Surprise! Christmas in Arizona

After many adventures in the desert, we finally arrived at the place we would call home for two weeks: Surprise, Arizona (just outside Phoenix), in Liz's dad' Bud and his partner Gaynor. 

We were all glad to be in one place for a bit, unpack our bags, and find all those little things that went missing behind a seat or under a suitcase.

Thank you to Bud and Gaynor for opening their home and making us so comfortable. We made the most of area! One treat was the best meal we have ever had at Tapas Papa Fritas. Phenomenal Spanish food, with every dish somehow topping the last.  he lights in Scottsdale were cool too.

HIGHLIGHTS:

If you are ever in the Phoenix area, you MUST (seriously) go to the Musical Instruments Museum. It is one of the best we have ever visited.  You hear, see,, and walk through the world and cultures through music.  You might need more than one day. It's that cool.

Johannes found a guitar donated by the estate of George Van Eps, the man who raised his mom and aunt after her parents passed. More on his legacy here.

Speaking of music! We played a lot together.  Liz and her dad worked on an Ode to Joy Duet and our little group performed for friends - Jo on guitar and vocals, Margaret on vocals, Trev on bass, Liz on fiddle.  

We saw the Montreal Canadiens play in a 5000 seat arena (most arenas are 20k plus). A once in a lifetime chance to see our team up close!

Another highlight was our own polar bear dip. Margaret was determined we swim on Christmas Day. The pool was unheated. The desert temps drop to the 40's overnight. It WAS COLD.

Basketball under a blue Arizona sky. In short sleeve shirts in December.

We also got to see some friends from Vermont, went for a hike, and appreciated the views!

 It was a nice holiday, full of events and adventures, family and new and old friends. 

Weird, Wild, and Wonderful: West Texas and New Mexico

As we headed west from Austin, Texas, the climate got drier and the tumbleweeds bigger  And then we stayed at a house made of newspapers (think mass scale paper mache), La Loma del Chivo (though no goats or hills were involved).

The house was strange with a kitchen outside and the bathroom in a nearby building. However, the varied library contained some delights and the stars at night were big and bright.... deep.... in the heart of Texas. We could observe them from this amazing viewing deck. 

Incredible to be in dark sky country. No way to capture it properly on a camera phone but it was absolutely magical.

Big Bend National Park in west Texas is not easy to get to but it is incredible. We drove through three different planets from Star Wars, according to some of our local experts.  Pictures can never do this place justice but we are going to try anyway.

If you ever travel this way be sure to stop in the ghost town of Terlingua, Texas, stay at the Holiday Hotel and eat at the Starlight diner.  Bonus points if your musical family can serenade you from the patio. Might be one of our best stays and views.

In the realm of weird road side stops, this Prada Store outside Marfa, Texas, may win. While it appears to be a classic-looking Prada store, Prada Marfa is actually a "pop architectural land art project." It makes no sense and is located along a highway with few cars and very little other than sand, brush, and tumble weeds. Jo was very confused.

Next, we descended 800 feet under the earth for these otherworldly scenes from Carlsbad Caverns.  We missed the bats but also the crowds - at some points the only sound was the quiet dripping of water.

Of course we had to check out Roswell and the oddly comprehensive and detailed International UFO Museum. 

Do we believe? They do...

Next weird road stop - the biggest pistachio in the WORLD.

While our friends and neighbors back east enjoyed a record snow storm, we went sledding on the slopes of White Sands National Park.

Our next stop: Arizona. We were ready to get off the road and settle down for the holidays and to ring in the new year.

South and SouthWest

Atlanta

After spending time with Liz’s mom in North Carolina, we went on to Atlanta. Johannes was giving a talk at Georgia State University about his newest book, so Mom and the kids decided to explore Atlanta. 

We walked to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park from our hotel. Once there, we meandered across the park, admiring the poems written by children that adorned the area. 

In the museum, we explored the exhibits before heading to a small theater that played a short film surrounding MLK. The images portrayed in the movie were very provocative and will stick with me for a long time.  

We signed up for a tour of MLK's childhood home as our final activity before heading back to our hotel. The man who led the tour gave a unique lens to MLK's childhood years. It was amazing and inspiring to see the place where MLK grew up! 

We were all really glad that we had decided to go to the museum and go on the tour! It was an incredible, interesting, moving experience and it remained in our minds for many days to come. 

New Orleans, here we come!

Biloxi, MS

We finally made it far enough south that we hit summer.

New Orleans, LA

We headed onto New Orleans in the striking approach over Lake Pontchartrain (listening to "New Orleans is Sinking" by the Tragically hip). We settled into a beautiful house by City Park right along the bayou. We loved sitting outside in the warm soft air and walking to Cafe Du Mond for morning beignets and bird watching below trees covered with Spanish moss. 

We rode the trolley downtown for a tour of the iconic French Quarter and met up with Liz’s cousin Ben for our wander. After checking out the French Market (alligator heads and original art), we sampled a number of street music shows. The highlight for Trev was the serendipitous bass lesson!

We ate mufallettas, popcorn shrimp, iconic pizza, crawfish stuffed beignets, and fabulous gelato. We are definitely country mice so we loved the quiet of our mid city location next to the park. But it was a fabulous 36 hours in NOLA!

Houston, TX

First stop in Houston was visiting our friends who were lovely hosts, showing us the finest of Texas BBQ and warm southern hospitality. Thanks to Jen, Kirby, Will, and Lincoln!

The Houston space center was amazing!We went on a trolley ride and met MECO (Main Engine Cutoff Operation), the alligator. We also learned about ARTEMIS, a mission to the dark side of the moon. It was a wonderful trip and definitely worth it!

Austin, TX

After our wonderful stay in Houston (thanks, Jen and Kirby!), we continued on to Austin. We rented bikes for part of the day and biked along the river. It was a great way to see Austin and we really enjoyed it. 

After that, we headed back to our hotel and relaxed for a little bit before heading on to our next great adventure: a cat cafe called Purr-fecto Cat Lounge! Liz took the kids for a half hour to hang out with all the cats. We were so glad that Johannes had discovered such a place and it was an awesome first cat cafe experience. 

Another great highlight was dinner that night. While Johannes met up with a colleague, Liz and the kids walked to a great vegetarian restaurant, much to the delight of the two vegetarians in the family. It was delicious food and we even got dessert afterward from an Amy's Ice Cream near our rental. 

Next up: National Parks! 

In the meantime, we wish you a lovely holidays season from Surprise Arizona!.