Wishing our friends, family, and readers (mostly friends and family :P) a very merry Christmas!The three of us loaded up for one last crosscountry road trip in our Honda Accord and will be spending the holidays with our family back home. We plan to make the most of our time at home and will not be posting any new content until after the New Year. We'll see you in 2017!
- Johnny, Ali, and Winslow
0 Comments
2016 has been a heckuva year! As we're prepping to head home for the holidays to spend time with family, I figured now was as good of time as any to reflect on the past year and pick out a few highlights to share with you all. Best wishes and cheers to 2017!
Our visit to the San Xavier Mission last Thanksgiving is still one of our favorite free and slightly off the beaten path things that we've done since moving to Arizona. When we learned that there is another old Spanish mission not far from where we have family south of Tucson, we knew we had to make a stop over our long, Thanksgiving weekend. After another quick visit to some of our favorite Tubac shops, we creeped closer to the Mexican border. A brief stop at a mesquite wood mill (we'll be back when we have space for more hand-crafted furniture made by Johnny) prefaced our visit to the National Historical Park. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the grounds so we made the quick trip through while Winslow waited outside with Johnny's aunt and grandma. Despite not being able to enjoy it as a family, we couldn't complain about the 70 degree, partly sunny Arizonan afternoon. Memories of our 100km walk along with Camino de Santiago flooded us as our feet beat along the brick paved floors of the mission. One of our favorite things about the southwest is the not-so-subtle, for-good-or-for-bad Spanish origins (who remembers our trip to Santa Fe!?). Everytime we head down south, I'm blown away by all the beautiful things we're discovering about the "brown, dry, ugly" place I used to visit as a child. Now that we've lived in Flagstaff for over a year and checked a lot of things off our list, we've made it a priority to trade the cold for the southern AZ sun and hospitality as often as possible.
This post is long overdue. The last two months have been crazy between the busy season at work, moving into a new position, and a jam packed October! A trip down south, my parents in town, and finally one of my very best friends, Megan, planned a visit over her fall break. I met Megan the same day Johnny and I met. We were assigned to the same new student orientation group and spent the first week of college going to events and enjoying Bagel Boy as we got used to our new surroundings. Megan has been with us every step of the way from introduction to becoming official to standing alongside us at our wedding so after over a year of living so far apart, it just felt right to have her hanging out with us even if it was just for the weekend. On Friday evening, we decided to head down to Arizona's wine country and check out a winery that's been on our list for awhile now. We sipped on a moscato while the golden light faded and watched the sun sink behind the the bush laden, Verde valley hills. Flagstaff isn't the only part of Arizona that's absolutely beautiful in October. It's probably the best time of year to visit Arizona in general. The weather could not have been more perfect to explore the vineyard and relax in the fading sun. While Megan is one of the most low-key, chill people I know and she insisted on wanting to "just hang out" during her visit, I was so happy when she mentioned visiting the Grand Canyon late Saturday afternoon. I didn't want to push any agenda on her visit but felt like she would regret not going to see one of the most iconic American landmarks. We quickly packed our things (many cameras, some snacks, and our favorite Pendelton blanket) and made the short hour and a half drive to the south rim to catch the sunset. Despite living so close, this was only our second time visiting the Grand Canyon and our first sunset there. Any time of day, this place is a stunner but to watch the jagged edges of the canyon turn soft pinks and purples is truly something I hope everyone gets to experience at least once. While Megan's visit was short, it was full of adventure but also kinship. If you haven't already seen her photography, you've got to check it out. I feel so priveledged to have witnessed her work grow from taking pictures of our tiny dorm room sophomore year to creating beautiful works of art for brides and grooms, families, and friends. Photography isn't an interest our friendship grew out of but grew into and I'm so thankful to have a supportive, inspirational friend like her. Come back soon, Megan, and the invitation is open to anyone else who'd like to visit us here in northern Arizona!
|
Archives
June 2017
Categories
All
|