after thoughts

it's great to take a trip and look back on it. i usually just take trips and it's behind me immediatley. probably making up for the time i had all intentions to journal my road trip west but never got around to it.
leaving our home (in paradise!) for 2 months i thought i would miss it alot. but we were so focused on the road ahead and what experiences we would have that it was behind our minds pretty quickly. it's always been easy for me to not be attached to my belongings. thank goodness i have a husband who shares the same feeling about "stuff". something about having only the necessities is liberating... trips seem to be more of an adventure. we had some ideas of what we were going to do along the way but mostly we kept it on what we felt like doing without attachment to schedules, except of course where needed. it worked out beautifully.

we spent oct 25th our 3rd wedding anniversary with marijes and tery and it was a great day. the trip together was the best we can ask for. we learn so much about each other outside of our daily routines. surprising how that goes. so, marriage in my opinion really is ultimately about compromise and more compromise and alot about breathing space, respect and being friends. the first part of our trip heading east we spent alot of time listening to books on tape. the second part of our trip was spent mostly talking, well me going into a monologue about life. brett was an eager listener. then he went on political commentary after listening to sirrius talk radio. it's all a compromise. then we sat in silence and just enjoyed the scenery. now, that's the space i'm talking about. you learn to be in the moment and accepting what comes next.

we also have a newfound appreciation for sabrina too. thought that couldn't be possible but she just amazed us. she went with flow without complaints just joy. couldn't ask for a cooler road trip dog to travel with. she made the trip extra extra extra joyful.

we're home in goleta now getting back to functioning. great to be back to our mtns, beaches and routines. off to new adventures though. went hiking last weekend and drove up to the front country and went hiking. today, a hike locally at our bluffs and down to the beach.that's our new goal, to hike every week hopefully on a new trail in santa barbara and camping locally on ca's central coast.

gratfeul for each day and looking forward to seeing how 2007 unfolds.

Grand Canyon

This is our last major stop before heading home in the morning. I'm glad to be experiencing it with Brett and Sabrina this second time. The weather was beautiful during our visit. Got a little cooler as we headed toward sunset. Night time temps dipped into the 30's. We got lucky and saw two mtn goats. They came up from the bottom and decided to stay a while so we could take some pictures, until it decided it wanted to play with Sabrina. It followed us for a bit until it figured out Sabrina wasn't in the mood for playing with goats.

It's been a great trip. Got to spend quality time with my family and the sites along the way were icing on cake. Great icing!

Sedona

Sedona is one of those towns you walk into and you can feel its good vibe. It's a special town. Spectacular red rocks and scenery make it unique. It's tucked away about 1 1/2 hrs south of the grand canyon. you have to go a little out of your way but totally worth the trip. my second visit and the town has grown since 8 yrs ago. you'll find energy healers, auroa photographers and even a Three dog bakery downtown sedona. we went to one store which was a trading post. brett had a great time showing sabrina the buffalo heads and all the animals on the wall. again, he thinks she likes that stuff. she just goes ahead and entertains him. brett's big purchase was a magnetic rock. his new toy. bought some turquise so when i get around to it, i'll make my own necklace. off to the grand canyon.







love this potato man sculpture downtown sedona


sleepy time sabrina

saying goodbyes

Rising early to head for Sedona. Sabrina is all ready to go. Boulder and Wiley take turns saying their goodbyes. It was a rainy humid morning but cleared up on the road to El Paso. Beautiful blue skies... and very windy.

dog love

Tery sharing the love. And Brett removing the cactus needles from Sabrina's paws. Her souvenir from the country.

Sabrina and auntie Marijes

I think these are sweet moments with Sabrina and Marijes. The first photo Sabrina lets her guard down and goes for the kisses one morning. The next one is of Sabrina and auntie in our last night in the country.

Magnolia Cafe

Here we are at the Magnolia Cafe in Austin, TX after watching an IMAX movie all about Texas.

Today is also our 3rd wedding anniversary. Without being too senitmental, it's been very eventful. 3 moves, 1 dog, 2 new businesses created, 2 months of road travel. It hasn't been boring.

Sundy Brunch

Sunday brunch at the Hyatt Resort Bastrop. Beautiful day on the Colorado river. the resort is just in tery and marijes' backyard. they just go there and float in their huge pool that winds around like a river. tery is very familiar with the building materials and gave us a tour. the deck he's building is made from some of the material from the hyatt. pretty cool he was able to use the materials they would otherwise throw away and make it into a deck. the deck will be connected to the upstairs of the garage which he's transforming into an apt.

anyway brunch was great. we were able to sneak out some saugages and bacon for the ravenous dogs waiting for us at home. they loved it. brett and i dug up some seashells from the sand by the river for crafts i dabble in when i get the urge. it's a beautiful new resort. just wish now the bacara was as gracious so we can hang out at their pool on a warm sb day!

BDC II

Black Dog Club I

It's a dog's life

Austin city limits

We've made it to the Austin suburb of Bastrop in Marijes and Tery's country home. Very comfortable out here. If you want to know what silence sounds like, come out here. Their house they had built about 5 years ago is surrounded by trees. Colorado river is nearby. Tery is building a deck that will attach to the deck he is also building to the apt above the garage. He is designing and building the apartment. Those are just one of the many projects going on around their home.

Sabrina has acres and acres to explore with her 2 country cousins, Boulder and Wiley. She's fit into the pack well. Was hard at first watching her try to dominate Boulder alpha dog but now everyone has their place in the pack. She never seems to know what's coming out of the trees. Lots of big big dogs that come popping out of no where. Wiley greets them all. Sabrina runs in the house now after being chased by a rottweiler, she lives next door.

Yesterday T & M took us to the new Hyatt resort for Sunday brunch. The resort just opened this summer and is less than a mile from their home. It was fun having T & M tour us around since he knows alot about the construction of it and materials they used. Suprisingly, very eco friendly materials.

Hiking with Marijes and the dogs was fun. She toured me around the neighborhood.
Yesterday we got an amazing pedi. The best part was the salt scrub leg rub followed by a warm towel. Tingly feeling good on the skin sensation.

Skidboot the Dog

A heart-warming segment from Texas Country Reporter, with Bob Phillips. For more information visit www.TexasCountryReporter.com or www.skidboot.com

Hope

From Tennessee, made a brief stop in Hope, AR.

Great Smokey Mtns Nat'l Park

Drove from Manassas, VA to the Great Smokey NP yesterday to our hotel in Gatlinburg, TN home of the flapjacks. I call it that since there is a flapjack aka pancake house on every corner.

Rain most of way south but brilliant foliage along the way into Tennessee. We stayed an extra night to spend the day hiking around the park. What a surprise when we arrived last night. Traffic jam on the main road leading to the park. It was like being in Vegas with all the cheesy tourist attractions and neon flashing lights. Not what we expected. Really built up and commercialized.

Peak fall foliage week so people from all over the US are here.

Beautiful clear day today. About 79 degrees. We managed to have a decent hike a little off the beaten path. The roads to the dome were closed so we scratched that off our want to do list of stuff along the way.



Sabrina navigating the way




View of Gatlinburg

Making our way to top of hill.

Taken at top of hill. There was this old cemetary at the top.




Cheesy but interesting site on the main strip to the Park. Warranted a photo though. I think it's a dinner theater venue.