Weblog

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I haven't really done anything very exciting until recently. Most of my free time at home has been spent painting, though I am now nearly done; all that's left is the vaulted ceiling. The rest of my time has been spent in Tucson working.

Two weekends ago, however, I took a few days off and went with my mom and dad down to Albuquerque to see the annual balloon fiesta. My mom had wanted to see the balloons for many years, so I used some of my many HHonors points to get a room for Mother's Day. We stopped in Santa Fe along the way, mostly so my mom could shop, but my dad and I had fun wandering around as well. Perhaps the strangest thing was that while in Santa Fe, I ran into some of the people that I traveled around Australia and New Zealand with. It was an incredible coincidence to see them there. After Santa Fe, we drove the remaining 60 miles to Albuquerque, eventually arriving at the local Hampton Inn. We only had a few hours to sleep, though, as the hotel receptionest recommended leaving for the balloon park at 3:45 in the morning. It was great advice; there was no traffic, and we had front row parking. My grandfather, however, who also went to the fiesta, had to wait in traffic for over an hour before getting to the parking lot.

Dawn Patrol started bright and early. A handful of balloons launched before sunrise, so the others could get a better idea of the wind's direction, and also to provide a good show for those who were there early. A bit later, shortly after sunrise, Mass Ascension began. Hundreds upon hundreds of balloons launched from the enormous field, with the process spanning many hours. Finally the field was empty, though, and the crowd began to disperse. Later that night, a balloon glow and fireworks were scheduled, but the glow was canceled due to weather. The following morning's events, a duplicate of the previous morning's, were also canceled. Fortunately, though, that evening's glow and fireworks were able to go forward, and we were fortunate enough to see it. The glow was a sight to behold. Of course, I was able to capture some photos of the various events; check the photos page to see them.

Last year, I took a week-long road trip from Loveland down to Phoenix, stopping to see the sites along the way. As I only had a week, though, I was unable to see a number of things I wanted to. Two weekends ago, I got the chance to see at least some of them. Instead of going home, I flew to Las Vegas with two others on my project, and one of them flew his girlfriend in from Chicago. My plane was delayed in Phoenix due to weather, but eventually we all made it to Las Vegas, and then we set out on the two hour drive to Cedar City, Utah.

Cedar City is a very small town, but it has a Hampton Inn, which means we were able to use some of our many Hilton points. We used Cedar City as a base for the weekend; the first day we went to Bryce Canyon and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The second day, we drove to Page to see Upper Antelope Canyon, and then we made our way to Monument Valley, only to drive all the way back to Cedar City after just under an hour there. The next morning, we made our way down to Lake Mead to see the Hoover Dam, and then we finally went to the airport. It's a good thing we had unlimited miles on the rental, as we put around 1300 miles on it.

After that weekend, my list of places to see in the Southwest is significantly shorter. I still want to see Canyonlands at some point, and I would love to see Death Valley and the Bonneville salt flats among other places.

I am currently undertaking the age-old task of painting the inside of my house. It is proving to be very time consuming, however, as not only do I have to paint the walls, but I also have to paint the trim and doors. When I moved in, the trim and doors were white, and the walls were a slightly different cream color. I am leaving the trim and doors nearly the same color, but I am trying to differentiate the walls and give the house a bit more character. I have thus far completed my office upstairs, minus the doors and closet. That alone took me three and a half days. At my current rate of progress, it is going to take me forever to finish the house, all of which is in need of paint. I am also faced with the problem of very high vaulted ceilings in the living room, dining room and kitchen. I am considering hiring out that portion of the project. I am looking forward to completing the project, but I have decided painting is definitely not something I enjoy.