The morning zoo. It’s the process of waking up, getting myself together, making breakfast & tea, waking up the family, packing lunches, then bringing the kids to school. Then getting on a plane and going to Sedona. Every Friday this is how we end our week. I mean, with the exception of the Sedona part. That was special this week.
After the usual circus routine we made our way to EWR, which is the airport code for Newark. Fun fact: did you know that airport codes beginning with N are reserved for the Navy?
We meet up with Mark & Jim, do the TSA thing, stand around briefly, then get on the plane. There’s generally nothing notable about air travel much of the time, and this trip is no exception. On the flight I watch JoJo Rabbit, which is nothing short of excellent. Absolutely loved the movie and Scarlett Johansson is really turning into a great actress. In surfing Wikipedia, I find that she and I share a birthday. That is birth day, not date. I’m a tad older.
After the movie I read some of my book, The Vegetarian. The flight goes well enough, though we pound the ground a little harshly as we land with the wind at our back. We get off the plane, grab some bags, and meet up with Alex who’s beaten us to Phoenix and is waiting with the rental car. We’re then off to Sedona for 3 days of mountain biking, plus a trip to the Grand Canyon.
The terrain as we get closer to the condo gets less & less flat and more & more interesting. Living with trees everywhere, this is fascinating to me. It does beg the questions, do people here take it for granted? And do they think the same when they come to New Jersey in regards to the trees?
Driving into Sedona is cool as hell. The novelty of the different terrain gets exponentially more intense as we get close to town, and I can understand why people settled here. It’s nothing short of beautiful, and the town is nestled in this amazing wedge of beauty. It’s just striking how beautiful it is.
For dinner we make our way to the SaltRock Southwest Kitchen, where we’re joined by Utah and his wife Allison. The price was a bit much but the food was pretty good. Company is always solid here. The Google Review:
This place is certainly not cheap. Options were a little limited on Valentine’s Day so we found this place had an opening. Cost was a tad on the high side and the menu was limited due to the day, but it was a nice place and the food was good. Probably not 5 star good given the cost but it was tasty nonetheless.
After dinner we hit the Safeway for some food supplies then make our way back to the condo with the Utah’s. Special thanks to the JManic Crew for hooking us up with the opportunity to rent the place in the first place. Price was excellent and the location is lit. I would also like to thank the academy for this award.
Traveling Normandy 