Back home…

The trip was fantastic. It was the classic southwestern road trip…cactus,  the Grand Canyon,  the Pacific, but with the added bonus of seeing so many friends and relatives along the way. Here are a few highlights, in chronological order:

We arrived in El Paso late and stayed at the Camino Real Hotel.  It is a gorgeous landmark building. Above is a photo of the famous Tiffany Dome over the bar.Across the street from the hotel is the  El Paso Museum of Art. It is wonderful and free. It opens at 9:00am, so I ducked in while the kids were getting ready for the day, I loved it so much I went back and got them.

This is a detail from a mural painted by Tom Lea in 1938. I saw the restored sketch for it in the museum and just had to walk the 6 or 7 blocks to see the finished mural in the courthouse. It is gorgeous.

Then it was off to Marfa, but first a little shopping along the way…

We visited friends, Buck and Camp. What a good time, great friends, art everywhere and four dogs to keep us on our toes.

The girls had a blast. They rode bikes all over. We made pizza on the grill and drank tequila,. The next day we went to Chinati…loved it.

In the afternoon we went to Balmorhea, a natural spring.  It was heaven.  Later we had another great meal at Cochineal, then a night walk with the dogs and tons of stars. It was sure hard to leave. I could have spent a lot more time in that small town.

Onward through New Mexico

Our next stop was the historic Arizona Inn where we spent a few delightful days with more dear friends. We relaxed and ate and talked and swam. The littlest ate oranges straight from the tree. Mushy. Perfect.

Rt 8 to San Diego, a dip in the ocean, then north to LA.

In Los Angeles we stayed with cousins and had a wonderful time. We had a nice mix of touristy activities and family meals.  The girls fell in love with Pinkberry. LACMA, Griffith Park. We went to Malibu and had a wonderful afternoon and evening with my  dahlia mentor and her charming husband.  AND I got to meet a blog friend in person! But that deserves a whole post of its own….soon.

We left sunny California and headed east on Route 66…well mostly route 40 but we got off onto 66 often.  We were going in the opposite order of the song…but we sang it anyway. Its impossible to sing it backwards. I dare you to try.

The Grand Canyon….words cannot describe the awesomeness. Pictures never do it justice.  Just go.

Finally, we spent a lovely evening swimming with more cousins in Tucson, then back to El Paso in the middle of the night to catch our flights home.

Whew! Ok, hard to believe, but that was the speed version. If you want the true vacation slide show experience check out my flickr pictures.  And be sure to hum this while you’re at it…