Spring Break trip to Sedona..Everything is finer in Flagstaff.

I have been to Flagstaff once before, and I was amazed that Arizona had mountains and cold places. I was also amazed that New Mexico had mountains and cold places as well. However, you must realize that my only reference to what these two states were like were the Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner cartoons in which Bugs Bunny takes a "right at Albuquerque".  The flora and the fauna in these cartoons did not show a single mountain, and Bugs Bunny never wore a coat when he popped up in the middle of the desert. So for those of you who are thinking what I used to think..now you know that places that have deserts can actually be quite cold. It all stems from the fact that when you are at least 6,000 feet up in the air, things (and places) are just colder.

See how nicely I inserted a geography lesson into the middle of my trip?

After entering Flagstaff, and once again finding out that my little Mapquest app had difficulty with directions as well (I mean after all, it is related to me) we once again delivered flyers to the architect firms that existed in Flagstaff. Sadly, some of them were gone as well. Flagstaff is a beautiful city with mountains and hills, cute shops, and most importantly...pine cones.


When you live in New Mexico, finding a pine cone is kind of like finding a Coach purse on sale at a 65 percent discount. I am sure David just shook his head at me as I found one that met my requirements (mainly, it wasn't squashed) but I just ignored that.

After our business deliveries were done, we spent a lot of time exploring Flagstaff. The downtown area is historic, charming, and very personable. With the train station at the center of it all, and cute little brick shops all around, Flagstaff has a very zen-like charm...without being totally fruity.

One shop we entered had a very nice man who was dedicated to the pursuit of peace and harmony within the universe. He had this instrument (whose name escapes me at the moment) that he imported from Germany. It was kind of a combination between a harp, a guitar, and a box. He would hum chants while strumming said unknown instrument, and I was impressed because he actually could sing..and performed the chants with great fidelity. (And no, I did not giggle at all). He also had a kind of massage bed that had a deluxe size unknown instrument on the side. The deal was that you laid on the massage bed, and he sat beside you, strumming the unknown instrument, and sing. So of course I had to try it. I must admit that at first it was a little disconcerting to have someone beside you singing..but the instrument gave a vibration underneath the bed that was very peaceful and soothing. You can have all this singing and relaxation for the amazing price of 6000 dollars.  David told me afterwards that every time I would relax, I would then instantaneously tense up. I have no idea what he was talking about.  Did I mention I don't relax well?

David in Flagstaff.

We checked into the world (well, the state at least) historic Monte Vista Hotel. This hotel was built in 1927, and it was kind of interesting that the citizens of Flagstaff (including the author Zane Grey) decided that Flagstaff needed a premier hotel that would meet the needs of all the travelers in the area. We stayed in the "Humphrey Bogart" room, which actually had a bathroom attached to it..unlike some rooms in the hotel where the bathrooms were in the hallway...kind of like a college dorm.  The decor was...well, let's say the decor was interesting.  There was one outlet (yes, one outlet) in the entire room, meaning that I had to disrupt my hair routine totally. Did the residents of Flagstaff not know the importance of good hair care? They did have one of those dryers that were in the wall...the only problem was that there was not an outlet to plug said hairdryer into the wall. And the sink had a dainty drip to it. But the bed was comfortable,and it was right in the middle of the town.  And it was historic..historic things should not be perfect. 

After walking around the town square, we went into a Sports Bar to have a drink. This Sports Bar had two interesting qualities to it:

1. It had 4, 345 Large Screen HDTVs in it. You may think I am exaggerating. I assure you that I only am just a bit. 
2. We were the only two people (except for the wait staff) that were in this bar with the 4, 345 Large Screen HDTVs. 

After the drink at the Sports Bar, we wandered around looking for an appropriate place to eat supper. David is a vegetarian, so that leaves out places such as "Fred's Steak House" and "LoneStar Steaks". I think it is just morally wrong to expose a vegetarian to meat. Kind of like me being exposed to snakes. And on top of this all, I have "restaurant choosing" anxiety. I have always thought the best kind of restaurant would be where you could go from table to table, asking the customers what they were eating, and if it was good.  However, if I did this, I am sure I would end up in some kind of holding cell. Hopefully one of my friends would bail me out. 

David picked out (thank goodness) a happy looking Mexican restaurant, where guess what? They also had 4, 345 Large Screen HDTVs. Perhaps it is the law in Flagstaff to put large screen TVs in all restaurants. There were a lot of customers in this restaurant, with some watching the 4, 345 Large Screen HDTVs.  Besides having to use sign language to be heard over all the televisions, we had a nice meal, and went back to the hotel, where we slept with the one outlet room. I am sure David dreamed of selling his lights to the 4, 345  firms that we might possibly visit the next day in Sedona. That is what good business men do. 

The next day we checked out of the hotel, and went to this charming little coffee shop where an older beagle sat sadly by the front door. While we sipped coffee and ate an evil cinnamon roll, I worried about the poor beagle by the door. I was hoping that someone in the shop owned him, and finally asked the Flagstaff looking man by the door if the beagle was his. I will mention I don't think he appreciated my concern for his dog. In fact, he was a tad crabby. Perhaps that is why the beagle was a bit sad. 

We left Flagstaff, and went down a very narrow and twisty type road that took us to Sedona. This was one of those drives that leaves your mouth open and your heart happy. The scenery was unbelievable, and as we got closer to Sedona,you began to see creeks with huge rocks that would be perfect for walking on and exploring the creek that meandered through the mountains and down into the valley. When I was in elementary school, one of my aspirations was to follow the creek that started at Armstrong Park all the way to its origins. I never was able to go to the ocean, but it sure was fun trying. Seeing the big rock creek made me want to do that again. However, we had architects to visit in Sedona, so we continued on to the city. David was most likely very content, because the only words that came out of my mouth during the ride were "Oh wow" and "Holy Cow". Perhaps he knew this gorgeousness of it all would leave me speechless.  Bonus for him.

We left the road with the winding creek, and went up the road to Sedona. But that's part three of this story.