zach took of me as I hiked up the trail, I thought about my life journey. When I am in the midst of the details of life, I forget that I really am making progress and that God is at work in my life. When I step back and take a look at where I've been and where I am now, I can see that there really is a difference. When I was climbing that trail, it seemed like it would go on forever, but once at the top, I could see how far I had really gone. It's the same in my life. Sometimes I feel like there is no progress, no growth, no difference, but then I think back to who I was 30 years ago,  and I know I have changed (and for the better). Even the way I handle situations or deal with people that hurt or anger me has changed significantly in the past 10 years, and that encourages me.


So to end this thought by mixing metaphors - just as the Colorado River and other natural forces have been eroding and shaping the Grand Canyon over the years, I believe God has been shaping me, smoothing some of the rough edges, and molding me into a grown up who is more like Jesus. 

The trail hasn't ended yet, and I don't know how much longer I have on this hike called life, but I want to make the best of it and enjoy the journey as I go, because you know, it's all about perspective.

There's no place like home

We're home! After a long day of driving, we pulled into the driveway at 7:40. Matt had pizza and salad waiting for us which was nice since the last time we ate was at noon when we stopped at Cracker Barrel in Kingman, Arizona.

We were all anxious to get home, so except for a few stops for gas and the final Cracker Barrel meal, we drove and drove and drove. Our route was I-40 to I-15 and it was mostly barren desert. When we hit Murrieta, I started pointing out all my work stomping grounds to the boys - the Resource Center, and the Murrieta Academies as well as the exits for the old locations of these two facilities. I also showed them the motel I always stay at when I spend the night up there. They weren't too interested, but it made me realize how very close to home we really were.

Today we finished the third book, Mockingjay, and Zach's playlist of traveling songs. Our trip has come to an end. The boys unloaded the car and gave their dad the gifts we'd picked up for him along the way - a bottle of Dublin Dr. Pepper, Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, Zapp's Potato Chips (Spicy Cajun Crawtators) from New Orleans, and some leftover cinnamon roll from Lulu's Bakery. Our living room is filled with dirty laundry, suitcases, and the rest of the stuff from my little red car. We'll deal with it all tomorrow.

For now, Joe is watching a recording of the All Star Game, Zach and David are upstairs watching an episode of Chuck, and Matt is filling me in on the ant attack and refrigerator issues he experience while we were gone. We've been home about 2 hours and things are already returning to normal.

I, however, want to soak a bit in the experiences of our fantastic road trip. Tomorrow will be busy with laundry, catching up on e-mails, and getting back into work mode. But tonight when I lay down in my bed, it will be with a contented sigh, and as I reflect on our trip in the coming days, I know that the memories will wash over me and flood my heart and soul with gratitude for such a lovely vacation.


 

It's a long long road...

There's a reason why it is called the Grand Canyon. Every time I see it, I'm awestruck by the large scale and impressive views. It really is a grand canyon.

Our little camera doesn't do justice to the magnificent views

Yesterday we drove the 90 minutes from Flagstaff to our last stop on this 16-day road trip. I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to do, when we got there, but I was pretty sure I wanted to hike part way into the Canyon. After watching a short film and consulting the map, we started walking along the Rim Trail toward Bright Angel Trail.

Along the rim

It was a 2.5 mile hike along the rim until we reached the trail head to Bright Angel. Bright Angel Trail is a popular trail that goes down to the bottom of the Canyon. I thought we'd hike down to the first water stop which is 1.5 miles along switch backs. Yeah, I was dreaming.

On the way down Bright Angel Trail

As we started along the trail, we were greeted with the aroma of mule manure. There was a generous supply along the trail and some was fairly fresh. Fortunately, it wasn't constant and there were only about three places where it was really smelly.

The first quarter mile of the hike wasn't bad with a decent amount of shade. We were hiking down at a fairly good clip and feeling pretty good. Then the trail started getting steeper, and I noticed the people coming up the trail were pretty red in the face and short of breath, but we kept walking. After a while, we passed a ranger on his way up the trail and he asked us how far we were going. He told us we were about halfway to the water stop. It was 3:45 and we'd been walking about 30-40 minutes on the trail. It was then I decided we were going to turn around and start back up the trail. Only Zach was disappointed.

I'm the one in the middle of the picture trudging up the trail

It took me longer to get back to the top then the rest of them. David was the first to pull ahead. He was determined to get the top in the same amount of time it took for us to walk down, and he did it. Zach kept stopping and waiting until he could see Joe and me off in the distance, and then he'd start off again. Eventually, Joe decided he wasn't going to let this Canyon get the best of him, so he pushed himself and made it to the top second. Zach continued to wait for me and took pictures. I made a lot of rest stops and chatted with two middle aged ladies who had started hiking from the bottom at 6:00 a.m. They stopped even more than I did, but who can blame them? I was totally impressed they had hiked down a few days before and were now hiking back up.

When we had all made it to the top, it started to rain. It was one of the best things I'd ever felt. Cool gentle rain on our hot, sunburned skin was just fabulous. We rode the shuttle bus back to the visitor center where our car was parked and drove to Williams, Arizona where we were staying the night.

We ate dinner in the motel restaurant and were serenaded by a one man band. He played guitar, harmonica, chimes, and maybe some other instruments as he sang an assortment of oldies from "Cat's in the Cradle" to "Norwegian Wood." We had a great discussion about what our favorite parts of the trip were. We all agreed that meeting and spending time with family was one of the best. Zach liked the National Parks we visited. David said leaving New Orleans was the best. Joe was happy he got to attend some baseball games, and I enjoyed all of the views along the Mississippi river and other waterways.

By 10:00, we were falling asleep. It had been an exhausting day and we were beat. Even now as I write this post, the boys are still asleep and it's close to 9:00 a.m. We need to get on the road soon, since we have a long drive home, but I didn't have the heart to wake them yet. As I type this in our darkened room, they are now beginning to stir and rise.

Our own beds are calling our names, and we still have 9 chapters of Mockingjay to finish. It's time to hit the road for one last drive!

ET phone home

Our trip is winding down and tomorrow we'll be driving home after this whirlwind adventure. It's been a ton of fun getting to meet family, reconnect with friends, and spend time with my sons.


Yesterday we left Roswell early, so we could make it to Flagstaff at a reasonable hour. Chandel and Nate were having us over for dinner, and we needed to make good time on the road. Fortunately, we had one more time change on our side so we gained an hour which helped out the schedule.


We considered going to the International UFO Museum and Research Center, but after reading some reviews and realizing it was on the opposite side of town as well as add about an hour to our schedule, we decided against it and hit the road. We did snap a few photos with the little green man outside our hotel though.

As we headed north up a state highway, Zach got another chance to drive. Then Joe took the wheel for a large part of I-40. I was more relaxed this time, and even took a little nap part of the way. As we drove, we listened to more of  Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games triology. It's really a great series and I highly recommend it. We are saving the last 9 chapters for our long ride home tomorrow.


Flagstaff is as beautiful as a I remember, a mountain area with lots of pine trees. We arrived in time to check into our hotel and get to Chandel & Nate's apartment for a delicious dinner. These two are a busy couple. They are in the middle of trying to move to a bigger place to give their rambunctious dog, Kona more space. They are making plans for a cruise followed by a back packing trip in the next few weeks. Despite all this and working full time, they took the time to have us over for a homemade meal of lasagna, salad, garlic bread, watermelon lemonade and lemon poppy seed bread for dessert. The food was yummy and the company was fabulous!


Chandel just graduated with her Bachelor's in the field of speech pathology and communication disorders. This is the area that I am encouraging David to consider, so it was perfect to have her fresh out of school to share some pointers. One thing I really admire about Chandel is her tenacity and determination. She has proved herself over and over as a woman who can set goals and accomplish them despite financial and personal obstacles. She has done so much independently and without the support she deserved. I'm really proud of her and so happy she has found such a great guy who loves her for who she is.

The boys enjoyed having Nate at the table, because if Chandel and I started talking about girl stuff, he was great at keeping them entertained. He and Joe talked about sports, and Nate plays bass guitar just like Zach. So it was really a lovely evening.


Today we are off to the Grand Canyon. I still remember the first time we saw it when the boys were little. Zach said, "Mommy, it looks like a painting." It will be interesting to see what they think now that they are young men.

Remember the Alamo

We made it to Roswell, New Mexico and gained an extra hour as we passed over the time zone into New Mexico. I appreciated that extra hour and was finally able to get 8 hours of sleep. It was wonderful!

da boyz on an original well from the mission days

Yesterday was a driving day - one of our longest ones on this trip. We were up early and visited the Alamo for an hour or so. It is right in the middle of downtown. Not much of the original buildings remain - the church (which is now a shrine) and the Long Barracks (which contains the museum). There are other areas that were reconstructed in the 1920's and it is a quiet place where people can come to sit and reflect. As we walked through the museum, I began to understand the progression of the Texan independent spirit.

Marriage Island

The Riverwalk was right across the street, so we went back over to show Joe the underground canal system and ride the river barge for a 35 minute tour. Our guide told us mostly about the buildings that tower over the river, when they were built, who built them etc. One thing that I thought was interesting was one of the hotels (the Hyatt, I think) was originally planned to be 24 stories, but it ended up only 16 floors because at the original height it would have cast a shadow on the Alamo. The city felt this would be disrespectful, so the hotel agreed to the limited height. They like their Alamo and all that it represents.


On the way out of San Antonio, we stopped at Lulu's Bakery. It is the home of one of the largest cinnamon rolls I've ever seen. It weighs 3 pounds and is the size of someone's head. The boys had seen this place on the Travel Channel's Man v. Food and we decided we had to go get one of these gigantic pastries. The long wait for a table and our desire to get moving, determined the decision to get our cinnamon roll to go. It was all wrapped up and we decided it would be our reward when we arrived in Roswell.


It was a 9.5 hour drive with stops for gas and dinner. We've decided that western Texas is our least favorite place so far on the trip. We stopped at a Pizza Hut in Fort Stockton for dinner. The restaurant was a hopping place, but the waitress and others were not very friendly. Maybe we have gotten so accustomed to the friendly south that it was just a reality check for us, but we remembered our experience in Big Spring, and guess where it's located? Western Texas - just like Fort Stockton, and all of those boring oil wells that go on forever and ever.


The best part of the trip for Joe and Zach is that from Stockton to just outside of Roswell, they got to drive. We were driving on a deserted state highway and  I figured this was the safest place to hand over my keys. They both did okay, but I was very nervous and annoyed Joe especially when we came up on some trucks he had to pass on the little two lane highway. Needless to say, my leg muscles were tight and sore when I finally took over the wheel for the final 50 miles of our trip. They really aren't bad drivers. I'm just a little tense when they are driving. Okay, I'm really tense!


We've got another long drive to Flagstaff. We are having dinner with Chandel and her husband Nate tonight. Chandel was one of my girls from the girls Bible study I led years ago. I'm looking forward to seeing her again! 


We don't have much time really to enjoy Roswell, but we did see the alien shaped lights downtown, and the McDonald's that looks like a UFO as we drove into town. I'm looking for ET, but I don't see him anywhere, although there are plenty of statues of his cousins around town.

space the final frontier...

It was apropos that on the day of the last Space Shuttle launch, we were visiting Houston Space Center. So while Atlantis was blasting off, we were having breakfast and getting ready to learn and experience the wonders of space travel.

When we walked in, we realized that this was a much larger museum than what we have experienced previously on our trip. It was packed with kids from day camps and visitors from around the country and the world. There was a lot to do and we didn't have an abundance of time (our common problem on this road trip), but we were able to watch a film on the history of U.S. space travel and hear a presentation on the 30 year space shuttle program as well as see the future plans of NASA. Everything was very interesting and we got to see replicas and even some original vehicles and equipment. There were hands on activities to teach scientific principles, games and simulators, and a tram tour through the Johnson Space Center which was just down the road. We could have spent more time there, but the clock was ticking and we still had a four hour drive to San Antonio.


We arrived in San Antonio in time to drop Joe off at the San Antonio Missions baseball game - another minor league team for the SD Padres. Joe was happy even though the Missions lost. He had great seats and some time away to do what he enjoys. Zach, David and I headed down to the Riverwalk to explore and eat dinner.

The Riverwalk is just lovely. The San Antonio river runs through downtown, and the city is built above it. The streets cross over it, and down below are shops and restaurants as the river meanders through the city. It is miles long, but most of the business is in a two mile loop. The river is more like a canal and there are river taxis you can take to your destination (many hotels are built along the river as well) or you can just walk and enjoy the surroundings.


My doctor would be proud. We walked more than two miles along the river. It was a good jaunt and we had worked up an appetite. So after looking at the different restaurants, we decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. We had a table on a balcony that overlooked the river and the people walking and dining below. It was very relaxing, but Zach was a little disappointed that we didn't get an inside table where we could enjoy the loud music.


Our plan was to finish dinner and ride the water taxis down the river since the pilot of the boat shares info about the Riverwalk, but Joe texted us and said it was the 9th inning of the game. So we headed back to the car after a quick stop for a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone (okay, so my doctor wouldn't be as proud). We picked up Joe and went back to the hotel to do laundry and catch a few winks (and I mean literally, just a few).


We are starting to drag a little, and we've got several longer days of driving. It's a 9 hour drive to Roswell, New Mexico (our next stop), so we are going to make a quick trip back downtown to visit the Alamo and maybe catch a river taxi ride. On our way out, we've got to stop at Lulu's Bakery for some cinnamon rolls that the boys saw on the T.V. show Man v. Food. You know, it's energy food to keep us going on the long drive to Roswell. Perhaps we'll save some for the extra terrestrials in Roswell.

Are we done looking at old houses yet?

Yesterday was a long day. I had told the boys that I wanted to get to Houston and be asleep at a decent hour since for the past few nights I hadn't gotten to bed before midnight. But I am finding that we do not have enough hours in the day to get everything done.

New Orleans skyline from the ferry

One of many duplexes on Algiers Point

Before leaving the Crescent City, we took the 5-minute ferry across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point which is the second oldest community in New Orleans. The French Quarter is the oldest. We walked around the neighborhoods looking at some lovely old homes. I noticed that many of them were duplexes. Although it was interesting, it was hot, and I didn't think to put on sunscreen.

We rode the ferry back over and walked along the river front to the French Market. We stopped for some cold water and beignets (french donuts) at Cafe du Monde, the coffee shop that has been around since 1862. After that needed refreshment, we continued our journey until we reached the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, which was just an air conditioned building with a few exhibits. But you can't dismiss air conditioning, so we went inside to cool off and play with the hands on exhibits, and buy a CD. The park ranger told us that in an hour they were performing a jazz concert, but we couldn't stay. Houston was calling our name. 

Central Grocery

And you too can go insane

We picked up a muffaletta sandwich from the Central Grocery across the street and started the trek back down Decatur to our parked car. A muffaletta is an original New Orleans sandwich created right at the Central Grocery. The Central Grocery is a true Italian market filled with amazing sites and wonders. You can purchase many different types of cheese, meat, packaged goods, and a plethora of canned foods (smoked octopus anyone?). The muffaletta is made from a round loaf of Sicilian sesame bread which is delicious. It has cold cuts like salami, ham, and provolone cheese in it. But the magic ingredient is the olive salad which consists of several different types of olives in an Italian dressing. The sandwich is cut into fourths and we each took a piece (except David who doesn't care much for cold cuts). It was very yummy and the perfect light lunch for on the go.

Oak Alley Plantation

About an hour outside of New Orleans we took a little detour to visit Oaks Alley Plantation. We made it just in time for the last tour of the day. The boys and I all agreed that this tour guide was much more interesting than the two we had in Natchez. The home was gorgeous, the tour guides dressed in period costumes, and the stories of the family were well told and interesting. While there, Joe and I tasted a frozen raspberry mint julep. It was like a raspberry mint Icee with a kick of bourbon. Neither of us cared much for it, so Joe got a cookies and cream milk shake instead.


We had  another four hours of driving until we reached Houston, which was about how much time we had left of Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It was an exciting ending with a great cliff hanger. We are looking forward to listening to the final book on these last days of our journey.


Needless to say, by the time we checked into our hotel, revised the plans for today's activities, and examined my sunburn, my head finally hit the pillow at 1:30 a.m. So much for an early night!


Today we are visiting the Space Center and then it's off to San Antonio!