Results of the Trip

It’s been a while.  I’ve now traveled across the country.  From Augusta, GA to Long Beach, CA in the last 5 months with a 4 month stop in Denton, TX.  So now I’ve got all of my stuff sitting in our apartment.  It’s not all put away yet, but most of it is.  I just finished washing all of my pots, pans, and storage containers and put them away in the kitchen.  There’s just a little bit more to go.  We need to get rid of some stuff before we can go on too much further.

Anyway, about the trip from Denton to Long Beach…  We saw lots of wonderful things.  The first stop worth mentioning was Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.  It was pretty cool.  We walked through the gate, past a bunch of cows, then up to the Cadillacs sticking out from the ground.  The ground, by the way, was covered in snow/frost/ice for most of the trip. 

Next we stopped at the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert.  It was right at sundown and the Painted Desert was absolutely gorgeous.  It was a place so serene that if you didn’t speak, you couldn’t hear a single sound except for the rushing of the wind.  It’s indescribable.  I obviously got pictures, but they really don’t do it justice.

Our next stop wasn’t planned, but we happened upon the Wigwam Motel.  Not only that, but if you are fans of the movie Cars, you’ll know Mater and the Cozy Cone Motel.  Well, the Wigwam Motel is the motel that the Cozy Cone is modeled after.  At this motel, we saw a truck that looked just like Mater.

Later on down the road (or before that, I can’t remember) we stopped off the interstate to look at the stars, which I could see like nowhere else I’ve ever been.  And imagine my surprise when Julian pointed out a rather bright dot that at first appeared to me to be a plane.  Looking at it further, I was convinced, as Julian was when he pointed it out, that the dot was moving across the sky in a way that planes simply don’t.  It was moving in a straight line, for sure, but it would wiggle a bit as it went along.  Additionally, it would sometime come almost to a stop, then speed up again.  It was within our view for several minutes and we could easily track it across the sky as it made it’s eerie movements.  In Arizona, I saw my first UFO.

Our last stop that night was Sedona, home of several energy vortexes (they spell it that way) and also home to a pretty large new age culture.  We got one of the nicest hotel rooms I’d ever seen for that cheap, then left for dinner.  How fitting, considering our previous experience that we would go to the alien-themed Red Planet Diner, where we had some rather delicious peanut butter shakes.  We then went to bed.  The next morning, we were finally able to see the landscape around us as it was pitch black the night before when we arrived.  This little town is set in an absolutely remarkable area.  That day we ate the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had, had minor chats with some people in a city full of the most positive energy in the world, had our auras photographed (mine is deep red with purple and yellow areas, Julian’s is turquoise with purple and other shades of blue) and had them explained to us, and we meditated in a vortex.

We then left and headed to the Grand Canyon.  Words can’t describe it.  Pictures can’t either.  I’m not even sure I was able to take it all in when I was there.  We’re going back one day and taking donkeys down to the bottom.

After the Grand Canyon, we headed to Vegas for a kind of anniversary vacation by ourselves.  We saw Blue Man Group and went through the Star Trek Experience.  Blue Man Group was certainly a fun experience.  One of them stood not more than two feet away from us and stared directly at Julian for several seconds.  The Star Trek Experience was also quite fun.  Some really great special effects.

Then a few days later, it was time to head home.  We stopped along the way to check out the Calico Ghost Town, which is no longer a ghost town.  It has been turned into a tourist attraction that they – get this – charge you to go see.  Definitely a let down.

Other than the Calico Sham Town, the trip was wonderful.  Everything worked out great and we arrived in Long Beach perfectly ready to be home.  The Southwestern states are definitely the most beautiful and interesting of the states I’ve been to.  Compared to the Southeast, it’s El Dorado.

In other news, I’m now a Disneyland Cast Member.  It’s going to be my job to make sure thousands of guests a day have a magical experience.  What better job could there be?