Day 8: Friends along the way

Continuing our journey west, we have taken another side trip in Arizona, this time to Sedona. We talk a lot about being in the moment, savoring all the beautiful sights around us. We know all too well that in a blink of an eye we will be back in Lawrence, and this trip will be a memory.

Right now, we are sitting on a lovely patio staring at the red rocks of Sedona, reflecting on the past week, thinking about traveling along Route 66, and some of the old friends we connected with and new friends we met.

Just outside of Santa Fe we knocked on the weathered wooden door at Rich and Susan Martin's adobe house. Their two border collies were first to greet us. Stepping through the door we entered a magical space, a well-nurtured garden complete with a little brook running through it and tall aspens. In the garden, they cultivate bonsai trees including a piñon.

Dinner in town was a chance to catch up with our two friends, who seem to be thriving much like their enchanted garden.

For two nights in Santa Fe we stayed at Christopher Murphy's A‌i‌r‌b‌n‌b‌. He and his partner Erica made their home our home. A  multi-talented Englishman, at various times of his life has been a pilot, yachtsman, hypnotherapist, carpenter, builder, philosopher, and musician. He entertained us on the keyboard, and 3galsontheroad.com agreed it was a five-star stay.

After driving through a blinding thunderstorm we made a quick stop in Albuquerque to say hi to Destiny's nieces, grandniece and nephews.

Everyone we meet is friendly and kind. At breakfast before heading to the Grand Canyon we met a charming family of four who encouraged us to take the 30-mile drive along the canyon rim to the Desert View Watchtower which we would not have done had we not met them.

 This old building, built in 1932 by Mary Colter known as the "architect of the Southwest," was designed to appear as if it rose out of the earth. The view from this watchtower enabled us to see the winding Colorado River.

After a day exploring the Grand Canyon we headed out of Flagstaff. Destiny and Cathay were excited to run  into Kathleen, a clerk at  a Walgreens, also a transplanted Jersey girl.  She told us she misses the ocean and her family in Point Pleasant. She returns home six times a year. She had something to say about everything.  In her thick east coast accent, she told Destiny, "I do AH-VER--EE -THING 

in pumpkin -- ice cream, cawffee, pancakes. AH-VER-EE-THING!"

When I snapped her photo she said, " HELLO, NEW JERSEY!"