Atlanta, I love you

I seem to be the only one who wants to get up this morning and hit the road. I should not say that I wanted to get up because I surely did not! Six hours of sleep, after that drive and hotel hunt in the middle of the night, is about four hours short of what I could really use. I feel more sick this morning and even more eager to get home. I will probably not hit my bed until at least 1am at this rate.
Later...
It's midnight and I'm digging through a huge pile of mail.

Oklahoma City or bust

We got a late start which means a late arrival. We were doing pretty good until we ran into a hotel snafu. Every place we stopped was booked. We had to drive 26 miles further to finally find a lone Hampton Inn with one room left. I get to sleep on the roll away(I've always wanted to try one). Made me think of the lumpy sofa bed I've been spooning with all week.
I'm in a bad place physically tonight. My body has plain shut down. That hike up to Cathedral Rock did a whammy on my legs and I also feel a little sick. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and getting a really good nights sleep.

Wear'm if you got'm

So I hiked to the top, or what I thought was the top, of Cathedral Rock this morning. Somewhere along the way Heather and Lauren turned back. It got pretty steep so it was a good thing I had on my stretchy pants ;-) A girl needs to not be restricted on such a climb. So after climbing on all fours and hoisting myself up on rocks I turned around and looked out over Sedona. There was an amazing breeze and it was so quiet and peaceful. The trek down was hard because my legs were tired and the rocks were slick and steep. I obviously made it down and I'm so glad I did it.
After a quick shower we had a nice big lunch. I think a nap might be in my future. Tomorrow we head home. I don't want to go home. I don't want to return to the reality that I left behind. I do miss the dogs and would love to give my parents a big hug but other than that I'd just like to be left here.
We have a long drive tomorrow to Oklahoma City. Should take us about 14.5 hours not including stops. With the kind of stops we made on the way out here it will probably take us about 17 hours. Then you also have to factor in the two hour time change. Should be a long day.
All in all this had been a good trip. It is great to bond with your friends and not have to worry about work or responsibilities.

The taste of nostalgia

We went to The Grand Canyon today. Amazing!!! I took tons of great pictures, sat by the rim and felt how small I was and then ate a bowl of vegetarian chili that reminded me of home. We had lunch at the fancy pants lodge that was at the south rim. The chili tasted like the chili that Clay and I always cooked during the fall. It tasted sad in my mouth but I soon got over it and moved on to a salad.
The views today were overwhelming at times and just awesome. I would go back in a heartbeat. There was this overhang that was just calling my name so I ventured out and took a seat. I'm very scared of heights so this was insane for me to do. Sitting there and looking out into that canyon was the best thing I could have done for myself today. Lauren was across the way and got a great picture. It's the one I posted with this blog and I'm in the top right corner. Click on the picture and it will make it larger so you can see me. Every time I think back about sitting there I get a rush of anxiety!!
I've got the vodka and tonic back out tonight and laughing my ass off. It's great to be with such great friends right now and really let loose. It's much need!

You better get used to it

So this morning I had the great idea of taking a run on this awesome trail here in Flagstaff. Not sure what made me think that was a good idea. Between the nice dry heat and the altitude I about busted a lung. So my jog turned into an hour power walk. Upon returning I was covered in a nice layer of dirt and coughing my internal organs up. It was great. Hey at least I got to sweat and feel for a while.
So one really shitty thing about the dryness out here is that my hair is breaking off. It dries really fast which is nice but I'm going to have a lot less of it when I get home! We went back into downtown Flagstaff for lunch and then got a relaxing pedicure. Tonight we just hung out and tried to relax.
My life is upside down right now. I'm about to go through a divorce if you did not know already. I'm just going to put it out there. It sucks, it hurts and it's sad. I'm not going to pretend any longer that I'm okay with it because I'm not. I'm hoping this trip will give me the strength that I need when I return home to get through what lies ahead. I'm so grateful for the company that I keep and being surrounded by strong people that will help me. It's very important in times like these to have people that can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light is very dim right now but I know it will be brighter one day.

Sedona-rita

This morning we got up and headed out for a nice scenic drive through the mountains into Sedona. The four of us did about five hours of shopping. We were total tourist today in our search for amazing turquoise jewelry and thoroughly exhausted once we were done. The red rocks in Sedona are amazing and we have planned to return there for our last day and hike to Cathedral Rock. I've been told it's a steep but amazing hike and well worth it once to make it to the top. People claim that the vibe on top of the rock is like no other and that I should benefit from those good vibes it gives out. I'll take anything I can get right now. I must recommend the Oaxaca Mexican Restaurant in Sedona and their house margarita. It was the best thing I could have done for myself yesterday. Two of those bad boys and I was good to go.
Summer headed back home today after spending two days with us. It was really great to see her and reconnect. We only see each other every few years. We bonded several years back during an amazing summer time filled with all sorts of stuff young girls do that their parent's would be ashamed off ;-) We reminisced about riding on the back of motorcycles, hanging out at The Waffle House all night, shooting guns, chasing boys and spending our paychecks as soon as we got them. Sounds real classy.
Tomorrow is our "day off" which means we don't have to drive anywhere and we have no set plans. It will be nice to relax and not get behind the wheel.

Petrified

Today started off good until we took a wrong turn. 40 miles later we were back where we started. Once we made it to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert things started looking up. We got some great pictures and saw some amazing landscape. We spent several hours winding around the state park and taking in the sights...then hunger struck. We hit up historic Flagstaff for dinner and then came home and crashed. Flagstaff is a college town and these kids make for great people watching while eating. The downtown area was having an "art walk" and each store had cookies and wine, for free. So dessert was awesome.
I was really smart and forgot to wear sunscreen today so now I'm a very attractive shade of red in some really great areas. I'm really smart these days.