DC, Explored

Just got back from Washington DC were we spent four days and three nights. Our hotel was located in Logan Circle and had a funky vibe. Visiting the city was a nice distraction, even if the weather didn't fully cooperate. Naturally, DC is primo for collecting NPS stamps, and we pretty much got all of them, save for a few spots that were out of the city center.

Photos here.

Here's a basic rundown of the things we visited and saw.

Day 1 -
Old Post Office Tower. It offers excellent views of the city and of the Washington Monument.
Photo-ops in front of the White House. I despise the current guy in power and hope to see Obama in there by 2009 (fingers crossed). Then, I'll be able to take another picture with a more confident smile!

Day 2 -
Arlington National Cemetery. The sun was beating down and draining our energy for the duration of our travels there. We saw the graves of both Kennedy's: John and Robert. We also visited the grave of Audie Murphy (the most decorated American soldier), the Space Shuttle Challenger memorial, and the mast of the USS Havana. Most moving was the changing of the guard in front of the tombs of the unknown soldiers. I don't know how these soldiers do it, but the fact they can endure this in all kinds of weather will always have my respect.

National Holocaust Museum. The permanent exhibit is moving and a frightening reminder of such a dark time in Western history. I was soothed by the sight of visitors from all ages, races, and walks of life who were viewing the exhibit along side me. The museum's slogan "Think of What You Saw" stayed with me the entire trip.

At night, we saw the fireworks on display near the Washington Monument. We changed our minds at the last minute and decided the mall was too crowded, so we found (by accident) a spot on 15th & Pennsylvania Ave which was just a block away from all the action, but afforded the same exact view. Others thought so too because by the time the sun set, the park was filled to the brim with spectators.

Day 3 -
This was our get-out-and-finally-see-everything day, and it concentrated mainly on area around the National Mall. In no particular order: WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Well, the last one was from a distance as it was too hot and we were about to suffer from heatstroke. But, we got close enough to "see" what was inside! The reflecting pool was so dirty, really cruddy. Unbelievable considering it manages to look so pristine in media images.

I witnessed a curious thing at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Apparently, if you have a name, the parks department will do a name rubbing for you. We saw this happen a few times. I thought it poignant that families of these soldiers are allowed to have a keepsake of the wall that bears the name of their fallen relative.

That night, we participated in a night time trolley tour to see the city lit up. I highly recommend this tour. The Lincoln Memorial is more beautiful at night, especially with Abe's majestic presence looking out towards the Washington Monument.

It's kind of odd when I consider all the other countries I've been to. Yet, up until this point, I hadn't even seen my own nation's capital!

Trip of Success

San Francisco did not disappoint. In fact, the trip was a welcome respite considering all of the airline travel woes experienced in 2007.

The King George Hotel, which is located in the Union Square area of the city, was fantastic and we got a tremendous deal for our stay. How fitting that yours truly should be staying at a place named the King George, huh? The only complaint was that, for our package, there was a charge for the breakfast buffet, which wasn't anything special considering Lori's Diner was right next door and served a heartier meal for less than what the hotel wanted to charge us for continental fare. We were lucky to be comped one free hotel breakfast for our first day by the night manager. The next three day's breakfast we chose to eat at Lori's instead.

We made great use of the city's public transportation, buying a three day MUNI pass that covered all transport and cable car rides. The public transportation in San Francisco is incredibly easy peasy. For me who gets easily confused with the bus system, we were zipping around almost exclusively on the bus during the entire stay.

Day 1 -
It rained throughout the day, but that didn't stop us from getting up and at 'em. Our first excursion was on the number 71 bus to Haight/Ashbury. Haight Street is pretty normal up until you pass right by Buena Vista Park. Then, you are reminded that you have ventured into the setting for the infamous Summer of Love. Now, Haight is only a memory of the past. It cannot be recreated. So, you walk around, entering cafes and shops that try to recreate this feeling of the lost hippie era. It fully hits you that you can never really go back. We took our place under the infamous Haight/Ashbury sign. To protect them from theft, the signs are bolted to the sign post much higher than all of the other street signs around San Francisco.

My mother wanted to see her hero, Janis Joplin's former home, at 122 Lyon Street. We also trudged up the hill to the former home of the Grateful Dead on 710 Ashbury Street. Another home we just had to ghoulishly pass by was at 636 Cole Street. The former residence of Charles Manson - shudder. Naturally, we did a bit of shopping. I found a cute necklace at the Goodwill store. My mother found a coin purse at a place called Positively Haight. We also stopped by the Blue Moon Cafe. I will never forget the Eggnog Chai I had there. So delicious!

We took the bus back to Market St, transferred over to the F street car, and headed to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. Here, it was mostly walking around and window shopping. Don't buy wine here. It's horribly expensive. Go to the supermarket where it's cheap. I was on to their tactics from the start when I noticed that all the wine sold at Pier 39, you can get cheaper at home. We were lucky enough to see the sea lions sprawled out on the docks, vocal.

Dinner was at the Fog Harbor restaurant. Unfortunately, because of the weather, there were no nice views to be had on this day. We proceeded to walk around and we got ourselves up a very steep hill to Lombard St. which is considered the "crookedest street in San Francisco". It was nighttime, so we didn't get any good photos. Coming down the hill was just as bad as walking up. You had to walk down sideways so as not to build up momentum.

Day 2 -
Such a beautiful, sunny day. We had to be out in front of our hotel at 8:15am to be picked up for a tour of Alcatraz, Muir Woods, and Sausalito. We were disappointed in how the tour company operated. We arrived there at about 8:45 only to be told that we wouldn't be brought to the ferry for Alcatraz until 9:45. Honestly, we could have made our own way to the ferry without having to hang around the tour company's building for so long. We made lemonade out of lemons and decided to walk around the area. I discovered that Lombard St. was only a few blocks away, so it ended up working in our favor. We were finally able to get some good shots, including some video, of the cars driving down the crooked street.

Alcatraz was fucking brilliant. The audio tour was recorded by former guards and prisoners. This added greatly to the experience. I was so amazed at the views the prisoners had from the prison. I learned later that this affected them deeply. It could be frustrating to see the city from such a short distance, see people having fun on their sailboats, and hear party cruises float by with people celebrating and having a great time. It proved to be a constant reminder of not having freedom of movement.

Unfortunately, the tour company we chose didn't allow time to see more of the island. I would definitely love to go back to explore, and learn more about the Native American takeover in 1969. Graffiti is still visible, which serves as a reminder of their occupation. A bonus was that since Alcatraz is owned by the National Parks Service, we were able to get NPS passport stamps in our books.

We were taken back to the tour company's headquarters to transfer to yet another bus for the Muir Woods and Sausalito leg of the tour. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. There were some beautiful views heading into Muir Woods, but unfortunately, we were only given about an hour or so to explore the actual park. There was also a stamping station for our books, and the new 2008 Centennial stamp became available.

We walked around, staring up in awe at the majesty that are the Redwoods. Though not as huge as the Sequoias, Redwoods certainly hold their own. Can you believe that most of these have been chopped down and that only a very small percentage exist? This stunned me. What stunned me more was learning that in San Francisco, for a home to properly be considered a Victorian, it has to be made out of...Redwoods! So, in essence, Redwoods still abound, they have just taken the shape of something else aesthetically pleasing.

Our trip back to San Francisco included a stop in the harbor town of Sausalito. This was the most disappointing part of the tour. We didn't arrive until about 5pm, when just about everything in the center of town was closing up, including all of the small eateries. We were given about an hour to eat, so any major restaurant was out of the question. Strolling the main street, we stumbled upon the Fingerhut gallery and went inside to view some of Grace Slick's artwork. She's actually a very good artist. Although it appeared to be heavily based on Alice in Wonderland and White Rabbit scenes, I was impressed with some of her other paintings.

Our time was short but bittersweet in Sausalito. The tour driver, although a bit blabby, gave a lot of interesting and amusing information about the town.

Day 3 -
Another fantastically gorgeous, sun filled day. After seeing the lines over an hour deep for the previous two days, we made sure to get to the cable car stop very early and managed to grab a seat. It was a chilly ride, but we got some great views. The finale was veering down Hyde Street, which I was able to film. Afterwards, we grabbed a bus to Coit Tower and climbed to the top for some of the best views the city has to offer. The WPA murals inside are exquisite. I got some excellent photos of them. Afterwards, we strolled through Union Square Park and got to meet our very own "Birdman", but not of Alcatraz. This gentleman kept exotic birds and would let them out for a breather in the park.

Next, we took the bus to Golden Gate Park and finally got to see and experience thee bridge up close and personal. I decided to walk a bit over it, which was a bad idea. It was so windy and the guard rails aren't that high. I could barely get over to them for pictures because my fear of heights became so pronounced, I couldn't handle it. I got sick to my stomach and couldn't even make it to the middle. Regardless, I did get what felt like millions of pictures of the bridge. No matter how beautiful and iconic the Golden Gate Bridge is, you feel as if you cannot take a proper picture of it.

We walked around the Presidio taking in the views, and NPS passport stamps. However, since it was New Year's Eve day, everything closed up early so we weren't able to get stamped. Not a problem because Muir Woods is part of, and already issues a Golden Gate National Recreation Area stamp, so we were all set in that department. Even if a bit disappointed.

As for shopping, surprisingly, we didn't do much of it. I eyed this cool body shape flattering Tye-dye shirt at Positively Haight, but I wasn't exactly feeling the price tag. I ended up getting a cute, cheap necklace at the Goodwill store on Haight. I purchased the requisite amount of post cards normally collected to mark my travels. Plus, I bought two magnets at Alcatraz, one for my mother and one for myself. No visit to San Francisco is complete without a stop at See's Candies. I just about passed out once I got inside two of their stores, where I stocked up on lolly pops and chocolates.

Since I was with my mother, this was exclusively a "sites only" trip. Not a problem, I had such a blast. I would love to go back and see more arts orientated things such as museums and galleries. For now, I'm happy about what I did get to see.

What I took away from this trip was the importance of scenery. It seems that you can view the harbor from almost any point in the city, and it's precious to each and everyone. No matter where you found yourself in the city proper, a vista of the harbor was to be had. I felt this was an important lesson. From the best to the not-so-nice neighborhoods, almost everyone had a chance to see the same view. The harbor brought a sense of equality among the masses.

For the flight back to JFK, we arrived an hour early! Knock on wood, hopefully 2008 will bring more of that good flying mojo.

Photos of the trip can be viewed here.

Plymouth Part Deux

This past weekend, we did the rounds again traveling to Plymouth, MA and spending a day at the Cape as well. It was a trip re-deux to make up for previous missed opportunities. When we visited last year, my mother had been in the throws of a serious illness and forgot much of the trip.

Being creatures of habit, upon our arrival to Plymouth, we hunkered down at the Cabby Shack for some excellent grub. Mom had the chunky clam chowder, which I wished I had ordered. As for our hotel, we stayed at the Best Western. Unfortunately, as my mother originally was led to believe, it wasn't right on the water. Yes, a few somewhat walkable blocks away, but not really. Still, the rooms were spacious and lovely. The breakfast was filling, with a make-your-own-waffle station. None of that continental breakfast crap.

The rest of the weekend was filled with making the rounds of landmarks that are requisite if one is visiting Plymouth and the surrounding environs; Plymouth Rock, Plimouth Plantation (yeah, I spelled that right!), and The Mayflower II. On Saturday, we focused solely on the Cape, driving route 6 all the way to the end, Provincetown, and passing through several other quaint towns. We saw a lot of dunes, and while we arrived at the tail end of cranberry season and missed the bogs, got to actually see some cranberries still clinging for life on the bushes. Some stopping points were several National Park Service areas (for cancellation stamps), and a climb to the top of the Pilgrim Monument - by way of about 160 stairs and ramps combined.

The foliage was nice, but seriously lacking in some areas. The best spots were seen from the highway, so there was really no way to stop the car for photo ops.

On our last night in town, we ate at The Weathervane, which can be hit or miss at times. I was hoping they would have the stuffed flounder in a creamy lobster sauce, which was delicious the last time we visited. They weren't offering it, but I went with the stuffed haddock (offered without sauce). Mom ordered the haddock too and chose Mac & Cheese as one of her meal sides. We were both seriously disappointed when they brought out Kraft Mac & Cheese. Yes, I kid you not. It was actually Kraft Mac & Cheese!

Heading back to CT, we stopped off for a bit in Providence, Rhode Island at the Roger Williams monument (yet more stamps!). The weather was beautiful and we got to walk around a historic neighborhood near the park where Williams was re-buried. It was a neighborhood that reminded me a lot of Charlestown, MA.

The trip was successful, if somewhat hard. We brought along my younger cousin and forgot how much a bundle of energy a pre-teen is! Still, it was nice to get away, even if we weren't straying too much from our own region.

Photos here. Enjoy!

Back From Boston

A splendid time was had by all, and the weather was way agreeable. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. Baby bear conditions. Stops were made via automobile in Hingham, Revere, and Roxbury for family genealogy enquiries, and all of Boston proper was spent on foot. Exhausting.

In Hingham, I all about climbed the walls due to impatience through an obligatory 1 1/2 hour tour of the town's historical society. Things turned immediately to joy upon being shown several samplers made by our direct ancestors when they were young girls. These samplers were close to two hundred years old. Seriously, I simply cannot believe my greats left behind such an enduring legacy!

Our side trip to Revere was spent looking for a street sign of our family name. Since our ancestors founded the town of Charlestown, and settled all throughout the area; the name, the graves, and the remaining houses can be found all over Boston. Our maddening excursion, courtesy of the rotaries, was topped off by a visit to Kelly's for a delicious meal, which we ate on the beach.

The trip to Roxbury was less than forgettable. Driving around looking for the Eustis Street Burying Ground proved to be a huge pain in the ass. Unfortunately, we arrived several minutes after the 3 o'clock closing time. Still, it was one of those beautiful Gothic looking graveyards that is situated on a busy cross street, making it stand out all the more beautiful.

As I mentioned above, our day in Boston was lovely. Since Bunker Hill wasn't open during our visit last year, we decided to stop off for a tour. I climbed all 294 steps to the top only to be met by smelly, sweaty others who probably weren't used to so many stairs. Although my calves were killing me the next day. I discovered later that most of the photos I took up there were marred by all the scratches and smudge marks embedded on the plexi-glass windows. One of the highlights was a militia man dressed in period clothing giving a shooting demonstration on the grounds.

We settled on the Union Oyster House near Faneuil Hall for our last night's dinner. Both of us chose the stuffed fillet of sole. It was delicious, but the seafood stuffing was something less than desired. Nothing bad, it was the kind of stuffing that is all seafood with scant amounts of cracker. I prefer it to be the other way, more crumbly cracker, less seafood. But that's just me. Prior to our meal, we watched a cool street performance by two drummers.

Now for the NPS Passport book. I mentioned in another post how I introduced this program to my mother when we were at the Grand Canyon last month, and that she was now an stamp addict. Boston is loaded with stamping stations and I think we got most of them. This included bagging some bonus stamps which weren't part of the NPS program, but from a now defunct citywide Freedom Trail scavenger hunt. Score!

Photos can be found here. Drummers here --

Anniversary Mania

Tomorrow will mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Many who know me know that as a hobby, I enjoy studying pre-mid-20th Century European royal history. However, it ends there. As sad as her passing was, I have always believed that had she worn her seat belt that night, she would be here to continue the freedom she had just begun celebrating after her subsequent divorce and new found success as the "People's Princess". Not to be cynical. It's not at all about that. I mourn for her children and truly believed she would have done so much had she lived. It was a mistake. A mistake that unfortunately, Diana paid dearly for.

Many have already been asking that time honored question - Where were you when you heard of her death? My story is probably a bit unusual. I had just returned home, shook up, because I had been in the subway when a person fell to their death in front of an oncoming train. The mayhem which ensued after that incident rattled me so much I canceled all plans and went home. I happened to turn on the TV and saw the breaking news about Diana. It was only several minutes later when they came back on and announced she had died. What an interesting contrast of events that night. Two deaths. One nameless, another famous.

The next day, as I lay flowers at the doorway of the British Embassy here in New York, I stepped back, and began to really examine the chaos and ghoulishness occurring in my midst. I left with feelings of regret that I had even bothered to get involved with such a nonsensical faceless outpouring of grief. To this day, I cringe when I see any impromptu displays of memorials at accident sites and the like. I have nothing against those who choose to participate in the creation and/or adoration of them, and I certainly would never think poorly on those who do. But, I came to believe that the money that was poured into buying flowers, candles, and stuffed animals to adorn doorways and the front gates of palaces, should have instead poured into the bank accounts of the charities Diana had worked so tirelessly for.

In the mean time, I won't be around for all the fanfare of the tenth anniversary of her death. We're visiting dead relatives and their previous homes for mom's genealogy hobby. Anyone who knows me knows that I loves me my Boston. If I had to, I'd move in a heartbeat and never look back. Something about the city vibe, mixed with those classic New England sensibilities, runs deep within my soul. I am a New Yorker, but ethnically, I am New England.

Another plus side of the trip is that last year when we visited, I didn't know about the NPS Passport program. Bummed that I missed out on an opportunity for many stamps after the fact, I'll be able to play catch up. Now that I've got my mother addicted, we'll make the rounds along the Freedom Trail. Trust me, we're not going out of our way considering most of the cancellation stops coincide with the areas we need to be.

So bye for now! We've got a lot planned and it looks like beautiful weather will be on our side.

It Sure is Grand

So. After trawling through all my photos, and trust me there were tons of them, loads of nice ones at that; I have finally committed the ones I deemed worthy enough to web posterity.

I've said this already to a few people, but the Grand Canyon doesn't take a bad photo. In fact, walking up to it, you actually squint your eyes in disbelief thinking that you are looking at a portrait. It's like one huge gorgeous photo backdrop. In the same vain as those 1970's nature backgrounds families would pose in front of at Sears and Olan Mills photo studios. Only better. Trust me when I say this because I didn't show up with any of the photographic accouterments one might when they visit such a hallowed spot of fantastical nature. Even a disposable camera would have reaped the same visual rewards. I arrived with an outdated Kodak Easy Share 3.1 mega pixels digital camera. Probably a step or two above a rinky-dink camera phone, if you ask me. Hardly something you would see a professional toting around. My problem is that I buy for size, preferably as tiny as possible, as anything clunky could possibly give me away as an ignorant tourist. Imagine that. A tourist at the Grand Canyon! What an anomaly!

However, I will confess that I have been keeping an eye my cousin H's blog to gain a bit more knowledge and perspective about the nuances of composition. Her photography has helped me tremendously and I am always grateful to learn from her. Otherwise, if left up to my own devices, you would see some very uninspired, off center, and out of focus experiments in pseudo-artsy snapshots which wouldn't quite make the mark; nor earn a place in a photo album for that matter.

What bothered me greatly is that I had to put a flame under my ass in order to commit my snapshots to a cyber-album. What's really been going on is that for the last week I have been feeling quite uninspired. Possibly lazy. Jet lagged is more like it. They say that it takes a day for each day you were away for your body to recover. Since my spirits have picked up exactly a week from the day I got back, and that I spent the next two days after my arrival in a constant state of slumber, that estimation sounds about right. Now out of my Rip Van Winkle rut and with my circadian rhythms in check, I have made a possible full recovery and now must tend to the deeper things in life. Like catching up on the latest episodes of Big Love and a whole week of the Howard Stern Show. I have priorities, you know!

Like I stated previously, the trip was a major success. Despite all of our head numbing problems with US Airways, our trip exceeded any expectations we may have had going in. After hearing many poor reviews from the other tourists, a last minute decision was made to cancel our plans to visit the Skywalk. As for the hotels we stayed at, they couldn't have been any better. I was a bit suspect of the Grand Canyon Inn which is located in Valle, AZ. I couldn't help but think, an "inn/motel" in the middle of nowhere, and a bit further from the town of Tusayan and the Grand Canyon. However, it turned out to be more than satisfactory. I would definitely recommend he place tto others.

I bought a beautiful Zuni Bear pendant from one of the Indian Trading Posts situated on the premises of the hotel. All of the jewelry I purchased was Native American made. There were Trading Posts just about everywhere you looked.
I also discovered a delicious regional candy bar, Christopher's Big Cherry. Anything with a maraschino cherry in the center is an immediate favorite of mine!

There was an odd sight across the street from the hotel. The Flintstone's Bed Rock City Camp Ground. Truly a stone age experience. It reminded me of the opening scenes of a 70's horror flick. A somewhat faded, abandoned relic trying to operate as if it were still basking in an infinite heyday. Come to find out, it was actually hopping busy on the inside, behind the stone wall. The store on the premises looked as if it had been frozen in time. We stopped to eat at Fred's Diner, where the menu gave each dish a stone age appellation. Turns out cactus juice is fruit punch and lemonade mixed together. No wonder Fred Flintstone is overweight.

Our time at the Grand Canyon will go down in history as one of the most successful family vacations, ever. Arriving very early, we lucked out with a most excellent parking space. Right there at Mather Point. From then on, good use was made of the shuttle buses provided to visitors free of charge. Making sure to stop at as many points as possible, I will confess that I made sure to stop at all the points where I could get my NPS Passport stamped. Apparently, there are seven stamps in total around the park. I think we got about six of them, missing the North Rim where we didn't visit anyway. Mom was curious about the program, bought the NPS Passport book, and is now a cancellation stamp addict!

I can't even begin to explain the sheer beauty that is the Grand Canyon. In a continuation of our new found lucky streak, we saw probably everything Mother Nature wanted to present that day. Committed to photograph are puffy heavy rain clouds, distant storms, lightening, and rainbows. All without a sprinkle in our direction. The last hours of the day were spent at Yaki Point to watch the sunset. The sheer beauty on view as the sun is coming down is absolutely stunning. This is where I feel that pictures can't fully capture the colors of the canyon. Shades of purple, pink, and other pastels settle all over the landscape and you find yourself seriously grasping for words to describe what's in front of you.

The next day was spent finishing up the rest of the canyon. We saved the parts where a car is a necessity for last. The weather was agreeable up until we finished and then it rained for a bit. No problem. It all worked out for the best and we were able to take it easy the rest of the day. Plus, we would have to rest up for our next adventure.

Our day trip to Nevada started out a little wonky. We took a wrong turn at Kingman, AZ and continued on to our destination via California. Not too much of a problem as it was just slightly out of our way. Things got a little worrying while driving U.S. Route 95 north through San Bernardino County. The gas tank was low and we were on a very long stretch through the outskirts of the Mohave Desert. With no gas station for miles, nor towns for that matter, I did a silent count of all blue colored help boxes placed on the side of the road should the need to utilize one arise. Heading into Nevada we reached a gas station and some semblance of human civilization. A short time later we were at the Hoover Dam.

I have to admit I was pretty impressed with the Hoover Dam. I didn't think I would be and was secretive about my opinions until we arrived and were proved wrong. Man is Nevada HOT! H-E-double hockey sticks hot. Nothing made us happier than to get back to the comfort of vehicular air-conditioning. Another NPS stamping station was located down the road closer to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. When we called the information center to confirm the location, we were told they had just closed up but would stamp some pieces of paper and leave it out for us to take. We were eternally grateful for them going above and beyond the call of duty. Thirty minutes later had us in Las Vegas driving on the strip.

We're not really a gambling family, although I did want to try out the slot machines. Just for the heck of it. On the first try, I managed to win a whopping $12.40 playing penny slots at the Hard Rock Cafe & Casino. I chose that specific casino because mom likes to buy a t-shirt from each Hard Rock she visits. I was happy to have insisted that we make a pilgrimage to Vegas. Mom admitted later that she was glad to have gone as well.

The rest of our time was spent exploring Flagstaff and Sedona. Not to mention, all that driving we did. Being from the Northeast, it's unusual to drive such lengths without seeing towns or human beings. Coconino County, where we spent most of our time is roughly three times the size of my home state of Connecticut and only consists of about twenty-five towns. Arizona vegetation is not verdant, but it is interesting to those who aren't used to desert conditions. Facing another prospect of delays on our flight home, the Flagstaff airport was kind enough to contact us and arrange a taxi cab to Phoenix in order to catch our flight home. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, because on the drive down, we were finally able to see actual stereotypical cactus. The ones with the arms, like they show on television.

I can't repeat this enough. It was an incredibly successful family vacation. We were able to see so much considering an entire day was lost. The best part of it all was seeing how happy my mother was and the excitement of being there with her while having her dream vacation come true.

My shopping tally for this trip?

*Various postcards (as I collect them)
*Magnet with Grand Canyon scenery
*Fred Harvey Desert Tea (delicious!)
*4 Christopher's Big Cherry candy bars (which I promptly ate within a few days of returning)
*Kokopelli Sweet Lucy Arizona red table wine
*Twig deer pendant/necklace
*Zuni Bear pendant/necklace
*Malachite pendant and matching earrings

There are four photo albums, separated into easy to grasp categories.

Our 1 1/2 days at the Grand Canyon.

Our day trip to the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.

Our visits to Sedona and Flagstaff.

Plus, a miscellaneous album for those holiday snaps that just didn't seem to fit anywhere.