St. Paul Saturday

Tony and I on a pedistrian bridge that spans the mighty Mississippi River

I'm blogging this time from my friends, The Cloyds' living room in Minnesota. Yesterday I spent a terrific day with my buddy, Tony, in the St. Paul area. What a fantastic day we had. Outside the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota

We went to the University of Minnesota and visited the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum. I liked the museum. It was small enough to see everything. My favorite small exhibit was the "Who is a Citizen? What is Citizenship?" spread. It included paintings, photos, and prints. It explored the immigrant experience. In another section the pieces were all "ink jet on canvas" and I found the art very interesting. Tony and I, downtown St. Paul, about to eat a delicious lunch at Cossetta's

After the art museum we went and had an amazing late lunch at a very popular resturant in St. Paul called Cossetta's. The place actually defies description. It's a market and resturant and it was booming with people. The entire downtown area was a buzz with St. Patrick's Day festivities and I loved the vibe. I had a wonderful sausage dish. It's a place that want to eat at again and again and again!

About to eat my Italian Sausage and pasta

With full bellys, we went to the Minnesota History Center. The place was full of interesting history. Right now they have a multimeda presenation called MN150. It showcases the 150 most important things that shaped Minnesota's history. Outside the lovely Minnesota History Center

We wrapped up our day with a performance of A Prairie Home Companion. It was Garrison Keillor's 1,173 performance of APHC. It took place at The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. We were lucky enough to be there for the APHC "People in Their Twenties" tallent show. I say lucky because nothing could have prepared me for how good the tallent was. I feel compelled to list the names of the performers because they were so good.

There were six acts competing in the show: 1. Pinky Lee; 2. Ashley Monroe; 3. Mattie Speece & Patrick Villiness; 4. Andrew Ryan; 5. Alyson Gilbert; 6. The Honey Dewdrops. The audience got to vote for the best performance and there was on-line voting. Here is a list of The Twenty Something Finalists. I voted for The Honey Dewdrops, a guy and a girl who did traditional folk music. They actually won. They sang "The Minor's Prayer," "Long Black Veil" and an original song, "Without Tears." Their vocals and guitar playing were so good. I actually had chills from the harmonies. Lyrically however, the best song of the night was from a young lady, Ashley Monroe. The song was called "Used" and it was deeply moving. The lyrics were wise beyond the singer's years and honestly the song was profound.

Right outside the historic Fitzgerald Theater

The entire A Prairie Home Companion experience exceeded all my expectations. The comedy was wonderful, old-fashioned humor. Of course, Keillor did his famous "News From Lake Wobegon." One bit in particular brought joy into my heart. It was called "The Adventures of Guy Noir" and it poked fun at Minnesotans. At the end of the bit Garrison Keillor had the audience sing along to "Oh What A Beautiful Morning." It was like a little slice of heaven. Inside the theater, at the stage, with the set in the background

At the end of the night Tony and I met Garrison Keillor. He signed a book for Tony and my program and then took a picture with us. The guy is a true talent and a kind human being. Seeing APHC made me realize what a great medium radio is. This night was truly as good a night at the theater I have ever had in my life. It made me feel like all is well in the world. Garrison Keillor with Tony and I

After that, Tony and I hung out in the lobby of the St. Paul Hotel and had a coffee and talked by the fire, hoping that some of The E Street Band would walk by. We saw tour buses outside and verified (by a small sign in a window) that the buses belonged to the Bruce Springsteen clan. What a day I had in Minnesota. I'll never forget it.

Winter Visit

I was going to write this great summary of our visit last weekend to see the Cloyds in Minnesota. However, Julie beat me too it which is fine. If you want to read about it then go to her site and read Winter Visit.

Man, I miss that jacket . . .

San Francisco, CA, May, 1991

Sedona

This "Sunset over the Redrocks" of western Sedona, Arizona
was taken by Harvey Stearns.

Like I told you in the post before this, we just spent six nights in Sedona, Arizona. The first four nights we had the kids and the next two nights were just Chrisy and I. It was a grand time. I'm a bit enamored with Sedona now and wanted to write about it and share some photos. The opening photo above is one that I found on-line.

The kids at the trailhead of the Bell Rock/Courthouse Butte Loop.
Sedona, Arizona
(December 19, 2006)

Our first encounter with Sedona was actually last year, December of 2005. Before that I had a lot of misconceptions about Arizona. I thought it was all flat and hot all the time. It's not in and around Sedona. Arizona, come to find out, is sort of like a group of people: you cannot paint it with a broad brush and remain accurate about your generalizations.

Here's another photo I found on-line of a trail near Coffee Pot Rock.

Last year when we went to visit Chrisy's father, he gave us a great gift: a few nights stay in Sedona, a massage at a local spa, some certificates for dinners out, and babysitting! During our kidless stay last year we did some hiking and really appreciated the natural beauty, colors, variety, rock structures, and weather of Sedona. We really enjoyed Sedona, so much so that we wanted to go back this year and show the children this beautiful part of God's creation. That's what we did.

The kids with a bit of Courthouse Butte in the back.
The part on the right behind Max is known as Rabbit ears.

Sedona's average high temperature for the year is about 75 degrees. It's at an elevation of about 4,500 feet so it's a very enjoyable climate year round. The hottest month is July and it's not much different than here where I live in Orange County, about 95 degrees. It's situated in an area that has several national forests around it. By contrast, Phoenix is at an elevation of only 1,117 and is located in a valley. I guess Sedona is considered central Arizona; it's 120 miles north of Phoenix and not too far south of Flagstaff. The natural beauty and views are in this area are truly awe-inspiring. Chrisy and I kept hearing ourselves say to the kids, "Look at that!" or "Can you believe that?" as we drove around. The colors of the rock formations and mountains are always changing depending on your position and the position of the sun. It's quite amazing actually.

Here's Chrisy crossing the creek to get over to the Baldwin Trail.
(December 21, 2006)

Last week while we were there we did two hikes with the kids. The first was the Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte loop. That loop is just a bit over 4 miles. It actually started snowing as we did the Bell Rock hike. That was way cool. The photo off to the right is an arial photo of Courthouse Butte. From this view, Bell Rock would be off to the left. The trail we took actually goes completely around both Bell and Courthouse.

The second hike we did was around the area of Cathedral Rock on the Baldwin Trail. I pulled the photo of Cathedral Rock on the left off the Internet. The Baldwin Trail hike is 3.8 miles. It offers great views of Cathedral Rock which is the second most photographed land structure in Arizona. Second only to the Grand Canyon, of course. Last year Chrisy and I actually did the Cathedral Rock Trial which is more strenuous, but this year we had the children with us. The Baldwin Trail hike was wonderful and a bit more challenging than our first hike. To get there you've got to go across a creek. The kids enjoyed that. During the hike we kept thinking we must have gotten off the trail, but we actually stuck to it pretty well. It was rewarding.

Chrisy and the girls on the Baldwin Trail with Cathedral Rock in the background.

We have totally fallen in love with Sedona and highly recommend it to you.

Christmas Trip

Here's a picture that Max took with his new camera.
This is Bell Rock which is one of the more prominent natural structures,
east of highway 179, as you begin to approach Sedona, Arizona.

On Monday morning, December 18th, my family (all 6 of us) got up early, packed-up the van and headed over to the Original Pancake House in Laguna Hills. We got to the restaurant right around the time it opened at 7 am. We ate an excellent breakfast and then headed for Arizona. Late that afternoon we stopped in Anthem, Arizona (just north of Phoenix off the 17) to check out the home of our friends, Darryl & Robyn Brice and to have a quick visit with Robyn as Darryl was working. From there we drove straight into Sedona (south of Flagstaff) and checked into Los Abrigados Resort & Spa. Los Abrigados is right next to and shares a parking lot with the well-known Tlaquepaque arts and crafts village. Since it was already evening when we got there, Los Abrigados, was totally lit-up with their annual Christmas lights festival. As soon as we showed the kids our suite we took them to dinner at the most fantastic pizza place called Picazzo's.

ROAD TRIP!
On the side of highway 89, Oak Creek, between Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona.
(Wednesday, December 20, 2006)

We spent December 18-22 in Sedona with the kids. Actually, on Wednesday, we drove to the Grand Canyon. The kids enjoyed the snowy drive there and, despite the travel time to and from, it was well worth the day-trip. The other two full-days the kids had in Sedona were taken up by lengthy hikes. On the 19th we hiked around Bell Rock (see Max's introductory photo above) and Courthouse Butte. Then, on the 21st we hiked the Baldwin Trail in the vicinity of Cathedral Rock.

Me and the boys on the Baldwin Trail with Cathedral Rock in the background.
(Thursday, December 21, 2006)

That Friday we drove all four children to Chrisy's father's house in Prescott (northwest of Phoenix and about an hour south of Sedona). After catching a movie by ourselves in Prescott ("Prez-kit" if you don't want to sound like you're from California), Chrisy and I hightailed it back to Sedona and spent two night and three days in Sedona all alone and kidless! Over the course of this vacation we saw five movies together and I squeezed in an additional film by myself while Chrisy was getting a massage! We checked-out of our hotel on Christmas Eve morning, had some killer breakfast at our very favorite place, Wildflower Bread Company, did some shopping, and then reunited with the kids at James and Sherry's house in Prescott that afternoon. We went to a Christmas Eve service at 4:00 p.m. and had a to-die-for Mexican Christmas Eve dinner of tamales and Pena enchiladas (this means that they are not put-together the traditional way; moreover, the chili-sauce was homemade from Chrisy's grandmother's homegrown chilis in New Mexico)! Christmas morning the kids had stockings and presents from Grandpa and Grandma. It was lovely. That night we had a scrumptious full-spread Christmas dinner with roast beef as the main dish.

This is Zoey and her Nana Sherry on the Peavine Trail overlooking
the granite dells in Prescott, Az. on the last full day of our trip.
(Tuesday, December 26, 2006)

Chrisy and I were in Prescott with the kids from December 24-27. The day after Christmas her dad had to work and his wife, Sherry (Nana to the kids), took us on a local hike on Peavine Trail. After that she treated us to lunch at Wildflower again which was, of course, appreciated by Chrisy and I. We drove home yesterday. Our drive home was much better than last year, but it was still very long (about 10 hours). We pulled off the El Toro exit Wednesday evening around 6 pm and had dinner at Don Jose. This trip was such a great experience on so many levels: we all connected as a family and had enjoyable times; Chrisy and I were able to rekindle our enduring love affair; all of us were able to appreciate and visit with Chrisy's dad and step-mom; and, perhaps most importantly, I felt a tremendous sense of God's presence and provision out there in his creation; even many times on the road, through some reading and writing I was doing, I had moments of great clarity and felt the presence of the Spirit. In all, this was a much appreciated and well-spent ten days away from home.

I'll likely be doing some additional posts with some more specifics about the locations we visited. In the meantime, I hope you had an excellent Christmas.

Mexico Update

As most of you know, last month, Chrisy and Max, went to Mexico to help build a house. They both said that it was a really good experience and a lot of work to boot. Chrisy really thanks those of you who prayed for this trip and prayed for me at home with the other three kids. She also appreciates the donations that some of you gave for the building supplies. I know a lot of you were wondering about more of the specifics of the trip. I want to direct you to the Project Mexico website. You will need to click on the link to the post that says "Oct 20-22, 2006" and you can read all about the details. That October 20-22 trip is the one Chrisy and Max were on so you can read about it there. Also, there is a link to more pictures from that trip. As you can see, both Chrisy and Max are in the photo above as well. Again, I really encourage you to click on the link provided and read about the trip. This ministry really is worth supporting. The ministry as a whole built 5 homes in 3 days! Gracias a Dios!

Project Mexico

Tomorrow morning Chrisy and Max leave at 5 a.m. to go south of the border. They're going to be part of what my church calls "Project Mexico" which means they're going down on Friday to help build a home for a family. They'll hand the keys over on Sunday and return that same evening. I've never done it and it blows my mind to think about what can be done on a single weekend. It's a huge blessing to the folks receiving the home.

Our friend, Jon Hall, is the guy who heads up this ministry at Canyon Hills Church. He's done this a bunch of times. This is the first Project Mexico trip for both Chrisy and Max. I think Chrisy desires more of this kind of contributing to the world ever since her trip to South Africa and I think the entire experience will be good for Max. If you want to read a good post that describes what they'll be in for, you can read this one, PROJECT MEXICO: THE HOMES, on Jon Hall's blog. I mean, seriously, check out what he wrote because it's a great piece of descriptive writing, very vivid.

You should ask Chrisy and Max about the trip if you get a chance.

Awake 'Til Dawn

Here's a poem I wrote in 1987 in Key West, Florida as well as two pictures I took. I was with my buddy, Matt Jones. It's no wonder I couldn't sleep that evening since our "hotel" in Key West was a 1977 Pontiac station wagon.



AWAKE 'TIL DAWN

The sun has laid to rest
and along with the sun
the island sleeps
Beds are full
yet heads are empty

People safe under sheets
safe until dawn
When they awake the moon will be gone
The night wind won't blow the palms
In the morning the crickets
won't be singing their songs
Stars won't fill the sky
because at dawn we kiss the darkness goodbye

No rest is the price I will pay
but I'll receive something
I can't get from the day
A heart full of love
A night full of wonder
My bed may be empty
but my mind is full
and tonight sleep will pass me by

--Shenandoah Lynd

Coming Home

Tired tonight. Just a quick post. Before I get home from church tomorrow morning, Mother's Day Sunday, Chrisy will be back in the air and on her way home. Her flight leaves Johannesburg at 7:30 p.m. their time, which is 10:30 a.m. our time. She has a layover in Zurich Monday morning, another in New York Monday afternoon, and then I pick her up Monday night just after 9:00 p.m. at LAX.

It's been slow, it's been fast.

Kinda Done

You gotta go to Jon Hall's newest update from South Africa. It's called South Africa: Reality and it is brief, but gives a good update on what it has been like for Chrisy and the others on the Road Trip. It also has a link to his photos.

I've heard from Chrisy via e-mail a few more times and we received two post cards from her as well. One was of London and the other South Africa. All is well on her end. I know that tonight they are on a camp out at a game reserve. How cool is that!

Things have been going pretty good for the kids and I, but to be honest, we're kinda done. Just tonight, Zoey asks, "When is mom getting home?" I said, "Five days from now. Why?" She responded, "I want my momma." Nothing bad was going on, she's just had enough.

Before she left, I videotaped Chrisy reading a book and she talks directly to the kids on this video. I played it again for Zoey tonight. She never gets sick of it. At the end when Chrisy's waving, Zoey always shouts, "Bye mom, bye! I miss you. I love you." She's so loud, like maybe Chrisy can hear her! Tonight she said, "I love you mom. I REALLY love you!"

And, to think, I applied for Survivor. 39 days away from my family would be really difficult, for me and for them.

Death Row Meal

There's a picture of Chrisy and I on my 37th birthday, Friday, March 31, 2006. We went to Julian with our good friends, Tony and Julie Cloyd. That night we went to my favorite place to eat, Ramano's Dodge House. I only go there once a year and I always order the same thing. It's fettucini alfrado. I joke that it's my "death row meal" a.k.a. heart-attack-on-a-plate. You know how they offer people who are about to be executed a final meal? Well, my even though Mexican food is my favorite genre of food, I would defininately choose Fettucini Romano as my last meal if faced with that sad proposition. It's just this really big bowl of pasta covered in this rich, creamy, cheesy, thick, white sauce. It's the kind of thing that makes me moan with each bite. Romano's also makes this superb garlic bread, the kind where you can see the large chunks of garlic, you can use it to sop-up the alfrado sauce! So, what about you? What would be your death row meal? Maybe if you leave a comment and we're ever in that neck of the woods, we'll check it out.

For those of you wanting an update on Chrisy, she's doing well. The kids and I got a much desired phone call from her last Saturday morning. Everybody got a chance to talk to her. It was great. She's doing well. I've also recently received a few e-mails. She said they had a surprise going-away party for Sean and Debbie Fraser. Additionally, she told me that they went shopping. Buying souvenirs for the kids and I made her really miss us and that ended up being her hardest day emotionally. Also on the update front, Jon Hall posted a bunch more new photos of the gang in South Africa. There are 16 new ones.

Today is like a milestone for me. I've been very focused on Monday, May 8th. I am very excited because it is now exactly one week until Chrisy returns. I've obviously been reminiscing and thinking about the fun we had at Ramano's brings a smile to my face.

You Say It's Your Birthday

My wife turns 36 today. She's 10,000 miles away from me though.

Happy Birthday Chrisy! I hope it's a great one.

Max, Wes, Zoey, Kasey, and I love and miss you.

Giant Slab

I just love the phrase "giant slab" and I wanted to say it. You see, last weekend I went to Julian and got a slice of apple pie. The menu gave the option of a "giant slab" of vanilla ice cream for a bit more money. Weird, but "giant" is just an okay word and "slab" is okay too, but put them together and it's a thing of beauty. Giant Slab.

Random Snapshot

James Beaton, Doah, Mike Esparza, Matt Jones
(from left to right; circa 1990)
San Francisco, California