A Journey for Sun, Cacti and Friends

My Seattle mom friends planned a trip in the fall for us all to meet up in Scottsdale AZ. Since I had moved 3.5 years ago, Mary Ann has also moved to Huntsville AL and Lauren has moved to Orange County CA this summer. Kelsey, Courtney and Kim still live in Seattle.  This has always sounded good and exciting to me in theory but I didn't think it would actually happen! But Kelsey helped nail down a date and Lauren booked the house. All I had to do was book my flight. I was so excited because I found a direct flight there and back, Cleveland to Phoenix. I only had to take off one day from work. I would fly in on Thurs night and leave Sunday. I would enjoy sun, seeing the dessert for first time (cacti!) and friends I've missed for 3 nights! I was definitely hesitant and nervous about flying alone as I realized I had not done that ever (that I could recall). I had always been with my parents, a friend, or the kids. But I was ready to make this happen with an army praying against my fears. 

And then... Winter Storm Landon was predicted to hit Cleveland on the day I was scheduled to leave, a Thursday. In anticipation of the storm, my flight was even canceled. I could've chosen to not go at this point but mentally I was wanting to take on the adventure because it was stepping out of my comfort zone and facing my fear of "what if I have a panic attack while I am with strangers on plane or in an airport alone." 

So I decided to leave a day early to beat the snow storm and have a chance of getting out of Cleveland. I changed my flight to Phoenix to leave with Mary Ann from Huntsville. Then I bought a ticket from Cleveland to Huntsville for a day early on Wednesday. This meant I had to take 2 additional days off work to leave early enough on Wed and I had to take a connecting flight through Atlanta. But nonetheless, I made it to Huntsville to Mary Ann's house on Wed night. I smiled several times in the Atlanta and Huntsville airport in thanks for the chatty airplane seat men beside me that kept me distracted when I needed it. It wasn't planned but how nice and unexpected to get to see the Hudson's new house, town, school and where they are doing life. I enjoyed talking to the kids too and extra quality time with Mary Ann! 

The next day we had an afternoon flight through Dallas to Phoenix but it was cancelled due to the snow storms. We weren't going to be able to fly out of Huntsville until the next day which would not have given us very much time in AZ. So we called and switched our flights out of Nashville quickly and headed out the door. Mary Ann got us a rental car and we drove the 2 hours to Nashville. When we got there our fight kept getting delayed through Chicago to Phoenix so we switch to a new direct fight to Phoenix last minute in Nashville airport. At last, we made it. 

We are greeted with a warm welcome from our friends and prayed over! 

We spend the next few days taking morning walks (for those of us up at 6 am!) to get coffee and watch the sunrise, quiet time/reading by the fire pit in the backyard of house we rented (it was in the 40/50s in the morning), eating out for dinner and lunch, and lots of conversations in between! 

You can see how happy we were to soak up Vitamin C we just rested in the turf yard. 

During the midday we either hiked at Camelback Mountain or did a little shopping that lead us through a parade/festival in Old Town Scottsdale.  I was so happy to see a cactus in the wild and enjoyed taking in a new landscape, the desert. 

On our morning walks, I enjoyed seeing the houses (which were all one-story) and their cacti filled yards. The sunrise reflecting on the palm trees was also magical in its pink and orange glory. 

Morning coffee at Press or Cartel in Old Scottsdale. 

Dinners out were delicious as was being able to eat outside around heaters and fire pits. I think in the picture below I am showing them a PowerPoint picture of the cables under the ocean! Ha. 

On our last night we went to a rooftop hotel to see the beautiful bold sunsets.

Mary Ann and I's flight were earlier in the day so we left first. Kelsey sent us off with an emotional good-bye. But it wasn't that easy after... 

In the morning my direct flight from Phoenix to Cleveland was suppose to leave at 1030 am. By the time I left the house it was delayed to 1pm. At the airport it was pushed back to 3pm due to no flight attendants/crew. By 1:30 it was cancelled and they directed us all to the long American Airlines customer service line. I was getting very discouraged and slightly anxious at this point thinking I was going to be stuck in Phoenix airport for the night with my nemesis, alone. While in the AA line, I luckily found a seat available on a Southwest direct flight to Nashville that left that evening. By the time I got a hold of someone from AA on the phone or got to the counter, the only flights out of Phoenix were starting the next day at 2pm. I kept my Southwest flight to Nashville and prayed it left. My parents were back from Brazil so I asked them to pick me up as I would rather be heading East to someone I knew than staying in Phoenix hoping the next days' flights would work. I landed in Nashville at midnight and my sweet parents drove from Hopkinsville and got us a hotel because I booked a flight from Nashville to Cleveland the next morning. Sadie called me while I was still in Phoenix airport. It might have been my 9th hour there and I as eating dinner alone. She cried and said "no one should have to eat alone." It was sweet. I started my next library book and tried to enjoy the time and one last AZ sunset.