*@&!?? - Sunday Snow in Sedona?!

KP was already gone this morning when we rolled out of bed and got ready for church. Sam, Joe and I made our way over to the service at the church Sam & KP attend regularly. It was a unique experience, one that I'm glad we were able to have. As it turned out, the 'regular' senior pastor was out sick with strep, so one of the associate pastors was standing in. Apparently, the senior pastor is someone to marvel; I'll have to remember that and look up his webcast.


rainin dippin' dots in sedona

 Anyway, once church was out, we headed over to Grayhawk for a quick bite and to see Kalyn briefly before we decided collectively to make a run for it and go up to Sedona for a few hours. It was cloudy for the most part in Phoenix today, but we figured it might be a bit more clear up in Sedona. We couldn't have been more wrong.


snow day!



Gone were the brilliant red rock formations that mark then entrance into the heart of Sedona; instead, there was haze everywhere, and by the time we were nearing the central strip, it was flurrying. Yeah. SNOW. You can imagine how frantic the locals were when we pulled into the parking lot and it was coming down in sheets. You really would've thought the second coming of Christ was just around the next cactus judging by the looks of sheer confusion and hints of terror on the faces of these people. Snow in Arizona?!?! EVER?! ABSURD!!! Yeah. Well, it turns out it wasn't just an average blase snowfall; this was a shower of ice pellets, which in non-weather-nerdo terms look and feel just like dippin' dots, sans flavor. We know. We tasted. If you could do a farmer's market version of dippin' dots, this would've been it. The strangest part was, as soon as they'd come, the clouds passed on and they melted, almost instantly. So bizarre....



goofin' off in sedona

sedona olive oils!

We tried to wait out the clouds by busying ourselves with stops to some of the touristy spots; a cozy pub restaurant, and one of the artisan shopping plazas. We stopped in at one particular gallery, where the artist himself greeted us with warm welcomes, proceeding to share with us everything about his work, all the way down to the technique [using technical words, meaning that the whole shpiel escaped us, for the most part]. He was such an endearing spirit, I couldn't help but fork over $5 for a postcard of his work, simply because in the half hour we spent bonding, not one other person so much as passed by his entrance. I'm sure he's not a starving artist, since one of his larger pieces was mounted next to its pricetag of a mere $18,000. Yeaaah.


these two fools.......



The vibe of Sedona is one so eccentric and spiritualistic that it was nice to retreat back into Phoenix after a bit, if nothing else than to clear my head of images of my palms being read by a polar bear wearing a suede vest and an onyx navigation staff..... It was that type of thing. The good news: by the time we started our trek back, the clouds had dissipated and the truest reds of Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and all the other structures that Sedona hold dear, were clear for the viewing. Pretty incredible stuff. God has a flair for bold colors.

Anyway, back in Phoenix, we met back up with Kalyn; Fred joined us a bit later and the lot of us took off into Phoenix, finding our dinner spot at the Yardhouse. Talk about portion control! The plates at this place were enormous! Not a problem though; we went in with appetites, and satisfied them with brews off their in-house taps, oversized dinner portions, and good company. Sam's cousin was in town for a dentist conference; he, his wife, and another couple joined in the festivities. This was a first for Joe and me, to meet another couple named Joey & Corey. We savored that rare moment with a photograph :).



joe. cori. corey. joey.
yes. :)



my. best. friend.
xoxo.

We're back now, and completely spent. Kalyn's off all day tomorrow; about time for us all to relax!

xo | cmd