Arizona-part 2
In my last post, I told you all about Friday in Arizona. Now for Saturday.... If I told you I just "decided" to take a trip to Arizona, I wouldn't be telling the whole truth. An event in my life strongly encouraged me to escape Columbus to spend time with the kind of friend who can make you laugh no matter what is going on in life.
On Saturday, an old friend of mine got married. During our fifteen plus years of friendship, I thought of her as my sister and one of my two very closest friends. As I and her sister got married, I prayed that she'd find the right guy. When she started dating her now hubby, I prayed he was that guy. When she broke up with him, I encouraged her to give it another try. I was certain she was just scared. She was. They got back together. Then, I prayed they'd get married.
Well. my prayers... and hers.... came true on Saturday, May 14th. I am very, very happy for her and I honestly wish her a lifetime of happiness with her new husband. But... I wasn't invited to the wedding. God knows our relationship has been rocky lately but honestly... after fifteen years of friendship.... it never occurred to me that she would really exclude me. To say I was crushed would be an understatement. I've always looked at weddings as a time people come together no matter what their differences to celebrate. I guess I learned that not everyone feels that way.
So... once I realized I wasn't going to be a wedding guest, a wave of panic came over me. What the heck was I going to do? Sit home & cry? I decided I had to find something to do and it had to be big, REALLY big! I waited a while to see if she'd change her mind. I reached out... hoping it would be different. It wasn't. So... what can you do? All you can do is reach out and hope the other person wants to meet you in the middle. If they don't, you accept your fate and find an alternative.
Cristy and I have been talking about me visiting her for probably 3-4 years. That was the PERFECT thing for me to do!!! So... that's how the AZ trip came about. That brings me back to Saturday morning. I woke up at about 4:30am Arizona time. The house was quiet. All you could hear was the dogs breathing. Mable and Scooter snuggled with me. I swear... dogs know when you need a good dose of unconditional love. I had a seriously good cry. When I got through my self-pity party, I knew there was nothing I could do about it so I decided to go about my day and make it the best I could.
When Cristy woke up, we decided to head to Jerome & Sedona. Red rock here we come! We loaded up the rental car and my camera gear and set out for an adventure. I got a little nervous about the fate of our trip when a bird played kamikaze on the car. It hit the passenger side rearview mirror with a thump that made my stomach turn. But we traveled on...
Along the way, Cristy educated me about the Meyers-Briggs personalities. I'll be doing more research later but one of the aspects of it that some people see "the big picture" while others look at the details. You guessed it. I'm a details person and Cristy is a big picture person. So... traveling with me was a new experience. I taught her to see the things along the way... Like this abandoned mini-mart....
I couldn't resist stopping for a photo. C'mon!!! The decay (dk), the texture... How could I pass up that photo op?
Our first destination was Jerome, an old copper mining town built on the side of Mingus mountain. Our little rental car climbed and climbed until we reached the Jerome Grand Hotel so we could have lunch at the hotel's restaurant, "The Asylum".
You see... this little baby was a hospital back in its day---a mental hospital. If you believe in ghosts, this place claims to be haunted. Go visit if you dare. I can't say I had any ghostly experiences but there is definitely something different about this place.
In the parking lot, we found this gem. I probably could've spent an hour photographing it from all kinds of angles but... there was more to see.... We were on our way to Sedona!
We stopped on the side of the road for a cactus photo....
A kokopelli sculpture.... (be careful with Kokopelli; he's a fertility god)
a beautiful church....
A short time later we arrived in Sedona. Cristy took me to this wild little trading post. You could buy all kinds of strange things there: turtle shells, beads, native american trinkets, coyote tails, skulls of all varieties...
I loved this totem pole. Check out those gorgeous full lips....
Wagon wheels.... LOVE this. If I wasn't flying home, I might have actually bought a wagon wheel. :) It would great here at Rancho Keidela.
After the trading post, we ventured to a shopping plaza. I don't know if I can really describe it but I'll give it a shot. The architecture was pure southwest: tile roof, archways, stucco... you get the idea. The name... impossible to pronounce. Tlaquepaque. It's an arts & crafts village but it's not your grandma's arts & crafts. It had gorgeous statues, painting, photography and boutiques with unique clothing & jewelry.
We stopped in a little shop for milkshakes.... Like the lollies? Red rocks, sunshine & saguaros.
Since my hometown has a froggy.... I loved that this place had one too.
This little chapel was in the middle of the shopping plaza. I SO wanted to go inside but the doors were closed.
After the shopping... Cristy said she had something amazing to show me. She knew this place would make my little photographer heart happy. We drove to an area that was some of the most breath-taking scenery I have ever seen in my life.
(The above photo was taken with my little point & shoot in panoramic mode. Not bad but I'll definitely want to play more with this.)
These photos were taken on the road to see this.....
This stunning piece of architecture was built into the mesas. It is literally a part of the landscape around it. It's open to all visitors. I walked inside with a very strange feeling. I was in Arizona to avoid a sadness at home. Stepping into this church was very moving. It brought a lot of things into perspective for me. I will always be grateful to Cristy for her friendship, for inviting me into her home, for sharing these amazing views with me but most of all, I'm eternally grateful to her for being the friend I really needed. It was a great gift to me and won't soon be forgotten.
At heart, I'm a hopeful person. I like to think that things will work out and love will find a way and... you get the idea. I keep trying and keep trying because giving up is as big a sin as failing but sitting there in that chapel overlooking the incredible scenery... It was okay for me to stop hoping I could be at the wedding.... It was okay to thoroughly embrace where I was instead of pining for where I wanted to be. I like to think that's a life lesson that will stay with me.
After such a life affirming moment... I have no good way to lead into this next photo but I have to share it. This sign was in the parking lot on the road to the chapel. I found it ridiculously funny.
More photos and stories to come....
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