XMAS Day

 Christmas Day is always extra special since it's my mom's birthday as well (who more appropriate to share Baby Jesus' birthday than my very religious mamma?)

So, celebrating my mom's 69th along with the holiday was just my immediate family at my parents' home in Bonita. A yummy mimosa brunch, followed by a late-afternoon tamale lunch, games, stories, and the unveiling of the annual family and grandkids gift: a top-of-the-line foosball table. We felt this was a great gift as we grew up with 2 foosball tables as Xmas gifts when we were kids. Of course they were extremely cheap versions but I'll tell you - - we played those things with heads, legs, handles falling off until the whole table buckled down and died. As one can imagine, even though the grandkids all play soccer and said, "wow" - - the Uncles and Aunts took it over right from the start playing 2 on 2. I don't know how my sister Ceci talked my mom into letting us keep the big thing at her house but it is definitely great to have!

  I was extra pleased this year because my boyfriend Patrick was in town as opposed to last year. He had joined me the night before for XMAS eve and then came in the afternoon to my mom's house with his daughter, Ciara and Fred-the-Basset. Any time being able to spend with my entire family as well as P and co. is a rare and true blessing to enjoy.

 
I love my big Martinez family so much. And I love my little Merritt duo so much too. I'm a blessed gal :)



Click below on slideshow for more pics!

XMAS 2007

XMAS Eve

 

It was a lovely XMAS eve hosted by cousins Leslie and Conan with Baby Blake at their swanky pad in La Mesa. Even with a questionable rendition of "O Holy Night" and the Chargers Game on in the background, we managed to evoke the true meanings of Xmas - love, family, thankfulness and Faith.

 

The food was worth the bloat - especially the Mexican tamales, baked potatoes, and walnut/pear/bluecheese salad. And Leslie even dug into her Mexican roots and turned out a scrumptious, light Tres Leches cake...ummmm!

 

As always, we missed those who couldn't attend (there was a smaller Araiza contingent gathering in Northern California )- you all were missed! As Tiny Tim said, "God Bless us, every one!"

More pics to come!
Click below on Slideshow!

XMAS Eve 2007

Sunset Sights

Brrr...it was SO cold - but worth it!!!

Live! at the Grand Canyon

more Youtube video from my Pentax Camera - here we are in the cold and wind at the Grand Canyon. Patrick, exhibiting behaviour akin to his Basset Hound wanders off the trails without a care as to getting lost. Anything in search of the perfect subject matter to photograph!

The Accidental Tourist

The digital Pentax camera that P bought me, forcing me to retire 1.5 years ago the held-together-by-tape old 35mm camera I had been using for over 10 years - has a small recording memory that I try to use when I think about it. I have a few videos posted on youtube (under 'elsamart' of course) and I also post them on here. They may be short, they may be shakey, but they are, at least, another memory (I love memories) captured for me to look back on fondly.

Here is an accidental video from Machu Pichu, Peru (October 2006, see previous blogs). You can see on P's face the good patience he has towards such a dorky, technology-challenged girl friend... he he he

Final day - Sedona

Alright, alright. I know: I am very far behind in blogging these last 2 months. The ironic thing is that I have tons of subject matter in my head to write about, but it's been busy lately. That or my pretty, but blind eyes were just not letting me be on a computer for more than a few minutes without the utmost pain.

 

So, back to the 3rd and final day of Patrick and my roadtrip to Arizona. We woke up to a beautiful, crisp but not freezing like the previous morning in Sedona. After a hearty meal we set out to do some hiking and picture-taking.

 

I have to admit I like a bit more warmth like my previous trip, but the rocks were still red, and P was happy with the clouds in the sky which gives his pictures some extra texture.

 

Admittedly, we didn't spend enough time in Sedona to enjoy it as much as I did the first time I had been there. P was duly unimpressed with the supposed 'vortexes' and twisted trees (resulting from their energy) - - saying it was all new-age believers and Democrats that believe that stuff hehehe. Before we hit the road home we stopped at a very cool store with knick knacks and home decor imported from Mexico, Asia and also made right there from the Native Indians. We lost ourselves in that place for an hour - I bought 3 small, brightly colored overpriced wooden Mexican crosses - I love stuff like that. Ethnic, bright - cool... An enjoyable time with a quicker drive home. So glad we did our little getaway.

 

The Grand Canyon

Once we finally left the Salton Sea and got lost by taking a few wrong turns which led us to having a GREAT, inexpensive buffet lunch at some obscure El Centro casino - - Patrick and I continued our road trip to Arizona via 'the road less taken'. Patrick really believed that mapping out our own mapquest road map (more or less by crow's flight) was going to be much quicker than the map it originally gave us using main freeways. I pointed out that it said it was about 2 hours longer driving according to the map, but Patrick responded that also according to the map it said that it was only about 40 miles longer which shouldn't be that bad.

Well....it turns out it DID take a lot longer and a harder trip on my little 1.5 cylinder Scion XA hatchback (which we opted to take due to my excellent gas mileage). We had to cut through many miles of twisty, slow mountain turns which really slowed us down - but the bright side of it all was that we got to see the little towns off the beaten track. P and I love seeing that kind of stuff! :)

 

For example, taking the long route we went through the main street of a lovely, small town with a big square and town hall lined with trees. The buildings on the main drag were old-fashioned brick with cool pubs and older hotels with tons of character. We both agreed we would have loved to get out and walk around had we more time.

Another treat was driving (not too far from Sedona) the town of Jerome. An old mining town, it is amazingly built into the side of a mountain - you'd have to see it to really appreciate it. Not only that but it was ridicuously quaint, with a touristy, nice small main street and, of course, a spectacular view. It kind of felt like the suburbs of San Francisco.

 

Enough chit chat of the drive - we finally pulled in that evening to our hotel - the Best Western - I recommend it for location and amenities. Starving we drove into the main street of Sedona - I've been there previously (see blog) and know my way around decently. At 9pm, it was freezing - with a biting wind - in the 40s and hardly a person in sight. A far cry from my previous trip in the warm spring time.

Still, we had a good Oaxacan Mexican meal and walked the shops that were still open before hitting the hay for our early rise.

 

Which brings me to our day at the Grand Canyon! Less than 2 hours away, it was a must-see - my 3rd time there and P's first. Boy, was it cold, though! Whew! The sun was out most of the time, but it was very windy and cold. Everyone walking around had on mittens, hats and scarves.

P, of course, with his new lenses and camera was ready to take pictures. We went to several different viewpoint locations where we could then walk off by ourselves so to get away from the crowds.

But my favorite stop was at a lookout tower that wound itself up 4 levels and had great painted murals inside and offered fabulous views outside. I highly recommend going there. There is also a great giftshop right there as well as access to trails.

Unlike my last suicide trip where my ex Italian and I spontaneously (and stupidly) decided to hike in 1 day in the heat the entire trail down to the Colorado River and back - - Patrick and I only descended a couple hundred feet down the South Kaibib Trail. Stopping to sit on a rock and take in the scenery at one point I turned to him and commented, "Now after doing the Inkan Trail in Peru, I see a big trail and I just want to keep going no matter what." He agreed that one day with more time we'd love to hike and camp at the bottom of the canyon - it will be a strenuous one, but I am pretty determined about doing it.

In a race with the sun going down we rushed to a viewpoint that was recommended to us. Patrick really was hoping to get great shots of the sunset but unfortunately it was a little bit of a let-down in that the sky didn't change the colors this time of year that it does in the summer. Still, we had a fabulous full moon - but, boy - did the temperature drop in a snap!! Suddenly it was low 30s with a stinging wind that kept us chilled all the way back to Sedona - even with the heater on full-blast. It was a colder wind than normal we were told - but it didn't stop our adventure to one of the Seven Wonders of the World!

 

Click on slideshow below!

Grand Canyon

Road Trip - continued (Salton Sea)

 

After visiting "Salvation Mountain", we headed a half hour away to the Salton Sea and Bombay Beach. We had been there previously last spring (see blog here), but P really wanted to get some more shots again, so we took that detour.

Unlike last time, it wasn't hot nor was present the putrid rotting stench. We went back to the exact same spot at Bombay Beach and then moved on to Mecca Beach where there was a cool, abandoned motel and empty pool.

 

It still never ceases to amaze me that even that early in the morning we were not alone - other photographers were there as well. And the whole place still gives off the cool, but erie feel of a ghost town or David Lynch movie-set. I've heard rumours that they are going to try to spend a lot of money to clean it all up and give it a 2nd life as a holiday, weekend and water resort akin to its hey-day in the 50s and 60s. They have a lot of work to do... :)

 

click on slideshow below for more pics!

Salton Sea, CA

One Man's Work is His Salvation

 

True to my gypsy blood, I had been remarking to Patrick the past few weeks that E was 'jonesin'" for a little getaway out in nature. I truly develop wanderlust when I haven't traveled or seen something new for a couple months. Thus, we planned a little road trip over Thanksgiving weekend.

After a lovely Turkey Day at my sister, Sara's house - where Patrick painfully ate too much and told me that I should load up on the fat as well since it was going to be cold where we were gong - P and I woke up at 4am the next morning and set off east towards Arizona.

We had been there before, but P wanted to take pictures again with his new camera and lens at the Salton Sea before heading farther east. What P didn't tell me was that we were making a nearby stop first to the town of Niland to see "Salvation Mountain". I had never heard of it before and curiously kept asking questions as we drove out past the nothingness of the tiny, dusty town looking for it - finally stopping to ask for directions. P mischievously assured me I would like it and that I would know it the minute I saw it.

Well, not minutes later did I gasp at suddenly glimpsing an extremely colorful, if large HILL, (not mountain) off the dirt road against a barren backdrop of desert, dusty nothingness.

True to Patrick's words, I knew we had arrived the moment I saw it. "Extraordinary!" I breathed happily as we parked our car while an older gent in denim shirt and jeans greeted us.

 

I had no idea what to expect and was so pleasantly surprised that the man, named Leonard Knight, welcomed us so graciously and told us he'd love to give us a tour. And so he did. We found out that 24 years ago he came out to the desert from Virginia to build a hot air balloon. It rotted in the sun and instead he found himself mixing the natural adobe clay of the hillside with straw that that could be painted upon when dry. 100,000 gallons of mostly donated paint and 24 years later stands "Salvation Mountain" or "God Mountain".

Complete with colorful 'flowers', an igloo, a yellow brick road, and 'waterfalls' this gentle man used art and nature - everything besides the paint and straw he finds growing or abandoned in the desert - to spread the message of God's Love..

Prayers, biblical verses, and religious phrases were painted everywhere. With a quiet but joyous pride he showed us everything and told us (in a gentle humble manner) how they came out to film from National Geographic and how he has been honored by a couple art museums.

 

A lean, but hardy man, Mr. Knight hobbled about slowly showing us everything, pointing out his favorite things and explaining how his 'museum' was made.

The day before had been Thanksgiving and he said he had had roughly 150 visitors - compared to the normal daily 80 or so (!). Schools, churches, and photographers, alike, evidently come to this spot to see his creative and happy work. It was just an amazing project for one man to have done alone and left us feeling so good and warm inside.

Even though it wouldn't have bothered me one bit, he wasn't preachy at all, nor did he even ask if we believed in God. He was just a simple but lovely older man who loved that people came to see his work and you can find him there every single day giving tours or slowly painting and mixing adobe with straw.

After giving him a cash donation, he graciously handed us a short 10 minute DVD he even had professionally made of the Mountain, a few postcards and even a jigsaw puzzle of the place. He might be a simple, kind man, but he was a great promoter of his art!

What a truly lovely man - living off nothing and happy in sharing God's love with all that visit him. A true inspiration :) A great start off to our long weekend...

Click on slideshow below for some more of Jesus' Love!

"Salvation Mountain"