Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. Mattie was recovering from his first limb salvaging surgery, and had a hiatus from treatment. My parents and I took Mattie out to lunch at one of his favorite restaurants. What he loved about this particular restaurant is that it had a toy electric train that ran on a track above the tables. The train had multiple cars and even made noises! Mattie absolutely loved trains! However, as you can see from the picture, it was close to Halloween time. Mattie had his Halloween light up necklaces on and he also brought decorations with us to lunch. As you can see, Mattie decorated our table in a spooky fashion.

Quote of the day: If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching or cool one pain or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. ~ Emily Dickinson

Sedona, AR was absolutely beautiful this morning. In fact, during our entire week trip, we never had a bad weather day. We ate breakfast outside this morning and could see the wonderful Red Rocks of the area. Sedona is a place that is unforgettable and in many ways I have never experienced a place quite like it. The town was pristine, no litter, no graffiti, no traffic congestion, no smog, and most of all the pace of life is significantly slower than our fast paced world in Washington, DC. Many of the store owners we met in Sedona were all transplants from a bigger city, and after visiting Sedona, fell in love with it and decided to move to it for a better quality of life. I also couldn't help but notice how aesthetically pleasing the town is, in the sense that people who planned this community paid attention to details. Park benches and trash cans were not metal in color. Instead they were painted to match the color of the red rocks. In fact houses and other structures ALL blend into the landscape, and man made structures reflect the earth tones around us. I appreciated this attention to detail, and the very clear statement this was making, which is nature is to be appreciated and NOT spoiled by the things we can create. The town had NO traffic lights, and basically nothing that could interfere with one's visual sight line of the mountains and rocks. I can say that we were all saddened to leave Sedona today, and it seems easy to understand how one could retreat there to renew one's mind, body, and spirit.

Peter and I took this picture today. These rock pets were created by children at the hotel, and they were on display in the garden. As we were taking photos, these cuties caught my attention. Mattie loved googly eyes, and I know that if he were with us, he would have been checking out these rocks, and then would have wanted to make his own creation. So this picture was taken in honor of Mattie and his appreciation for creativity!

My mom and I took a walk in town today, and we got a kick out of the pig like statutes lining the street. In Washington, DC we have painted donkeys and elephants, while in Sedona they have painted Javelinas!
A peccary or a javelina are medium-sized animals, with a strong superficial resemblance to pigs. Like pigs, they have a snout ending in a cartilaginous disc, and eyes that are small relative to their head. However, Javelinas are nocturnal, have different stomach configurations, toe formations, and tusk shape. Javelinas are common backyard inhabitants in Sedona, and down the main street of the town, they had a "Javelina on Parade" sculpture display that was whimsical!

We left Sedona at 10:45am and finally arrived in Los Angeles at 7:30pm. It was a full day of driving through very desolate roads. While driving through parts of Arizona, I was captivated by the Saguaro cactus that were popping up as far as the eye could see. I felt as if I were on a Western movie set, and since this was my first time seeing and experiencing such a sight, it made an impression on me.

The drive through Arizona illustrated to me just how diverse the terrain is, from desert and barren like land to fertile and thriving farms just miles later.

As we entered California, there were wind turbines twirling around for as far as the eye could see. It was an usual sight to see, and all I can say it is has been a week of incredible and beautiful sightings.









Throughout our car trip together, we chatted about many things, and naturally we reflected on Mattie. Mattie enjoyed all of our vacations and he loved adventure. We spoke about his trips out to California and how happy we did certain things with him and did not put them off until tomorrow. Because unfortunately in our case, tomorrow never will come. This of course saddens me that Mattie is not here with us now, and who would ever believe that bad things can happen to a seven year old. But they do, and in the process Peter and I are forever changed. On Saturday evening, Peter returns to Washington, DC and I will remain in LA for another week. I wish Peter had more time away, but I am happy he was able to join us on this adventure.