December sunshine

on Friday, January 7, 2011
In early december we made the quick decision to go to Phoenix for Christmas. I'm not the "long-drive" kind of person; I fly places. Reuben, on the other hand, loves to drive great lengths. We decided so late that airfares, especially around the holiday season, were insane. So drive we did!



Our first stop on our long trek south was the University of Oregon, to the famed Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene. That's where Prefontaine made running history, and Reuben was thrilled. We also drove through Los Angeles, and made a quick stop (because we couldn't drive through LA without stopping!) at Griffith Park. It was a lovely visit, but the traffic reminded me why I don't like Los Angeles. Somehow we didn't take any pictures of that stop! We managed to make it to Phoenix unscathed and happy to have arrived. Here are a few highlights of the visit:

A hike to a view of Phoenix


Dave, Benjamin & Reuben built a hardy solar oven


We celebrated my birthday at "my big fat greek restaurant"


We had a great hike to the top of Picacho Peak!


At the top of South Mountain, near Darcy's house


Paige and I put together a puzzle that nobody believed we could!


we made gingerbread houses



Reuben and I spent Christmas eve at Darcy and Dave's, and had an impromptu jam session.


Christmas day we spent a Mary's house, and the present opening was the most chaotic I have ever experienced!


We had a looooong trip home. And a cold one, through Nevada.




Joshua Trees


We stopped at Hoover Dam



We even made a stop in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is probably the number one place I never wanted to go in life, but we were driving right by it, and it was New Years Eve, so I felt we had an obligation to.


We were walking through the mall in Caesars Palace and a huge crowd had gathered in front of a store that Jennifer Lopez was shopping in. Maybe I would have been more starstruck if I had known how great she would be on American Idol!


And....this hotel, somewhere in the middle of NOWHERE in Nevada, is where we spent New Years Eve. What a party.


That's our trip! Seems kinda boring when I go over this, but I'm writing it in retrospect. And I'm tired. Good night!

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