Had a fantastic nine-day trip out west but tomorrow it's time to put my nose to the grindstone again.... My vacation was built around my brother in law's wedding -- Ed lives in L.A. and got married in Laughlin, Nevada, on Saturday -- he's 50 and married for the first time (it's the third time for Laurie - hope this one is the charm).
I'm very happy for both of them and wish them all the best. It was a very beautiful ceremony, small and intimate with plenty of friends and a few relatives.
We spent a few days in the City of Angels, saw the Crystal Cathedral again and visited some beachtowns like Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, but mostly just hung out with Ed and Laurie and my in-laws, Bonnie & Rick.
Then we went to Parker, Ariz., where Ed & Laurie have a house on the Colorado River. We spent a day cruising around the river and doing a lot of floating down river. Then it was off to Laughlin for three days, including the wedding.
Janet and I ended up with 2 days in Zion National Park and that was such an amazing place -- words can't capture the beauty and majesty of those mountain peaks.
We did a LOT of hiking and it was fabulous. I'll try to post some pics soon -- I finally found a program to shrink the pics down to usable size for the net. If I could post my verbal observations, it would go something like this: "Wow!" "Wow!" "Look at that!" "Wow!" "Do you believe it?" "This is awesome!" "Wow!"
Really first-rate dialogue, eh?
The Angels Landing trail was the high point, literally and figuratively. We climbed 1,500 feet, almost literally up the side of a mountain, even holding onto a metal chain for support at some points as we perched near the edge of the cliffs. I can hardly believe we did it, but I'm so glad we did.
As much as I enjoyed L.A., Vegas, and Laughlin, there is nothing like hiking through a magnificent national park to get me in touch with myself, my life, my spirit, my God, It was a wonderful way to cap off a great trip.
We flew back today.
A couple of brief side notes from my travels:
I was waiting in the airport in Minneapolis to change planes and saw a Muslim woman in a hijab and her husband with three little children -- one a boy about 10 wearing a shirt and tie -- going through security. The airport security team went through every single piece of luggage, opening up the suitcases and going through each piece of clothing and personal belongings, including everything in one child's SpongeBob backpack.
It seemed to take them forever but they were polite, never short tempered or bitter.
Welcome to 21st century America.
I also noticed on my trip that EVERY Starbucks we saw -- and there were many -- had a line of people waiting. I noticed because I was in a lot of those lines. When you're traveling and crossing through time zones, it's so nice to have a good cup of coffee -- strong and pure and full of caffeine. You know you can count on Starbucks for that much, with their quality coffee, slightly, burned, and maybe a banana nut muffin in the a.m.
Plus... most Starbucks have free wi-fi, which really comes in handy when you're on the road and away from home and need to check the net.
I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. We went to bed at midnight last night and got up at 3 a.m. today (well, that was in Vegas, which is on PST, so 6 a.m. EST).
I'm okay but my biorhythms are all out of sync.
I'm not complaining. It was a wonderful "holiday" as they say in the UK.
I feel inspired, refreshed, and ready to get back to work, and to follow my late father's oft-cited beloved advice: Keep your nose to the grindstone.
Sylvania, Ohio
May 28, 2008