Final Blog

The road has officially come to an end. Ahh...the many memories from Phoenix and all the road trips. Krisanne was a great roommate and fun traveling partner! There was never a dull moment! Krisanne is off to Alaska...be sure to watch her blog as she will have many adventures in the frozen tundra of Alaska! If I can figure it out, I will put a link on the blog page for her Alaska blog! I am also going to join Facebook to be able to keep in touch with many people I have met along the way. So, if you are on Facebook, look me up!


I hope you enjoyed the weekly blogs...thanks for looking at them all, and following us through our adventures!

Jenny and Krisanne

Home at Last

Well, it is official...my 3-month long "spring break" is over. I got back to MN yesterday to a balmy 40 degrees and welcomed with a day of rain. It is good to be home, but I don't enjoy unpacking and doing laundry for 24 hours, but getting back into a normal routine will be nice.

The remainder of my road trip "across the country" with my parents was fun, with our final destination of Pensacola, FL. I was only in Pensacola for a short time, but we got a lot accomplished in my short 2 days there. We spent one day at the beach, which was a blast walking with Chloe into the Gulf, building sand castles, and running from the waves.









Meeting Laurelei was fun...she is a great baby, very healthy, and not to mention down right adorable (was there any doubt).






Eric and Cyndy are both doing very well, and keeping very busy between the two girls! Eric has also been flying, which he was able to do his first solo flight while we were there. It was fun watching him, and knowing he was the only one in the plane. Chloe kept saying "pane, da-da pane". It was great visiting with them, and hoping we will be able to make it down to visit soon, so Jonathan can see them.

Still on the Road...and in TEXAS!!!

We got an earlier start on Monday so we could swing through San Marcos, TX to visit with my mom’s aunt and uncle, Betty and Merwin. After a couple hours at their house, we headed to Luling, Texas where they treated us to some authentic Texas BBQ. At the City Market where we ate, Merwin went the back room, and Betty and us found a table to sit at. Pretty soon, Merwin walks out of the room with mounds of BBQ ribs, brisket, and sausage wrapped in freezer paper. In the meantime, Betty goes to get our utensils, which included only knives!! Merwin gave us our plates, which was one sheet of freezer paper, and then we began to dig into the food, with only our fingers! It was very different, but kind of fun! It was great seeing them, and they are doing well.



We continued on the road for an additional 4 hours before we FINALLY got out of the wonderful state of Texas (880 miles after starting it). We made it to Baton Rouge, LA for the night. We didn’t get a chance to see what Baton Rouge was all about, since it was dark when we came in, but we did get a chance to see a Louisiana swamp before the sun went down! Tomorrow we will reach our final destination of Pensacola, which is only about 4 hours away.

On the Road Again...Dia de Uno y Dos

Saturday morning we were all up by 6:30 am (Krisanne was also wide awake...new experience for her). We had a nice breakfast at Mike’s house before we packed up the van to head on the road. We couldn’t leave before taking a couple silly pictures, one of which included Mike doing the Jenny pose.

The van was packed and ready to go, and we left Mike’s house about 10:30 am. Before leaving the Phoenix area, I took mom and dad by my work place, then drove up South Mountain to get one last look of Phoenix before we headed East.

Stop #1 consisted of stopping and visiting some long time friends of mom and dad in Tucson. We stopped to visit with Tom and Linda Finnegan for a couple hours before driving back West to visit Saguaro National Park.


Stop #2...cactus country The Saguaros are beautiful, and thought we would have a little fun with them.


Finally leaving Tucson at 7:30pm I know...9 hours after we left Mike’s house, we were only 2 ½ hours on the road We made it as far as Deming, New Mexico on day 1.

Day 2...
After a short night of not much sleep we packed up the van, attached the bikes and were on the road by 9am. It took less than an hour before we got into the wonderful state of Texas, which is where we will spend the next day and a half. Have you ever driven across the widest part of Texas? The scenery is desert with a few mountains south in the distance. The weather was about 65 degrees and raining the entire day...sounds like it was nicer back home! Very few rest areas along the way, which didn’t matter since we drove 9.5 hours and only stopped once!!! Yeah, that’s right...once...to grab something for lunch in Fort Stockton, TX and use the bathroom, then the next stop was the stop for the night in Kerrville, TX. The drive across Texas on I-10 is about 880 miles long...at least we made it past the half way point today!!

Oh, Phoenix...

Last night in Phoenix...sad, but also exciting. Mom and dad flew down to make the cross country venture to Pensacola FL before the final destination of Minnesota. (Ok, little disclaimer here...we are driving to FL to visit my brother Eric, his wife Cyndy and their 2 daughters, one of which we haven’t met yet; then I am flying home in order to make it to my next clinical on time) When mom and dad got here, we thought it would be great to go out for pizza, and knowing a great pizza place we had it all set. Well, we got to Oregano’s and the wait to be seated was 2 hours So, we thought “why don’t we get a pizza to go, take it back to Mike’s and eat it.” Brilliant idea since it was only going to take about 40 minutes for the pizza to be baked. In the meantime we thought we might as well get a drink since we had to wait for the pizza. Drama #2...the bar ran out of glasses after making 1 of 3 drinks for us. So, when we eventually got our drinks, it was only about 10 minutes until the pizza was going to be done. While I was getting the drinks from the bar, mom happened to find a few chairs outside where everyone was waiting for their table. We were sitting there waiting for the pizza and dad had a brilliant idea.... “Could we just eat the pizza out here”. Since we had chairs, we grabbed another chair for a “table” and thought we would have ourselves a little picnic. It was the second brilliant idea at Oregano’s When I went in to get the pizza, I asked the server if it would be ok, and she gave me plates, napkins, and silverware. We were able to enjoy the nice night outside, the Italian music playing in the background, our drinks, and some very delicious pizza The waitresses and the manager have never seen that before, and they thought it was a great idea. Nothing like having their first experience in Phoenix eating pizza in a parking lot!!

St. Patrick's Day in the Sun

When was the last time you were able to wear a skirt and a t-shirt out for St Patrick's Day and not frozen? We didn't know of EVER a time when we could do just that! Well, in AZ...you would be a crazy person if you wore anything more! When we got to Padre Murphy's (an Irish bar/restaurant), it was 90 degrees and no breeze!! Then you cram 5,000 people under a 16,000 foot tent and all you have is more heat!! We met up with some people from my work for the huge celebration! I will let you look at the pictures and use your own imagination! Enjoy!!

Superstitous of Superstition Mountains

Last Saturday, I went to conquor the last item on my things to do before I leave: Superstition Mountains. Kat and Tod (from work) and Kat's friend Jessica decided to beat the heat of the day (99 deg) and head out early. We hiked for about 4 hours. We went through about 2 Liters of water each, and were still thirsty. Never before have I honestly felt like I was lost in a desert with absolutely no shade around and no water in my pack. We never we lost, but we were out further from the car than we thought. By 1pm we were back to the van and heading back. Here are a couple pictures from the hike and the Superstition Mountains.
























On our way back to Phoenix, we went through a town called Goldfield, which is honestly a Ghost Town. There were people dressed up as cowboys who were shooting at one another (of course not real), and when a lady would walk by, they would fight over her. Kind of fun!! Great way to top off a hike...watching them beat up one another and eating ice cream!!

The End is Nigh...

I rarely blog and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get a little practice before I head off to Solo Blogging in The Tundra. Jenny is leaving Saturday morning...heading back to MN, but not before heading to Florida with her fam. I decided I would spend Spring Break in Arizona and LA before I head to Anchorage, Alaska. I had a dream last night that I got to Anchorage and it turned out that I forgot to pack my suitcases, so I better start packing!

I am enjoying my last day off in my workout clothes...indoors. I was going to run--and probably could have if I wasn't attached to my computer at the hip--and it's storming outside. It's kind of pretty as it rarely has rained down here. I have resorted to being a Chunk Butt (according to my friend Eli) for the day and maybe showering and running my errands in preparation for my last day at Boswell Hospital tomorrow. Now, as I see the TORRENTIAL rain coming down "Sideways", I'm tempted to sit here on my Chunk Butt some more! :D

There is actually a purpose to this email. I have started a blogspot to maintain on my own. Actually 2 (Go Big or Go Home, right?). One is for my Alaskan-ness (Minnesotan in Alaska) and one is actually linked to my kicka*#$ new phone (KPHONE-My Mobile Blog). The Paparazzi Lives On. Love to y'all! -K

Rixens come to visit!!

I was fortunate enough to have the Rixen family spend their spring break in Arizona with me!! They rented a beautiful home north of where Krisanne and I live, which became then my residence for the week. Below are some highlights of their week.

Saturday: their flight arrived at 12:30am with no problems at all. We eventually got to the house around 2:30am to find that Jenny and Krisanne had spent the entire evening at the house preparing for them to come, and baking Erin a birthday cake. We decided to call the birthday cake "Grand Canyon cake for being in the Grand Canyon state". Here is why:









After we slept in, the day was spent relaxing around the house, enjoying the 90 degree weather with the paddle boat and fishing off the dock. That evening, we drove to South Mountain to get a good look of the Phoenix metro area. Topped off the evening with a steak dinner and a lot of laughter.













Sunday: Big day for the Cubs!! We all went to Mesa (Krisanne included) to watch the Cubs vs Brewers spring training game. It was 93 degrees and sunny...beautiful day for a baseball game!! Cubs won this game 6-2!!! We went back to the house, grilled chicken and pasta. Mmmm...I was eating too well!!



















Monday: Jenny was off to work for only a half day...yeah! This afternoon, we went and hiked Camelback Mountain. Everyone did very well, and had a great time, despite the 93 degree sun! We made it to the top and had a snack and enjoyed the Phoenix view from the East.




Monday night we decided to head out for an authentic Mexican dinner. I had been to El Encanto before, so I suggested that. The food was excellent, the margaritas were delicious, and the geese were hungry. We had a guest join us, which turned out to be quite entertaining.



















Tuesday: Grand Canyon!! The Rixen clan was up and at 'em early to make the venture to the Grand Canyon. They did a day hike on the South Kaibab trail to Cedar Ridge and back. They say they surprised themselves in hiking out that it didn't take them any longer than hiking in. I was impressed having done that trail!! They took some beautiful pictures, and seemed to have a great day visiting northern Arizona! When they got home, we ordered pizza from Barro's, which was delicious, and relaxed the rest of the evening.




















Wednesday: Jordan and Jarod went golfing in the morning; Erin and Debbie decided to go shopping; Jim was willing to be the chauffeur; Molly relaxed at home. Jordan and Jarod said the golfing was a lot of fun, despite the senior citizen golf tournament going on at the same time. Erin and Debbie came home with some really good bargains. I came home to have lunch with Molly, who was enjoying a little rest and relaxation playing Playstation 2. After work, Jordan and Erin, and Jim and Debbie were out on the paddle boat. They asked me to go with them, and knowing the boat can hold 5 people and up to 800 pounds, we thought "no problem". Well, it became more of a problem than we thought. Towards the end of the ride we had water in the boat...luckily we made it back and nobody had to swim to safety. This goose followed us the whole boat ride and decided he wanted to come to visit us at our house.



This night, Jordan and Erin grilled ribs for us with corn bread and green beans. It was a delicious meal for their last night here.


Thursday: Travel day. Jenny took off a little time in the morning to help take them to the airport. It was sad to see them all leave, and I know they didn't really want to go...they enjoyed the weather being in the 90s every day. Knowing I will see them all in a few weeks made it easier; while they were here, it made me miss Jonathan even more. I am looking forward to "moving" back to MN just in time for spring!! We had a great week, packed full of fun and adventures! AZ will be another destination for a future vacation I am sure!!