as far as I know, we didn't come across any aliens

Christopher and I just returned from a little vacation-in-a-vacation.

We didn't actually go to Los Angeles, I just find it fascinating to see a sign that says LOS ANGELES ---->. It's not something I see everyday. I don't see this sign everyday either:

Our first stop before hitting the road was Barnes & Noble, where we stocked up on coffee and maps. At one point in our trip, Christopher looked over and asked me to get the map and find out what exit to get off. I wondered why he would assume that I, the person who frequently gets lost in her own state, was up to the task, but I opened up the large map book and tried to look like I knew what was going on.

I did not.

I may have silently stared at the page for a grand total of 3.5 minutes before realizing that all the numbers and letters were not making ONE BIT of sense to me. I also may have looked at the cover to reassure myself that I was indeed looking at a map of Arizona and not a map of Nova Scotia. In the end, I told him the correct numbers and we arrived at our destination- Sedona.

It was just lovely.

After Sedona we drove south (or was it north? I certainly don't know) to spend the night. It seemed that everyone and their brother, aunt, uncle, and fifth cousin also decided to spend the night there, so we had to stop at six hotels before we found a room. (There was no room for us at the inn which is pretty fitting considering we're still in the Christmas season.) The hotel we stayed at had this sign out front:

It's not everyday I stay at a hotel that also welcomes vacationers from Mars.