An expatriate of New Orleans – and professional chef – who has lived in Los Angeles since her childhood, blogs about the journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles back to New Orleans, and points along the way.

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High Above – and on – Sedona

By on Sep 8, 2014, 9:10 am in Personal Reflection, Travel | 0 comments

Breathtaking Sunset View of Sedona

Breathtaking Sunset View of Sedona

 

When I visited Sedona a few years back,  and later recounted the experience to my friend, Greg, at SippitySup, he said to me “I can’t remember if I’ve ever been to Sedona.”

“Greg,” I said, “if you’d been to Sedona, you’d remember it.”

While I knew I wanted to make a stop for lunch in Phoenix, I was certain I wanted to drive the couple of hours north from there, to return to Sedona. Above and below are shots of the breathtaking views from the private scenic lookout point at Sky Ranch Lodge, where Paul and I spent the first overnight stop on our recent trip across country. The lodge is high above what has become, over the years, the commercial hustle of Sedona. The patio at the lodge’s scenic outlook was the perfect spot to relax with a glass of wine, enjoy the amazing vistas, and connect with  the lodge’s friendly and liked minded guests.

 

 Red Rock Mesas of Sedona


Red Rock Mesas of Sedona

 

As we sat, sipped wine, and soaked in the sunset views (and presumably the energy from the nearby Airport Vortex, one of 4 spots in Sedona where supposedly a subtle, swirling energy emanates from the earth’s surface and reacts with a person’s inner being), we chatted with some of our fellow travelers. Becky, who had come to take a Reiki workshop, and had loved the place so much, she decided to stay an extra week. Another woman and her young son, were at the end of a 4 week cross country road trip she had almost impetuously embarked on after being laid off from what she thought of as a dream job. They had arrived from Arches National Park in Utah where they were the day before, and Colorado before that.

“We’re just visiting friends, and seeing the country.”

She and I traded notes on the periods of life transition so many of us seem to be going through now, and on their inevitability. Also, on how others keep asking us,  “but what are you going to do???

“Yeah,” she said, “I think people keep asking that because of their inability to hang out in the uncertainty.”

It became a question I heard way more than I cared to, when the tasks at hand of packing, getting out of the house in L.A., and moving to my new city, were plenty enough to focus for the moment – one step at a time. She and I both concluded that we would come out okay on the other side.

BTW, Sky Ranch Lodge is pet friendly, so the pooch was busy winning hearts. Becky told me I’ll take Rapunzel right here and now, if you don’t want her. Thanks to Becky, but I decided to keep her. And the nearby and very pleasant Mesa Grill overlooking the airport, served a great breakfast the next morning before we hit the road again.

 

Rapunzel and friends

Rapunzel and friends

 

Rapunzel Making Friends

Rapunzel making friends

 

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