The Road to 40 has concluded. As of 5am yesterday I turned 40 years old. And, let me tell you it feels great. I hit the road about 9am and headed West. I could not have asked for a better day. It was cold but Sunny, the road was clear and the sky was blue. As I came into Gallup, New Mexico there was snow on the ground but not the highway. Thank God! I will tell you there are some serious PTSD issues around ice on the road. I saw the snow and started to panic but I reigned myself in and stayed calmed and carried on.
As I crossed over into Arizona the weather stayed great and the temps got a bit warmer. I was reminded ever so gently that me and fast food are not a good match. As I approached Flagstaff the snow appeared again in much more quantities than in Gallup. Again on the ground, roofs, and cars but none on the streets. It was breath taking to see all the white beauty around me.
I turned South at Flagstaff and turned onto 89A headed towards Sedona, Arizona (http://www.visitsedona.com/). My mecca for peace and relaxation. I really intended to take the highway down into Sedona, however, I got caught up in reading the directional signs I did not realize that was the mountain road. As I mentioned earlier I have an issue with icy roads and I started to panic a bit when I realized what I had done. But it was so beautiful I could not make myself turn around so I continued on.
Now, I do not have much experience driving on mountain roads, anytime in the past I would pull over and let #3 drive since he was more experienced at it than I was and I always assumed it would be safer to have a calm driver than one having a panic attack. So this was the first time I had actually drove down the mountain road all alone. I did very well and enjoyed it immensely with my Popera (ie: Josh Groban, Il Divo, Bond, etc.) blaring and the sun shining.
I arrived in the shopping district of Sedona and called up my girlfriend Deb who was joining me on this trip. She had already arrived and was waiting at the hotel for me to get there. We started out by shopping every metaphysical store we could find. I was on the hunt for gems and crystals and anything the felt right. After shopping and wandering we went to celebrate my birthday at a local mexican restaurant. The food was great and atmosphere was relaxing after a margarita and lots of food we headed out for more shopping, this time at the outlet mall. Alas we found no great treasures there but, we had just started.
Once the sun set in Sedona it got cold really fast. So we headed back to the hotel to check our emails and see what we wanted to do next. I should tell you that Deb and I are the worst decisions makers known to man. We come up with ideas but neither of us can make the actual decision to do it. Since both of us had driven 5 hours that day and Deb had come in from Tulsa the night before we decided to stay in and watch movies.
Sunday we had big plans but since we are both horrible at decisions we ended up staying bed talking and catching up on each others lives most of the morning. We did get up and head up to Jerome, Arizona (http://www.azjerome.com/) about 45 minutes away from Sedona. This town is literally on the side of a mountain. It is an old mining town that is now home to bed and breakfast hotels, art gallerys and a ton of jewelry shops.
One of my main objectives on this trip was to replace my wedding ring. Not with another wedding ring but with a ring of my own choosing. When #3 and I split I took off my wedding ring and it drove me nuts. I realized that is because I have always had a ring on that finger; even when I was not married. I replaced my wedding ring with another one and I realized that he had given me that ring to. So I really wanted a ring that was not from any ex but one that I picked for myself. I found a ring at this shop in Jerome that is silver (my favorite for jewelry) and amethyst with 2 diamonds on each side.
My Road to 40 celebration ended on a high note. I had to head back to Albuquerque and back to my own world. I learned several things about myself on the trip, I made several decisions on the trip but most of all I just enjoyed the trip. I can't wait to hit the road again for my next adventure. But, I may wait until it is a bit warmer all around.