Well I have made it home safe and sound and I’ve even managed to avoid jetlag. My last 5 days in Arizona were fairly relaxed. On the Thursday I went to Walnut Canyon just outside Flagstaff. It’s the site of cliff dwellings built deep into the canyon walls where the Sinagua people lived more than 700 years ago. There’s an Island Trail which takes you 240 steps down into the canyon to see some of these dwellings. Unfortunately there was a major rockfall last December and since then the trail has been closed for repair so all I got was a short dander along the rim, but it’s a pretty place.

I pretty much faffed round Flagstaff the rest of the day – read magazines and sipped tea in a café etc. Then I drove to my brother’s place about 2½ hours drive away near Show Low. It was great to see my bro, niece and nephews again as well meet their friends. Friends of Robert’s - John & Denise - were putting me up and I got settled in there. They have a beautiful home with amazing views from their deck. It was tough to look at everyday! You can see a little creek that runs straight through, apparently one of the few creeks which flows all year round, you could even hear it from the deck.
Their home is also a bit of a menagerie – I counted 5 dogs, 3 cats, 2 goldfish, a plec fish (one of those algae eating fish that cleans fishtanks), a parrot, a cockatiel and they also own a number of chickens, geese and goats! One of their dogs is a beautiful white husky, but the poor thing is not exactly meant to endure Arizona heat!

On Friday I helped out with wedding preparations. Somehow I got put into the creative team so found myself decorating the garage, parcelling favours etc, and despite feeling that I’m not the most creative person I actually managed not to mess anything up too badly! My sister Jenny and her hubby arrived that day so they brought a digital camera Dad lent me for the wedding. They also stayed with John & Denise and we were shown the most amazing hospitality. Denise is a great cook and we had the most amazing breakfasts and dinners together.

So Saturday was the wedding, but not until 4pm which gave me plenty of time to get my glad rags on. For those who haven’t seen me in a skirt before, here I am in all my glory (please note that I even painted my toenails, I can count on the one hand how many times I’ve done this in my life and I hope you appreciate the effort I went to here!!!)
The ceremony was quite simple but beautiful and the new husband and wife looked great and were very happy indeed. They got married on decking which had been built by friends on the Friday! We ate outside in the garden which was really pretty, especially as the sun went down. I gave a hand with getting the food put out but managed to burn my hand in the process so had to keep running into the kitchen to stick my hand in a saucepan of icecubes! After the main course there were speeches which went really well. Considering the tragedy of losing Paddy in May everyone did really well. We missed her, but I think she would have been really happy with the day and her kids and hubby did her proud. She was remembered and honoured and the whole day was about celebration. I think what Ben and Zoey have done in stepping out into marriage together is a reflection of Robert & Paddy’s influence and example. So the dancing got going after the speeches in the garage and everybody had a great time.
Sunday was a very lazy day. Denise made an amazing brunch for us and all Robert’s family and the new couple. Jenny & Harry had brought over some good Irish bread – soda farls, potato bread etc – so we fried it too, but it was quite entertaining watching folks stick bits of cheese on top of the soda bread and munching away!

So there you go, that was it, a great trip, great to see family again and celebrate a very special occasion with Ben & Zoey. Hopefully they’ll get to celebrate their honeymoon in Ireland next summer…and hopefully we’ll actually have a summer!