Goodbye, big skies of Arizona. We’ve admired you for a decade. We are trading skies for the abundant water found in Virginia. For rolling hills and a few acres of our own.We sold our home, and I am carrying out my teaching contract until May. Jim and I will live in this motor home for several months. We found a spot that overlooks the Sedona Red Rocks at the edge of an RV park. We will cross the country in this beast.
My daughter, granddaughter Milly, and Ruby are coming, too! Seems we all need a change.
Oh, it all sounds easy, doesn’t it? “Let’s pretend we are starting out in life instead of ending up.” Can you name the quote from what 90s film starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman? We have internalized this quote.
Life changes are exciting but simultaneously painful and nerve-wracking, as well. Selling one’s stuff. Dismantling a home in search of another. Has it really been August since I’ve posted? I look forward to finding our home in Virginia and beginning a new job at a new school. Once the dust settles, I do hope to post and complete novel 3. Thank you for your patience. I wish you well!
Some summer breaks are uneventful for weeks at a time before an international trip happens. Weeks go by waiting for the big bang of adventure far, far away. Other summers, little trips happen–two days here, five days there–throughout the whole summer. This was my 2021 summer. You might recall a recent post at the beginning of June when Jim and I went to Cerritos Beach outside of Todos Santos, Mexico for a week. That was a great kick off to the summer.
Nothing eventful occurred until the end of June when I had rotator cup surgery which required three screws and nine sutures. Ouch.
Covid had kept our family members away from each other. A joy, then, to reunite with my daughter-in-law and grandson who stayed for a ten day visit. Whenever friends and family visit, we become tourists which is important. Seeing one’s neighborhood through the eyes of others is a perspective that keeps me grateful. Jim took his daughter on the Williams, AZ train to the Grand Canyon. We revisted Montezuma’s Castle, an ancient Anasazi monument in Camp Verde, AZ.
Ben and the Gene Autry Cowboy Anna, Ben & Montezuma’s Castle
My son visited for a weekend. It had been a long time, so I tried something special and booked two nights at a Phoenix resort, so I could visit with my grandchildren and two sons at a fun location. We spent the days in the pool and had a blast.
My son, Paul, the accountant San Diego skyline
Jim and I reconnected after the kids left, and we took Ruby with us to San Diego. We tried staying in a sailboat for a few nights at the harbor. What a fun glamping experience.
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Atop a ridge overlooking San Diego on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other was a somber final resting place for veterans. It felt like visiting Arlington National Cemetery with manicured grounds and white marble headstones symetrically placed over many acres.
Ruby and Jim
Always ready to fish, Jim and Ruby spend the mornings in the ocean.
A Pacific Croaker Inside the sailboat
It was pristine and quiet in the marina. Our boat was just right for two adults and a dog.
Ocean Beach, San Diego
After exploring several beaches on the coast, we headed back home to our Arizona desert. The water followed us as monsoons hit the Phoenix area with great force. Up north where we live, it has rained for days now. Our drought-suffering region needs it.
Crimped and tired, Ruby.
Now I’m done with summer adventures. The school year starts up on August 2. I did not write much in July. I’m hoping to spend the remaining week getting a chapter out of the way. Thinking kind thoughts of you all.
Fossil Creek, Pine, Arizona in the Coconino National Forest
Looking through my photo gallery this morning, two dates on November 4th came up — one from 2014 and 2018. Turns out we went exploring to the same place — Fossil Creek, Arizona. Its popularity is growing despite its obscure location. It is worth the forty-five-minute dusty drive into the wilderness. Today, like other beautiful parts of Arizona, you cannot visit unless you’ve reserved your spot. Havasu Falls comes to mind.
Fossil Creek is unique because of its green hue (calcium carbonate dissolved in the water) and series of waterfalls that grow in size as one keeps trekking on the path. The emerald pools are mesmerizing. Can you imagine with the heat of an Arizona day how refreshing it is to go swimming in one? And we did, too. In November, the water was chilly, but standing waist-high in the cool water with the sunshine heat on your back was a great sensory combination.
Cindy Bruchman 