Amazing Day

Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sedona

Sue had called this place a little slice of Heaven.  As the day unfolds we find she must be right!

We have both slept really well and head off to breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant.  It is only three traffic lights away and we find the only parking space.  It is the home of 101 omelets and today's special is Polish sausage and cheese.  I figure this is a sign for my Polish travel buddy!  I order Number 76 which contains guacamole, sour cream and cheese and comes with cottage cheese and a homemade biscuit.  All superb!  And the coffee pot and carafe of water are left on the table for us!

You can't take a picture without the red rocks in the background!  But who would want to?

All the walls of the Coffee Pot are decorated.

After breakfast we visit the adjoining shop and Marilyn makes a good-sized dent in her Christmas list! Then it is on to the Jazz Bouquet which is, again, just down the street!  Kim is the owner and she is at the shop.  We have a lovely chat about Sue who had recommended her, and the other places Sue recommended and we make an appointment with Kim's psychic, Jeannie, for tomorrow afternoon at 2:00.  Kim won't be there because she is going to New Mexico for a traditional Navajo wedding! Robert, whom we have just met, will be on hand.  He makes fresh scones every day and we will almost certainly have scones and tea tomorrow.  Jeannie usually reads tea leaves but it depends on what she thinks will be most effective for each of us.

Getting an appointment was our first priority for today.  With that done we go to the UPS store so Marilyn can send her heavy present and I can send my painting.  I just don't see how I can get it on the plane and this is so much easier!

The guys are smiling, even if they won't look at the camera!

With all our "must dos" out of the way we are go exploring for the Airport Vortex.  It is shown on our map and also on a great website;  but it still remains a mystery.  However, the views of the red rocks are outstanding and provide enough magic for me!

You can see the rain starting to move it.  Everyone here is very grateful and one lady tells us happily that they have dropped the fire restrictions.

Back down the mountain and we are free to check out the shops of Sedona.  Wow!  I was planning to wait and do all my shopping in Jerome;  but you can imagine what happened!  Still, I spend far less than my friend and I'm very happy with my purchases.  There was a tiny bit of rain but it was over in a few minutes and affected us not at all!

Marilyn and her new Oak Creek turquoise ring.  The lady says the stone is "beyond rare" and can't be mined ever again.

We pass a young man wearing crocs the same green shade as his soccer ball.  I ask if he can only play when he's wearing those shoes and he asks if we like his friend's shoes, which are the same color!  an onlooker comments that we should all be friends because the guys have the same shoes and so do we!

Everywhere you look the mountains dominate the scene.

Look closely at the window frame;  those are old paint cans!  And the plants are recycled pipes!

This is the most unique menorah I've ever seen!  LM, too bad you aren't Jewish!

And even with a come-on like this we resisted!

Most of the architecture mirrors the mountains.

Can't quit taking pictures!

Love this fountain in one of the courtyards along the main shopping street.

Breakfast was late and we've shopped right through the lunch hour.  We didn't even succumb to the tempting aromas coming from the fudge and cookie store!  But it certainly time, now, for dinner and we know right where to find Thai Spices.  The internet said it was at the same address as our motel but we spotted it a couple of blocks north.  Kim told us they had recently moved so I wasn't imagining things!  There are only a few cars in the lot and it is 5:35.  They open at 5:00, so we're okay.

Dinner is as great as you'd expect.  I order something I've never had or heard of (I know, don't I always?)  It is ginger pina colada with chicken and big pieces of pineapple in a coconut sauce.  I can't finish it and put the last of the rice in the sauce to take home for another meal tomorrow.  Marilyn has half of her cashews with vegetables and tofu left, too.  But we both finish off our Thai iced tea.  She's never had it before and I'm so pleased that she enjoyed it!

There was a brief shower while we wait but it is over by the time we leave and there are lots of cars in the lot, now!

Bell Rock when we arrive.

We are off to find the Bell Rock Vortex.  They say you can feel the energy while you are still in the parking lot.  When we get out of the car Marilyn says she can feel a tingling vibration in her arms and chest!  Although we hadn't planned on hiking, there's no way we can miss this opportunity!  The path is clear and wide and nearly flat, with only a slight rise.  After walking some distance I point out the twisted Utah juniper trees which we had been told to look for.  You can trace the lines in the bark as they wrap around the branches!

When we stop, I experience the most amazing sensation.  It begins with my feet and climbs up my legs and torso and soon even my scalp is tingling; then I feel as though I have chills across my back. Marilyn is crying and I am tearing up, too.  We agree to continue walking toward the mountain and see more of the junipers with their surprising branches and finally come to a bench.  We sit.  I have my hand folded on my bag (Marilyn had convinced me not to bring my camera, so I could concentrate on the experience.) and when I move them and lay them palms-up on my knees, I can again feel the tingling in my hands and arms.  When we compare notes later Marilyn says she could feel it in her arms and legs.

Marilyn took these with her iPhone.  Can you see how the branches are twisted?  Follow a line as it curves around the limb.

I think this one is particularly easy to see.

It is going to be dark soon and we return to the car.  I continue to feel chills.  All we can do is shake our heads and repeat how amazing this has been!  While I am a believer, I am seldom sensitive enough to experience this sort of thing.  WOW!

Bell Rock by the time we return to the car.  We just make it back before full dark.

Home to blog and sleep and wonder what tomorrow will bring!  Around one o'clock I realize that I can't sleep and add more to this blog.  Can't wait to see what Jeannie has to say.  Upon reflection it is all the more surprising to realize how everything just fell right into place!  Can't imagine how the Universe will top this day!