Visiting Arizona

We spent last week visiting Arizona. While there were many interesting things to see in the cities of Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria, and while we enjoyed very much the hospitality of our friends (Marc's extra-gracious family!), the highlight of our trip was visiting the Red Rocks of Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Oh and spending the day shopping at the Outlets at Anthem (of course!).

Here are some pictures:

SEDONA

These are the views that greeted us as we turned a bend in the road and entered Sedona. Truly breathtaking and worth the drive!

Here is a shot of downtown Sedona. There are a lot of nice cafes and interesting shops. Wouldn't it be amazing to live here amidst those gorgeous views? The town is home to many artists and writers. I could totally imagine living here while writing the Great American novel!

We took the Sedona Trolley Tour that brought us around the city of Sedona and up close to some of the trails that lead to the Red Rock formations. It was pretty interesting and we learned a couple of interesting facts about the Sedona countryside and the flora and fauna that inhabit it.

One more amazing shot of the gorgeous Red Rocks. These formations have such wonderful names like Snoopy, Coffee Pot and Sugarloaf which just adds to their charm.

GRAND CANYON

Here we are entering the Grand Canyon National Park. Jojo and I are posing with our matching North Face jackets =) We've had them for almost 2 years and finally found the appropriate occasion to wear them! Of course, it's pretty much just for show =) haha.

We took the Red Route tour up to Hermit's Peak. The tour allowed us to hop on and off the bus at several strategic points.

Here we are at one of the nine stops in our tour (I can't remember which one!). The weather was nice and cool that day which was lucky since we all like cold weather =)

Even with my brother's high-tech camera, these photos can do no justice to the scenery. Standing over several look-out points, I felt almost humbled by the grandness of the view and awestruck by the beauty of nature.

Blogging

One of the things I enjoy most about the Internet is getting to read about other people's lives through their blogs. I have come across many blogs that show me a glimpse of how people eat, play, work, think and just plain live. I read a lot of different blogs and have several favorites. You can find them all on the blogroll located on the right-hand side of my own blog. These include blogs written by my friends. This great way to catch up with what's up with them - (Jin, Clay, Les, Jen, Ina, to name a few). I wish more of them would start blogs! When it comes to food blogs I love (Lori Baltazar's) Dessert Comes First, (Aun Koh's) Chubby Hubby, and Table for Three written by three "anonymous" foodies. Reading these blogs and looking at the food photos never fail to make my mouth water! When it comes to fashion and all things pop culture there is (Cecile Van Straten's) Chuvaness, (Mrs. T's) The Baghag Diaries, (Candy Dizon's) Because Candy Said So, and (Rajo Laurel's) Stylebible. These blogs are my eyes and ears on what's hot and what's not since they are a virtual plethora of who's who and what's what in the world. Also, my two favorite lifestyle blogs (Daphne Osena-Paez's) Daphne's Diary and Frances Amper Sales'(Topaz Horizon). I admire these two women for the way they balance career, family, personal adventures while still being so elegantly chic! I also enjoy reading celebrity blogs like Anthony Bourdain's, Panjee Tapales' (Breathing Space) and Richard Gomez's (Goma Inc.). See how I mix international with local!?. Just as enjoyable are the blogs of "ordinary" people. I have stumbled across and gotten to know several of them through their writing - Sareet, Trina, and Dooce to name a few.

I love how blogs allow us to peep into each other's lives. I guess I have voyeuristic tendencies! (haha). Yes, I know, it can be viewed as an invasion of privacy for some but for the most part, what is shared in one's blog is always left to the discretion of the writer. It is really up to you how much or how little you want to and are comfortable with sharing. In my case, I am quite selective about what I write and very careful about what I divulge. But at the same time, I am also very open about the range of topics and opinions I blog about. I guess that is one of the reasons I maintain my blog. For starters it is a great way to let others know what's going on in my life. For those that want to know, it's my way of sharing what's up with me. But in many ways, it's also for me too. I guess for posterity's sake, it's my way of documenting momentous and not-so-momentous occasions. I write not only about big events but also every day, mundane things. Because deep down, I know major events are remembered but many of the day-to-day stuff (the small, seemingly inconsequential things) are forgotten. I guess in my own way, I want to remember the little things that tell me about who I am and what my life was like in that particular moment in time.

P.S. Pardon the philosophical tone of this post. This was written very early (at least for me) on a Monday morning - before my first cup of coffee =)