Arizona

I think this will be my last America 2010 post, but there is another really great thing we did while we were in the States that I have to talk about.  We took a trip to Arizona for several days with my parents.

 

 

 No, it was not for the National Championship (we were already back in Corfu by then....although we DID cheer the tigers on.)

We stayed in the Cavecreek/ Carefree area and had a blast.

The weather was beautiful, and our place was amazing.  We actually watched an enormous bobcat, bunnies, and lots of birdies all wander around from our back porch (all too quick for the camera.)  We had been telling Christos about coyotes.  We have them in Alabama as well, in fact, the guys have lots of scary coyote stories that have happened down at our hunting club.  In Arizona, we were all watching out to hear/ see some, and had described them to Christos "bad dogs."  He was out on the porch and said to come see, as he thought one of those coyotes was by our porch.  We came a-runnin, and, as we did, he said, "to me, they look a lot more like a cat than a dog."  About that time, a huge bobcat stepped out from behind a bush about 6 feet away from us.  It was really beautiful and wandered around our place for a while.

Other than wildlife watching, we also visited an old gold mining town.

 

 

(We considered legitimizing my "condition" on American soil, but the Goldfield Justice of the Peace was out to lunch.  Oh well.)

And we made a trip up to Sedona,

 

Stopping along the way at this Native American village built into a mountain.

We also went to a campfire/ cookout/ bullriding event, ate a lot of good food and heard some good live music, put in a little pool time, enjoyed the desert scenery, and did a little shopping for local flair.

 

And we caught up with some good, old friends....

Judie is a friend from Arizona who we has spent a couple of seasons working in Corfu.  It was awesome to catch up and see her in her home environment, and she was a fantastic tour guide.

This is Christos and Kostas.  These guys are from the same village and grew up together.

Kostas met and married a girl from Arizona who was vacationing on Corfu about 15 years ago.  They have made Arizona their home, and he and Christos had not seen each other in over a decade.  It was really really fun to watch them together, comparing notes on life on both sides of the Atlantic, getting to speak Greek for a change, and, I am sure, talking about life with an American woman :)  They have 3 beautiful children, and I really enjoyed chatting with his wife!  I know the guys were really happy to see each other and catch up.

So, thank you, Arizona, for an amazing time.  Maybe we can see you again one of these days!