Where were you four years ago today?

Four years ago, I was in the midst of my honeymoon. This year, my espoused and I are thousands (?) of miles apart, me in Colorado, he in Hawaii. He asked me the other day to provide him with our honeymoon itinerary so he could remember each day where we were 4 years ago.

Here it is:

Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - The Galisteo Inn, Room Cottonwood, Galisteo, New Mexico
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 - The Galisteo Inn, Room Cottonwood, Galisteo, New Mexico
Thursday, October 10, 2002 - The Galisteo Inn, Room Cottonwood, Galisteo, New Mexico
Friday, October 11, 2002 - The Frontier Inn, Room 140,Roswell, New Mexico
Saturday, October 12, 2002 - camping in the Lincoln National Forest near Alamogordo, NM
Sunday, October 13, 2002 - The Copper Queen Hotel, Room 318, Bisbee, Arizona
Monday, October 14, 2002 - The Copper Queen Hotel, Room 318, Bisbee, Arizona
Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - Plaza Las Glorias, Room 337, Puerto Penasco, Mexico
Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - Jeffrey & Chris' house, Encino, California
Thursday, October 17, 2002 - Jeffrey & Chris' house, Encino, California
Friday, October 18, 2002 - camping at Parson's Landing, Catalina Island, California
Saturday, October 19, 2002 - camping at Paradise Cove, Catalina Island, California
Sunday, October 20, 2002 - camping at Paradise Cove, Catalina Island, California
Monday, October 21, 2002 - Zane Grey Pueblo, Room Call of the Canyon, Avalon, Catalina Island, California
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - Jeffrey & Chris' house, Encino, California
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - Jeffrey & Chris' house, Carpinteria, California
Thursday, October 24, 2002 - camping in the Warm Springs Wilderness near Battleship Mountain between Oatman and Kingman, Arizona on the Kingman side of the Sitgreaves Pass.
Friday, October 25, 2002 - Wigwam Hotel, Wigwam 12, Holbrook, Arizona
Saturday, October 26, 2002 - Kimbe's house, Taos, New Mexico

Journal entries:

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 A.M. -- Although I wrote in Steve's journal yesterday as we were driving, I didn't have the energy to write in mine last night. We're here in Gallisteo (oops, that only one L in Galisteo) and I'm drinking champagne at 11:15 in the morning.

Except for the fact that I was exhausted (having been up at 4:10 am), yesterday was very cool. We left Aspen at approximately 3:45 pm on a clear sunny day, drove over Independence Pass (from Independence Place), stopped at the top to look at the fresh ski tracks. On the way up, I looked down upon a raven flying below me but still so far up off the ground. We had a rainbow somewhere near Poncha Springs and we're making a list of places to return to, like the yurts at Mineral Hot Springs, the UFO Watch Tower down the road and the alligator farm in Hooper. We stopped in Taos at Melissa's father's restaurant, The Trading Post Cafe (actually in Rancho de Taos) and had the most wonderful dinner. As Steve said, the filet was so tender, if it was anymore tender, it would have been soup. Melissa's father generously comped our dinner which was unexpected. We thought maybe he'd buy us drinks or dessert.

We got to Galisteo for the first time at 11:56 pm and drove out at 11:57 pm, turned around and got to the Galisteo Inn at approximately midnight. We'll explore today after our breakfast of champagne.

Thursday, October 10, 2002 A.M. -- After lollygagging around for most of the day, we went on a bike ride through Galisteo yesterday, following the map of the artists' studio tour that's taking place here October 19th and 20th. We were on old beater bikes and mine was a cross between a town bike and a mountain bike, mountain bike tires with town bike handle bars and seat, that was too small for me, mainly because we couldn't raise the seat. Steve said I looked like a little girl. It definitely made the hills challenging.

We drove up to Santa Fe, saw the Loretto Chapel with its Miraculous Staircase and walked the neighborhood around the Plaza. We had dinner at a brick oven pizza place called Jesse's in the Hotel Plaza Real on Washington. Our entire meal last night, including tip, cost what our tip cost at Melissa's father's restaurant. The potato pizza was delicious. Then we drove back to Galisteo and Steve made a fire which we fell asleep watching. He tried to make one Tuesday night but had not been supplied with the correct tools, i.e. kindling. Last night we had a fire log which burned beautifully. In Santa Fe, Steve was a bit discomfited by my propensity to walk into shops. He feels like this is a side of me that he's never seen which, of course, he hasn't so he didn't know it existed.

We were supposed to switch out of our room, the Cottonwood, to the Spruce for our last night here but they had a cancellation so we get to stay put. I had been thinking that if I had made the plans, I would have taken the room where we didn't have to move but, lo and behold, Steve's strategy paid off.

Today, we're supposed to hang out around Galisteo, have lunch here (Jerry's grandmother's Sicilian pasta recipe) and have dinner here. We're playing with the idea of going to Albuquerque tomorrow to see Aunt Pat, Mary, David and their daughter (whose name escapes me right now) and then on to Vaughn and Hagerman. The Balloon Fiesta is ongoing right now and that is tempting also. I have a hankering to stop by Walmart to pick up a few things but I know that is nowhere near Steve's agenda.

Three days into the marriage he says, "What are you going to do, divorce me?" And four days into the marriage, he loses his lovely new bride at breakfast.

Wedding day recollections: sleeping late at the Jerome, shipping for a wedding card for Steve at Carl's, walking to Paradise Bakery with my veil in my hand (after going back to my room twice because I forgot, among other things, my veil), sitting with Leah, Rachel, Lily, Nancy & Lisa getting our hair done, being a half-hour late for my make-up, taking pictures in Room 204, watching the courtyard fill up with people, waiting for the call to come down, almost running into Steve by Jacob's Corner, (rewind - stopping in to see Bruce, Melissa, Annie, Deb, Rich & Donna in the Wienerstube), watching Steve walk up the aisle, almost walking up the wrong walkway myself. I have no idea where Lily went when she finished her flower girl gig. Walking up the aisle with Dad, Dad kissing me and shaking hands with Steve, not knowing we were supposed to sit down, the gorgeous warm bright sunny day, Tom's improvising wonderfully, Steve and Rachel's vows (blowing in her face, the tibia, the wreath), looking into the sun as I tried to watch Steve read his vows, repeating after Frank, kissing my husband for the first time, walking down the aisle, finding Rachel on her knees in her dress testing the water in the hot tub, pictures, pictures and more pictures, being announced, Steve not letting me feed him the cake, our first dance (everyone said we looked like pros), the Electric Slide (two things I can't control, the weather and the Electric Slide), the patrol picture, the night winding down, Steve seeing his gift, more champagne . . .

It's a blur with moments of clarity, trying to grab onto it all before it totally fades.

Ron helping Mary Sue.

Monday morning, Steve going to breakfast in his tux (I should have worn my wedding dress too) because he forgot a change of clothes.

Friday, October 11, 2002 A.M. -- So yesterday, we did hang around Galisteo all day. We went for a walk before lunch, after taking pictures in front of our private hacienda. I took Steve down below the bridge and over to the property across from the firehouse with the ruins where Steve got lots of pictures.

Break for breakfast . . .

We came back to the Inn, had a wonderful lunch (a sweet Sicilian tomato sauce) and then walked around Galisteo some more. We laid around in the hammock while we waited for sunset so Steve could get some more pictures in the best light. Then an awesome dinner, sea scallops, tuna (me), tenderloin (Steve), mousse and creme brulee.

So now we're off to Santa Fe to stock up and then to Vaughn and Hagerman (unless we change our minds . . . )

Friday, October 11, 2002 P.M. -- We may have made our first mistake of the honeymoon. We're in Roswell, New Mexico in what we've taken to calling the junkyard dog room. We're at the Frontier Inn, the cheapest place in the AAA book and there's a school bus full of kids (high schoolers) here on a field trip (or maybe a track team). Our room is on the end, next to another property, with a dog tied in it. As the kids run around the parking lot, yelling, the dog barks incessantly. But, since it's only 9:45 pm, there's still hope.

We're in Roswell because, well, either because we got to Vaughn too early or too late. We left Galisteo and went up to Santa Fe to stock up. After some minor bumps, we set off down the Turquoise Trail, stopping first in Los Cerrillos and then in Madrid for lunch. In between, we stumbled upon Tiny Town, otherwise known as the Bone Zone where Steve almost adopted a cat. After Madrid, we motored to Vaughn, taking the turn-off for San Pedro which led up an excellent little mountain road. In Vaughn, we found the train station took some pictures of the property across the street, which may or may not have once been owned by my grandfather. Of course, this presumes that the train station is in the same place that it was some 60 years ago.

Since it was only 6 pm when we left Vaughn, we felt it was too early to stop. However, Roswell was the next closest place and it was at least an hour away, at which point it would be dark. Since we didn't want to locate a camping place in the dark, it was either camping in Vaughn or a motel in Roswell. So here we are. We shall see how it turns out . . .

Roswell, UFO museums and Hagerman tomorrow.

Saturday, October 12, 2002 P.M. -- "Resistance is futile." The new wedding motto Steve learned from a bumper sticker in Roswell.

Let me just say that it's cold! We're camping for the first time on our honeymoon in a lovely spot outside of Cloudcroft off Hwy 82 near Alamogordo. All the campgrounds are closed so we turned off on a dirt road 5661 (?) and found a large flat clearing up off the road to the left. We built (actually Steve built) an awesome campfire. We had one almost four foot long log that burned spectacularly. It actually had liquid fire dripping from it.

We went to the Crash Site Cafe for breakfast and had the worst coffee in the tackiest place I've e ever been. After that, we went to two horrid UFO stores and one semi-decent museum in downtown Roswell. We are so done with Roswell.

And I'm about done with that pen.

After Roswell, we made our way to Hagerman and met a nice former police officer. Hagerman is still very economically depressed and it wasn't hard to imagine it in the Depression. I left with a strange feeling about the fact that my grandparents lived and worked there.

After (okay now I'm on my third pen) Hagerman, we decided to head west. After one back track due to a dead end, we made our way to Hwy 82, New Mexico Hwy 82 that is. We took a wonderful scenic road, 130 and are now here! (sleepy grass turn off, off of Hwy 130)

Sunday, October 13, 2002 P.M. -- I've given up on my colorful pens. It's hard to have your thoughts flow when your pen keeps dying. I think those pens are defective. I should return them to Walmart but I'll probably never get to it.

We're in the Copper Queen Hotel, a 100+ year old Victorian grand lady in Bisbee, Arizona. Our plan is to stay here for two nights then motor on to L.A.

We got up this morning in the Lincoln National Forest, made coffee and broke camp. We drove through Alamogordo and stopped at the White Sands National Monument. After doing the driving loop under threatening dark skies, which contrasted beautifully with the incredibly white dunes, we took I-10 west, past Lordsburg to Roads Fork where we picked up Hwy 80 South. We were sorely tempted to stop and camp in the Chiricahua National Monument but decided to press on to Bisbee. We'd like to come back and visit the Chiricahua along with the Fort Bowie site. Although Chiricahua would have been great, it'll be nice to be in two nights in one place.

Rachel called last night while we were camping. The reception there was better than in Galisteo or here in Bisbee. It was great to talk to her and she thought it was cool that we had gone to Hagerman.

The motel in Roswell ended up being fine. I think the track team had a curfew. There was some sort of bit event going on Saturday at the New Mexico Military Institute so maybe they had something to do with that.

We're traveling with Dylan Hazzard's GeoBear and I've sent him two postcards and haven't sent Rachel one. I'll remedy that tomorrow.

so far my least favorite place has been Roswell and my most favorite has been, I can't decide. I guess it's a toss-up between the town (village?) of Galisteo and the camp site in the Lincoln National Forest.

Tomorrow, we'll see what Bisbee holds . . .

Oh yeah, today we saw our first inclement weather with some scattered showers and high winds.

Fun at dinner feeding the feral cat.

Monday, October 14, 2002 P.M. -- Today, Steve got up and went for a walk while I took a shower. We had coffee at the Bisbee Coffee Co and breakfast here at the hotel. We then walked around town, went up by the church and met Betty and Grace painting in the church basement. We also stopped and helped a woman clear ivy for the stair climb next Saturday at the Quality Hill walk.

After that, Steve and I split up for a while, Steve going further up the hill and me coming down to shop a little. I found a coffee pot and a carafe in an antique store and poked around a used bookstore.

Since Bisbee is built into the side of a pretty major hill, it has stairs where most towns have sidewalks. There are stairs as walkways to front doors, stairs as footpaths, stairs as sidewalks. They short cut between streets. A lot of them date to the Depression or earlier. It makes for a visually exciting town, though not very handicapped accessible (predates the ADA!).

We had lunch at Ken's Pizza Place, which we at next door at St. Elmo's Bar. We walked in the blazing sun out to the Lavender Pit, then came back, got the car and drove to Naco where we walked across the border into Mexico. My first time in Mexico. It's much easier to enter Mexico than it is to enter the US (altho neither was difficult at all). Leaving the US, we just walked through a turnstile and didn't speak to anyone. It felt like no one even noticed us. Returning to the US, we had to go into the Customs building where a Customs officer asked us if we were US citizens. We said yes, he said are you sure, we said yes and proceeded on our way. It is amazing what a visible presence the Border Patrol has n Douglas and in Naco. There was a sign in Naco that said, "If this was Scottsdale, the National Guard would be here." It's a situation the rest of the country is really out of touch with.

When we got back to Bisbee, we were sitting in front of the Copper Queen when all of the sudden, Nicholas Devore appeared. He was with his girlfriend, Margaritte, another artist named David and a guy who scammed $10 from us yesterday. Nicholas was quite intoxicated and when he threw a bag of Margaritte's clothes in our direction (after Steve told me who he was), I pointed out that he had already made Steve's acquaintance in Aspen. After I blew his mind by knowing Margaritte's name and after we chatted for a while, I tired of his drunken antics, harassing the people checking into the hotel, and excused myself. It was a very interesting encounter and I'm glad to have initiated it, but I can only tolerate him in very small doses. This may be true of everyone.

Dinner at the Bisbee Grille, good but expensive ($53 for 2 apps and 2 Caeser salads). One last stroll through town, now bed.