Diva's Road Trip ~ Part Deux

[~Bo]

Call me if you need bail money.

[Diva]

Howdy~doooooooo from New Mexicooooooo!

I am in my sweet Hampton Inn hotel room (I like to call it my home in the Hamptons.....because I'm a snob like that!) and have ordered a pizza! I am tired. I took my bra off. I'm not goin' anywhere ELSE tonight!

Let's see......where shall I begin?

Did I tell You that last night's hotel really sucked air? Yes. It did.
But they topped it off this morning when the alarm didn't go off.
I rose at PROMTLY 10:38. Not the 8:30 I had in mind, huh?

I was out the hotel door by 11:30 and on the road. Before I left town, I took a lovely phallic shot of a spire of some church close to the hotel. If You're on FB, go see in a few minutes.....I'll be posting. It made me lonely.

Then I was off. Let me just tell You something.....You KNOW Texas is big, right?

It took me 8 1/2 hours to get to El Paso. With one stop for petrol, ladies and gentlemen. Yes. I know.

The scenery was what You might envision in an old cowboy movie.....scrub brush and mesquite as far as the eye could see. When I got to Ft. Stockton, however, the earth began to rise up! MOUNTAINS!!! Nobody ever thinks there are mountains in Texas. And granted, they're not like the Rockies, ok? So don't get Yourselves in a snit. But they're OUR mountains. And it was refreshing....Davis Mountains.....Apache Mountains....and a couple other ranges....it was neat.

El Paso drew near. It was dismal and sad to me. I wanted to go look at the wall, but I was tired, and it would just have made me sadder, I think. I saw the Rio Grande River for about a second. It's SO dry down here....there were sand spouts around every corner.

And that's about IT, kids! I'm tellin' Ya.....not so much happened today!

OH! Since I have my new phone/service......I have HAD phone service almost the entire way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT makes me VERY happy!

Happy what day IS this? Tuesday? Ok....yeah...have a great day!

Tomorrow? SEDONA, AZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daywalker]

Sedona is a hard place to leave.


It's so Majestic!


See U soon

[Hollylane]

Sedona is beautiful....We love the cotton wood trees near there, and the local restaurants are divine! Have fun!

[LadyFlamezzz]

Why are we traveling solo? That is NOT a good idea darling Divalicious.Your descriptions are wonderfully delicious and yes amusing cept'n for the purse skur *
Next roadside stop please take a picture I don't care what it's of. I cannot wait to see your face Sunday I'm so excited !!!!
Please be safe and sing as loud as you wannna in the car it helps pass time.......We adore and love you ****

[LadyFlamezzz]

Just spoke with the Diva darling and she is 52 miles from Tuscon..singing loudly,lol

[Diva]

If it's
WEDNESDAY
this must be
SEDONA!

Good evening, fellow travelers! I'm in Sedona! But I'm ahead of myself. Let's look back, shall we?

I left Las Cruces about 9:30. There was a child ~ a small, squealing/screaming/tantrum~throwing child in the room next to mine who didn't shut it off until about 2. So when I woke up, I felt like a little Pucinnin in the shower was apropos. I hope they enjoyed it. You just can't go wrong with La Boheme, now can You?

Filled the car up and was on my way!

There seems to be a plethera of pecan orchards in New Mexico and Arizona! They were lovely to see...I'm a little early, however.

Just outside of Las Cruces, and I believe their claim to fame, is a giant roadrunner 'statue' made entirely of trash from their recently-closed dump. Do You need a moment? The underbelly (if that's even a word!) is made from old shoes. I even pulled off the road for that shot because I wanted to get the best picture I could from a bad angle. It was tres exciting!

There was a lot of road construction, going-to-one-land kinda deal......it really cramped my style.

But then! What's THAT in the distance???? OMG!!!!!!! My prayers to the Universe had been answered!!! There in the distance was a metal covered passage.....like a toll area.....BUT......it was the....(breathe, Janey, breathe!) The US Border Patrol....redirecting traffic for inspection.

Holy Mother of Gay! The nice officers were going to inspect ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I grabbed my camera. I thought, mah Shizzle (G) will be so proud! I tried to make my breathing normal. I inched ever closer to the 2 moderately handsome officers awaiting my arrival! One wore a hat. He was the big Mister Officer.

Quick check: hair, lips, teeth......perfect as it was gonna get.

I rolled down my window and they smiled as I gushed so bubbly, "My friends will be EVER so excited to know that I was inspected! May I take Your picture, please?" One of the officers (Mr. Big Hat Officer) glanced around in my car (thank God he did not smell the exploded wine bottle!) and said, "No, Ma'am, I'm sorry. We can't allow that."

Rejection.

I moved on. A single tear may have trickled down my chubby cheek.

Ok...la la la.....I headed for Arizona, former residence of my Sissy ~ Shariberry.

I went through Texas Canyon.....it looked as though the Universe dropped several bags of marbles that looked like huge rocks, just in this one area! It was pretty amazing!

Then, I noticed the haze and found out tonight that there was a massive sand strorm in Tucson the night before and I had missed it. Oh darn. How I would have loved to have had that gritty crap in my teeth. I did get to see a plethera of Dust Devils, however. That was good enough for me. I also loved the tall cactus that looked like people to me. They were everywhere!

Went through Tucson........went through Phoenix...........the got on I-17 North to head to Sedona......omg.

The view changed significantly as I began to climb in elevation......for an interstate, it was a pretty narrow highway. And people drove like maniacs. On that particular highway, I got up to about 4,500 ft. My ears popped and all that stuff.

I left the Interstate to go to Sedona....it looked like rain. My cousin had told me that July is "Monsoon Season" in AZ. I thought she was joking.





She wasn't joking.

Just before I got to Sedona, the sky opened up and the bottom fell out! Then just as quickly, It stopped.

I checked into my hotel ~ The Kokopelli Inn (isn't that cute?) ~ and the view from my room is glorious!!! Two HUGE red rock mountains that look as though someone sliced them from the top to about half~way down to reveal this gorgeous burnt siena rock. Just lovely!

As I got my things into the room, the bottom dropped out again.....and so here I sit....enjoying the rain, the view out my window, and telling You all about it!

In the morning, I'm going to visit as many galleries as I can, go to an amazing metaphysical place and then early afternoon will leave to go to Payson, where my cousin and her husband live. I haven't seen her since Erin was born! (Erin will be 24 next week!)

My car's riding well. I am safe! Enjoying my time alone with the creation and my music........being revived and rejuvinated! I'm feeling pretty outstanding!

xo

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by Diva

and then early afternoon will leave to go to Payson, where my cousin and her husband live.

I'm pretty sure the lady's sister and her wife live in Payson.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Snow hates Border Patrol!!! Good to know you're safe and no handcuffs were needed!

[Ben]

It's been days since we have had a Diva update.. has anyone seen or heard from the little heiffer?

[Diva]

Well..............

YESTERDAY was just so full...........and my heart along with it!


Sedona was breathtaking, amazing, powerful, moving, lovely, stunning, surprising........and a beautiful gift!

I had a bit of breakfast at the hotel and set out.....I just started driving. While it was relatively cool, I wanted to walk a couple of trails and get some good time with the red rocks...........there was one ranger station look~out that was flawless......360 degrees of beauty! Nature all decked out and radiant!

Then there was another trail that led (by car) to Chapel of the Holy Cross, a chapel actually built into the rocks at about 4,500 feet. Again.....breathtaking! I stayed there a bit......just to be still and enjoy. The inside had some lovely art and there were sweet water gardens, too, which brought tears to my eyes.

I met a lovely family there......You know You see these families on vacation and always one gets left out of the picture because they're taking it, so I offered to take the picture for them. It was so sweet.

But the SWEETEST thing was when the daughter ~ age ten ~ turned to me after they began to walk away ~ and asked if I wanted HER to take a picture of ME!!!! The parents looked at each other with such pride. I looked a mess....but how could I say 'no'? I will never post that picture, but will always remember that child.

I went to several galleries...as Sedona is known not only for their Vortex lore, but for their art.

I couldn't afford what I wanted, but I admired it all the same. There was a scuplture of an Indian warrior holding an Indian princess (I can't say the "S" word, sorry). It brought tears to my eyes.

And then there were some LOVELY whirlygigs made from glass and crystals and copper.............OH! They took my breath away.

In other Galleries, there was the same old same old....and one has to be really discriminating when seriously shopping for art in Sedona. Some of it is real crap. But so much is stunning and genuine. I found a lot of that!

Then it was time for the drive to my cousin's in Payson............oh how I did NOT want to go!!!!!

But the trip was lovely......climbed to about 5,000 feet....my little Piccadilly Princess (soccer van) really breathed heavily.........I stopped a few times as we climbed, so she could cool down!

It was good to spend some time with my cousin and her husband. I hadn't seen her in 10 years! And I had never met her husband......OR Chandler, their golden lab. He slept with me.

It was a good day.

We went for Thai food ~ in tiny, little Payson! ~ and it was delightful! We talked over one another and laughed and I heard wonderful family history I didn't know! (She's a geneology nut!)

I wrote postcards out for the Postcard participants, which I'd found in Sedona and we talked until after midnight.

[Diva]

FRIDAY means CALIFORNIA!

I left Payson late.....we had more talking to do!

Jere was SO sweet.....he emptied my trash, loaded up the car for me, and moved the car so I could head on out with ease.

Sharry had to show me her back yard, which is like an eclectic conglomeration of shabby chic stuff....from bird houses, to license plates and spurs hangin' on the fence, to found bricks, to metal birds hanging in the trees and a metal watering can garden. It was so neat! Chandler was there, of course, to protect us from the dangerous lizards!

I'm going to write more, but I simply must get some sleep.

S is staying here, too, and we're getting up early (yes we ARE!) for breakfast. We have had a BLAST drinking wine and catching up!!!!!!!!!!

Tommi was supposed to be here, too, but he got sick, he said. Feel better!

Tomorrow, I travel further north to Windsor to be with my daughter's bf's family for a few days.


More tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

[swan]

Originally Posted by Greyson

I was not surprised to read about your 38. I like a trusty 38 myself. I realize 38's are somewhat out dated. Seems many want a Glock as their hand gun of choice.

The 38 is old fashioned, not out-dated.... I prefer a 38 myself... But I'm silly that way! And also sad because it appears Diva blew through my town and I missed it! Why, why must I always find the thread a day late and a dollar short?

But I can't wait for more updates!

[Diva]

Oh no, Swan! That would have been neat!

I'm in Windsor, CA now, at the home of my precious daughter's bf's family (didja get that?). They had a birthday party for said bf and I walked in just as dinner was about to be served! (Good timing....I can smell sangria at 30 miles....just sayin'!)

ANYway, bf's Dad ~ Dr. Bob ~ kept bringing me alcohol. I kept drinking it. And I'm not sure how I managed not to get drunk, but maybe my tiredness countered it. I had 3 glasses of sangria, 2 glasses of a cab that I didn't think I'd like and loved. A glass of rose` ~ or was it 2? And then finished it off with 2 glasses of dessert wine!

I KNOW!

Their home is lovely.....and, what a pity.....it backs up to a Kendall~Jackson vineyard. Isn't that just so sad?

I'm about to go to a true British breakfast called a "Fry Up"..........the neighbor across the street has 2 house guests ~ a lesbian couple (SO CUTE!) ~ and THEN......................................

I AM GOING TO EL CERRITO to have lunch with about 2 dozen chosen family members!!!!!!!!!!!!! I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm fairly sure some sort of history will made.......I see a group arrest in our future!!

[Diva]

After our Traditional English breakfast, I left for El Cerrito....and lunch! lol (Yes, I very well may explode on this trip! lol)

There was an accident on the road and we were stopped cold on the highway for a good 20-30 minutes.....responders were quick to arrive, but the driver was still in the car when I passed....there was a guerney next to the car........I hope she is alright.

So I was late. But the neat thing? I thought there were only going to be 15 or so and there were about 25-30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And when I wallked in, nobody yelled at me, or seemed upset that I was late for my own party! lol They were just glad to see me! But I have a secret: THEY weren't as glad as *I* was to see THEM!

I couldn't stop flitting about.....I ordered my meal and may have eaten 1/3 of it because I had to VISIT! lol

I'm not going to try to name everyone who was there....I KNOW I'll leave someone out and then I'll catch hell!

But rest assured that my heart was touched by each and every one of You who took Your Sunday ~ probably Your days off ~ to come visit/dine with Your Diva! It will go down ~ I'm convinced ~ as being the best day of my "Tour"! Hands down!

And we left the restaurant, but then hung around a little bit longer in the parking lot.....to keep visiting! Isn't that how it always is? I just love that!

I got home in time to watch some Harry Potter with the family, then have some Chinese food, then we left to pick up my daughter at the airport! Yes!!! My daughter has arrived here from Texas!! I'm so happy!

We got back and Bob gave me more wine! AND not only that, he has started leaving bottles in my room for me to take home! 7 so far! Let me tell You, HE is amazing! I love this family!

So it's late......again! lol I need sleep so badly, I'm a walking nap!

More tomorrow, as we are going to visit some vineyards and tasting rooms! You KNOW there'll be stories THERE!

Take care, everybody!

[Diva]

The BFP Micro~Reunion in El Cerrito's Fat Apples was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was late due to a car accident (not mine, thankfully), but it was glorious seeing everyone there, and I thank You for Your patience!

There must have been 25-30 there and I couldn't stop flitting about......come back to 'home base' and take a bite of bacon....flit, flit, flit.....come back, eat some eggs.....flitinsky......take a taste of toast......skipping about to give/receive more hugs and take pictures.

I was in HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then just standing in the parking lot......unable to leave! It was just grand!

Then Mike led me to a gas station as I had arrived on FUMES! lol All was well.

I went back to Windsor a different way....saw the wetlands.......another lovely portion of CA I had never seen!

When I got back........we relaxed a little bit, had more food and wine........

And then we all loaded up the car around 10:30 to pick up my daughter at the airport in Oakland (back and forth....back and forth!)!!!!!

It was so good to see her! We were up until at least 2.

This morning, we were to arise in time for breakfast at 9. My alarm didn't wake me ~ great ~ and my daughter became my alarm clock. I got downstairs to find everyone had overslept, so it was all good!

We had breakfast rather late and then off we went to visit the wineries!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first one was about 5 minutes from their home, "J"!!!! My personal favorite, if You must know!

Our sommalier was Izzy and he was from Peru. He bacame my new best friend! lol And Erin and I joined their Wine Club after our tasting. He also took us on a tour of the 'back stage' area!!! THAT was fascinating! We saw them bottle it, filling up vats, the lable-less bottles, huge oak casks as well as aluminum ones. The gardens are amazing, too....one can get lost in the beauty of it all!

From "J", we went next door to the Rodney Strong Wineries. Had another tasting and Dr. Bob bought a case of wine for me to take back!!!!!!

We then went to Ferraro-?? (I can't remember) and didn't do the tastings...but walked around their gardens, which are stunning! Their gardens also had bronze sculpture all over the place. It was very Asian in design....

Then we travelled to the historic area of Healdsburg....LOVELY! There were some amazing art galleries there and I was inspired by so much or what I saw.... just wonderful!!! Very dog friendly place and I met several along our 'tour'.....Hunter, Magz, Scooby and Frankie.....PRECIOUS!

Then, we'd all just about had all we could take and we came home and chilled. I went to the back yard area, overlooking the pool, chose a chaise and crashed and burned. I didn't sleep, but just was quiet. I looked above me at one point to see an eagle flying overhead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may have cried a little over the beauty of THAT! The grace as he rode those air currents was poetic.

After we all rested a bit, we went out for sushi and came home for flan, which Dr. Bob made. (He's amazing, did I tell You?)

This is sort of an early night for us!!! They're all in bed and Dr. and Mrs. Bob will go to work tomorrow......my daughter, M and I will go to the sea tomorrow....and visit the redwoods, then I will be off to Albany, CA, to spend the evening with Greyson and JulieisaFemme!!!!!!!!!!!

This vacation has been the best gift I could have given myself! I have enjoyed every minute of it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daywalker]

I should like to haz Speshel Mention for the Koolaid I brought you.




Moreso, for being ON TIME for the first time in years.



That was just for you Diva



PS ~ If U try to skip out on driving back thru the Sac Pack, then you'll
always wonder what it was Day painted for you. Juss sayin'.





You Miss Diva ~ You are a Matriarch of Our Community.
Of COURSE there were 25 to 30 people!

You truly are a walking ray of hella naughty sunshine!
Or how was it I put it the other day?


Oh, yes...like a Caricature right out of a Comic Strip.

You stepped right out of the Comic Book and Gifted us all by breathing
Life, Love and Zeal into this world. Yer a Star in many of our eyes.


Thanks for that.

That is all.

[justkim]

I just met Diva for some sinfully scrumptious coconut mocha frappacino (sp) and some whoopie... She is now headed south to her next destination... Thank you Diva for stopping in my little town...

[Diva]

Thank You Mr. Day, for the Koolaid in the SUB container! Big points for that!

And here's the Cliff Notes Version for the rest of the trip......

*Wonderful trips to the Wine Country.....drank wine. Bought wine. Drank more wine. Bought too much so that it had to be shipped.

*Amazing jaunt to Healdsburg and the neat shops there! I could live there, too.

*Oh my! The Redwoods!!!!!!!!!! GLORIOUS!

*The trip to the beach; discovering a very cool Indian restaurant which overlooked the Russian River!

*The beach......my daughter's very first experience with the Pacific Ocean! I was so happy to witness her awe! It was so beautiful!

*Bob's Flan. Holy Mother.

*Putting my feet up by the pool and enjoying the perfect weather, the perfect breeze, the perfect chaise.....though I could not take the perfect nap.

*Sushi. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

*An evening of hilarity with JulieIsAFemme and her 2 sisters, 2 entertaining children and Grey. I ate my first artichoke. THAT was neat!

*Mini Julie gave me her Princess Bed......I was so honored!

*The morning I got in the car to leave Julie's and Grey's ~ they were already gone ~ my engine light came on.

*Went to Sac, CA and fell asleep in Pam & Sabra's garden with a 100-lb Pit Bull (Lenny) on top of me. I was that tired!

*Drove through Donner's Pass on my way to Reno and was strangely hungry.

*Reno.

*Driving across Nevada, I felt as though I should have been in a Conestoga wagon. Salt flats. Road construction.

*Beautiful moonrise.

*Had to tinkle by the side of the road........as I was in the middle of it all, a grasshopper decided to attach himself to the back of my leg. I'm sorry. THat was just wrong. But what was wronger was as I was pulling myself together (that's what we'll call it), on the old what-I-thought-was-a-deserted-ranch-road came an old truch with an older couple and they got a really great view of my white Irish ass. The wife probably said, "Keep your eyes on the road, Harold." It was a moment, to be sure.

*The moon over the Great Salt Lake was stunning!

*I had a wonderful time with my cousin in Park City, UT. I hadn't seen her in 10 years or so, and we spent about 40 hours catching up, laughing, drinking, eating, talking......You know....all that stuff. It was perfect!

*I drove through the back way in Utah and it took my breath away! Literally. I was at 9,114 ft at one point and the breathing was tricky!

*Got to meet JustKim in Grand Junction, CO!

*I'm in Westcliffe, CO now (since yesterday) with my friend, S, and have had a nice and relaxing visit in preparation for my long trip home tomorrow.

*I'll be having coffee in Amarillo with Phyll and then onward to Austin! I hope Lucy, Ricky, Fred & Ethel still remember me!!!!

I hope You've enjoyed this brief little travel journal! It has been an amazing, peaceful, calming, exciting, colorful and rewarding trip. I needed the distraction and it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If You can, go see as much of the states as You can! We have some pretty amazing things out there.....if *I* can do it, ANYone can!


CARPE DIEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Diva]

I've posted pictures, by the way, through Bakersfield, CA. Will be leaving for Austin in the morning, so in the next couple of days, will post the rest!