Month: June 2017

Bucket List Item — check (or at least partial check) 👍🏼

As I have said, we were to be in Oregon now, but we have moved to Plan B and have been welcomed back to Arizona for part of June and July with a quick house sit in Phoenix before moving onto Tucson.  I was not going to allow us to get this close to the Grand Canyon (GC) again without actually getting there, so after a couple of days in Scottsdale, we headed to Flagstaff from which we would head up to the GC.  

Why 2 days in Scottsdale when we would be staying in Phoenix for a house sit?  A financial decision on our part to limit the number of days we would need a rental car, as the prices were a bit steep for renting from the airport.  Anyhoo, on to funner things — like the drive to Flagstaff, Flagstaff itself, and the GC.

We drove from Scottsdale to Flagstaff via the scenic route out of Sedona on Monday afternoon.  It was a lovely drive and, we got to reminisce about our trip to Sedona a few years ago.  A few snaps from the car on the drive near Sedona —

We arrived into Flagstaff about mid-afternoon, and while we ended up really liking the town (especially my trail runs on Wednesday am), it got short shrift from us.  We spent part of Monday afternoon doing a much needed load of laundry.  We were at the GC all-day Tuesday and had to head out Wednesday am about 8:30 to return the rental car.  We had a nice walkabout in downtown Flagstaff and a lovely happy hour meal out on Monday and will hope to return.

What to say about the GC?  I have heard about it all of my life and yet have been pretty ignorant of what exactly it is, how it was formed, and its size.  I use the words “awesome” and “ginormous” on an everyday basis way too loosely. The GC is both and then some. It is 277 miles long, 10 miles across, and a mile deep. It can be seen from space!  AND it’s also very old. The canyon itself was “only” formed within the last 6 million years due to erosion of the rocks by the Colorado River.  However, the exposed rocks (looking like rock layer cake) are millions of years older than that!

Visitors can access the park at the North or South Rim.  We visited the South Rim and spent most of our day walking the 12 miles of the South Rim Trail. We did not hike into the canyon.  While the Visitors Center opens at 8, we got there about 7:20 to beat the crowds.  We visited the Visitors Center at the end of our day to catch the informative film.

In addition to the natural beauty, there is a historical village at the South Rim with buildings from the early 1900’s, either continuing to serve in their tourist/travel capacity or converted into doing so (functioning as gift shops or museums).

We saw 2 moose on the drive to the park, a fox while we were hiking, and an elk while we took the free shuttle from the end of the trail back to the Visitors Center.  While there, we learned about the on-going efforts at the canyon to save the California Condor.  However, the only animals we managed to get a photo of were the mules that are still used to carry passengers into the canyon.

Bob and I had quite the change of weather last Saturday when we flew from Bend, Oregon into Phoenix, Arizona.  If you have seen the news, you may have heard that Phoenix has been having a heat wave. Bob would like to take the credit for the hotness, but it preceded our arrival.

We had a great experience flying Delta from Redmond, Oregon to Seattle and then Seattle to Phoenix. When checking in at the kiosk, we were asked if we’d be willing to be bumped and for how much (value of voucher for future flight).  We responded in the affirmative and identified our price.  We never heard anything else prior to boarding the Redmond -Seattle leg.  In Seattle, we only had 45 minutes to make our connecting flight.  This turned out to be a breeze since we only had to move down 2 gates.  However, our flight to Phoenix was already boarding.  They had already called our names about being bumped but had gotten other takers who were already at the gate.  However, the gate agent went ahead and put us in first class.  The vouchers would have been more useful, but it was awesome being treated like real people for our 3 hour flight to Phoenix!  Bob even took full advantage with a couple of bloody Mary’s on the morning flight.

At the airport, we grabbed an Uber to our motel near Old Town Scottsdale and met a lovely local who is a retired manager with Haggars slacks.  Then I got my butt kicked by the heat trying to get a run in after we checked in.  I started a little before noon and managed to eke out 55 minutes before wanting nothing more than a dip in the local canals.  Anyhoo, we had a couple of days in Scottsdale, including a 115+ on Sunday before heading to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

A few Scottsdale photos —

Bend was awesome, and we met the loveliest couple on our last night.  We popped into the Jackrabbit Grill after walking through the Bite of Bend food and drink event downtown.  We were just in for a pre-dinner drink before heading back  to our room but ended up having a nice conversation with Molly and Rory, a couple of locals who have been in the  Bend area for 9+ years.  They were in for Rory’s birthday dinner which we trust was lovely.  They offered to show us around the next time we’re in the area, and we turned them onto the TrustedHousesitters website for upcoming travel planning.

Here is more of our wanderings around (the) Bend.  Our second day in town, we started with a hike up Pilot Butte, an in-town hike that offered lovely views of the city.

We walked from the butte to the Larkspur Trail which went through residential areas and parks before connecting with the Central Oregon Canal Trail and back to the Deschutes River.  Bend had a much higher than normal snowfall this winter, so the canal is pretty full.

Once we met back up with the Deschutes River Trail, we headed north back into town via the Old Mill District.  This section of the Deschutes River is popular for canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, rafting lessons, or just floating.  The Old Mill District is a historic area formerly occupied by two lumber mills.  It is now a popular retail and restaurant area.  There is also an amphitheater across the river from the Old Mill District where Paul Simon was scheduled to play on the night we left.

Bend has quite a few traffic circles and has a public art effort to incorporate statues in the center of these circles.  We tried to capture the ones that we passed on our walkabouts.

We have had an amazing three days in Bend, Oregon for what was to be a prelude to our Grants Pass, Oregon house sit.  As you may recall from a prior post, however, that house sit was cancelled due to a critical family medical issue with the home owners.  We had already purchased out tickets to Bend, however, so here we are.  We are thrilled to be here before heading into the oven that is Arizona for the remainder of June and the first half of July.

Bend is the county seat of Deschutes County in central Oregon.  Bend is a city of about 80,000 –the largest city in central Oregon.  It is gorgeous, active, and vibrant.  It has it all — lovely rivers and canals, beautiful trees and flowers, and nearby mountains.  It is the best shades of green and blue and very active.  We hope to return.

Our first full day here on Wednesday we spent hiking along the Deschutes River which is a major tributary to the Columbia River.  While it is a popular river for water sports, we were on the quieter end on Wednesday.


The Deschutes River Trail took us up a gorge and into neighborhoods on top of hills/buttes out of the city center.  We left that trail to follow a North Rim path to the Sylvan and Summit city parks (where we thought ther might be a good view but no — just the satisfaction of having summitted).  We then walked back into town where we reconnected with the Deschutes River at a different point.

We then spent some time exploring the downtown area, including their Wednesday afternoon farmers market.

Bob and I had one full day ( Monday, June 19) in San Diego before flying up to Oregon.  We stayed near Old Town but spent the day walking to and around Mission Bay, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach.  It was a full-day hike, and for us land-locked folks, it provided another opportunity to view the beautiful coast.

Photos below– 



While our house sit in Encinitas was short, it left a big impression.  We loved the beautiful community, the climate, and the walk-ability of the area.  We also really bonded with “our” dog, Sadie.  She is a rescue from Hawaii.  There is apparently a lot of animals left homeless there when their owners leave the island.  She couldn’t have been sweeter and kept us very close company in bed.

The beaches and coastline are gorgeous —

The downtown area was cute with lots of retail and dining options — 

We also loved the variety of flowers and plants in the parks, gardens, and yards —

We even spent a couple of hours on Saturday on a free historical walking tour.  It was interesting to learn more about the community — including the fact that Encinitas was the first town established between San Diego and LA due to its role in the development of the railroad.

Oh, and we scored Bob another Big Head photo.

Actually, we only needed one of each of the above-mentioned modes of transportation (with the exception of buses) to get us from Mexico City to Encinitas, California, for our current housesit, but then I couldn’t riff on the John Candy movie, so please excuse the poetic license.

Planes — Bob and I had a 6:55 am American Airlines flight on Wednesday, June 14, from Mexico City to LAX, which entailed a 4:00 am alarm to catch the free shuttle from our hotel.  The airport must never sleep, as it was already going strong at that time of day.  Our flight was uneventful, and we landed at LAX ahead of schedule.  This rarely seems to be a good thing as the arrival  gate is seldom ready.  We stopped and started towards a gate and then were finally informed that we would be going down stairs at the back of the plane to be bussed to the terminal.  After that, however, it was the most efficient airport departure ever.  Customs and Immigration was super fast with our Global Entry status, and we were very close to our baggage claim carousel.  Our baggage was unloaded pretty quickly, and we were off to make our way to Union Station in LA to catch a 3:00 pm Amtrak train to Solano Beach (near Encinitas).

Metros — It was barely after 10 am, so since we had lots of time we decided to take the metro to Union Station instead of the more direct (and expensive) bus.  To get to the metro we had to wait in the designated area outside of the terminal for the free Airport “G” bus to take us to the airport metro station.  At the airport metro station, we purchased a metro card for $1.00 each and then paid the $1.75 one-day fare.  We then took the green line to the Rosa Parks Station, switched to the blue line to the Metro Center station, and then switched to the red line to Union Station.  The entire trip from leaving the baggage claim area at the airport to Union Station was about 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Trains — Once at Union Station, we found the Amtrak Customer Service window and were able to exchange our 3:00 pm tickets for the 12:30 departure.  We hightailed it to the platform and were soon boarding the business class! coach.  We had splurged on the upgrade over general seating in economy.  We thought there might be more room for our luggage in Business Class, and we had heard about the great views from this route and wanted to be sure we could take advantage.  It was a difference of paying $90 for the two of us instead of $60.  To our pleasant surprise (as we hadn’t eaten since very early on our flight), we were provided with a free snack box and one free drink — water, juice, soda, or alcohol. 



Buses — Amtrak was the gift that kept giving.  Once we arrived in Solana Beach, we walked across the street to wait for the Breeze Bus to take us back up to Encinitas (about a 15 minute ride).  We were able to show our Amtrak tickets for a free ride on the bus. 

NOTE:  Bob is the logistics guru.  He researched all of this before we left Mexico and knew the transportation options out of LAX, where we needed to catch each one, and the costs. He is also the chief chef.  Not sure of my value-add on this adventure, but I picked my partner wisely!

Automobiles — After we arrived in Encinitas, we found a cafe with wifi to communicate with our homeowner.  She collected us and our bags and brought us to the house where we met Sadie and settled in while she and her husband finished their work for the day.  We had a lovely meal with them prior to their departure early the following morning.

Our last day in Mexico City was pretty much focused on Frida Kahlo.  We both really wanted to get to her museum, locally known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House.  We decided to walk there and then bus or metro it back to our hotel.  It was about a two-hour walk to the museum which allowed us to see a lot of neighborhoods that we hadn’t seen before.The walk was pretty much a straight shot, with a little excitement along the way. 

Once at the museum, we waited for about an hour in line to enter the museum and then had a good hour to 90 minutes inside the house and very lovely grounds.  The museum provided a good overview of Frida’s life, including her childhood bout with polio that caused one leg to be shorter than the other, the traffic accident at age 18 that would create health issues for the rest of her life, her relationship/marriage to Diego Rivera, their relationship with Leon Trotsky, as well as her career.  We loved it!

NOTE:  In a related aside — If you have not yet seen the movie Frida with Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina, we highly recommend a viewing.

We ended up taking the metro back to our hotel.  That was a very warm, crowded experience.  Of course, when you are paying $.50 each, you don’t really complain too much.  Once at the hotel, we got an Uber to take us to a hotel closer to the airport as we had a very early flight to the States on Wednesday.



Our second day in Mexico City was Monday — as in ALL museums are closed Monday.  Not to be stymied in our efforts to see and learn more about Mexico City (or so we thought), we headed to Chapultepec Park.  This is a top rated thing to do in the city as the vast park holds not only a number of museums but also has man-made lakes, walking trails, fountains, and statues.  We thought it would make for a lovely half-day of walking and would also allow us to see the broad and beautiful Paseo de la Reforma, one of the main streets in the city, as we would need to walk that to get to the park.

We aren’t as smart as we thought.  Unbeknownst to us, Mexico City closes the entire park to visitors on Mondays.  It is twice the size of Central Park — closed!  There is an iron fence surrounding the park, and on Mondays all gates are locked.  We spoke with the nice security people who told us that “yes, the whole park is closed on Mondays” as if the closing of vast stretches of public park space is an obvious thing to do. 

We decided that Plan B would be to pay to be driven around in a tourist bus to learn some facts about the sites we were seeing as well as to see additional sites.  After about a 90 minute walk to the Zocalo Square from the park, we paid the equivalent of $8 for a 3 hour tour.  The bus drivers, who are able to successfully negotiate the madness that is Mexico City traffic (including 2-way traffic around round-about some), ought perhaps to be given some gubernatorial authority as well cuz they are good.

Some photos of our day —

After leaving the Yucatan via Volaris Airlines from Merida, we arrived to beautiful weather in Mexico City.  Instead of dealing with the aggressive taxi drivers, we took the Metro Bus (Line 4) into the historic center of the city — very easy, cheap, and not crowded.  We were in early (still in the am) but were able to check-in to our hotel where we ended up having a great stay with beautiful views from the top two floors and free breakfast buffets.

We had a fun 3 days in this bustling, cultural metropolis, but I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.

It was also free museum Sunday so along with lots of other people we went into the Palace of Belles Arts to see the Diego Rivera murals that are there but got to take in the Picasso & Rivera exhibition that was there as well. Very, very cool!

A Diego Rivera mural in the National Palace. It is a replica of the one that he had created for Rockefeller Center in New York but which was destroyed after being determined by the Rockefellers to be too anti-capitalist