Skipping Stones

Fresh off the train from Flagstaff, two weary travelers, gladly make the walk up the stairs to the comfy confines of home. The trip with Sean was everything I had hoped it would be. It was rich with new experiences, challenging with minor trials and tribulations and most of all, it was quality time with my son.

We started the adventure by meeting my Mom at Union Station in LA. We had dinner at one of those uniquely LA dinners, while we waited for the 6:45 PM departure of the Southwest Chief. I love that name, it evokes images of the old west with Indians in ceremonial head dresses, riding alongside the train, holding up one hand as the great iron horse steams by. The train is supposed to arrive in Flagstaff at 6 AM, but at what feels like 3 in the morning the conductor walks by, “10 minutes from Flagstaff” he announces. “Sir, it’s still dark out, and there’s snow on the ground” I blurt out; I can see it in his face, “Californians”.

The blast of cold, make that freezing, air hits Sean and I like a bowling ball. We race to find some kind of coffee type establishment, to escape the frigid onslaught. Two blocks up, in the historic old town section of Flagstaff, we find solace in an inviting little coffee shop. We sip our hot coffee, and look out on the cute little shops and boutiques that make up this charming part of town. This is fufufufun I say to Sean. He nods.

The frigid air quickly causes a rearrangement of my meticulously thought out itinerary. We rent a car as soon as we can, and turn the heater on full blast as we head out to see the big meteor creator in the Arizona desert. About the car, as you can tell from the picture, the car is a distinctively unattractive hue of yellow. My theory is that they take the cheapest cars and make them the ugliest colors, so you will walk into the rental office and say, “Rent me anything but that bright yellow piece of crap.” They underestimate my tolerance for shame. Anyway, the meteor crater is a very touristy thing to do, but what the heck. The coolest part is that we are treated like semi-celebrities because the guy that owns this big hole is Daniel Barringer. Everyone does a double take when I hand them my credit card, “Are you related…” “Shhh”, I whisper looking around, “I don’t want anyone else to know we’re here” (always one letter from greatness, story of my life)

The rest of the day we spend trying to kill time before we can check into the Days Inn. We’re exhausted and it takes forever until 1 O’clock rolls around. After checking in, we wash off the road grime, catch up on some much needed sleep, and enjoy laying down horizontal. As the sun sets we head out for a nice steak dinner in town. We are also in search of some kind of scarf or bandana to tie around our fafafafreezing faces.

Tuesday, will be a long day. The train back home does not leave Flagstaff until 10 PM, and we already did the whole meteor thing. I check out the map and notice Sedona is not too far away, so off we go. It is a beautiful drive from Flagstaff to Sedona, its tree lined the whole way, and you get spectacular views of the red bluffs as you approach town. We had a great lunch at a small barbeque place down a side street, with some of best ever, southwestern flavored, baked beans. Outstanding. After lunch and some shopping, and some ice cream, we noticed a sign that promised access to the creek below town. It was a bit of a strange hike, through parking structures, and even what looked to be a five star restaurant, but the staff was more than helpful, “You looking for the creek? Turn left at the kitchen and straight through”. For me, this was the best part of the whole trip, teaching my son how to skip stones on a river in Sedona. Magical. In case you’re wondering, I haven’t lost it, 7 skips. Yeah, booooyeee.

When we got back into Flagstaff we had to turn in the banana mobile. To fill time before the train, we hung out in the library for a few hours, then walked a mile and a half to the movie theater, were we watched a cheap sci-fi un-original. After the movie, rather then risk perma frost, in spite of the scarves and bandanas, we called a cab to take us to the train station. The route home was a lot of waiting for trains and a lot of trying to sleep while formed in the shape of a pretzel, and a lot of very good memories.

Here is a link to the entire photo shoot: http://flagstaffssb.shutterfly.com/