Tina Visits the Cruz

And it will never be the same again. It's taken them days to put out the fires. . . calm the riots.

A very lovely week. The Califroggy got some exercise as we drove down to Big Sur to visit Uncle Bill. Stopped for some amazing coffee. Spent time on lots of beaches. The photos will tell you the sordid tale quite nicely. I just posted them on my Flickr account at www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethelzey Yeah!



We also held our own memorial for a certain Doris Cox including beautiful irises and the Pacific Ocean, chocolate and poetry. Just her style.

Much love to you all. Studies are going well... as well as keeping going and going and going. Aaaah.

Cheers. And here's a jellyfish.

Le Bon Voyage

Robert and Little Blue are in Texas this morning! They left early, early Wednesday morning and drove straight through to Phoenix, AZ. And this morning Robert Elzey is enjoying a lovely cuppa at Jenee and Rob Ovitt's new coffee hole, The Once Over. I am JEALOUS! There is nothing I would enjoy more than sharing some divine espresso made by the skilled hands of THAT dynamic duo! But the man drove two days to get it so I suppose we should let him enjoy it, eh? Maybe he'll get some cold brew and make it all the way home to NC. (Rob Elzey is kind of a crazy road warrior like that. Did I mention that he is attempting these olympian driving feats without the aid of a radio?)

I just finished a week of midterms. My scores were really high but I was kind of having a 10 hour long out of body experience yesterday. And last night for dinner instead of cooking something practical, followed Lauren over to our neighbor's house and danced around her living room with a glass of wine. (don't worry, no spills, no stains on the furniture)

This morning my stomach is reminding me what an important part of the human anatomy it is... and how it just won't tolerate having wine or fun on Empty.

Oh, and it doesn't want to eat anything fun either. Ever.

Egad, what am I gonna do for the weekend without my Robert anyway?

Write to all of you. of course! My imaginary internet friends. Weeee!

San Francisco and New Home in the Cruz

Last weekend we spent a lovely, blustery spring day wandering aimlessly all over San Francisco with our long time friends Alice and Beth who were visiting from Portland. Alice was recovering form having to take the Oregon bar exam which takes three long days to administer- I think 6 hours a day! Poor girl. So they got some cheap tickets to fly down for a little California vacation at the very snooty and expensive Callistoga Ranch (much acclaimed I assure you). Beth's aunt has some sort of connection there, so Alice and Beth got to live it up in a beautiful "cabin" made up of four separate small buildings connected by covered porches with an outdoor living room and kitchen! Alice said it was kind of funny because the staff won;t let you do anything requiring any kind of effort. They actually meet you at the entrance to the compound and will drive you around in a golf cart if you can't be bothered with walking 500 feet from your badly parked Benz to the door of your charming mountain getaway.

Don't let that whole "Ranch" business in their name fool you though. Callistoga Ranch has no poolside burros... No tumbleweeds or ranchers. They do have sparkling mineral water. I bought some last time I went to the coffee shop Rob frequents here in Santa Cruz.

It was good. I mean, it tasted like water and all. Bring successful is really about meeting people's expectations.

Right?

So anyway, we wandered around Chinatown and visited a couple of bars and restaurants that friends who are San Francisco locals recommended. Don't ever do that. Locals only like places with absurdly large light fixtures... And usually the food and drinks at these kinds of places is mediocre and over priced.

By the end of the evening we had ferreted out decent $5 burritos and some pretty awesome $1 margaritas (that bar lost money on OUR crew. Jeepers.)

Pictures of last weekend's adventures have been posted on me olde trusty Flickr account and can readily be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethelzey for any of you who haven't yet had the pleasure.

Cheers. We've got to do some research into when exactly those Monarch butterflies are coming! I hope it's tomorrow!

Liz

pleasure point!

we got our new digs, right next to pleasure point (ask the surfers, they know about that place)....we signed the lease tonight! Were In! Tomorrow, we'll start the process of moving all our crap. Since our new home has a severe lack of closet space, Liz has asked me to make her a loft bed so we can utilize all the space possible, so the move might take a minute cause putting a bed in will be the first on the list. Although Im no carpenter, my grandpa once made me a loft bed and it was superawesome...so Im hoping to recreate the experience. blah blah blah. im tipsy from celebrating. even though i dont like sierra nevada....they lie! barley wine style ale my butt. they mean IPA high gravity. jerks.

\

yes...drumsticks (in the picture), I've been practicing. Britt wrote a new song and emailed it to me. I love those guys, we WILL take over the world. AND.....AND.... Iffin you happen to check the myspace (www.myspace.com/telicnc) you might see a surprise!!! not only the date but one of the bands too! weve been trying to get ocoai to play a show in town for at least 6 months, and finally they decide to come through....hopefully they live up to our expectations...if not, oh well, Ill still have a good time! see you there??!?!?!?!?!

Liz is doing homework writing in chinese right now, and how ever you say good night in chinese....thats what shes sayin.



zai jain (she tells me).

miss you guys.

rob.

I wouldn't eat the tacos if I were you

Robert and I might have found our next place to live! I owe it all to the fact that one of my roommates is strong with 'the force' and walked calmly into a very cute house one block from the ocean (that is currently a vacation rental) and developed such a rapport with the house's owner that she agreed to rent it on a longer term basis and for far less! That one has a lucky star following her around.

This house has a lovely hot tub and an outdoor shower that rains into a clawfoot bathtub. Talk about style. The outdoor area is my favorite room in the house! I hope it all works out.

School is fabulous! (in that utterly tiring, fascinating, frustrating kind of way) I aced my first anatomy exam by OVER studying for it (seriously, way too much time spent on that subject). But coming to a first exam and finding that you are very, very prepared is far better than the alternative. And there are so many future exams, I may restire the balance of the universe yet. But hopefully someone else in the class will resotre it for me by being a slacker so I can continue to develop anxiety and hypertension disorders. (just kidding- it's not like that yet... the ocean's very calming, chocolate is satisfying, and I've stopped drinking coffee)

And finally. Robert and I have received dinner invitations. 'Bout damn time the Surf City realized how damn cool we are. ha!

They are dredging the harbor next to school so it smells like rotten eggs. When I left class today I actually thought that someone had farted in the anteroom. . . Someone who should seriously think about changing their diet.

Like someone who, say, eats regularly at the taqueria at the end of our street.

They should have a sign over their door, something along the lines of "Despair, all ye who enter here" or "Eat not of the quesadillas lest ye die".

Liz Reads a Lot of Books and Robert eats a lot of Macaroni

Valentine's Day was a blast. Which is not to say that I don't miss the Valentine's Days I have spent carving heart shaped cookies into funny, grotesque pieces in random parking lots with David Hughes. Ahh the joy of stabbing absurd heart cookies with pink frosting- most often with large knives better suited for chopping large melons. Heh. It is a lot of fun to hate Valentine's Day. Just like it's a lot more fun to write (and read) a terrible restaurant review. But alas, V Day was great this year. Brilliant holiday. Not just for 3rd graders and disgusting chalky heart candy that has the nerve to boss you around.

We began the day at the Cabrillo College Saturday farmer's market- very quickly becoming my favorite place to be in the whole world! Nowhere else can you buy an orchid for $8-- in full bloom that comes up to my shoulder (I'm short- but the plant is still prolly 4' tall people) Organic locally grown broccoli is $1 a head, the eggs have brown shells and bright gold yolks, meyer lemons 5 for $1, apples are about 50 cents, rainbow chard is $1.50. . .I could go on but I don't want to depress anyone who hasn't got the luxury of going to the Cabrillo College Saturday farmer's market. It's jammin.

Then we went to look at a room in a house way far up in the mountains- it looked beautiful online. No deal. Bad energy and crazy old guy. Not to mention a driveway that I would NEVER be able to navigate with my poor manual transmission driving skills.

We got back to town for Robert's Valentine's Day extravaganza. Which included two massages that almost killed us (in a baaad way- CA has no licensing requirements for massage therapists and it SHOWS... I don't want to spend anymore time being negative about this) And then we sat in the hot tubs at the Japanese spa, sipping on ginger tea which was fun until we had to get out and I thought I was going to pass out. Yikes that low blood pressure will get you. Tina and I should get smelling salts. Do we have any blue blood in our lineage?

Then we ate sushi dinner at "I Love Sushi"- the best sushi restaurant in Santa Cruz so far. I love "I love sushi"! And not just because every time we leave the little Japanese owner waves to us and says "see you tomorrow!" Aaaah, if only we could.

School Daze

Today was the first class on the first day of the first semester of my first year at Five Branches. Yippee! I only had one class. (it was 3 hours long though so it counts for 2, eh?) Tomorrow will be a little busier.

Robert will be taking the Frog to San Jose to a frame shop servicing classic cars. We took her to a local body shop that actually does frame straightening under normal circumstances. . . but owing to the fact that the CaliFroggy is a rare gem to say the least, the body shop did not have the measurements. So we looked up a specialist and it's all the way in San Jose (an hour from here). So everyone should give Robert a courtesy call tomorrow. Help him pass the time as he waits in San Jose for the Frog to get fixed.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I will be attending clinic theater in which I begin a long series of observation. . . watching the masters at work, as it were. Followed by a qi gong class. Followed again by Chinese language. I'll let you know how it goes. . .

And maybe we'll finally get around to making a video of some of the surfers round about. Fun to watch.

The State of Things in California State

Yesterday was the official Five Branches incoming student orientation day. A day in which an absolutely absurd amount of information is transmitted by kindly school administrative staff speaking as rapidly as is humanly possible for five hours straight. I enjoyed myself. And I am eager.

I also learned that, if you are going to get acupuncture, you had probably better try and find a practitioner from California. In this state, acupuncture is included in many healthcare insurance packages and it is widely considered acceptable to have a Chinese physician as your primary care provider. And I know you may be thinking-- Is this just another random decision by wacky Californian lawmakers? I mean, Arnold Schwarzenegger is at the helm of this ship! Did you know, marijuana is legal for medical use? I admit that it seems strange for herb to be illegal, but is it uneducated to think that marijuana has about as much medical application as a bottle of tequilia? (ok. except for glaucoma. it seems to really help glaucoma)

In fact, the recognition of Chinese medicine as legitimate and its growing niche in the heathcare industry at large is due to the VERY INTENSE, very thorough testing and training of Oriental medicine students here. Most states require that a students take and pass the NCCAOM national licensing exam upon graduation from whatever medical school they attended. California has its own test. And the tests are so far apart in levels of difficuluty and depth of knowledge that students here, at the Five Branches University often take the national test before graduation.

The California exam, however, is a different story.

The fame of the California acupuncture licensing exam (CALE) proceeds it. It's mention is enough to strike fear in the hearts of students and faculty alike... I mean, the damn thing is already difficult. And California already boasts a line-up of Traditional Chinese Medicine's hardest hitters university wise... But the test designers were clever and evil and figured out a way to make the schools compete and to make the standards quite a lot higher.

No matter how brilliant the pool of graduates taking the test, no matter what schools send them, the CALE will only pass 50% of those students taking the exam. Period. They score the test, find the median score, pass all students scoring about the median grade, and fail the rest. Students can take the test again and again. But it is always scored the same way.

Crazy, huh? So all the schools are competing for the most excellent statistics. As in, what percentage of graduates successfully pass the CALE on the first try? Five Branches had the honor of passing 100% of graduates for years... that percentage is down this year to 73... I think, due in part to their acceptance of a greater number of students. The acceptance rate for applicants in the fall is still pretty small (around 30%) but they have added a spring semester start, some extra classrooms, and some certificates of special focus (things not covered by the exam- specialties). But it's totally serious! It makes me happy!

I doubt that my patients will know what California licensure will mean for the efficacy and thoroughness of their care. But I'll know.




Oh, and today we went on a really nice bike ride and Rob bought me a big cookie. You may not understand the significance of this.... I really LOVE cookies (and Rob doesn't) and it was a PEANUTBUTTER cookie (Rob's allergic to peanutbutter).

And check out this crazy late night cookie delivery service! http://www.niteowlcookies.com/
They don't cook them until you call and order... And delivery is free!

Too Damn Fab for Dirty Tweaker Paws

So old news, old news. Last weekend we paid a visit to my old college friend Jonathan Fischoff, dorky computer guy and hilarious, wonderful human-being extraordinaire. He lives in an absolutely gorgeous house two blocks from the (in)famous Haight Street, downtown San Francisco. We spent the afternoon and evening sampling espresso from some of the country's most famous indy coffee shops and drinks from the Mission's hipster bars. Jonathan took us on a fun (and exhausting) walking tour (shouldn't have worn my cowboy boots). We road in a totally functional, absolutely fabulous street car made in Milan for the city of SF almost 150 years ago. We tromped through the flower festival in Chinatown (Chinese buy blooming plants to decorate their homes around the lunar new year) which was fun and crazy and crowded. We glimpsed the flashing lights of S.F. strip of adult entertainment strip (it was right where Chinatown ends- give us a break y'all). We ate greasy Thai food. We went to a house party full of unicorns and wizards (nobody told us it was a costume party dammit).

Jonathan's house, shared by three other late-twenties working professionals, is a beautiful house built in Victorian times or maybe a minute later. It's really quite beautiful and absolutely humongous. The ceilings are 13 ft tall to accomodate all of the smoke from the oil heat used in the house when it was built. Apparently that extra 6 ft of air above your head was supposed to enable the San Franciscan of average height to walk about with their heads just below the clouds (of black oil smoke). But today the soaring heights just make the heating the house a waste of money. But on the bright side, the kitchen's got about 2 miles of counter space! And a gentle spiral in the staircase, so that's somethiing to be happy about, eh? Especially if you own a few sweaters.

The part of this trip that some of you have already heard about- that Rob and I have just now recovered from emotionally speaking- is the fact that our dear Lil' Blue got broken into that night on Jonathan's street. The rear window got smashed and a long list of prized possessions were extracted from our little car. Including, but not limited to, the car stereo, Rob's iPod, GPS system, our freakin' library books (!!!), Rob's journal, and the little Acer laptop (bout the size of a calculator- hidden under the seat with the books). In our NC naivety we thought that you would not break into a car to steal what can't been seen through the window. But apparently, S.F. drug addicts are wise to the 'in the glove box' and 'under the seat' lines of defense. The cop we spoke to afterwards said that sometimes when he parks the car he leaves his glove box open... just so nobody breaks in on the off chance that there's anything besides his proof of insurance in there.

But don't be shocked our worried cuz at least Rob and I are fine... And having your car broken into sucks but it is slightly better than being mugged or something. And don't feel angry cuz our lives are DEFINITELY, beyond the shadow of a doubt, better than the desperate existence of the jerk who decided to rob us. Maybe this will be the iPod that changes his life... Ok, we both know that that was weak but we're trying to think positive here.

On a humorous note... bastard dropped, missed, misjudged, or forgot to take my glamorous, movie star sun glasses. HA! Just one of life's mysteries . . .


Is our neighborhood tweaker just bereft of style? behind the times? how could he neglect to steal my spectacular specs? I mean, one could almost guess that the reason he chose to break that glass in the first place was to nick my sultry shades.

So maybe my sunglasses love me as much as I love them and leapt from the grasping, desperate clutches of the thief in question. I mean he stole Rob's sunglasses which were maybe $5 from some gas station in TX or somewhere.

Rob says mine were just to ugly to steal.

Pfft. What does that guy know?

Living in Limbo

Our road bikes came in the mail today, I finished Harry Potter #7, we went to see silly music downtown, and now we're watching Happy gilmore and eating Kettle chips.

Yesterday I posted pictures from around the Cruz on Flickr. Most of them are from our afternoon spent at Panther beach. And of course, the ones that look like they were taken in Narnia or something, were snapped along scenic highway 1.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethelzey

School starts in 2 weeks! hopefully Robert and I don't continue our downward spiral into couch settin' slobs. He's going on a bike ride tomorrow so I guess that really i'm the only one at risk here. humph.

I promise to write something worth reading tomorrow. Well, maybe not "worth reading" but at least a little better than this here . . .uh.

Cheers.

happy chinese new year yall

ribbit

Califroggy! (and my stupid tower of books)

Ever wonder what a freakin' fortune would buy you from an medical textbook company? Want to know why Robert is going to have to weld some kind of rigged up cart to attach to my bike if indeed I am going to bike to school? I swear, whoever designed this semester's required texts list has some kind of wack investment in chiropractics.





Seriously, I don't even know this many words. Total.


And on another note, we are very pleased to present. . . . drum roll please. . .the very first diesel automobile that either Robert or myself has ever owned. .Califroggy! (cuz it's green and real cute)

For those of you who have not been thoroughly updated on the situation of registering our other dearly beloved car (the one in all the photos on the Flickr)-- little Blue did not pass the smog check inspection and the mechanic informed Rob that it would cost most than the amount his car was worth to fix what's "wrong". Little Blue is a fine automobile that gets over 40 miles to the gallon in optimum driving conditions, and so naturally we are unwilling to let the state buy it from us for $1000 --or really let anyone else buy it from us either. (you can't just let go of a gem like Blue! 311,000 miles and going so strong!!! If any of you are thinking about buying a Honda Civic hatchback we would be willing to give this type of car the highest marks!) So we're driving Blue back across this great country of ours in June because we can't register it here in California. And to remedy our California transportation problem. . . . . Enter Califroggy! Graciously sold to us by Uncle Bill! Who has kept it in perfect working condition and has it running on 100% biodiesel! Delivered it with a tank full of it! Yay, Frog! (picture will be posted in A.M. as it is very dark right now and you wouldn't be able to his beautiful green green self)

For those of you haven't gotten an eyeful and wish you had or missed the link I posted before. . . check us out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethelzey where you can see us doing dumb stuff like going to the Grand Canyon in the snow and driving through two or three epic deserts. . . oh, and Arkansas which really and truly isn't interesting at all. Can't talk too much trash about Arkansas. BoooOoRRRing!

The pictures from our trip are all in a file on the right hand side of the screen called Christmas and California.

Cheers! We love ya.

Liz (and Rob)

Miss you guys. i got some reading to do.

Big Sur

There can be no describing it- not in any way that would be useful to you or even True. . .it also cannot be captured in photos or videos. . . But we decided to supply you with one anyway. And some pictures, I am the world's greatest champion of useless things.

Ah, yes. . . Another day in Paradise

We knew we had arrived. We knew that Santa Cruz must be the first rung in the ladder on that steep and slippery climb to heaven when, after driving by our neighborhood grocery store (several times), we were thoroughly convinced that they were exclusively purveyors of wine. All you can see of the inside, from almost any angle are immense shelves of Chianti and Champagne, which is not exciting necessarily unless one assumes that those shelves go on and on, shelves bearing up the weight of innumerable vessels of the finest beverages the world has to offer... South Africa, France, Germany, Japan, California (since I swear this place thinks it is a nation state). This wine rack is like the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Upon entering the store we realized that the wine occupies a more reasonable 1/5 of the retail space. . . Instead of our fantasy, 95% allowing a little space for chocolates or fruit on display near the registers... No, no, this is the kind of grocery store they actually sell food at. The people of Live Oak (that's our hood y'all) cannot live by taquerias alone. I guess they feel like buying bananas and a loaf of bread every once and a while. But still, check out how much sake you can buy for $11. . .



This place is serious.

PICTURES!

Yes, the moment you all have been waiting for is at hand! We finally uploaded all those pictures from the trip and from Christmas in North Carolina. Maybe you weren't actually waiting for that per se. Anyway, check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethelzey/

Finding Sweet Spots in Santa Cruz

The LONG wait is over. . .Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at long last and after many failed attempts, we have found decent coffee in this otherwise progressive city of 55,000. It wasn't easy. I was beginning to feel like a member of one of the detective units on Law and Order, the 'coffee addicts unit', if you will. After fishing around the neighborhoods kind of aimlessly and haphazard, and after spending far too much money on terrible espresso, we decided to become (a)more deliberate and (b) to begin gathering information from more trustworthy sources-- as in more trustworthy than the local weekly periodicals and/or online customer reviews- I swear most of them must have been plants... Or else people actually DO like acrid, acidic, death juice with a demi-tasse spoon.

We had gotten great espresso in Seaside, a smaller, dustier town in between here and Monterey, months and months ago when we visited this area for the first time. So the major breakthrough in solving our coffee problem came when we visited them again (and the glut of corporate stores in that neck of the woods- don't judge me, i needed a DVD player) So ACME coffee, the raddest coffee shop in northern CA, is owned and operated by two old rock-n-roller, muscle car types. There's something very loveable about a man with a huge grey beard, wearing a Iron Maiden shirt presenting you with the most finely crafted shot of espresso you've had in years. They also roast their own. I was charmed. When we asked about shops that might be similarly worthy and located a little closer to ye olde homestead on 14th (our house) they replied that sometimes the coffee scene was hard to guess about... But we should check out Verve (another much celebrated local roaster/shop) and a new shop, The Abbey, that used Verve exclusively as their roaster.

Long story short, (some of you are growing weary of my lengthy, far from action-packed coffee musings- I can tell) we went to the shops they recommended and while they aren't quite as awesome as our beloved new coffee haunt in Seaside- they pass! They're good! We're saved!

We also have adopted a bar called 'Red'. Dumb name, right? It should be a salon. . . or maybe a transmission repair place (Red's). But it is the only place we've found with a healthy list of Belgian style beers. And check this out you Thirty Monk afficianados, the flight includes FOUR beers and costs $9. And that's California prices! WOW. But if it weren't for Tina and Anna I would never have fully developed this troublesome addiction to these kinds of beverages in the first place. Is it too much to say to Le Baron 'Barry. Eat my shorts!?!'

Other news of note. . .it really is true. . . you can watch the ocean forever and never really get bored. Kind of along the same lines as you can watch a fire forever.

Robert went on a group ride with the illustrious MBoSC. He doesn't feel like typing just now though.

Check out my Flickr page to see new pics of our trip! I'll be posting them momentarily!

Much love,

Liz

wilder ranch

also not pictured here are a bobcat, 10 or so wild turkeys, various groups of deer, and a partridge in a pear tree...seriously our bike ride was rich in wild life....maybe thats why the park is called wilder ranch.

were lonely. somebody come visit, it doesnt feel like home yet.

rob & liz.

were here

We have arrived... and the first thing we see as we enter the city limits. . . the sun setting, all pinks and oranges reflected on the ripples of the bay. And our plans for the morning include, home-cooked breakfast! May I never again eat at Subway or Denny's or IHOP, or any of the other restaurants that serve every single interstate exit across this great nation!

Santa Cruz is lovely and we checked out our sublet after dinner. It's a cutie! Two blocks from the water and we have a hot tub. We have it until the end of March so come while you can!!! Our land lady was nice enough to provide us with a bottle of wine to celebrate the beginning of our stay here in Santa Cruz. It's a nice saucy red- don't worry Justin we won't make you drink it.

The day that's missing out of our blog is the action packed day we had yesterday. It's hard to believe that yesterday we woke in the snowy climes of Flagstaff, AZ and began our daytime adventures at a VERY cold, snow dusted Grand Canyon. It is only a very beautiful and overwhelming site that can make one forget that the wind is blowing very hard and it's cold enough to make your hair fall out (in spite of my lovely handmade hat). The Canyon's length and breadth are almost too large to comprehend. On the south rim the casual observer can easily see the other rim of the canyon although it is 50 miles away. Much of the the north side is closed during winter months due to prolific snowfall and treacherous conditions- we could see a lodge though, on the snowy abandoned side (think the Shining y'all). The north rim of the canyon is 1000 feet higher in elevation than the south side which is already 7000 or so.

The canyon is so deep that the temperature at the rim vs. the base of the canyon is about 30 degrees! Talk about elevation change... So on the day we visited, the canyon's bottom was probably a balmy 60 degrees, while the top was quite literally freezing and covered in snow. In the summer that difference is far lass comforting to those interested in hiking down into the canyon as a 90 degree rim means a 120 degree bottom. The bottom of the canyon is also a dry, dry desert onto which very little precipitation falls even during the snowy or rainy winter months.

We ate lunch at one of the turn of the century lodges, built for adventurous victorians touring the natural wonders of the American west (and there are MANY). And while we were eating, the next round of snowclouds rolled in and filled the top of the canyon. No longer having the option to look and linger, we happened upon one of the brochures for the lodge's services. So, on the canyon floor the Colorado river now flows placidly by, peacefully enough to make one shake their head in wonder at its ability, ultimately to have created such an impossible landscape. Next to the quiet Colorado there is a small, permanent campsite with stone cabins and a bigger canteen building built at the same time as the lodge. If you want to book a cabin, a 7 mile hike from the rim, it;s only 100 dollars and you don't even have to bring your own food! The have packed in steak dinners and vegetarian chili (and apparently a kitchen staff) via mule teams. The whole thing is kind of amazing. Although if you would like to have yourself packed in via mule it'll cost you $400 a person. Yikes! But if you're up for the hike, the cabins are only $92. . . next to the Colorado river, at the bottom of a canyon so immense it can been seen from space...

We were so awed that we actually forgot all about owning the FlipVideo recorder and just snapped a lot of photos. . . which will be posted as soon as I get that darn cable from mom in the mail. Sorry I can't show them to you now. Even though we're finally in California, I've been thinking about the canyon all day.

Miss you guys. Much love,

Liz

feed me

The difference a day makes.

So we spent the rest of our snow day watching a campy movie (the spirit--good, but sorta comic book campy) and went out for dinner to the mountain oasis in downtown Flagstaff. AMAZING. live classical guitar (we think courtesy of Northern Arizona's music program) one amazing bottle of wine, a middle eastern deluxe platter for liz and a creamy artichoke chicken penne for me. 3 hours later our meal was done. Thank you Flagstaff, we will come again--hopefully with a little less snow...

Liz would like to mention that the deluxe platter included: tabouli, amazing hummus, falafel, pita bread two kalamata olives, cucumber slices, tomato slices, and a spicy tahini dressing, of and dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and rob;s big fat head WITH GARNRSH

GRAAAHH

stop messing wiht me WHILE I TYPE RobE.S.....F

Snow in Flagstaff

Sorry about the lack of correspondence, folks. Robert has been so diligent and I. . . have been so sleepy. But not today! Today we have been stranded in the lovely old frontier town of Flgstaff, AZ. The drive up into town yesterday was AMAZING. After leaving Phoenix we approached the beautiful, rugged peaks of the mountains in northern Arizona (think rocky soil and beautiful, tall cactus plants, scrubby bushes-- no trees). As we climbed in elevation pine trees started to appear, the cacti faded out, and soil and rocks became red. Robert took a video in Sedona, totally breathtaking, totally different from the surrounding landscape.

---Liz

Flagstaff is almost 7000 ft in elevation. Last night we visited the Lowell Observatory, a turn of the century giant telescope built by Percival Lowell (of the wealthy and famed Lowell family in Massachusetts). The observatory was so fantastically crafted that is was even used by government researchers leading up to the moon landing 50 years later! It's so strange to be in a state that only achieved its official statehood less than 100 years ago. We didn't get to view anything in particular through the telescope as the city was covered in snowclouds. I haven't even gotten to see its jealously guarded starry skies with the naked eye either. Such is life, eh? The snow is beautiful even if it has interfered with our plans.

flagstaff

hopefully we make it to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

dont mess with texas

Even thought I thought Tennessee was a long state, we've been in Texas for almost 4 days and we still have almost 4 hours of driving before were out of this place, blech. Austin is awesome, the only worthwhile place in Texas. We had a great time new years eve with good friends and lots of champagne and amazing food (and bubbles, liz is reminding me). To show my ignorance, I didnt know Austin was the capitol until we were in downtown, looking at the capitol building, drinking at the politicians bar (which serves only liquor, and has a sever lack of any type of lighting), that it dawned on me---(even though I kept the question to myself), this must be the capitol city of this cocky state. I meant to take a picture of the sign that said Austin City Limits, but instead ended up drinking a lonestar beer with a statue of Stevie Ray (I did get a pic of that which I promise to post). On our first evening there we ate at this crazy awesome chili place in downtown (dont get the triple X, unless you want to burn), which happened to be featured in the Quinton Tarentino film Deathproof (it did look vaguely familiar), and then we stopped in the Cloak Room (see above reference to politician bar) and promptly passed out. New Years Eve started with amazing coffee, some crazy BBQ place for lunch (yes it does exist outside of NC people, and it is done rather well in Texas), had some espresso, and commenced with the new years celebration of amazing food, a little too much champagne, and meandering in the town. Got a late start to todays drive, but I blame that on not really wanting to leave Austin or say goodbye to Rob and Jenee. They are really awesome people and we miss them, but were super excited about their new coffee shop (it is slowly coming together-a little too slow for them), but we will hopefully visit sometime soon-its called Once Over Coffee Shop, in case youre ever in austin. The drive today was long, Liz wanted to say something, but she's fast asleep.

much love.
cheers to 2009.
rob