Days 4 and 5 in AZ
Again, I awoke earlier than Marit. To be fair, she'd been having trouble sleeping, and it was nice that she was finally getting a good dose of it. I ambled around Marit's nice apartment and looked at the various things she had put on the walls and fridge. I was amazed at the amount of magnets that she managed to fit onto her fridge. Then, I ate some cereal and scarfed down another couple raspberry truffles. Outside Marit's sliding door, you can see the mountains and a large mall on the campus. More Koonz.
Marit woke and we rambled around the apartment and she introduced me to the joys of watching Eddie. After Eddie, we packed to head off to our massage appointments in Sedona. The drive to Sedona from Flag is pretty enough in a mountainy kind of way. Then, POW! The view of the canyon of Sedona arrives suddenly, just around the edge of a sharp curve and you just gasp at its beauty. Then, for a good half hour, I was just gasping every breath as Marit slowly took the hairpin curves that took us down the cliffs. The cliffs were filled with large beautiful trees, majestic rocks, and a nearly dry stream that ran through it all. The cliffs had a ruddy orange color, and the green of the trees just popped with them.
In Sedona, we found the spa and rushed in. We were shown to the locker room where we changed into fluffy white robes and slippers. We sat in the steam room for a while, then headed to our massage appointments. After a little negotiation with the masseurs, Marit and I headed off to be kneaded like bread dough. After the massages, we went back to the steam room and lost several gallons of water through our skin. Then, we went to a relaxation area with lounge sofas and this yummy nectar stuff that made you growl when other people made a move for the pitcher. Back into the steam room. Back to the lounge and the nectar. We put our clothes back on eventually and left the oasis.
We ate lunch at a place just across a courtyard (with a water feature!) from the spa. I ate some slightly sweet squash ravioli with a rich parmesean alfredo sauce. It was garnished with toasted walnuts!!! Sooooooo gooooooood. I drank 10 gallons of iced tea and was almost satisfied.
Marit and I drove around Sedona for a while. I took photos of the rock formations until the light went. Then, we went to this little Spanish style outdoor shopping mall. Really cool boutiques in it - AND a painted javelina statue! I didn't have my cell phone camera with me, or I would have been all over that! There was also the loveliest little old chapel there, but we were a little late to get into it - I guess Marit loves it in there. Marit was concerned that I hadn't gotten any souveniers. So, I got a javelina magnet and some Sedona playing cards. The javelina magnet is now attached to the metal door frame in my office.
We made our way back to Flag where Marit gave me a tarot card reading. Apparently to move forward, I need to reconcile the male and female aspects of my persona. More sleep.
In the morning, Marit gave me a ride to the nearby train station where I caught a shuttle bus to the Phoenix airport. I read another Koonz novel about warring circus people (homocidal clowns vs. incestuous acrobats) and a baker's family who got caught in the middle. On my flight, my seatmates were actually more scary than Koonz - 4 guys from Duluth who had long straggly hair and strong body odor, spent the entire flight looking at paramilitary and handgun catalogs. I finished the book when my flight touched down in Minneapolis - the baker's family won.
Marit woke and we rambled around the apartment and she introduced me to the joys of watching Eddie. After Eddie, we packed to head off to our massage appointments in Sedona. The drive to Sedona from Flag is pretty enough in a mountainy kind of way. Then, POW! The view of the canyon of Sedona arrives suddenly, just around the edge of a sharp curve and you just gasp at its beauty. Then, for a good half hour, I was just gasping every breath as Marit slowly took the hairpin curves that took us down the cliffs. The cliffs were filled with large beautiful trees, majestic rocks, and a nearly dry stream that ran through it all. The cliffs had a ruddy orange color, and the green of the trees just popped with them.
In Sedona, we found the spa and rushed in. We were shown to the locker room where we changed into fluffy white robes and slippers. We sat in the steam room for a while, then headed to our massage appointments. After a little negotiation with the masseurs, Marit and I headed off to be kneaded like bread dough. After the massages, we went back to the steam room and lost several gallons of water through our skin. Then, we went to a relaxation area with lounge sofas and this yummy nectar stuff that made you growl when other people made a move for the pitcher. Back into the steam room. Back to the lounge and the nectar. We put our clothes back on eventually and left the oasis.
We ate lunch at a place just across a courtyard (with a water feature!) from the spa. I ate some slightly sweet squash ravioli with a rich parmesean alfredo sauce. It was garnished with toasted walnuts!!! Sooooooo gooooooood. I drank 10 gallons of iced tea and was almost satisfied.
Marit and I drove around Sedona for a while. I took photos of the rock formations until the light went. Then, we went to this little Spanish style outdoor shopping mall. Really cool boutiques in it - AND a painted javelina statue! I didn't have my cell phone camera with me, or I would have been all over that! There was also the loveliest little old chapel there, but we were a little late to get into it - I guess Marit loves it in there. Marit was concerned that I hadn't gotten any souveniers. So, I got a javelina magnet and some Sedona playing cards. The javelina magnet is now attached to the metal door frame in my office.
We made our way back to Flag where Marit gave me a tarot card reading. Apparently to move forward, I need to reconcile the male and female aspects of my persona. More sleep.
In the morning, Marit gave me a ride to the nearby train station where I caught a shuttle bus to the Phoenix airport. I read another Koonz novel about warring circus people (homocidal clowns vs. incestuous acrobats) and a baker's family who got caught in the middle. On my flight, my seatmates were actually more scary than Koonz - 4 guys from Duluth who had long straggly hair and strong body odor, spent the entire flight looking at paramilitary and handgun catalogs. I finished the book when my flight touched down in Minneapolis - the baker's family won.