Motown to Jazz

 December in Detroit 

Ha Ha - I wrote the title of this blog on January 11th probably when  I was full of New Year's resolution and determined to keep up with my online diary - I hang my head in shame! Here we are coming to the end of March - I have excuses all valid but I cant travel and spend time writing at the same time.

Our trip to the US was a grat success and we enjoyed every minute. Our plans changed when Nick took one look at the traffic in Los Angeles and abruptly decided driving was not an option for him so we arrived in Detroit on 23 December knowing only that we had a hotel booked in New Orleans in January and as Christmas was looming we focused our energy else where. We truly enjoyed our family time in Detroit and also the excurtions we had which were a bit limilted because of snow on the ground affecting mobility but downtown Motown was wonderful - full of festive people all wrapped up and rosy cheeked families skating on a man made rink under the Chrsitmas tree with a warm lounge serving hot chocolate and other warming drinks for spectators. We toured the old train station which is newly rennovated and listenened to jazz and played 'UNO' the grandchildres favourite game when Mr Nick is around as they love to witmess his losing tantrums! We also went to a lakeside brewery - clad in wood and looking like something from the series Virgin River and the customary Costco shopping visit and the Skechers outlet - simple tastes - and our already full suitcases were even fuller as we set of the New Orleans.

January in New Orleans

It's difficult to describe New Orleans - a Euopean city in the centre of America on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river with a diverse population and jazz playing morning, noon and night sort of sums it up. A lot of craziness and I suspect a place where people go to be someone else - a carefree, creative person they busy inside them. In South Africa we used to have an arts festival every year in Grahamstown where you would bump into people you knew but didn't - lawyers in velevet cloaks, teachers in crazy knitted hats and neighbours in colourful garb - never seen on thier washing lines. We stayed in the historic French Quarter in an amazing hotel The Monte Leone  https://www.hotelmonteleone.com/ in Royal Street, which had a revolving Carousel Bar which opened at 10am and was full by 10.05 until closing time in the early hours! We sat on it one day and chatted to visitors who got louder and louder as the cocktails went down. Gals on bacherlorette weekends, friends on a reunion, a convention of health care workers, an anniversary couple reliving thier honeymood and telling us it was even crazier twenty years ago but in a classier way. There was live jazz in the hotel every lunch and evening and it was a constant hive of activity. We toured the city on a horse and cart, an open top bus, a trolleycar and by foot. We heard stories of famous celebreties that own property there - Nicholas Cage and Sandra Bullock - to name two. We learned of the history and the tragedy of hurricaines and floods and we admired the old French/American style architecture of Creole Cottages, American Townhouses, Raised Centre Hall Cottages and the early Spanish influence of internal courtyards, fountains and wrought iron balconies which made a fascinating backdrop to all day Jazz. 

Jazz suposedly started in Bourbon Street in the 1930s and the city has nurtured this genre ever since - you walk down Bourbon and there is jazz belting from every dooway together with dubious smoke odours and a rowdy appreciation for life. Like nowhere else sums it up! We were warned not to go there in the evening as fights can break out, so we chose an afternoon set at Fritzels tiny jazz venue which is free if you order a drink for every set you stay for - we did two and witnessed the resident band joined by friends who played improvised sets - it was amazing and I think as authentic as it gets. The nightly jazz in the hotel was pretty good too from traditional to modern and always the band had an additional member - a bucket that was passed around for tips which was how Preservation Hall started all those years ago - bands playing for tips.

On our last day we went on a river boat and enjoyed a relaxing cruise up the Mississippi and were reminded of a time when days were slower, the cocktails sipped slowly and laziness was approved of but there was a jazz band aboard and some energetic passengers danced the Charleston! Walking back to the hotel in the middle of the road we stopped in our tracks by a piano on wheels being played expertly, a singer with a megaphone, a banjo, saxaphone, trumpet and mobile drum kit - an impromptu jazz session (the group is called Dirty Rotten Vipers and member change regularly) a small crowd gathered - foot tapping, swaying, shouting appreciation - what an experience!

New Orleans was a once in a lifetime adventure - we left as Mardi Gras season was starting and already the streets were getting ready for the colourful parade and decked in green, purple, black and yellow and colourful costumes as rehearsals staryed. The party of the year was about to start but we slipped away and headed for the dessert - next stop Arizona!

Headspace in the Desert

 We flew from the craziness of New Orleans - YOLO as the locals call it to Pheonix, Arizona with great service from American Airlines including a check in facility at the drop off zone so our suitcases were in the airport before we were! We had arranged Broome Transport to take us on to Sedona, a favourite place of my Detroit family - Broome were prompt, efficient and in no time at all we were on the road into Sedona. Not many folk outside of America have heard of it but it is a most magical place.

 Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavpal counties in the northern Verde Valley. It has a population of 9,684 and it lies within the Coconino National Forest. We arrived in the dark and checked into our appartment in a vacation club - main thing was it had a washing machine because when you are travelling for months you need laudry stops!  Sedona's main attraction is its array of pink sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in pink when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. So we awoke to a room bathed in pink as the sun rose and opened the door to see we were surrounded by rose pink mountains! These rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails. Sedona is also home to several vortex sites and a place that attract creative, spiritual people along with people who see UFOs. It really is a magical place and one of outstanding beauty - a perfect place to spend my birthday. We had ten days to explore and thought we had perhaps booked too long but not so, we enjoyed every single day and when we werent out riding around on pink jeeps we realxed in our resort and swam - yes the temperature were in the high teens and the pool was heated, 

We explored those pink hills with a guide called Snake - who wore one around his neck - well the skeleton of a rattler's head that is. He took us out on a Jolie Trolley and pointed out local businesses to enjoy and those to avoid and was very knowledgable about .....snakes and other wildlife. Thanks to him we found a great American Diner to enjoy a burger - one of the best we had in the US! We explored off road in pink jeeps going up to a chapel built into the rocks designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's grandson with panaroamic views which was worthy of the adjective 'awesome' and a perfect place for worship. It's still a working chuch but I am so glad we got taken up there in a jeep - even the walk from the carpark was almost vertical. We did one of the most challenging jeep rides right up into the red rocks a scenic rim tour where I hung on for dear life coming down the devils staircase - we were the eldest in our group of six and have the bruises to prove it! Oh but the scenery was so worth it! We explored by train too and took a day trip on the Verde Valley railway where we sat in comfort and watched the world go by - snacks and drinks provided and the company of some great folk - four ladies on a school reunion aged in their 70s and celebrating over 50 years of friendship - when I mentioned my upcoming birthday in two days - gifts appeared out of thier bags - chocolates and keepsakes that they insisted I took and then a bottle of champagne appeared and when the rest of the guest in our coach saw this a whole choir singing Happy Birthday surrounded us! It was a magical birthday memory...... A great day our!

Sedona is also well known as a food destination and we soon discovered Wild Flower bakery for breakfast and bought a delicious artisan loaf that looked like one of those moutains! We tried all the restaurants over the ten days we were there and were not once disappointed. However Mariposa - where where we had lunch on my birthday was a standout latino inspired grill that had the most magnificent views - it was a perfect place to celebrate another trip around the sun and following lunch we went out on another jeep to a sacred vortex site where we used divining rods which whizzed back and forth and my hair actually stood on end, For days I was electified and got shocked when I touched anything metal. We visited a replica Mexican village, Tlaquepaque a replica of a village of the same name in MExico. It was full of galleries, boutique shops and restaurants where spicey margueritas were enjoyed with authentic quesadillas. We found a great supermaket called Whole Foods full of amazing produce and also home cooked ready meals and a huge assortment of treats.

So our ten days flew by and we were packing again for our return trip to Pheonix - again we thought five nights in Phoenix was far too long but it turned out to be such an interesting place and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our hotel was huge - and we racked up hundreds of steps just getting to breakfast and in the grounds - a JW Marriot property the staff were the epitome of great American service. Highlights here were the Botanical Gardens...... full of gigantic cacti and a great restuarant that served the best margherita of the trip! We went to a Japanese reataurant reccommended by my son - the best dinner we had of the trip with amazing food choices and we rode there in a driverless taxi just Nick, myself and the invisible man at the wheel - freaky but very efficient! Our last trip in Pheonix was to Canyon Lake where we had a great bob around the Lake after visiting Superstition Mountains where the community are still looking for the Dutchmans Gold fifty years after he took his gold find to the grave. We also called at Apache film studios where many of the Westerns of our youth were filmed including High Noon - we stopped up the road for lunch on a ranch and there was a real/mock gunfight in the street to remind us that we were in the Wild West!

A great stay and time to head for San Diego where the ocean awaited us.