Arizona

Our 10 days in AZ flew by. The weather was sunny but cool, so I didn't wear most of the shorts I had packed. My one pair of jeans was well-worn by the end of the trip. 

G and I spent a few days in Sedona visiting his aunt. She spends about a month there around the time of the International Film Festival. G and I happened to be there during the festival, and we saw one film. "Coldwater Kitchen" is a documentary about a prison program in Michigan that teaches inmates to cook. When they're finished, they have skills to work in a professional kitchen (and many of them do... one guy even started his own business!). Very interesting look at prison life and beyond. The movie had a short film prior to its start. That one was almost more fascinating than the film we went to see! 

I can't remember what it was called, but it was about DNA transfer at crime scenes. There was a man with a prior record who had been thrown in prison for a murder because his DNA was under the victims fingernails. He repeatedly denied committing it, but allowed that he had been blackout drunk, so maybe he forgot he did? His lawyer eventually found record that her client had been in the hospital continually supervised the night of the murder, so there was no way he could've done it. They found out later the same paramedic team that had gotten him to the hospital had gone to the murder scene after him to help. That's how his DNA accidentally got there. Gigantic oops. Technology has advanced so much that no longer is DNA at a crime scene an open and shut case. Thankfully it seems like the powers that be have learned from this case. The poor guy got released from prison six months later. No "sorry about making everyone think you're a murderer". No restitution. 

Another fun thing G and I did was a hot air balloon ride! I'll attach pictures later. G scheduled it for our first day in Sedona, just in case it would be cancelled. Good thing he did. It was cancelled Tuesday, rescheduled for Wednesday. Too much wind. Then it was cancelled Wednesday, rescheduled for Thursday. Again, too much wind. We really hoped the weather would cooperate Thursday! That was the last chance we had! Thankfully, it was the perfect day. Almost too calm. 

Our pilot had been flying for 40 years. He said he learned to fly balloons to impress a girl. He was a hoot! In his 40 years he's witnessed six people drop their electronic devices. We did not add to that number on our flight. There were 14 people in our basket. Two other balloons went up with us. We floated for around an hour and a half and then they tried to land us on the road. Our pilot succeeded! The owner of the balloon company got caught in a wind that blew him around the mountain/hill a ways away. Oops. We finished the excursion with a champagne toast, a tradition of balloon rides that started back with the first guys who flew. The first balloonists were from France. To keep the farmers in their fields from thinking they were aliens or invaders, the first pilots brought French champagne with them to share with the locals to prove they were also from France (and to build goodwill).

The rest of our time in AZ was spent hiking, morning dips in the hot tub, and enjoying time with G's family. Our flight back was delayed an hour, but aside from that it was uneventful. We hung out in the Cities with some college friends of ours. I got to go with my friend L for her wedding dress fitting and then helped move her fiancé into their future townhome. While I had all that fun, G went to a church conference all day. Now it's back to good-old regular life in Mankato!