Zion National Park. For ALL of the beautiful pictures from my trip to Zion and the Grand Canyon...go to: www.cristinamary.shutterfly.com Enjoy!!!

Stunning

a delicate water fall

A ray of light

moria and me

"Peaks!"

So sad to leave!

Welcome to the Grand Canyon

the colorado river below us

Don't look down :).

It's Grand.

So Happy

I escaped Sin City...Springdale, Utah

To what I owe the luck of having been invited along this past weekend to escape Las Vegas with Moria and her mom, I do not know...but I am forever grateful and blessed by the experience!

A while back Moria mentioned to me that she was thinking of escaping Las Vegas while we had the time off there and going to Utah to hike. Would I be interested? she asked. I'm always up for an adventure, so it definitely peaked my interest. Moria said she'd been to Vegas before, and trust her, it's not somewhere you're going to want to spend that much time in. Boy, was she right.

I remember Utah from our drive cross country. I loved the sky and the skyline. Well, that was mearly a taste of what there is to discover in this beautiful state. When Moria worked for Utah Shakespeare festival, she and her co-workers would travel to Zion National Park on the weekends for 100 degree hikes through the park...particularly a place called the Narrows. The Narrows is a hike in the park that is through water. You walk in water mostly up to your ankles or calves, but sometimes all the way up to your armpits (where you have to hold your bag over your head to keep in dry). This hike is best done in the summer months when it's so hot that being in the water is refreshing and welcomed. I will come back to do that hike this summer...it must be done.

Moria, her mom, and I traveled to Springdale and settled into our Quality Inn less than a mile from the Zion entrance on Friday evening. It was about a 3 hour drive from Vegas, but beautiful the whole way. We zonked out at around 10pm which was AWESOME. We woke up 8, had some breakfast, and caught the free shuttle to Zion. We walked the Emerald Pool trails first(stepping in some lovely, pottery worthy mud along the way...yummy), then we walked a trail that took us to the edge of where the Narrows are (what a tease...must come back). The hikes were magnificent. The rock, orange. The sky, blue. The leaves were changing color for fall, and the result was breathtaking. What a contrast from the Vegas we had so eagerly left behind. We hiked for nearly 5 hours, and it went by in a flash.

That evening, after heading back to the hotel to change clothes, we headed to Cedar City, where Moria had worked at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. They have a little Globe replica (very neat), and we ate at a little "pub" (although there was no alcohol served) and then headed home.

We decided, since we had done all we wanted to do at Zion, that since the Grand Canyon was only about 2.5 hours away...why not go see that, too! So we departed early and drove through the park and south to the Grand Canyon's North Rim (supposedly the less frequently visited rim, but the more beautiful). We walked to various vistas and gazed at the majestic canyon for a couple of hours before departing for the 5 hour drive back to Vegas (the only way back was back through Zion)...we got to say goodbye to Zion, or more like "see you again soon" as the sun was just starting to think about setting...the light was perfect for our "till me meet again".

Moria's mom and I knit as we drove back to Vegas, she tried to show me how to "turn the heel" of a sock, and we all stopped and grabbed some fish tacos at the Del Taco for our one last cheap meal before heading back to the money pit of Vegas.

What a special experience to see the beauty of our own country. I've seen beauty like this in Wales, Scotland, England, but never here. The kind of beauty that puts everything in perspective and makes you feel small (you're right Moria, it is a good thing). This is the best part of tour; having the time to see these things I've always wanted to see, and being giving the resources to get there to see them. I am lucky. I am grateful.

Ash-wee and Tina in front of the Eiffel Tower (it's a little smaller than the original).

Santi has the gambling bug...uh oh!

I lost $2. But it was fun pushing the buttons that light up!

Mr. Holiday Porter, the shoe shine man in my hotel. He fixed my boots up real nice.

Peter and Rick, the Las Vegas police officers that let me sit on their motorcycle. There was a 6-year-old getting his picture taken on it, and, well, I wanted my picture on it, too!!!

Bikini Bull Riding! Finally! My favorite!

Las Vegas, Nevada

Wow. Sin City. Get me out of here, quick.

Due to the fact that a block of time that was TBA as far as whether we had shows or not did not fill up with shows...we have a whopping 6 days off from performing. And it's all in Las Vegas, baby.

We arrived last night at around 8:30pm. The drive from Stockton was 530 miles, and it took all day. We drove into Vegas at night, with the full impact of the lights flashing around us. We are staying at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino right on the strip. The room is amazingly quiet (I slept until 11:30am this morning)...they must have soundproof windows or something.

We had a brief company meeting and then hit the strip to see what there was to see. Jordan and Ashley were heading out the next day to travel home to see loved ones, so they wanted a little tase before they left. We walked to the Bellagio, and Ashley and I tried on $12,000 diamonds at a jewelry store there (that was fun :)...then we headed to the casino. Jordan lost a little money on the roulette table (so confusing!), and Santi, Jordan and I played some 5 cent slots (I just like pushing the buttons). I lost $2 and decided gambling is not for me :). We walked around some more, and then I went to the CVS to buy some food...the food here is super expensive, think Disney land for adults. I bought a loaf of bread, some pretzels, and some ritz cracker sandwiches...welcome to the week of cheap carbs!

This morning I slept in, bought a $7 bagel and coffee at Starbucks, Moria and I bought hot pots at the Walgreens across the street so that we can make some $2 thai noodle dishes in our room, went to the fitness room, and played some guitar. . After I got showered and dressed, I headed down to the lobby to ask where the shoe shine guy was that I had heard about. Mr. Holiday Porter shined my boots and fixed up the scuff mark that I had created in San Francisco. It was my first show shine, and it was wonderful! Mr. Porter came to Vegas in 1953 for, as he put it, "adventure". Did you find adventure? I asked. I found adventure, after adventure, after adventure, he replied. He told me about how Paula Abdul was sitting at the slot machine right next to his shoe shine stand last week, cause American Idol auditions were in town...and the only way he recognized her was from the fact her picture was on the front page of the paper. He's had this shoe shine stand for 8 years. He gave me advice on how to keep my boots looking good. It was a great shoe shine.

Moria and I hit the strip and walked for 2 hours, not going into any of the hotels, but just walking. It's easy to walk away two hours. I got a lot of comments on my cowboy boots. They were definitely a hit.

This city is dirty. It's crowded. There is lust and greed everywhere. The glazed eyes of the slot machine monsters are scaring me. I'm ready to go hiking in Utah (I go this weekend with Moria and her mom). Oh, and we bought Cirque de Soleil tickets for next Tuesday :). It's so worth the money. Tomorrow there will be more adventure to come. I'm going to the 9am poker lesson (it's free) at the Paris hotel down the strip. I will find free fun.

bro bro

ken and his neighbor going to a gallery exhibition

caitlin and her friend jennifer.

Maryssa, the cigarette girl. I bought Rolors from her. so good.

Moria and me...and Guinness on tap...YUMMY

Don't be deceived...this picture is NOT of me...it's of the hot bald man behind me that Caitlin was digging all night long (and then DIDN'T talk to as we were leaving! So unfair!!!)

This is Mike...he's the best bartender in San Francisco! Thanks, Mike...

Cailtin is laughing at something (we could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you). It looks like she's yakking, doesn't it?? hehe

Anyone else find this sign humorous? We did! Okay, so it was REALLY late...

Santa Rosa, CA and Stockton, CA

SOOOOooooOOOOrrry it's been so long since I've updated this thing...but honestly, nothing much exciting happened until yesterday. We've just been traveling and performing. California is blurring together, and so are the days.

We had an interesting venue in Stockton that was much different than anything we had performed in thus far. There wasn't any wing space, it was all backstage space, so we had to reconfigure some stuff but it all worked out just fine! It's could to be put on the spot once in a while...makes you brain work for its money :). An they had GREAT food, too...yay LBC!

So now we're in Stockton, but there's not much to do here, so yesterday a bunch of us took the van into San Fran! I got to see Ken again, which was very nice...we had awesome Thai food for lunch when I got in (I was actually able to finish my entire Pad Thai because it was the first thing I was eating all day at...at 2pm!). And then we went furniture shopping for Ken's apartment, which was way fun! I think he found the couch/bed of his dreams! haha...

Ken had to go to a fancy shmancy gallery exhibit, so after he got dressed up in his cool suit and met up with his neighbor, Durk (not sure how to spell that...Ken?)...I met up with Caitlin, her friend and her friend's fiance, and Moria..and we spent the rest of the evening at an "Irish" pub in North Beach, a couple blocks from my brother's apartment...it was lovely!

After the Bart ride to the van and the van ride to the hotel, it was near 1am, and it was time to go to bed, but it was a lovely day in San Fran!

Today is another day off, and tomorrow we have two shows, and are hoping to go to Yosemite! Pictures to come...

Patrick. You are on toilet probation.

My blog dedicated to Patrick Alan Elliott

Patrick Alan Elliott is a special person. He likes to beat his feet. He likes to fling his imaginary mullet. He likes to sing "The Wanderer" by the Beach Boys, except he doesn't really know the lyrics. When he's been "hanging out at the pool" for too long, he gets very affectionate and sticks his fist out for you to hit it with your fist. He does sit-ups, push-ups, and dips in his hotel room. He likes Facebook and MySpace. He rocks some cool hats. He doesn't have a computer, and so he likes to grace Ashley and me with his presence to use ours (and we love to see his beautiful face). And when he does come to visit us:

he leaves the toilet seat up when he uses our bathroom.

Patrick, work it out.

Jordan is so excited that we're in Poway. hehe

The 3-day breat cancer walk...Go ladies!

Through the leaves

Balboa Park is pretty

San Diego Museum of Art

That's one honkin' bean bag! (That's what they would say in Iowa) :)

Feel the love...and Santi's head on my right breast.

The Palm Tree Garden made us feel like we were world class explorers.

The talented volunteer at the China house writes Patrick's name in Chinese. One of the characters meant doesn't talk a lot but is sure of himself, or something like that...hahahaha.........hahahahaha.

Ashley and I show off our names in Chinese (and Sammy's name, too!).

Go Norway! I paid a visit to my ancestor's house...and ate some Norweigan waffles, that tasted a lot like my Grandpa's pancakes!!!

The polka dancers do their thing. Hot.

I'm mad the Sweden house had the Ikea catalog out.

The window on the Ireland house...so perty!

International Gift Shop. 'Nough said.

The two minute walk to Coco's in the rain. Today was our first day of rain since we started the tour. We so sad.

We couldn't resist the $1 slice of pie at Coco's. No matter how full our tummies were.

San Diego, CA (or a suburb called Escondido)

Saturday was a full, crazy day...we departed Irvine (or Costa Mesa) at 10am and drove south for 2 hours to a city called Escondido outside of San Diego. Since we arrived at 12, our rooms were not yet prepared, so we had to dump all of our worldly possessions in Caitlin's room, and dilly dally for 3 hours. What do actors on the road do when they have dilly dally time, and a Target right across the street? Why, spend money of course! I bought some new clothes (totally necessary), and some space saving devices for my suitcase (I'm brilliant). After lunch at Panera, and a little nap, it was off to the Poway Performing Arts Center for a 7 pm show. The venue was nice, and the audience was great, and then it was home to bed.

The next day we had a day off, so I organized a little trip into San Diego...a group of us went to a place called Balboa Park, about 30 minutes away. This is the home of the world famous San Diego Zoo (a little too expensive and time consuming for us on this particular trip), and it touted as the country's largest cultural park with many museums and gardens and an international village. We took a trip over to the international village, because, as luck would have it...it was Sunday, and the houses are only open on Sundays!!! Man, we are GOOD. We ventured from house to house, visiting Scotland, Germany, Finland, Ireland, England, China, Israel, Norway, and more! We got food at many of the houses (the German house volunteers were the most eager, nearly shoving delicious Apple Strudel at us as we entered!) and got our names written in beautiful Chinese letters in the China house for a small donation. The Czech and Slovak Republics house was featured that Sunday, so there were many people in the native dress all around, and a polka dancing performance with live music. Santi and Ashley, and Patty and I got a chance to dance the last polka, which was very fun indeed. Patty sure does know how to wip a girl quickly and strategically around the dance floor! :)

We reconviened at the Trolly stop and headed back to our van. It was also the last day of a 3-day walk for breast cancer, so there were hundreds of walkers all creatively dressed in every shade of pink...pink wigs, tights, hights, bras (on the outside of shirts). There were equally as many people cheering them all on, and it was a great event to witness.

It was raining as we drove back to Escondido (I was driving), and San Diego drivers are sure freaked out by the rain! I guess it's a pretty rare event, and on a Sunday evening we were hit with some major traffic delays. We got home safely, however, and found we were STARVIN...so we went to the Coco's Bakery somethin or other (a lot like IHOP) right next to our hotel. I was determined to stuff myself, and I surely did...a veggie burger, fries, and slice of pumpkin pie later...I was stuffed!!!!!! The pie was only $1 with the meal though, so who could resist?

That night a group of us went to Pacific Beach with a tech guy from the Poway theater andhis friend...just hung out at a bar there which was interesting...not sure how I feel about Californians yet, but I'll make a final judgement once we leave in a week. Nothing bad, just definitely different.

I was the DD, so I drove all the way how one more time, and CRASHED. Today we are in Cerritos, back North...Gotta run to the grocery store...we have kitchens!

knitting knitting knitting

This car pulled out of the parking garage next to the theater as we were leaving...I swear! Isn't that crrrrrrazy? I threw the camera to Ashley in the front seat and she snapped this pic with seconds to spare. Good shot, Ash!

"This ring is solid!" I pronounce to the table.

I squeel with delight after every successful magical performance. Stryker, the magician, thinks I'm a good audience, and that I need to stop drinking Sangria.

How did 2 balls appear in my hand, when there was only one before!?!? What is going on here???