I am so exhausted… I’ve been in Dallas 3 days now, and have averaged about 5 hours of sleep each night. Cousin Doug seems determined to make a lush out of me, LOL. But I’m having lots of fun, so I suppose that’s all that matters.

I arrived in hot-ass Dallas around midnight on Thursday night, and after staying up until well after 3am drinking and chopping it up with Cousin Doug, I crashed. Layed around the house and did absolutely nothing on Friday except eat and watch Soaps, which was LOVELY. Then in the evening, Doug took me out to a AA Baseball game. Pretty fun, lots of drank, and the Frisco Rough Riders won. Then we went to a bar where I proceeded to drink more and stay up way too late. I honestly do not know how I’m functioning. I am not in college anymore ya’ll…

The Black Writers Conference started up at 9am Saturday morning, so after a few hours sleep, I got up and hauled my sleep-deprived ass over to the hotel. Long day sitting in all these workshops with a mild hangover. But it was very informative and the people were all very nice. I just love being around writers, and with Black Writers especially you find a whole other kind of kinship. By evening I’d made some friends, and we hung out at the bar (again) swapping stories and talking about our work. Lots of business cards have been exchanged and connections made. Folks from all over the country journeyed here for this conference, so it’s cool to meet peeps from Atlanta, Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas and beyond. They all think I’m crazy for driving out here from Cali, but James Reid was so amused he decided to throw me in one of his books, lol, so if I can be an inspiration to others, it is all good. 🙂

I SHOULD have called it a night after the drinking session with Max and James in the hotel bar, but Cousin Doug insisted on swooping me up once again to take me out. You know, I could really get used to this Southern Hospitality thing 🙂 We hit up a bar and then a club, and I got my drink on and dance on and really enjoyed myself. One thing I love about Cousin Doug — he doesn’t cock-block the way Bill and Eric do. If anything, he’ll go that extra mile to facilitate the hook-up, LOL. He was like – “Hey, you’re grown. I’d rather have you hook up with one of my friends, cause I know they’re good guys. Besides, if they do you wrong, they know I’ll shoot’em.” LOL! (Love you Cousin!!!) (B & E – take notes 😉

We hit up Cafe Brazil after the club closed, and I didn’t get home til 3:30am and had to wake up early AGAIN for a 9am conference start. I have no idea how I’m functioning. The kicker is, I had a 10am appointment to pitch my books to an Editor from Parker Publishing, so now I’m having to pitch with a hangover… Lovely. But I did it, and not only did I do it, but I nailed it. The editor wants to see the full manuscript and even went so far as to say that she thought I wrote a good, consummate love story, and that if the writing is strong (which it is), she’s confident it will get picked up. Wooo Hoooo! I love these little moments of validation. I know this dream will become a reality soon, I just KNOW it.

I also had a potentially life-changing convesation with the agent that facilitated one of the workshops. Shopping for agents is different than shopping for publishers – you have to be a lot more picky cause these are the people who are going to be handling your money. But I really liked this woman’s vibe and sense of humor – she’s the kind of person I could see myself being friends with under different circumstances and she’s very smart and in the know… Anyway, I approached her after the workshop got out, introduced myself, and then asked if she was taking on new clients. She actually said no, but asked me what my book was about anyway. Well, I shot her my 1 minute pitch, and she got so excited that she changed her mind and was like “Send it to me.” “The whole thing?” I asked. “Yes, send it to me.”

So now I have to get my ass to a Kinko’s, print up two copies of my manuscript, and get this stuff in the mail. I’m most excited about the possibilities with the agent though, because if she loves my book, she’ll work hard for me. And she knows everyone so things should really start poppin’. She’s also stationed on the West Coast (most of the publishing industry is out of New York), and has a strong desire to put West Coast authors on the map. Could be a match made in heavan…

Okay, gotta check out and get back downstairs to wrap up the last part of this conference. I’m just kickin’ it now though – the hard part is over. And then I head down to Austin tonight to spend a few days with Nicola and Frank… You know, I could really get used to this being on vacation thang…

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHERS BILL AND ERIC!!! They turn 28 (?!?!) on the 17th. This is the first birthday I’ve missed in 28 years, so I’m a lil sad about that, but you guys know I love you!!! XOXO and kiss my nephew for me too!

Well, I was too depressed the other night to blog about our time in Utah and Colorado, so forgive the delay. After a long day making our way through Arizona, we got into Utah really late Monday night. I was exhausted and our hotel was so far away, so we decided to cancel that reservation and stop at the first roadside motel we came to. I was a little sketch about being brown in Utah, but everything ended up being fine. The motel owner was very nice (quite the character actually) and I finally got to get out of the car and rest my weary limbs…

The next morning we set off for Bryce Canyon. GORGEOUS. John was all about the Grand Canyon, but for me, it was all about Bryce…
I’m telling you, the beauty in this country is no joke…

The drive through Utah was gorgeous… Once again, I fully underestimated what Utah had to offer. The topography was constantly changing from tree-speckled stone mountains to red rock canyons to an ascension into mountains lined with aspen trees. If you’re ever in Utah, take the Hwy 12 & 24 scenic drives. You won’t be sorry.

When we arrived at Orvis Hot Springs in Ridgway, Colorado (aka the Nudist Resort) later that evening, I was once again road weary after a long day of driving. But the Hot Springs did not disappoint. This spot was the highlight of my trip so far. A lovely room with a comfortable bed and access the the resort facilities which were surreal. The grounds were lush and landscaped. Six outdoor soaking pools, filled with warm water fed directly from the Hot Springs. The largest pool was 40 feet wide — imagine doing laps in a big-ass bathtub…(I wish I could have taken a picture of it, but it was full of naked people and I didn’t think they’d appreciate being posted on my blog, LOL). They provided each guest with a comfy terrycloth bathrobe so we didn’t have to actually walk around NAKED, but could still soak in the nude. It was awesome. Hands down the most romantic night of my life, lounging in the hot water, looking up at a star-filled sky and a full moon(!). I will definitely be back here, for a longer stay next time, and HIGHLY recommend this place for all you couples who might want to celebrate an anniversary or rekindle the romance in your life.

Sadly, we had to leave the Hot Springs the next morning, but the drive South to Albuquerque was also very scenic (if not downright scary with the sheer cliff drop-offs and no guardrail!!!). Hwy 550 through the San Juan Mountains – Gorgeous. It was exactly how I pictured Colorado would be…
We got into Albuquerque around 5pm… I don’t have much to say about Albuquerque – in my mind it will always be the town where I had to leave my lover, so my memories are not the fondest. I’m currently in Dallas, Texas, having braved twelve hours of 105 degree heat to get here… Cousin Doug is taking very good care of me, and tomorrow the conference starts. Unbelievable — I can’t believe I drove all the way to Texas… I’ve been in 5 states in the past 6 days – is that insane or what??? And I’m just getting started…

I just got back from dropping John off at the bus station… We part ways in Albuquerque so he can take a bus back to Phoenix for his next series of poetry shows, and I go on to Dallas for my conference and the rest of my tour… Hard does not even begin to describe the past few hours, but I have to just dry my tears and be thankful for the time we had, the memories we made… Unforgettable times with my real good man…

To long drives and long embraces
The mystic wonder of sights unseen
Sedona sunsets from the top of a mountain
The full moon rising to light the world below us
Skies streaked with lightening, the rumble of thunder
Majestic mountains awash in seas of green
Miles and miles of nothing but Mother Nature’s glory
And the taste of a desert thunderstorm from the side of a lonely road
We left the city behind to find our way home…
Floating in a warm pool of water beneath a starry sky
In a Rocky Mountain paradise
These moments shared between you and I
Burned forever in my mind
A world flipped on its axis
Never to be looked at the same again
I showed you things you’d never seen before
You showed me things I couldn’t see before
I’m talking about a canyon filled with 11 miles of TRUTH
And seeing God in every moment
To living the dream and loving to extremes
The journey is just beginning…

I love you… Until we meet again…

I gotta say, I had no IDEA how much beauty there was in the country. In particular, I fully underestimated the state of Arizona. I always imagined the southwest as one big hot desert. I didn’t know they had red rocks, mountains, forests, and rivers. When we took Hwy 89 out of Sedona, we climbed into mountains that were just as beautiful as the Sierras in Cali. A sea of trees stretched out all around us, gorgeous, gorgeous country. Of course my heart broke a little as we drove through the part very recently burned by the wildfires, but it appears the firefighters did a very good job of keeping it contained.

The Grand Canyon took my freaking breath away. Literally. Photographs do not even come close to capturing the beauty of this majestic world wonder. Once again, tears formed in my eyes as I stared out across the canyon…
I also never realized how afraid of heights I was until I stood near the edge looking over. John and I try to avoid touristy spots whenever possible, so of course our chill spot was the one without a guard rail, lol.

John is really big on Native Culture, so we stopped at a Navajo Reservation on the way out to check out the handmade native crafts and put some money into Native hands… John is an incredibly smart, well-read individual, so he is constantly telling me stories and giving me background on all the places we go… Driving by all the “reservations,” he educated me with many stories/legends of the plight of the native peoples, particularly the Apache tribe. When we stopped to shop, he got into a deep conversation with this Apache woman, asking her to explain various things about the artifacts. He is so cute, always wanting to learn more. 🙂
I truly believe it was divine intervention that we met the way we did, just days before my departure, and that he is with me on this journey. My enjoyment of this trip has increased exponentially with him by my side. Right now we’re at an internet cafe in Utah, making our way to Colorado… Next stop is the nudist resort, lol. Yes, you read that right. Stay tuned… 😉

I love this freakin’ town. John and I had the best time exploring Sedona on Day 2. I woke up bright and early on Saturday and went for a solo hike to the Airport Mesa vortex… The trail wrapped around the backside of this huge mountain, with views of the city below. After hiking for a bit, I found myself a nice little rock to sit on and journaled for a bit. Wrote an awesome poem about the awe-inspiring scenery. Back to the hotel for a swim, and then we were off for a day of adventuring.

After lunch, we headed to hike the Cathedral Rock vortex. This trail was amazing, as we hiked alongside the Oak Creek for several miles to reach our destination. It was just lovely. After more meditating and journalling at the vortex site, we hiked back on the opposite side of the creek, stopping halfway to take a swim in the cool waters. Awesome. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze, and the river felt refreshing but not too cold. I could not have asked for a more perfect day.

The fact that it got even more perfect just blows my mind. After margaritas and appetizers at Casa Rincon, we headed up to hike to the Boynton Canyon vortex (let me just say, Mr. Brooklyn, who’s never been outside of NYC before this trip and is hardly a nature boy, hung with me through all this hiking like a Champ!) Just before sunset we climbed this mountain in Boynton Canyon, and when we reached the top, I swear we felt like we were on top of the world… And we had the whole canyon to ourselves! (Minus the HUGE ASS tarantula that crawled across John’s shoe and freaked Mr. 6’5 out big time). I laughed for days at how high he jumped; he didn’t think it was funny at all, lol. But the view from the top was amazing.

Then the lightening storm started, and it was my turn to get freaked out, lol. I guess it’s monsoon season in Arizona, so this is a common occurrence. The sky was literally on fire with flashes of light–gorgeous– but considering we were the only two people out in the middle of nowhere, and the tallest things in our area, I was stressing. He kept assuring me that the lightening was miles away, but those flashes were way too close for comfort. Thankfully we managed to make it back down the mountain before either of us got struck, but it was certainly an adventure.

We loved Boynton Canyon so much that we got up at the buttcrack of dawn the next morning to hike it again, lol. It was just as magnificent in the daylight, and we hung out there for an hour, reading, writing, and contemplating life’s mysteries. I even managed to do some yoga on the side of the mountain… I cannot even tell you all how much I love this place. It was very hard to leave, but we had a full day ahead of us Monday, so I reluctantly bid Sedona farewell as we set off for the Grand Canyon…

PS: I added a link to my vacation pics in the sidebar… We shot 134 pics the first day, another 100 on the second… But I only uploaded the best of the best for you guys 🙂

Country singer Jamie O’Neal’s sings”

There is no Arizona
No painted desert, no Sedona

Before I set foot in this breathtakingly beautiful place, I had no idea what she meant by “painted desert”. One just doesn’t imagine colors in the desert. But I can assure you, they do indeed exist…

We left LA around noon on Saturday, and drove into the desert, into the heat, en route to Arizona. My car’s temperature gauge hit 114 degrees at its highest point, though the average was more around 111. Insane heat. But the scenery was beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some ocean, but there is also something so incredibly serene about the vast stretch of nothingness you find in the desert…

Honestly, I was so blown away by the beauty of the scenery, the heat didn’t bother me so much (I don’t use my air conditioning so as not to stress out my car’s engine).

We reached Phoenix somewhere around 5pm, then headed north towards Sedona.

Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty we encountered when we hit Hwy 179 just miles from Sedona. I just did not know such beauty existed in the desert. Huge red rock formations rose up all around us, bordered by blue sky above and green below… AMAZING colors. It was just before sunset and I wanted to cry it was so gorgeous…

I have been to many beautiful places in my life, but this one sails right into my top 5 most favorite places in the world. The town of Sedona is just so freakin’ charming I can’t stand it. I’ve already decided that in addition to making an annual sojourn to this lovely place, after I get my house in Santa Cruz, and house in Hawaii, a home in Sedona is next on the list.

Okay, can’t neglect John for much longer, lol, so check Flickr for more photos… And Sedona Day 2 coming tomorrow….

Made it to Los Angeles yesterday safe and sound… Day One of my cross-country adventure started out pretty rough. First of all, I woke up with some kind of freak 24-hour stomach flu. I’m not sure if it was the stress of the computer crash, or the stress of leaving, or a wicked hangover from the night before, or legitimate case of food poisoning, but I felt TERRIBLE from the second I woke up until much later in the evening. I was afraid to eat anything all day, cause I didn’t think I could keep it down. Pretty rough. But I seem to have recovered now, thank God.

We were shooting to get out of town at 10am, but with the computer drama, that didn’t happen, lol. Jay, our amazing Humanities Computing support, to whom I will be FOREVER grateful, had my computer overnight trying to do data recovery to find my deleted files. At 8am, he still hadn’t had any luck, and wanted a few more hours to try one last solution. When I picked up my computer at 11am, he had been able to recover some files, but because they were all in a jumble mess sans filenames, we had no idea if the last draft of WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH was in there. So John and I take it back to the office and after about thirty minutes of searching, I was able to locate the deleted file!!!! Halle-freakin-llujiah!!! Jay is my HERO! I immediately re-saved it, emailed it to myself and printed that bad boy up. SO Relieved. So with that disaster resolved, it was time to get back on task and get my ass on the road… Finally.

John and I didn’t end up leaving until about 2pm, but we made good time and managed to avoid any major traffic snafus. This is John’s first time in Cali (he’s a New Yorker), so I decided to take the scenic route down to LA via Highway 101. Lovely drive, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed having a travelling companion. I’m so used to travelling by myself, but John is great company, and since I was feeling so terrible with the whole stomach flu thing, having someone around to help me carry stuff, load the car, keep me on task, keep me awake, etc. was like a godsend. Not to mention he’s so incredibly sweet to me, and genuinely caring. I’m so glad he came with me, we’re having an awesome time.

Sometime around 7pm, we pulled over at my favorite hidden beach just south of Santa Barbara so I could swim in the ocean. Due to the cleansing properties of salt water (apparently salt neutralizes negative ions), I try to swim in the ocean as much as possible, but it’s just too cold in Santa Cruz so this was a real treat. The water was a tolerable temperature and we frolicked around in the waves like two kids – so much fun. Then we just laid out and rested for a minute, catching the beginning of a beautiful sunset before getting back on the road. Excellent pitstop.

By the time we finally got to Chris and Andre’s, Faby was there, dinner was on the table, and the hospitality was off the hinges. I couldn’t indulge in the drinking (and there was plenty of that going on, lol), but I did manage to eat dinner, and keep it down, the first signs that I was starting to recover… Thank God. It was so nice to see my girls again, reminisce about the good ole college days, and meet Faby’s new man. The six of us just sat around drinking and talking late into the night. A really relaxing way to end a really long day. I slept like a baby last night and am fully energized and hyped to continue on to our next destination…

As soon as John wakes up and we eat some breakfast, we’re heading out to Sedona, AZ via Phoenix. I’m SO excited because not only do we have two days there, but they opened the forest so I can do my vortex hiking after all!!! Wooo Hoooooo! Sedona is going to be great. So far, so excellent 🙂

Well the adventure has definitely begun…. The past few days have been jammed packed with activities. I swear, I have had more people visit me in Santa Cruz in the past week than I did in all of 2005, lol. Had Jordi, my bubbly doll, staying with me for a whole week while she attended the Mandolin Symposium at UCSC. Then Bill and Jes (with au pair Susana and Lola in tow) brought Devin to Santa Cruz last Monday, for a LOVELY visit. (We taught Devin how to pop his collar – I’d post pics but my computer is currently out of commision – more on that later). Then Edwardo stopped by en route to a series of book signings in the Bay. Nice visit, even though he’s allergic to cats and couldn’t breathe the whole time he was here, lol. Then Monday night I went to the Catalyst to check out Mr. Free’s show, and everything changed…

So I’ve been crushing on Free for MONTHS, lol. He’s a beautiful soul, a conscious brother, aspiring rapper, and actually lives in Santa Cruz! Anyways, I hadn’t had a chance to catch a show yet, but he called Monday to invite me to his gig at the Catalyst, and how could I turn down a personal invitation?

I had so much fun. He rocked the house. Flow and energy – amazing. He’s part of the movement that’s trying to bring hip hop back to a pure place, and I hope he makes it big cause he’s like a breath of fresh air in the bootyshake bling world of contemporary hip hop. Now ya’ll know how I feel about musicians, so you can imagine how cranked up the crush got, lol. But then I noticed a tall, thoughtful-looking guy on the periphery of the crowd… Who was apparently noticing me as well.

Half an hour later after Free’s set, I had the pleasure of making the handsome man’s acquaintance. John “Survivor” Blake, a spoken-word poet currently in the midst of a West Coast poetry tour. Voice as smooth as butter, delivering soul-searing verses to the masses, moving people to tears with his words. A true Survivor. He walked me to my car and with one kiss, managed to rock my world in a way it hasn’t been rocked in a WHILE. And he hasn’t stopped since.

John was not at all happy to hear that I was leaving Santa Cruz in just a few short days. Apparently that is just not enough time to get to know and enjoy me to his satisfaction, lol. So his crazy ass has decided he is COMING WITH ME on the first leg of my tour. Straight up cancelled a show in Sacramento and rearranged God knows what else and we are leaving, together, for LA tomorrow. Cause life is just crazy like that and I am committed to having Adventures. No day but today baby…

Needless to say, having my life hijacked by the handsome man (and he is a man – 36 years young and I freakin’ LOVE it!) has me all behind on my pre-trip packing. Then today, as I was trying to back up my computer, I managed to erase all the contents of my Documents folder, including the 15,000 words I’ve written for WHEN LOVE in the past 2 months. Aarrrgh – DAMN RETROGRADE!!!! So things are hectic, to say the least. But I’m trying to get out of here by 10am tomorrow, so I can make my dinner date with Lil Chris and Faby in LA. I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow! Next time you hear from me, I’ll be officially “on tour”. Wow, months of anticipation and it’s finally here… Surreal. Please think good thoughts for me as I try to get this packing done and get this computer fixed…

Anyone who has travelled with me can tell you that I have a mild case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) when it comes to packing and pre-trip preparations. I will check the stove or whether or not I have the tickets dozens of times before I take off. This is why I have to start packing for major journeys weeks in advance of travel. It can literally take me hours to get out of the house.

Anyway, my OCD totally saved me this trip! After Megan flies out to meet me in Chicago (yay!!!), we’re going to be camping our way home across the Northern part of the country. This is the commune-with-nature/cost-saving leg of the trip, lol. Well yesterday was a picture perfect sun shiny day in Santa Cruz, and I spent most of it packing up all the camping gear. Then I decided to “practice pitch” the tent, to make sure everything was okay with it. I haven’t camped in many years, and thought it would be smart to check out the equipment before setting off. Good thing I did, cause after I unpacked the tent I discovered that I did not have the poles!!! Crucial piece of equipment, don’t ya think? So I immediately shifted into panic mode and tore the shed apart, but no poles. Freaked out for a good 20 minutes, called mom to see if maybe she had them. Then I thought to look one last completely obscure place (inside a suitcase), and found them. WHEW! Can you imagine if I had set off without the poles, and then Meg and I get to our first campsite and discover we have no tent to sleep in?!?!? That would have been a disaster!

Anyway, I successfully pitched the tent, which I also can’t believe cause this thing is HUGE and definitely requires two people. I had to get reeaaal creative to get this thing off the ground, lol. But there it is, one of my homes away from home this summer…

I actually inflated the air mattress, busted out the sleeping bag and slept in the tent last night, lol. Yes, that’s right, practice camping in my backyard, and yes I know I’m a nerd, lol. But I’m proud to report it was super comfortable and I wasn’t cold at all. My new sleeping bag totally rocks! 🙂

4 Days to Go and then I’m off!!! Wooo Hooooo!!!!

I leave for my cross-country tour in one week. That is just wild. I’ve been looking forward to this for so long, I can’t believe my departure is imminent. I’m especially excited about the first non-California stop on my tour – Sedona, Arizona.

I had my first two days all planned out – Santa Cruz to Vegas to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Sedona. Unfortunately there are several wildfires burning in Arizona right now, one that just a week ago was threatening the town of Sedona. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon has been closed due to fire, which requires significant re-routing. The Coconino National Forest has also been closed until fire danger decreases. This is a huge bummer because not only is beautiful country being burned up and homes and businesses being threatened, but also because the main reason I’m going to Sedona is to experience the vortexes, all of which are located within the Coconino National Forest.

The incredibly helpful ranger at the Coconino Visitor Information Center told me that they won’t likely open the forest until weather conditions improve and they get at least 2 inches of rain… So while just a few months ago I was whining for the rain to stop, now I’m sitting here praying for rain in the desert. Oh the irony. But the Southwest is indeed experiencing a rush of thunderstorms (it was lightening that started the fires), so anything is possible. In the meantime, I’m doing my best to remain flexible and remember that this whole journey is an adventure, and it’s okay if things don’t go exactly as planned. I’m sure there will be plenty of beauty in the detours as well…

Seven days and counting… Fires or no, Arizona, here I come!