This is the feel good book of the year. I loved it and couldn’t put it down. Here is my book review Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
1970’s Baltimore and the world is changing, but fourteen year-old Mary Jane is stuck with her prim and proper parents. Mary Jane’s parents spend most of the time at “The Club”. But Mary Jane begins to see through the facade of her privileged community. Mary Jane realizes how her life, her family and her neighborhood shuts out those who are not white, rich, protestant or respectable.
When Mary Jane takes a summer babysitting job for a local doctor’s family who have just moved into the neighborhood, she has no idea how much this job and this summer will change her life.
Mary Jane’s mother agrees to the job because a doctor of course is respectable. But what Mary Jane learns and her mother doesn’t know is the house is one of disarray. Take out food, un-bathed little girl and messy and disorganized; Mary Jane’s eyes are open to how the other half lives. She learns the “doctor” is a psychiatrist who is spending his summer treating a drug addicted famous rock star and his even more famous movie star wife. Mary Jane will be introduced to the world of sex and drugs and rock and roll, and will come out the other side an entirely different person.
This funny and sweet coming of age story has many raucous moments, fun and fabulously developed characters and a plot to rival Daisy Jones and the Six. Read this book. It is hilarious while being believable and perfectly depicts the era and the changing views of society at the time.
*****Five stars for Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau.
Masterpiece. This is the word I keep coming back to as I try to put into words this novel. Anthony Doerr is brilliant, truly. Deserving of the Pulitzer but I suspect he won’t get it since he received the Pulitzer for his other remarkable novel All The Light We Cannot See. I have so much to say about this novel, so here is my Book Review Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
First I implore you not to read all the reviews about this book (except this one of course!) because you will just be confused. There are both positive and negative…in fact extreme negative reviews. I’m ashamed of some of the reviewers who claim they were too confused to continue. They didn’t understand what was going on. Seriously? You must keep reading and it all comes together in one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. Don’t give up. I will say it is the kind of book you can’t put down and come back to several weeks later. You may very well be confused if you aren’t consistent and focused. I recommend it as an Audible, the flow of it was outstanding.
So clearly, I loved this work. I recently read one of Doerr’s early novels About Grace and I hated it. But in Cloud Cuckoo Land he shines. Doerr takes us from 15th century Constantinople to the Korean War to present day Idaho to a futuristic space ship. In all of these time periods there is a common thread…the world is in peril. The characters all are coming of age in a time where it seems the world is coming to an end. Not unlike our current state of affairs, yes?
Following these characters in this epic story, Doerr’s imagination, ingenuity, research and writing prowess generates these deep and thoughtful characters and creates each timeline in a seemingly unrelated way. Ahhh but wait.
We meet Anna, a 15th century 13-year old orphan with no money, no skills and no prospects in a time where women are in danger every day of their lives.
We meet Omeir, a deformed and shunned child in the 15th century who cares deeply for animals and is just trying to survive during the time of the siege of Constantinople.
Fast forward 500 years to Zeno who learns Greek as a prisoner of war during the Korean war, survives to return home to a quiet Idaho life, hiding his true homosexual tendencies.
Idaho in the 1970’s we meet Seymour, a troubled and fearful child who befriends an owl as his only “trusty friend” only to be devastated when development ruins the owl habitat. Seymour cannot forgive.
Fast forward another 500 years and we meet Konstance, a ten year old girl who has lived her entire life on an interstellar space ship, a survival technique launched when the earth was beyond repair. But a pandemic (yes seriously) will change everything.
Doerr weaves this remarkable tale connecting these seemingly unconnected people in ways you can’t fathom. It’s a beautiful story whose soul is about how we care for each other, how we care for planet earth, and most of all how we care for the future of the human race and all the things we hold dear.
Have faith….the world does not end. Read this book. I can’t stop thinking about it. Masterpiece is the word.
*****Five plus stars for Cloud Cuckoo Land. I hope you enjoyed my book review Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
We love the American Southwest and we especially love it in the winter time, when we want to get out of the gray and gloom back in the Pacific Northwest. So we decided to take a week to see some of the amazing sites of these two areas that had eluded us. I’ve spent time in Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands and Sedona, but there is still much to see beyond those amazing places. So here is an easy itinerary with incredible scenery for a sightseeing and winter hiking road trip in Utah and Arizona.
We flew into Las Vegas, arriving after midnight, and headed to a hotel. Since we weren’t looking to do any Las Vegas activities we decided to stay off-strip and booked a comfortable but not fancy room at the Best Western McCarran Hotel.
Page Arizona Sunset
Day One
It was nearly noon by the time we got out of Las Vegas on the first day of our winter hiking road trip in Utah and Arizona. Heading north and east on I-15 we drove about an hour to our first stop, Valley of Fire State Park. I’ve been to Valley of Fire before, in fact a couple times, but I really wanted to spend more time hiking here. Afternoon temperatures in November were 75 Fahrenheit, and the dry air requires hikers to drink lots of water.
Valley of Fire
This beautiful park feels much more like a National Park than a State Park. Entrance fee for a car is $15. We stopped at the Visitor Center for bathroom break, snacks and a map and then headed off to hike.
We did a 3 mile loop trail called Fire Wave/Seven Wonders, accessible for just about any hiking skill. There is a tiny bit of incline, but nothing too steep. Great views and the landscape is incredible. If you don’t want to do the loop you can do an easy out and back to Fire Wave which is about 1.5 miles round trip. It will give you a nice introduction to the fascinating geology of the area.
Valley of Fire
Leaving Valley of Fire heading away from Las Vegas towards Utah, you exit the park through a different gate than the one you entered. This drive gives you more remarkable sites to enjoy.
Our nights destination was St George Utah, another hour on I-15. First you pop through Arizona for a hot minute then into Utah. There is a time zone change at the Arizona state line. You might want to pick up alcohol in Arizona, if you are so inclined, before entering Utah.
Arriving in St George we stayed at a simple Clarion Hotel just off the freeway on Mile Drive. Nothing fancy but good enough. Nice breakfast included.
Day Two
I love waking up in Utah, one of my favorite states. But we had never spent much time in St George. Temperatures today were a comfortable mid sixties. First we headed to the old town, very cute with shops and restaurants. We stopped at the historic winter home of Brigham Young. Here we learned that Young came to St George because it is the warmest place in Utah and he liked it for his health.
Brigham Young Winter Home
Next we visited Pioneer Park, a hill park with wonderful rock formations and city views right in the middle of town. Next we headed to Snow Canyon State Park. Here is another fascinating, huge park with so many wonderful trails. Amazing that it is not a National Park. We did three hikes in Snow Canyon;
Johnson’s Canyon – we had this hike all to ourselves and especially enjoyed the fall colors in the dry river valley below.
Johnson’s Canyon
2. Petrified Dunes – I loved this the most, like walking over waves of sand turned to hard rock from thousands of years ago.
Petrified Dunes
3. Lava Flow – This hike has lava tubes, but we did not have headlamps so we did not go in, just peeked in a bit.
Day Three
We were up early for the long drive across Utah with a planned visit to Wire Pass Slot Canyon. Driving across Utah on US 89, you head south on House Rock Valley Road (a dirt road). Follow this road 8 miles to a nice parking lot with rest rooms to begin this easy and amazing hike. BTW the road is bumpy but manageable in most cars, unless its been raining then don’t try it. Weather today was sunny and cool and dry about 55 degrees.
Wire Pass Slot Canyon
Follow the hike for about a mile along a dry wide riverbed which takes you to the slot canyon. My husband did this hike last spring with some friends and he was astonished to see that the area had recently had a flash flood. In fact the flood deposited debris nearly thirty feet over our head in the slot canyon. You definitely don’t want to be here during a flash flood.
But no flood today and this was truly one of my all-time favorite hikes. Very easy except just two or three times when you need to scramble over some boulders and go down one ladder. All worth it for the beauty of the canyon.
Wire Pass Slot Canyon
You can actually continue on all the way to the Grand Canyon on this trail (at least fifty miles), but on this day we did it as an out and back, about 6 miles round trip.
Back in the car we continued south down the dirt road towards Hwy 89A. We made a quick stop at the Condor Viewing Platform (no condors on this day) then headed off the dirt road and onto the paved two lane highway east towards Page Arizona. It’s about another hour to Page and the late afternoon light made the Vermilion Cliffs just beautiful. We stopped for a brief photo at the historic Cliff Dwellers Trading Post and another quick walk on the historic Navajo Bridge over the Colorado at Marble Canyou.
Navajo Bridge overlook
As we were entering Page we stopped to visit the famous Horseshoe Bend. Worth the $10 per car entrance fee. You will recognize this view from travel books and calendars. The iconic bend in the beautiful Colorado River is not to be missed – its been on my list for years. Visiting off-season like we did means you won’t need to battle the crowds and tour bus groups.
Horseshoe Bend
We had a nice and inexpensive dinner at Bonkers Italian Restaurant before collapsing into bed at the Baymount by Wyndham, a beautiful brand new hotel. Only $57 a night in off season.
Day Four
Prior to arriving in Page we had pre-booked a tour to Antelope Canyon with Antelope Canyon Tours. You can no longer tour the canyon on your own, due to ridiculous people who think carving their name on the canyon is their right. So now the Navajo Nation only allows guided tours and you must wear a mask the whole time. All of that was okay with me. Tour cost was $77 per person.
Antelope Canyon
It was a cold morning and the ride to the canyon was in an open air vehicle so I was really glad to have my down jacket. Our group of 7 plus our wonderful guide Sonny arrived at the canyon about 10:30am. Over the next hour Sonny guided us through the stunning canyon, explaining the geology and sacred Navajo beliefs about the canyon. Sonny was also really helpful with photos and pointing out great photo opportunities. It was better than I had imagined and I am so very glad we made the effort to come here.
Antelope Canyon
That evening we had an early dinner at the Bird House – the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.
Day Five
This was a very long day but really worth it. Again with the Antelope Canyon Tour Company we headed out for a full day, this time not in an open air vehicle, to White Pocket. You can visit White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliff without a guide, but NOT without a high clearance 4WD vehicle. So our group of five traveled more than two hours in a Suburban along a very bumpy, sandy road.
White Pockets
Arriving in White Pocket, its difficult to even describe the sight. This is not a canyon, but rather a remarkable landscape that juts out of the earth, all white and vermilion and swirling like a hurricane. It reminded me of Star Wars, of pillows that my grandma used to have on her couch, and bacon. Seriously one of the most unique sights I have ever seen. A must see to believe. We spent about two hours walking all over this incredible fluke of nature.
White Pocket
Our tour included sandwiches and bottled water all for the price of $180 per person. And then another two hour, bumpy drive back to Page.
White Pocket
We enjoyed dinner at the popular Dam Bar & Grille before collapsing into bed happily reminiscing about this amazing region.
Day Six
We checked out of our hotel in Page early and proceeded to drive the two hours to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Some of this drive included backtracking along roads we had traveled already, but the scenery in this region, particularly the Vermilion Cliffs never gets old. So stunning.
Right before we entered the National Park we saw a Grey Wolf off in the distance, about 300 yards. We stopped the car and did our best to capture a picture. Seeing a Grey Wolf in the wild is incredibly rare and we were excited and astounded.
Grey Wolf
We had been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon several times, but never to the North Rim. The North Rim entrance gate was unmanned, and the lodges and visitor center closed for the season. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot. It was 42 degrees when we arrived, but through out the day we peeled off clothes as the temperature increased.
North Rim Grand Canyon
We did a short hike out to the Bright Angel Point lookout with fantastic views across the Canyon to the South Rim. We then hiked down into the canyon on the Kaibab Trail, the only trail from this side of the Canyon that goes to the bottom. But today was not a day for us to go to the bottom. Instead we hiked about 1.5 miles, had our picnic on the trail, then turned around and hiked back up. It was steep but not too hard and oh so beautiful.
Kaibab Trail North Rim
After our hike we continued our drive another 4 hours back to Las Vegas for the night.
Winter Hiking Road Trip in Utah and Arizona
Even if you aren’t much of a hiker, none of these hikes were very difficult and all of them were so unique and beautiful. The geology of this region never ceases to amaze me, and everyone should see it at least once in their life. Doing this tour in six days gave us plenty of time to enjoy our itinerary without feeling too rushed. If you wanted to spend more time at the Grand Canyon, or visit Zion, Bryce or Moab, you would want to consider adding another week. Most the roads are good, and abundant lodging is available. I highly recommend avoiding this tour in the ridiculously busy summer months. You just won’t be able to enjoy it as much.
White Pocket
Thanks for reading about our winter hiking road trip in Utah and Arizona. We love it when you comment, pin and share our blog posts. Thank you!
I’m a little late to the party on this book, but I have wanted to read it for a long time. This book is not long, but it is impressive in its scope. Here is my book review Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik.
I thought I knew quit a lot about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Until I read this book. Wow. I learned a great deal from this impressive research in this fairly short (240 pages) and easy to read book about an American Icon.
Not only was RBG brilliant, hard working and steadfast, but she also was one of the most instrumental people in our country to push forward the rights that I, an American women, take for granted every single day of my life now. This is what I took away from this book, where I vastly under appreciated her quiet and determined work throughout her life for equal rights for both men and women.
Take the time to read this book and learn more about the life of the indelible Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I hope you enjoyed by Book Review Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik.
As of right now, I would say this book will end up in my top five for the year. Time will tell, but it was a superbly written debut novel. Here is my book review The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris.
Emancipation
The Civil War is in its final days and the Emancipation Proclamation has freed slaves, including brothers Prentiss and Landry. But when Prentiss and Landry encounter George Walker wandering in the woods and grieving the loss of his only son in the war, everything will change.
George’s wife Isabelle is distraught over the death of their son, and angry with her husband for it. George decides to turn his land into a peanut farm, to channel his own grief in work, and hires Prentiss and Landry to work the farm and live in the barn.
Admonished
Neighbors and the town’s elite are in an uproar over the Walker’s giving room and board and work to the black men and the Walker’s are chastised and admonished.
But while this is all going on a forbidden romance bubbles between two confederate soldiers, until Landry witnesses the lovers together.
The result will change the lives of not only the brothers, the lovers and the Walker’s, but nearly every person in the town of Old Ox.
Beautifully Written
The writing in this book is perfect and the story unfolds in Harris’ hands like a fine painting. I was riveted and could not put this book down. It is sweet, sad, violent, hopeful, painful and honest. A fresh new look from the viewpoint of exquisitely crafted characters, of this turning point period in our countries history.
Go read this book. I hope you enjoyed my book review The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris.
Damn the PanDamit. We are traveling. We have our vaccine and our booster and we are working to safely and conscientiously get back out there, the way we intended our retirement to go. We want to live our life and so we plan to do it – carefully. It’s time. So after two months in Hawaii, and a brief stop back in Washington State for family issues, off we go again. Here is what’s next for My Fab Fifties Life.
This Month
We have one week in Utah and Arizona doing some hiking, including a visit to Antelope Canyon, a bucket list item for me. We then fly to Mexico City for six days where we will eat our way through the city (not kidding – blog coming) followed by two and a half weeks at the beach in Puerto Escondido.
Winter
Back to Washington State for Christmas with our family and then mid January we fly to French Polynesia. We have two months in French Polynesia on the islands of Moorea and Bora Bora.
Spring
We will return to Washington State again in March, regroup and say Hi, then depart in April for New York City and Boston. May 1st we plan to begin a guided tour of the “Stans” (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,Turkmenistan) to be confirmed shortly. Followed by attending a wedding in Morocco.
Summer
If all goes well we will spend June back in Israel and Cyprus, the two countries we had to abandon on our itinerary when the world shut down in 2020. We also hope to include time in Malta before returning to Washington State for the summer, and returning to Hawaii for the Fall.
Living the Gamble
Not all of this is 100% booked yet, but we are deep into the planning and it feels good to be back into travel planning mode. Travel is never going to be as easy and carefree as it was when we began our Grand Adventure world tour in 2016. And we also recognize it’s going to be a bit of gamble, knowing how quickly things can change in the world. But we have coined a new phrase lately to add to our PanDamit phrase collection…”living the gamble”. And so we continue…
Continuing to Write
This itinerary above may not allow me to have a fresh new travel blog EVERY Friday. But I will do my best and I am grateful for all the continued support you give this blog. I also plan to step back from Tasty Tuesday, our weekly YouTube cooking show. I will do a Tasty Tuesday when I can but not every week. Tasty Tuesday was created as a way to travel internationally from my kitchen during lockdown. It has been fun and well-received during the PanDamit and I also thank you for that. Reading Wednesday will continue each week.
Living the Dream
So this is what’s next for My Fab Fifties Life. Living the dream, dreaming the life, finding the silver lining every day in this wild and wacky world. If we can encourage you to think outside the box, choose to be happy despite the world’s troubles and act positively and conscientiously in your Fabulous Life, our work here is done. Be Brave. Be Smart. Be Healthy. Be Happy. Be Fabulous.
See last week’s blog My Favorite Maui Restaurants here
One of my all-time favorite books was by William Kent Krueger This Tender Land. But I had never read any of Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series. So now I have. Here is my book review Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger.
Each of the books in Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series stands alone. You don’t need to worry if you haven’t read any of the many previous books. Lightning Strike is a fantastic novel all on its own.
We are introduced to Cork as a 12-year old boy in the summer of ’63. Cork’s father Liam is the local sheriff in the small Minnesota town of Aurora on the shores of Iron Lake. Long simmering prejudice quietly eats away at this town between the Native American Ojibwa people and the rest of the population of Aurora and the surrounding region.
When Cork stumbles upon a dead body at the sacred Native site known as Lightning Strike, Sheriff O’Connor will need to use every resource he can muster to decide if this was a suicide or a murder. Cork also sets out on his own to find answers as those living on the “rez” close ranks and those living in town point fingers, and the town’s richest man accuses everyone but himself.
This is a wonderfully laid out crime novel with a message of truth and justice in a coming of age story. Cork and his family, and everyone in this novel must grapple with a battle between their heads and their hearts.
I hope you enjoyed my book review Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger
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