Timing is everything... or not!
OK, didn't I say I was heading to Sedona to escape the winter weather? I always knew that the weather part of the escape was a long shot, and from the forecast it looks like I had it backward! As of this morning, the weekend forecast looks better for the northeast than it does for Sedona! Well, only time will tell. And hey, white snow on red rocks is very scenic! Seriously, the forecast for Sedona - pullled off of a local weather page rather than the National Weather Service site that points to Flagstaff - is for a possibility of scattered showers on Thursday, and the possibility of mixed precipitation on Friday. Mixed? The little picture shows rain and snow, but the temperature range is 42 to 48. Snow?
Well, whatever it is, it is. I'm going to enjoy myself, and I'm going to get some scenic hiking in. It's an escape after all!
My shoe rule... think light (baggage weight, that is)
I'm not breaking my shoe rule, but I'd hoped to only take the pair that are on my feet. Yes, I have a shoe rule for traveling - a maxium of two pairs of shoes go with me on my trips. The first pair is dictated by my planned activity. I'm planning to hike in Sedona, so hiking shoes are on my feet. And my hiking shoes are so comfortable that I thought I could get away with a single pair of shoes for this quick escape.
Oh, but wait - look at that weather forecast. Mixed precipitation. It still says mixed precipitation... Well, if I'm going to be tromping around in the rain (or snow?), I guess I'd better take another pair of shoes so I can have dry feet in the evening. OK, 2 pairs, that's still within the constraints of the shoe rule!
Flying away
It was a day for exploring Logan Airport - not deliberately of course. I made my way through the 93 tunnel for the first time and landed at the airport in record time only to find the parking lots full to overflowing. A bit of wandering later, and I found the gravel-covered overflow lot sitting next to the harbor... Long security line, a slightly late departure, but I'm off!
A long wander cross-country - but imagine how long it would have taken me by bike! 6 hours in the air, almost made longer by listening to my seat-mate. We were still 3 hours away from Phoenix when he turned to me and said, "just one hour to go". I looked at my watch - which I'd already set to Mountain Time - and thought that maybe I was in a dream world somewhere, because I thought we had another 3 hours. We did - he naively thought that the arrival time was given in the time zone of the departure city. An interesting way to look at travel...
