Arizona Pros & one (pesky) Con

I have a love/hate relationship with Arizona. Truth is...it's turning into more of a love/love relationship every day. Especially now that it's "fall." Which basically means...I can justify flannel sheets (due to what the calendar says, not the thermometer). I put them on this weekend and although I may still have to sleep with a fan, I don't care. Give a girl her flannel.

Another perk...hiking in October....November, December...and pretty much up until May. Amazing. Running outside all year long (though not recommended in July-Sept...I did it anyway...kind of miserable). It's perfect now...in fact on Friday I thought "Man, I'm gonna have to wear a LONG-SLEEVE t-shirt soon." I know, amazing. In Utah, it's freezing and I'm guessing many are heading to the gym. In AZ, the gym membership dips in the winter...as everyone is outside.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's hike...not much to see, quite honestly, it was dirt, cacti and more dirt...and some cool white rocks that...according to the Hiker Man we met..."grew up out of the ground"...sounds good to me.

One of the not-so-great things about this blessed land...scorpions. When I was packing to move here, my biggest fear was snakes...have seen zero so far. In fact the last snake I saw was on trip to Utah...on Sher's front grass (remember that Pally?). Previous to that...dad and I found a small snake in the garage at home in UT the day we were loading the trailer to move here...dad joked "He wants to hitch a ride to see ALL his relatives where you live!" Mean.

This little guy was hanging out in my shower. Glad I found him before he found me. It is getting a little old, the whole scorpion finding-catching-freezing-disposing cycle. I am grateful that as the cold(er) weather comes, the scorpions disappear. Hallelujah. I will not miss them in the least.

New York

A few weeks ago Mom took Kim, Suz and I to New York. It was a great trip which included: delicious granola/yogurt breakfast every morning @ Fluffy's deli, bus tour of the city, empire state building, 2-hr scenic boat ride around Manhattan...including seeing Statue of Liberty (my camera did not cooperate, thus no photos of Lady Liberty), chance to play on the big piano at FAO Schwartz, delicious honey roasted peanuts purchased from street vendors, negotiating prices with the locals for amazing/imposter items sold as reasonable prices, chance to see the musical Lion King (loved it), walking through Central Park on a Sunday morning, being amazed at Times Square and the busy-ness of it even at 1 am, lots of walking, lots of people watching, and just 4 days full of new, fun things.