The Adventures of Adrian & Cameron

Palm Springs has long been a haven for the powerful and famous, so we felt like it was the obvious place to spend the week. Seriously, though, Palm Springs is beautiful. It is a lush, tropically landscaped city with a combination of mid-century modern and Spanish architecture nestled within the backdrop of arid desert mountains. It developed fame because of its mineral spring oasis that provided some relief from the relentless southern California heat. Well, it was plenty hot and we certainly appreciated our little AirBnB condo‘s front and back porches as well as the gorgeous courtyard with pool, hot tub, and very curious hummingbirds.

We enjoyed the bicycle loop around the city, riding through the famous neighborhoods of gleaming mid-century modern homes with unbelievably artistic landscaping utilizing native desert plants. The neighborhoods went on for miles and each house was as unique and stunning as the last. As an appreciator of this type of design, I wished I could knock on every door and ask for a tour! I did head out for a solo hike on what I thought was a short and moderate trail out of the art museum parking lot. Thirty minutes, two times lost and almost all of my water later- I scrambled down that mountain as fast as I could. I returned to our condo beat red and jello-legged.. I was a little reassured to find I was on the “hard” trail but decided to keep my solo hiking adventures to more obvious routes.

We walked around the quaint downtown on Thursday evening as it was blocked off for a weekly art and music festival that included free entry to the art museum. We certainly enjoyed Palm Springs but had mixed feelings. We were encouraged by some of the water conservation projects, especially with no-grass lawns, that seemed to be developing. However, it is hard to appreciate all of the lush beauty without considering the cost to the Colorado River and surrounding environment. We refer to this portion of the trip as the “the guilty pleasure”.

 

Tucson is a fun college town that also happens to have family, so we visit pretty frequently. The sights, cuisine and company never disappoint. Our first evening there we were treated to a home-made vegan broccoli soup prepared by Adrian’s brother Eric, who is among other things, an incredible cook. Adrian’s Dad visited and we helped him get settled in his new apartment. My son Andrew and his Girlfriend Erika flew in on Tuesday, and it was lovely to have them meet Adrian’s family. Eric and his husband Richard were unbelievable hosts. We went on a day trip to beautiful Mount Lemmon and hiked rugged and stunning Seven Falls trail in Bear Canyon, led by the very energetic Richard.  We decided that this hike was poorly named because there were no falls and no bears, but we would do it again and try to keep up this time! Eric and Richard also treated me to a wonderful celebratory dinner for my graduation!! We got to take the local trolley for the first time, and I got serenaded by a Mariachi band. They were unfamiliar with Erika’s request, but she translated my song for me to something roughly “you will be beautiful for a long time”. Hey, I’ll take it.  Eric also took the time to complete a traditional tea ceremony with Drew, Erika and I and acted as a docent for us at the exceptional and multi-trip worthy Sonoran Desert Museum. The tea ceremony was a was so unusual for us and not something we would have many opportunities to do. The ceremony was beautiful, and Eric used it as a way to help us learn about tea, think about purposefulness, and the honor of providing for others. We ate and visited and just had an amazing time.

 

 

 

Travelling far distances in a car can either be freeing or miserable. We opted for a combination of the two by attempting to get to New Mexico as fast as possible. We had some misguided idea about going out on the town when we got to Amarillo, Texas on Saturday evening. However, we settled for some exceptionally cold and crisp white wine at the hotel bar and called it a night

We knew there were some very large and scary forest fires burning south of Taos, but information on the internet was strangley hard to come by. Our GPS routed us on scenic state road 120, which had us going up into the mountains via the little ski town of Angel Fire. Well, this state road lost its dividing lines and became a little narrow about 30 miles in. Up ahead we saw two police vehicles with lights on, pretty certain we were about to be turned back the way we came. The young officer merely scratched his chin and said “yeah, you can keep going”. Just make sure you head toward Taos and not Santa Fe.

We continued our journey with a little less confidence that then shrunk to miniscule proportions when the “highway” turned into a narrow gravel road. This was some beautiful country of sweeping vistas and shimmering lakes in the distance. The smell of smoke started to make our eyes water, our noses burn, and our minds worry. Then, sure enough, there was the turn to Taos. We decided to abandon our plans to camp due to the smoke and very windy (20 -50mph) conditions and found an adorable Airbnb casita in Arroyo Hondo. There we had a luxurious place to stay and work and watch some dramatic sunsets from the patio. We also realized our muffler lost the battle with the gravel road. Ah well-

A highlight of our stay here was the BlackRock Hot Spring. This little gem is a pretty well-known local spring on the banks of the Rio Grande. Some reading warned us to be prepared for characters, and we were not disappointed. A young well tattooed couple were already bathing when we completed the short but scrambly hike to the bottom of the riverside cliffs. We were invited to join and soon another couple-some very seasoned and earthy locals by way of Connecticut. These couples bonded over similar hairstyles (two-mullets!!) and the choice to often be “houseless” but not “homeless”. We were then joined by another young woman who stripped at the top of the rocks before joining the group, much to the delight of all of the men in the pool. A third “Hollywood” group from the artist town of Madrid and their friend from LA joined in with glittery barely there swimsuits, expensive sunglasses, bandanas and a birthday to celebrate. Our stomachs told us it was time for dinner and we headed out only to run into a troubadour with gourd instrument in hand. He was on his was down to serenade the group. He assured us how warm we had made his heart by our simple passing introduction and wished us a magical night. It was magical, alright. New Mexico is often described as weird and wonderful. We agree and could not wait to be off on our next adventure. 

The next New Mexico adventures included a few days in Albuquerque, a wonderful dinner with Greg Sherr, some amazing camping along the Gila River, visiting the Pueblo Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park and hot spring hiking. Then…it was on to Arizona. 

 

 

 

2021 ended almost with as big of a bang as it started off. We left for Mexico on December 20th and flew to Merida, an historic colonial city in the Yucatan peninsula. We wanted to include international travel in our plans and Mexico fit the bill with low COVID rates and reasonable accessibility. Merida has been on our bucket list as a top expat town for beautiful architecture, complex history, safety, and many modern amenities. It did not disappoint. Initially, after being dropped off at night by our taxi on a strange, quiet street in front of our AirBnB, we were intimidated by the barred, high wooden doors and stark stucco walls. 

Once we entered the casa, we discovered one of Merida’s secrets: behind the nondescript exteriors, there are often beautiful dwellings with colonial roots including courtyards, pools, rooftop sunning decks, mile-high ceilings, Moroccan tile, fountains, and oodles of history. We were lucky enough to stay in two of these historic homes in the city’s Centro area during our stay. The first AirBnB was “Casa Munys” and the second was “Casa Opium”, a beautiful Moroccan inspired oasis. We learned to incorporate new sounds into our understanding, like the time Cameron commented that the bicycle has very squeaky brakes. The “squeaky brakes” turned out to be a squeaker horn on a bicycle that a bread peddler (literally) would ride by on every day for breakfast and dinner, with his horn announcing his arrival. 

There was also the beep of automobiles going through intersections. Not the blaring honk of a New York City cab driver, but more of a soft notification ; stop signs are suggestions in Merida.

On Christmas and even more impressively on New Years, the sound of thousands of firecrackers and other fireworks across the city at all times of the night was a constant background for hours, but not overwhelming or scary. The smell of gunpowder wafted across the rooftop where we spent so much of our time. It felt like a joyous celebration of the holidays that spans location and culture. 

One incredible highlight of our time in Merida was that our children Will, Rachel, and Drew were able to join us for several days, including Christmas. We explored the city together, including the sprawling city markets where the locals shop, historical sights, ate ridiculous amounts of tasty Mexican food and relished each other’s company. Then, on Christmas morning, we met a tour guide at 5:45 AM for a day tour to Chichen Itza, a beautiful, private Mayan cenote, and the historical town of Izmal.  This was an amazing day to say the least. Chichen Itza is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the cenote was an astoundingly beautiful place in a Mayan family’s backyard. This was indeed a Feliz Navidad.

Some of our favorite places in Merida: The markets are lively, colorful, and a great source of fresh fruits and vegetables. We bought fresh vegetables almost every day, right around the corner from our AirBnB at the Mercado de Santiago. Usually, what they didn’t have, we were able to pick up at the Super Aki across the street. Soriana was a bigger store and a bit further away;  we did make a few trips to Wal-Mart via Uber for American style Christmas dinner. We also bought most of our meat there because we just felt it might be a bit safer, besides, at the markets, the meat may still have a head on it. 

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the big market, Lucas de Galvez. And by “big”, we mean ten+ city blocks with stalls, street vendors, people selling things balanced on their heads, carts, and throngs of people. One of our favorite street foods turned out to be a Lebanese-inspired gyro type meat on a tortilla shell, or Tacos al Pastor. The first time we tried it, there were no seats at the outdoor, covered patio in front of the food vendor. No problem. The waitress asked a local woman if it was okay if we shared her table. We managed to have a beautiful conversation despite the language barrier and were delighted to buy her lunch, which for all three of us, including delicious ice-cold Coca-Cola in glass bottles, came to under $5.  We enjoyed this so much, we brought the kids back to experience it. 

With the holidays and extra relaxation, we unfortunately missed the museums, which are said to be very good. That’s on our list for next time. We did enjoy the many parks around Merida. The Paseo de Montejo was an enjoyable walk with historic mansi0ns that we toured. Overall, we would highly recommend Merida and would be happy to return. 

A few days after the kids flew home, we traveled on to San Benito. This is a tiny little beach area that is a few kilometers from Progeso. In San Benito, we rented an AirBnB beach house with a pool deck that was steps away from the Gulf of Mexico with coconut palms right outside our door. 

San Benito is very rural and quiet, with few restaurants or stores. The entire shoreline seems to have been started and stopped at multiple times. There are currently multiple dwellings under construction and even more that appear to have been started at some point in the last decade and the stopped. We never could piece together a good reason for this, i.e.; weather or economic and are very curious what this area will look like in the next decade. 

We were fortunate enough to visit a local reserve called El Corchito. This island, filled with cenotes,  friendly racoons, and coatis was a delight. We were relieved to see how responsibly they were caring for the environment and not allowing sunscreen, perishable items, or food into the reserve. Additionally, the area is known for its salt water flats, which are pink and are home to crocodiles and pink flamingos. The area originally was developed as part of the Mayan salt trade. There are Mayan ruins in the area that are accessible and were built for this purpose. 

San Benito is near Progreso. This is a small town with a pretty beachfront area and many tourists. Cruise ships often stop here and allow passengers to disembark. There are a few fun restaurants and markets in town. 

 

 

 

Bentonville, Arkansas was a wonder of a town and we weren’t sure what to expect other than lots of fantastic mountain biking and a good recommendation about the art museum. As a friend said The Walton Family basically screwed over the rest of the United States but made Bentonville awesome. with the money. The trails were even better than we had imagined and made Adrian wish we had similar beginner-friendly dirt trails here, the restaurants were great and the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art was astounding. This was another highlight of our trip and definitely plan to go back. 

This was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Colorado was even more beautiful than we had anticipated. One of our absolute favorite towns was discovered and involved all-day hot spring soaking, unlimited champagne, and fabulous views. We even had some visitors in Colorado Springs and enjoyed the snow. Despite this being the wrap up leg of our trip, it did not disappoint. 

Hopefully more details to be added later…