Saturday... Sleep, Starts, Stops and Stars
Today was the first day we actually slept in... really slept. Kef said each time she turned over she fell back in to a deep sleep. I think her body just hasn't caught up from being up coughing every night. I think it was probably almost 10:30 before we actually turned on a light and decided to get up. By the time we were ready to go out looking for food, it was almost noon.
I thought we were going to have lunch in Sedona and find another hike to do. Kef had other plans. I had mentioned that I thought I might go to Jerome and check it out one day while she was on a conference call, but I had never done it. Because it was more of a historical destination, I thought she wouldn't prefer to go there. But she decided we'd go check it out. It was a beautiful drive!
Jerome is an old mining town that is perched on a steep hill. There is a state historical site there, as well as a mining museum. There are also about a gazillion people there around noon on a Saturday. And since the town is so steep, the roads through it are one-way. There are a couple of interesting restaurants that caught our eye, but there was literally NO PARKING anywhere in town. After a frustrating trip through town trying to find a place to park so we could go eat, we decided it would be better to just go back into Cottonwood and eat there. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast, we were very hungry... so we didn't want to go to the historical sites before we ate. So basically, we scrapped Jerome and moved on.
Old Town in Cottonwood acts like it was on old Route 66, but I have found no evidence to support that (looks like Route 66 went through Flagstaff, which is considerably north of here). This is of significance to me because my family roots are in Shamrock, which really was right on Route 66. However, there are some buildings and signs that hearken back to that time period. One in particular appears to be a lawyer's office and perhaps apartments or office rental space. It is what was once a hotel, complete with big neon sign that has been restored. Awesome!
We ate more Mexican food (because, why not?) at a little hole in the wall place where all the locals seemed to be gathering. We laughed at the conversation the waitress's son was having a man at the booth behind us. The kid was really interested in his shoes... and what size shoe he wore... and whether the man thought this pair of shoes he'd found on ebay was as cool as he thought they were. He then moved on to another table to find out what they thought about the shoes. It was huuuuularious.
After lunch, we wandered the shops in town a bit... Kef found some dill olive oil to replenish what she'd purchased in Boone way back. I found a little tree of life necklace that I liked. We both found other things we liked but shouldn't/couldn't afford.
Another great feature of Cottonwood is... Sonic. What I miss about Sonics in the South is Styrofoam cups that don't sweat. The cups at Sonic in Albany are just regular plastic cups... that sweat. So, we stopped for Sonic and headed back to Sedona.
We killed the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening watching the Tech vs. OU game. At about half-time, we started thinking about dinner. We had planned to go to Elote because Trudy had recommended it. When we called to check on the wait, it was an hour and a half at 7:00... and they close at 9:00. So we decided we'd have to skip that, and ended up going to Judi's instead. I don't know what Kef thought of it, but I thought it was outstanding! I had a great artichoke chicken with cream sauce over linguine. And pecan pie. And coffee with Bailey's. It was probably one of my favorite meals of the week.
Before we came to Sedona, we had talked about going out to see the stars, and possibly even taking pictures. Kef brought her fancy camera, just for that. As of yet, we had not gone to see the stars. So, rather than turning right to head back to the airport, she turned left out of Judi's and we headed for one of the parking areas near Bell Rock. Supposedly it's a good spot to see the Milky Way... and we did! It wasn't as bright as we'd ever seen it (Kef says the brightest she has seen it was in South Africa, I remember seeing it as a kid growing up in Lorenzo), but we still got to enjoy the brightness of the stars more so than most places. There was supposed to be a meteor shower, but it wasn't supposed to start until midnight. Since we had to leave for Phoenix in the morning, we didn't stick around and wait for that. What I did find out is that my phone has some settings that actually allowed me to capture a little bit of the night sky.
I'm finishing this blog on Monday instead of Saturday night, so I now have the benefit of hindsight on the whole trip. Sedona is a beautiful place... and lots to do if you like to shop, eat, hike and/or go on a spiritual retreat. If you don't want to do those things, you don't need a full week there. But if you do, you couldn't find a more wonderful setting. If you're thinking of a three-day visit, you'd do well... but that wouldn't give you near enough time for a true spiritual retreat or to hike nearly all of the trails. (It would take a lifetime to hike all the trails, I think.) The streets roll up at about 8 or 9 p.m., so don't plan on doing nighttime activities, unless you happen to want to see one of the three or four movies playing, or want to go on a star-gazing tour. If you're interested in curling up in front of the fire with your significant other, the early nights will be just your thing. Go in the fall... the weather was perfect!
I thought we were going to have lunch in Sedona and find another hike to do. Kef had other plans. I had mentioned that I thought I might go to Jerome and check it out one day while she was on a conference call, but I had never done it. Because it was more of a historical destination, I thought she wouldn't prefer to go there. But she decided we'd go check it out. It was a beautiful drive!
Jerome is an old mining town that is perched on a steep hill. There is a state historical site there, as well as a mining museum. There are also about a gazillion people there around noon on a Saturday. And since the town is so steep, the roads through it are one-way. There are a couple of interesting restaurants that caught our eye, but there was literally NO PARKING anywhere in town. After a frustrating trip through town trying to find a place to park so we could go eat, we decided it would be better to just go back into Cottonwood and eat there. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast, we were very hungry... so we didn't want to go to the historical sites before we ate. So basically, we scrapped Jerome and moved on.
Old Town in Cottonwood acts like it was on old Route 66, but I have found no evidence to support that (looks like Route 66 went through Flagstaff, which is considerably north of here). This is of significance to me because my family roots are in Shamrock, which really was right on Route 66. However, there are some buildings and signs that hearken back to that time period. One in particular appears to be a lawyer's office and perhaps apartments or office rental space. It is what was once a hotel, complete with big neon sign that has been restored. Awesome!
We ate more Mexican food (because, why not?) at a little hole in the wall place where all the locals seemed to be gathering. We laughed at the conversation the waitress's son was having a man at the booth behind us. The kid was really interested in his shoes... and what size shoe he wore... and whether the man thought this pair of shoes he'd found on ebay was as cool as he thought they were. He then moved on to another table to find out what they thought about the shoes. It was huuuuularious.
After lunch, we wandered the shops in town a bit... Kef found some dill olive oil to replenish what she'd purchased in Boone way back. I found a little tree of life necklace that I liked. We both found other things we liked but shouldn't/couldn't afford.
Another great feature of Cottonwood is... Sonic. What I miss about Sonics in the South is Styrofoam cups that don't sweat. The cups at Sonic in Albany are just regular plastic cups... that sweat. So, we stopped for Sonic and headed back to Sedona.
We killed the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening watching the Tech vs. OU game. At about half-time, we started thinking about dinner. We had planned to go to Elote because Trudy had recommended it. When we called to check on the wait, it was an hour and a half at 7:00... and they close at 9:00. So we decided we'd have to skip that, and ended up going to Judi's instead. I don't know what Kef thought of it, but I thought it was outstanding! I had a great artichoke chicken with cream sauce over linguine. And pecan pie. And coffee with Bailey's. It was probably one of my favorite meals of the week.
Before we came to Sedona, we had talked about going out to see the stars, and possibly even taking pictures. Kef brought her fancy camera, just for that. As of yet, we had not gone to see the stars. So, rather than turning right to head back to the airport, she turned left out of Judi's and we headed for one of the parking areas near Bell Rock. Supposedly it's a good spot to see the Milky Way... and we did! It wasn't as bright as we'd ever seen it (Kef says the brightest she has seen it was in South Africa, I remember seeing it as a kid growing up in Lorenzo), but we still got to enjoy the brightness of the stars more so than most places. There was supposed to be a meteor shower, but it wasn't supposed to start until midnight. Since we had to leave for Phoenix in the morning, we didn't stick around and wait for that. What I did find out is that my phone has some settings that actually allowed me to capture a little bit of the night sky.
I'm finishing this blog on Monday instead of Saturday night, so I now have the benefit of hindsight on the whole trip. Sedona is a beautiful place... and lots to do if you like to shop, eat, hike and/or go on a spiritual retreat. If you don't want to do those things, you don't need a full week there. But if you do, you couldn't find a more wonderful setting. If you're thinking of a three-day visit, you'd do well... but that wouldn't give you near enough time for a true spiritual retreat or to hike nearly all of the trails. (It would take a lifetime to hike all the trails, I think.) The streets roll up at about 8 or 9 p.m., so don't plan on doing nighttime activities, unless you happen to want to see one of the three or four movies playing, or want to go on a star-gazing tour. If you're interested in curling up in front of the fire with your significant other, the early nights will be just your thing. Go in the fall... the weather was perfect!
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