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San Francisco, California 🇺🇸 🌁
Neither of our bonus kids had ever been to CA before this trip. So, a day in SF felt necessary. SF has always been one of my favorite cities. Even w/ all of its current & very serious issues, I love it. Would I live there? Absolutely not. But it’s fun to visit. I know…
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Monterey, California 🇺🇸 🦦
We’re back in our old stompin’ grounds this week with our kids and our bonus kids (Anna’s boyfriend, Andrew, and Max’s college roommate, Cameron). Ken and I lived here in the mid 90s while Ken was getting his master’s degree. Have always loved this place. Anxious to show it to the crew. Infuriating experience at…
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Phoenix, Arizona 🇺🇸 🌵
Ken got up at the crack of dawn to hike. Here’s a couple of pics from his hike – more balloons! I hiked 250 feet to the coffee shop. Here’s a couple of pics from my hike – Nutella mocha! Walked through downtown Sedona (aka the new age crystal capital of the world) on our…
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Sedona, Arizona 🇺🇸 🌵
Today tested my limits. There are trails everywhere in Sedona. Literally everywhere. What there *isn’t* is any place to park. We tried 3 different trailheads this morning at 6:30am, and they were all full. Had to get creative with a parking space. Update: Ken got me a sporty walking stick. It helps with balance, but…
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Grand Canyon, Arizona 🇺🇸 🏜️
First: Happy Birthday to my Dad!! I’d never been to the Grand Canyon before today (except for vicariously through the Brady Bunch). Decided to book a guided tour – they know all the things, all the best places to stop, and most importantly, they do all the driving. On our drive to the GC, our…
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Road Trip 🇺🇸 🚗
Drove from Santa Fe to Sedona, Arizona today. It didn’t look that far on the map. It was that far. But tbh, I cannot move my legs today, so not complaining about sitting on my arse for 7 hours. I’m calling it a recovery day. By complete accident, we were driving past Albuquerque this morning…
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Bandelier National Park / Los Alamos, New Mexico 🇺🇸 🥾
To summarize the day: Everything hurts and I’m dying. Hiked down a steep-ass canyon into Bandelier National Park this morning. Not a soul on the trail with us until we got down to the canyon floor where the monument(s) are. Was very peaceful. Parts of the trail were pretty jaunty. It’s a good thing I’m…
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Chimayo/Abiquiu, New Mexico 🇺🇸 🎨
Update: still allergic to NM. Pretty sure I ID’d the culprit: rubber rabbitbrush. We shall call it yellow sneeze-weed. Drove north to the town of Chimayo today to see the Catholic pilgrimage site of El Santuario de Chimayo. They receive around 300,000 visitors per year. The church has a special room with a hole in…
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Santa Fe, New Mexico 🇺🇸 🌶️
I’m on a quest to finish visiting all 50 states. Might be silly, but I got it in my head it’s something I need to accomplish. So, here we are in New Mexico. Staying in a super cute historic adobo home, built sometime around 1912. Has walls that are an honest foot thick. Very quiet.…
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The Flask Half Full
Because the best stories rarely make it into the brochure.
