Sedona and the Grand Canyon

I finally made it to the Grand Canyon! But first a day in Sedona, AZ. Sedona is about a two hour drive from Phoenix depending on where you’re coming from, and definitely worth a day or more. Famous for the beautiful red rock formations and the vortexes, it’s changed a lot since I lived there for 6 months 30 years ago, especially in terms of traffic. The Grand Canyon is about a 4 hour drive from Phoenix so the plan was to drive to Sedona and do a little hiking, and then drive up through Oak Creek Canyon and stay the night in Flagstaff. Get up and make the little over an hour drive to the Grand Canyon and then back to Phoenix. This worked perfectly for us! My brother Dave had never been to Sedona and he loved it. He’s already making plans to come back with his wife and spend a few days exploring more. Next time I’m wearing my hiking boots and bringing poles!

Hiking Cathedral Rock, just one of the many options in Sedona.

We grabbed lunch at a good pizza place and then headed through town to Oak Creek Canyon. This is a beautiful road through the canyon that climbs an elevation with lots of switchbacks to about 6700 feet. My ears were popping! Starts in Sedona and ends in Flagstaff. There are a couple of places to pull over along the way and enjoy the view and the best one is right at the top.

The view from the top of Oak Creek Canyon.

Flagstaff is a college town. Northern Arizona University - the Lumberjacks is there. We didn’t get to explore the town other then getting a bite to eat, but it seemed like a fun place. The downtown was cute and there were quite a few local breweries. Our main focus was getting a decent nights sleep and heading out fairly early to get to Grand Canyon. I was so excited to finally get to see it, and it definitely did not disappoint. It was chilly but a beautiful sunny day. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as number of people but we were happy to find it wasn’t crowded at all. We had no trouble parking at any of the main points we stopped at for views. Only the South Rim is open during the winter so that made where we were heading easy - less to choose from!

My fun traveling companions - brother Dave and niece Angela!

I really don’t have the words to describe how breathtaking the Grand Canyon is. We went to at least 10 different vantage points and while you’re seeing the same basic site, it looks different from every angle. The shadows from the clouds, the angles of the rocks, the view of the Colorado River cutting through - it makes every view different.

We saw the elk! There are signs warning you and sure enough they just started crossing the road. Bottom right is as close as I could get of the Colorado River.

My favorite view - Powell Point. Named after Major John Wesley Powell, leader of the first documented expedition through the Grand Canyon via the river.

Maybe some day I will return in warmer weather and hike down into the canyon. For now I was thrilled just to be able to see it. Not a lot of food to write about - until today! Back in Phoenix I introduced my brother Dave to a Chicago favorite that due to the large amount of Chicagoans that have relocated here has expanded to lots of locations - Portillo’s Italian Beef sandwiches!

Beef with sweet peppers - Yumm! Dave loved it! Said he might go back tomorrow😊

Thanks for coming along - check back soon!

Arizona Sunshine!

The Chiefs won the Super Bowl! So exciting and fun! I stayed in Kansas City in January for the playoffs and am so glad I was there for all the games. It was really all anyone thought or talked about, and not sure I saw a single person not wearing Chiefs gear the entire month. They did it! The entire city got on board and every major building was bathed in red light at night, every statue sporting a jersey, and murals and signs popping up everywhere.

Keeley came in for the Super Bowl weekend and we walked around downtown to see some of the best murals. This artist was just putting the finishing touches on this beauty!

This was installed in Union Station right after the game and people lined up for days to take pictures with it. I don’t know this woman - just took her picture with the sign.

The parade on Weds was awesome, and since I live along the parade route hosted a little gathering with prime viewing. Such a fun group of friends. Keeley stayed for it and worked from KC so she could be a part of the celebration.

A friend sent me the awesome picture of the Western Auto Building with all the confetti. So cool! KC wolf on the top right, friends hanging out my window in the middle, and the double decker bus on the bottom with Andy Reid and Clark Hunt. We saw all the players and some even got off the buses and walked along greeting the million people who attended. A great time to be in KC!

Now enough of the Midwest cold! I’m off to Arizona for a few weeks. Today we drove about 45 minutes out of Phoenix to do a little hiking. First stop was Tortilla Flat. It is the last surviving stagecoach stop along the Apache Trail. Population 6! Just a quick stop to see a little tiny museum that was a school house, a saloon, mercantile shop, restaurant and post office.

Worth a stop just to see the ladies restroom!

We did our hiking on the Apache Trail. You can pretty much stop anywhere along the road where you can park a car and start hiking. Really pretty and a gorgeous day.

Angela had Bentley in a doggie backpack for the hike and they both did great! I love the huge saguaro cactus.

Next stop was Goldfield Ghost Town & Mine. Bigger then what it looks like from the highway with a couple of places to eat and drink, a jail, a few shops, a mine you can tour, Jeep tours, pony rides etc.

Only David was brave enough to go in to see the LIVE reptile exhibit.

I’ve been in Arizona 24 hours and still hadn’t had a meal from IN-N-OUT! That needed to change so we headed to the closest one to indulge in a great burger and fries. It never disappoints!

My first Diet Coke in 5 years! Not going to make it a regular habit but it did taste good.

Since I’m here for a few weeks I went ahead and unpacked. As per usual I packed very light and only brought a carryon. One of the most common questions I get about packing is how I accomplish that, so thought this would be a good illustration to share.

I’m sure it’s pretty apparent that everything I will be wearing goes together. Black, gray and a tiny bit of navy…done!

Check back again soon for my next adventure in the desert. I get why people like to spend the winter here!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!

It’s one of my favorite days of the year! January 1st. A clean slate. A new beginning. A brand new calendar to fill with the things that bring you the most joy. If that’s not what you’re doing then today is a great day to start. Since my favorite way to spend New Years Eve is home with a pizza watching TV and getting a good nights sleep, I was up in plenty of time to start the year running on a gorgeous day with great friends.

A big crowd for the annual free run in Overland Park with Jenn and Cheryl. Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!

Now on to my annual recap of the year. 2019 was a good one. Retirement and travel continue to bring me much happiness, so I did more of that in 2019. Not quite to the extent of 2018 but still one third of the year. January through April I worked for a friend of mine in her accounting business so most of those months I was here in KC. I really like numbers so that was enjoyable for me. Here is the list of my trips:

• February - a long weekend in NYC

• May - Paris, Normandy and Belgium

• June - Chicago and Lake Geneva

• July - Chicago and Lake Geneva

• August - NYC and Lake Geneva

• September/October - Portugal, South of France, Provence, Paris and Giverny

• November - Seattle, Nashville and Chicago

• December - Denver and Raleigh, NC

You can read more detail about any or all of those trips in the archive of this blog - except for Raleigh which I just returned from over Christmas. What a beautiful place! I was invited to join Tom and his girlfriend Anna and her lovely family at their home in Raleigh. They were all so welcoming and went out of their way to include me in their traditions - most of which included making and eating incredible food!

The Spence crew celebrating Kim’s birthday on Christmas Eve at Mandolin Restaurant. Amazing! I had my hands full with the girls - Penny and Millie - so cute! Tom and I and Tom and Anna. A special Christmas I’ll never forget. Thanks Spence’s💕

You can see a pattern developing of the places near and dear to my heart - because I keep returning! In a 12 month period I spent almost 3 weeks in Paris. And don’t be shocked if I go back again this year. France please get your strikes and protests under control! On my last trip in October Julie and I actually experienced tear gas during a protest march - so I can now add that to my list of travel stories. We survived and check out my last post dated October 12th for the details.

I love you Paris! I will keep coming back until I know every arrondissement by heart❤️

My most favorite trip of the year though has to be the weekend of the Chicago Marathon. Keeley trained for it all year and ran for Erika’s Lighthouse charity, so not only did she do all the running but she also raised close to $2000 for a great cause. So proud of her, and of all the people that supported her by being out on the course to cheer her on. Tom and Anna flew in from NYC to be there, and that made it all the more special. Being with Keeley, Matt, Tom and Anna for the weekend was the BEST! Matt’s family - his mom Marion, Aunt Sue, sister Laura, brother-in-law Brad and nephew Owen were a huge support as well, and made multiple appearances on the course which I know made a huge difference and helped Keeley finish the race with an awesome time. Congrats Keeley! You made us all proud!

Being with family is the BEST!

The year wasn’t all great. In early June I hurt my back and thought for a few weeks life as I know it was over. One of my favorite sayings is “jump while you can” and that made even more sense to me while this was all going on. I spent two weeks flat on my back on a yoga mat in constant pain, and had many moments where I wondered if I would improve. Happy to report that physical therapy is an amazing thing - big shout out to the miracles they can work , and now I would say I’m about 95% back to normal and obviously back running and lifting weights. I have a new appreciation for chronic pain and how quickly your life can change. So if you have things you want to do and you can do them don’t wait!

Every year I pick a theme instead of a resolution, and my back injury was the impetus for my 2020 theme. At this stage of my life long term goals aren’t really my focus. I’m going to make a bigger effort to enjoy all the moments - big, small, happy hour with friends, seeing a movie, talking to a family member, reading a good book, getting a great donut (going to eat more donuts this year for sure).

My theme a few years ago was READ, and I have continued that since by setting a goal every year to read more and watch less mindless TV. My goal for 2019 was 40 books and I fell a little short. I read 37 books, but in my defense the time I spent in Europe which totaled 41 days was a total loss from a reading standpoint, but totally great from a fun travel standpoint! There are so many wonderful books to read - I have a list I keep compiling. I like to pick my top three - but this year there was a tie so I will share my top 4.

• “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens

• ”The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai

• ”Resistance Women” by Jennifer Chiaverini

• ”The Flight Portfolio” by Julie Orringer

I waited months to get “Where the Crawdads Sing” from the library, and then read it in 2 days. I’ve never talked to anyone that read it and didn’t love it. My most favorite genre is World War 2 historical fiction so lots of the other books I read are that, but in reviewing my list I had a good mix of others too, and enjoyed them all. One of the many great things about retirement is having more time to read.

The start of a new decade! Or is it the end of a decade and the new decade starts next year? I’ve read a few articles defending both stances, but since I prefer beginnings to endings I’m going with it’s a new decade. It reminds me of the color of the dress debate that rocked the country. Is it blue or gold? Who cares! It is whatever you want it to be. I haven’t spent a ton of time thinking back over the last decade, but I know that a lot of things in my life have definitely changed - the vast majority for the better. I’m excited about this next decade and entering it with a positive attitude. I’m grateful that I have such a great extended family, and friends that are the best in the world. Who has it better then me? Well I hope you feel the same about your life! The Best is Yet to Be! 2020 here we come😘

Denver in a Day!

Happy Birthday to me! I decided the perfect way to spend my birthday would be with my favorite artist Claude Monet - who just happened to be having a huge exhibit in Denver. So I booked a flight and a hotel room and headed to Denver on my birthday eve.

I’ve flown quite a bit the past couple of years and I think I can count on one hand the times the flight has left or arrived on time - and this was no different. I had delays both ways but neither was too terrible - and it reminded me how glad I am that I never fly without food. I highly encourage adding healthy snacks and an empty water bottle to your packing list. Bars, nuts, apples, hard boiled eggs, a peanut butter sandwich etc. has saved me lots of money and made me a more patient traveler.

My plan upon arrival in Denver was to take the metro train from the airport right to Union Station in downtown Denver, and that worked out perfectly. Its called the A Line and is $10.50 for an adult each way. Totally worth it! My hotel was downtown and everything I was doing was walking distance, but it appears that there is a decent mass transit system in place and I saw lots of trains during my visit.

Denver metro train.

Union Station is gorgeous! They did a fabulous job renovating this beautiful building, and there are lots of cool restaurants, bars and shops inside. I had plans to explore it more the next day so just looked around and headed over to check into my hotel.

Union Station

Interior at Union Station. That’s a Christmas Tree!

I need some food! I had done some research on restaurants in the area (what a surprise right?) and a restaurant right across from my hotel called Panzano got excellent reviews as having one of the best happy hours in Denver - so that’s where I headed.

3 courses for me since I’m celebrating my birthday - Panzanella Di Focaccia salad (Italian bread salad), Margherita Pizza and Budino Di Caramello (butterscotch caramel pudding) for dessert. All delicious.

My ticket to see Monet at the Denver Art Museum was for the next morning, so I headed over to the Denver Performing Art Center to see the sculpture park Christmas Tree and buy a ticket for the musical The Grinch. Success on both counts. The complex where both are also includes the Symphony and Ballet theaters, so lots going on that night. Of course we’ve all seen The Grinch movie, but this was my first time seeing the live musical, and it was wonderful. The costumes were amazing and the Grinch deserves a Tony award. He was hysterical. If you ever get the chance to see it you won’t be disappointed.

Since it was just me I got a great seat in the orchestra. Another Happy Birthday to me!

I was up bright and early the next day and after coffee and a breakfast burrito headed over to visit the Colorado Capitol which is located right downtown. On the way I walked past the Convention Center and saw a huge bear trying to gain access.

The people by his feet look so tiny!

The Capitol offers tours that take about an hour and is the only way to access the dome, but since I had a date with Monet that had a timed entry I opted for a self guided tour that was impressive even without the dome.

Denver Capitol with a little snow.

Denver is called the Mile High City and it’s because it actually is a mile above sea level. The Capitol marks the one mile point with a marker on the granite steps that you can easily find on the west side.

You can see the gold medallion and the inscription on the step.

Inner rotunda, House and Senate chambers, dome and the Presidential Portrait Gallery.

A cool picture I took inside.

And mountains!

Next up…..Monet! As soon as I read about this exhibit coming to Denver I knew I had to see it. I’ve been to see all the Monet’s in Paris and just this past October visited Giverny. Check my blog dated October 10th and read all about my visit there. This exhibit has over 120 of his paintings and is the largest Monet exhibit in the US in the past 20 years- and its only going to be in Denver so if you are a fan you must try hard to see it. Tickets are selling fast and it’s essential to buy a timed ticket in advance on the website. I appreciate that they are doing it this way, because while there were a lot of people in the exhibit, you could still see all the paintings and take as much time with each as you wanted. The audio guide is free with the purchase of your ticket and it’s excellent. Plus they have special links for kids to follow along as well - that is something unique.

The Denver Art Museum - an awesome building!

The exhibit was AMAZING! They did an excellent job of organizing the galleries by the area of origin making it clear how Monet’s career evolved. It’s huge so a little overwhelming. If I lived closer I would go see it a few more times to be able to take it all in, but since that’s not likely I spent almost 3 hours there.

Thank you Mr Monet!

In addition to enjoying the paintings I like to see where each painting resides, and while I didn’t keep a tally my best guess is that about half of the paintings were from private collections. So many of these beautiful paintings are in someone’s home where they can enjoy them while they have their morning coffee. Wow! I am so grateful that the owners were willing to share these priceless masterpieces, but also a little sad that there is a good chance I will never see them again. Another reason to go and enjoy them! It’s in Denver till February 2, 2020 so hurry.

I love them all!

A friend sent me this right before I went to Denver and it’s perfect.

Just one more thing to do before I head to the airport for my return flight….eat! I headed to Union Station to try Mercantile which has a James Beard award and great reviews online. It did not disappoint. I had a fabulous salad and when I told the waiter it was my birthday (because I tell everyone 🤷🏼‍♀️) he told me to pick a dessert. I went with a tiny chocolate caramel filled cookie with sea salt. Thanks Mercantile!

Birthday lunch😊

It was a great birthday! Thanks for letting me share it with you❤️

Chicago…..Again!

Yes another trip to Chicago! I was just there a few weeks ago for the Chicago Marathon, but back again for the wedding of two special people. It never gets old and I can always find something new and fun to do.

My kind of town!

I tried something different this time - took Amtrak from Kansas City to Chicago, and then back to KC, I had heard good things about the train and when I checked on prices a few months ago and saw a fare of $50 each way I thought why not try it. The train leaves from Union Station which is close to where I live and should arrive in Chicago in 7 hours and 20 minutes - so less then drive time. The wedding was downtown so I wouldn’t need a car and I’m here to report that it turned out just fine. Full disclosure - the train was late getting to KC because of a problem out west so we got to Chicago almost 2 and a half hours late - but they kept us posted so I was able to stay home until 30 minutes before the train arrived. And the return was totally on time. Definitely less stressful then driving and I would do it again if the right circumstances presented.

Me getting on the train in KC. A beautiful day!

I stayed on Michigan Ave at a newly remodeled hotel called the St Jane located just south of Wacker Drive and the river. Fantastic location and a really nice place. I got a great rate through Travel Zoo. If you haven’t signed up for their daily email you should do it! They have great offers and there is no charge to use their site. My pictures didn’t turn out so you’ll just have to take my word for it - but comfy bed, great bathroom, super clean and a friendly helpful staff.

The talk of the town was the Grand Opening of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery - the largest Starbucks in the world! It opened November 15th and was a mob scene through the weekend. Hundreds of people standing outside waiting to get in even though the store is huge. Super cool and worth stopping by to see.

Saturday morning walking by Starbucks. I waited till it slowed down on Monday morning and walked right in to see it.

Inside the front door of Starbucks - to the left is a circular escalator- very cool!

Top left - roasting small batch coffee, Bottom left - barrel aged coffee and an awesome Warhol image in the background advertising the big exhibit currently at the Art Institute.

Bottom left - you can do coffee tasting on the 3rd floor. Amazing food on every floor.

It’s that time of year - so another opening was the Christkindlmarket down in the loop. Having spent last Christmas in Austria this was right up my alley. It reminded me a lot of those markets so fun to see all the handmade ornaments, knitted goods, food and gifts. Just like in Europe they have the ceramic mugs for the hot chocolate and mulled wine. And you can keep it as a souvenir 😊

Top - A Christmas Angel walking around for pictures Bottom left - Krampus. The opposite of Santa. Comes to take away the bad children. What?? It’s a German and Austrian thing - so scary! But you can get it in lots of forms - candy, ornaments, masks etc. Seems horrible. Bottom right - the ceramic mugs.

Got to see my friends Robin and Mike, and they took me to a wonderful theater called The Den located in the Wicker Park neighborhood. They are totally in-the-know on everything happening performing art related in the metro, and they said they really love this theater. I can understand why. A very cool building with 4 small stages creating a very intimate setting to see a performance. We saw the musical Always…Patsy Cline and it was really wonderful. Our seats were the best in the house and I felt like I was in the show! Having just returned from Nashville and discovering that I love country music felt like an added bonus. Thanks so much Robin and Mike for planning such a special time!

The Den

After the show we walked right across the street to the original location of Antique Taco to share a bite.

Chicken tacos, Elote corn with chips and a beer for Mike that he really enjoyed! Delicious!

Lunch at one of my favorite places - Hampton Social. A number of locations now around the Chicago area. I had the Beach Bowl - quinoa, black beans, plantains, avocado and an over easy egg.

Chicago is quite famous for its architecture, and one of the best things to do is take the Architectural Boat Tour. I’ve done it a couple of times and always recommend to people visiting. Well a new place to add to your To Do list is the Chicago Architecture Center. Julie and I visited on Monday and both enjoyed it very much. It’s located right on Wacker and Michigan Ave. and you can purchase the boat tour and/or a number of walking tours in addition to touring the center there.

Entrance to the Chicago Architecture Center.

The Center has two levels and you should allow at least an hour and maybe more to see it. The first floor is the Chicago Gallery featuring the most prominent architects like Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright. There is a cool movie and a scale model of the entire city. Lots of info on Chicago history. The second floor has a skyscraper gallery and an exhibit called From Me to We - what will Chicago look like in 2050.

Two of my favorite buildings through the window of the Architecture Center - The Wrigley building on the left and the Tribune Tower on the right - both being renovated and still so beautiful.

There are always new and fun things popping up on Michigan Ave - so let life surprise you and enjoy! The AT&T store going BIG for the 25th anniversary of the Friends sitcom. Walking by we just had to join in the fun and pretend we were at Central Perk😊

Two Friends having a big cup of coffee. Such a great show. It’s timeless! Just like my friendship with Julie❤️

Let’s not forget the wedding! The reason I was in Chicago. It was a beautiful ceremony and lovely reception to celebrate Nick and Britt! Best wishes always to this great couple!

Nick and Britt!

Goodbye for now Chicago! You know I’ll be back soon💕