Kevin and Dana Lohenry from Glendale, Arizona: Kevin and Dana were sitting on top of a big, red rock in Sedona when we came upon them during one of our hikes. Buster, as usual, starts the conversation ("What a cute dog. Is he a chihuahua?"). They were very interested in our world travels and asked lots of questions while also sharing their experiences. Kevin is the director of physician's assistant program and wanted to know our thoughts on the quality of medical care for GLBT patients. An hour later they invited us to the university's alumni dinner at the Hilton Resort and Spa - which we did in fact crash that night. They introduced us to PA's at the party - some students, some practitioners - and each person wanted to know about our trip. After the party, they asked us to come out to karaoke. One student even bought me a tequila shot! And at the end of the night Kevin told me to feel free to contact him if I had any questions about the PA profession and that if we went to Tucson we should call because they had friends there that could show us around. Isn't that soooo nice?
Bill Bladt from Sedona, Arizona: We actually met Bill on the same hike as Kevin and Dana. He came up to me and told me I looked just like his daughter Allison (Do you see any similarity in this picture? Hint: not the baby). I happened to be wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses so I think my headshape must have been the key factor. Anyway, he was so tickled by this similarity that he asked to take my picture!
Joe from Demming, New Mexico: We ran into Joe at the Vietnam Memorial in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He was having a coffee break from his weekend motorcycle ride and we had stopped to have lunch. He was sitting alone so we went over to chat. Joe was Korean War vet who retired from Minnesota to New Mexico with his wife. A few months after they arrived, his wife got Alzheimer's. He took care of her for 11 years before she died and clearly he was of the mind that each day he had was special and to be enjoyed. We talked about the pointlessness of war and the poverty in America. He joked that the New Mexico state tree is the telephone pole, and the state flower was a plastic Wal-Mart bag which litter the highways :) Joe was just a really nice guy who was so pleased to visit with us in the warm sunshine of the desert.
Angelica from Albuquerque, New Mexico: Angelica came into the bar where we were listening to our friend Susan's co-worker's band. That's a mouthful. She came in near the end of the set and sat down to have a drink. We started chatting and I told her we were visiting from out of town, that we had been traveling and yada yada. Well, she was so excited about our trip and wanted to know about all the places we visited and what it was like. Then she wanted to know what we thought of New Mexico and apologized for the weather being so poor ( it was really really really windy that day). She said, "Please come back again when the weather is better. Please!" And she really meant it. I felt like we could have asked her to let us stay in her house - she was that warm and friendly.
Since we miss our friends and family a great deal, it's comforting to share time with such kind people.
Buster has also made new friends and comments that "dogs are also really nice across America. And their butts smell interesting." (note: this is Sarah's contribution to the blog entry)
Off to Louisiana!
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