K is for Kartchner Caverns

Awhile back when I was planning various travel itineraries, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico was on the list. Ross has always wanted to go, and now that we are in Phoenix it is a much more feasible trip. Still, an 8+ hour trip is usually more than he has time for. So when my sister in law Jen told us about Kartchner Caverns south of Tucson, Ross was pretty stoked.

Just about with everything, it was a last minute trip but I made it work. Saturday morning I made some calls since it was too late to reserve tour tickets online. Once we had some assurance that the trip wouldn't be a total bust, we packed up.

In true Petersen (okay, Kristen) fashion we stopped and got some donuts at our local donut shop. Not quite as artisan as our L.A. shops. But this strawberry donut face still has be cracking up, so it was worth it.

It was a little after noon when we rolled through Tucson so it was the perfect time to pick up a Sonoran-style dog! This super small shack-like establishment serves up some pretty tasty dogs. Plus, when in Arizona, you must do as Arizonans. Normal hot dogs on normal buns are no longer acceptable.

After that we bore farther south to Kartchner Caverns State Park. Ross and I were both really confused and pleased to see the desert so... lush! I was expecting Breaking Bad style tumbleweeds blowing across the Sonoran desert.

The cacti were in bloom and the bright orange was definitely a little birthday gift to Ross! I guess this area is the site of the

Ross is such a sweet guy. He surprised me and bought ME a gift from the gift shop. On HIS birthday no less! Aren't they awesome?




After hanging out in the visitors center and checking out their awesome displays we headed out to meet our group for the cave tour.



Once you all gather you take this little tram up to the entrance of the cave. They give you this huge long lecture about not touching the walls of the cave, or looking at them too severely (kidding), and maybe if your body is on fire you still can't touch the cave walls because surely you will kill everything in the cave and the whole ecosystem will come crumbling down because you are a human and have hair and dead skin everywhere and shouldn't even be in the cave to begin with. Kidding. But not really. You are still a terrible person if you touch the cave walls. So they open this huge doors that protect said delicate cave ecosystem and it releases this hot stanky air that makes you feel like you might die. Then you go through these misters that wet down all your dead skin and hairs so that you aren't shedding everywhere in the cave. As intense as they were, I think that is a pretty clever idea!

Then you wind through this network of really nice paved trails to take you into the cave.

We took the Rotunda/ Throne Tour. It is an easy, paved 1/2 mile walk. And it was every bit as amazing as we had hoped. It was really dynamic. You start off seeing a few formations and they do their thing where they explain the different formations like sheilds, popcorn, bacon, stalctites (and mites) and my new favorite, soda straws! It is always fun to hear the science behind them. There was this wide, low room and the ranger tells you all about how the cave was discovered, and you can see a 45,000 year old pile of bat poop, if that is what you are into.

So you wind around a little and then you end in this large dark cavern and take a seat on one of the benches. And then the presentation began! There was audio and slowly, parts of this huge formation lit up to finally reveal "Kubla Khan," the largest natural column in Arizona at 58 tall! It was truly amazing. Of course you can't take photos in the cave (you'd probably send the whole state of Arizona into ultimate peril and eventual death), so I guess all my memories will need to stay in my brain and you can just go google it.

After the cave tour we hopped over to the local Safeway and picked up our absolute favorite travel food- fried chicken and massively large potato wedges! The whole state park area is very lush because it sits in a riparian zone. So we found a perfect picnic table and chowed down.



Since this is Ross's big 30th birthday I made it an even larger deal than normal. I gave him 30 presents leading up to the big day (including the cat shirt, pictured), and I went on Facebook and begged and pleaded all his friends to send him a birthday card. Since he isn't on Facebook he misses all the birthday wishes and I wanted him to feel loved and appreciated and missed on his special day!
It was so cool to see everyone send cards and presents. I felt loved too! My personal favorite is Asher's birthday card to him.

We poked around in the visitor's center a little bit more, and now there were no kids trying to get bat ear pictures I could get some with minimal shame. 

We got super lucky and happened to be there on one of the few weekends they offer night hikes. We were pretty excited about that and signed up right away. 

Yes, I did make Ross carry around that Happy Birthday balloon on his backpack. 

The hike was so pretty, and if I may reiterate- LUSH! The ocotillo were covered in leaves and there were tons of them. 

During the hike you had really great views of the area and we wound down near a little creek bed. 

Of course we had to Pokemon Go at least a little.



During the hike there was this optional portion where you could hike up a ridge/ foothill and see the entire valley below! Everything was glowing as the sun set, and you could spot little clusters of rainstorms in the distance.





It was a great spot to take pictures too! Every one was taking turns taking pictures for each other. I love hiking because you meet really friendly people. Notice Ross proudly holding his birthday balloon (probably something I made him do).

We had to eventually climb back down to meet the rest of the group who didn't come up with us, but it was pretty difficult when all we wanted to do was stay up there and marvel and feel the cool breeze.

It has to be one of my favorite hikes ever. We had fun talking to the park ranger for the rest of the hike and we ended in complete darkness. Funny how quickly it can close in on you. Overall the hike was about 3.2 miles. 

After a very full day we still hadn't sang happy birthday or had any birthday treats. Birthday chicken and potato logs just doesn't really count. So back to Safeway we went and we picked up some cupcakes! 

Back in our motel room I sang happy birthday and we enjoyed a cupcake. Then we attempted to hang out in the hot tub only to realize it was never actually getting warmer and we had been sitting and conversing with strangers in lukewarm water form probably an hour or so. I don't know why hotter water makes that situation more appropriate but somehow it does. The people were funny though, and the man was telling us all about how he grew up in the area and spent his childhood discovering caves and ditching school to swim in the underwater pools. That's legit. 

I really hope Ross had a fun day, even if I always force him to go on adventures every spare minute we get. Tomorrow we want to head to Tombstone before we head back home. 

A couple full-size photos since the collages are poor quality.

THE MATCH

They say that time flies when you're having fun. And I suppose it does. But time has a way of flying nevertheless. It's the theme of this blog and the main objective. Documentation purposes. No matter how good or how bad things are, they move. It's the way of the universe and sometimes the only thing you can depend on in this crazy path of life.

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Lately time has been hustlin'. Except for this past week when I could almost swear to you that each day actually had about 48 hours each. That's because this last week was Match Week. It is pretty famous in it's own world of medical school. It's the end all be all. It's the only (and worst) reoccurring nightmare I've ever had in the past 4 or 5 years of my life.

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The Match is a process where you interview and rank and get ranked to "match" with a program to get a residency. Residency is the next step of medical school. The step where you are a graduate and a doctor but can't do crap unless you get a residency. It's 3 more years of training and specializing in a specific area of medicine so you can practice as a physician afterwards. They pay you just a tiny bit of money and work you about 80 hours a week and you get to pay back student loans. Yeah. It's loads of fun.

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You spend months interviewing and stressing before you turn in your "list." You rank all the programs you applied to/ interviewed at and a computer algorithm compares it to how each program ranked applicants and you get matched up. It's of course more convoluted and involved but that's all you really need to know.

Monday you get an e-mail notifying you if you matched. It was scheduled to come at 8:00 AM local time. And came even maybe a minute early. Well, HE DID! He matched.

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I said, "HE MATCHED"

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Have you captured the feeling that I am incredibly relieved and excited?!

It was strange. Even with all the things that went wrong with the application process and how stressful it was, and how the odds weren't really in his favor (IMG over here)- I had this calm feeling that he was going to match and that everything was totally okay. Easy for me to say. It was so cool to be there when he opened the e-mail and see relief just wash over his body entirely. I could tell it was kind of taking all day to truly set in.

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The week lumbered on while speculation and anxiety increased- for me at least. By the time Friday morning rolled around I couldn't sit still. I was more anxious than Monday morning by far. It was the mix of excitement and the fact that I had been waiting for this day for 4 years. THIS will be the place we will live for the next 3 years which is still longer than any other place we have been on this med school path. The minutes slogged by and I worked my hardest to stay focused at work.

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I asked Ross if he had any regrets about his rank order list. He said he had a feeling we would end up in Vegas. I had this feeling about Phoenix, but at Ross's mention of Vegas I started thinking of my next three years in any of the places on his list. Tulsa maybe? I still had this feeling that he would match at his #1 spot. So when the text FINALLY came, I wanted to scream for joy (and relief).

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ! Texted with plenty of cacti emojis.

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There you have it folks! Come June the Petersens shall move again.

From Somewhere Beyond to the Sea, to Somewhere in the Golden State, to Somewhere Among the Cacti! Time to change the blog name cos there's nothing these two crazy kids can't do.

The Freak-out!... I mean... Force Awakens

There is no doubt about it- I married a nerd. However, "nerd" is a very loose and all-encompassing term. For as long as I have known Ross, I had no idea how deep his Star Wars nerdery ran. I thought that was left up to his brother Mark. No way. So for his birthday I gave him the complete Star Wars saga on blu ray and we have been working our way through all 6 films. Ross also used his birthday-gifted AMC gift card to buy tickets for the evening release of The Force Awakens as soon they were available online.

Thursday evening soon after work we were off to Riverside to get in line for our 10:30pm showing. The line was already pretty long and we heard that some people were there as early as 2:00 pm. We waited for about 2.5 hours in the freezing cold.



The lines were outside on top of the parking structure. I sent Ross to go get us some hot chocolate with our never ending Starbucks gift cards. He surprised me with a Teavana white chocolate peppermint tea that I fell in love with the other day.



I've been sick and my throat has been killing me. The drinks felt so good on my throat. And they made the time go a lot faster too!

Once they let us in the theater it was the classic scramble for seats. Luckily we found a two together!

The energy in the theater was insane. Almost tangible. Wookie cries, cheers, boos (at the Star Trek preview). Also boos every time a new preview started. GIVE US OUR MOVIE ALREADY! So funny. When the Lucas Film Ltd. image appeared I think people might've shed tears of joy. You could feel the excitement running through your body. Then the theme music and the title... grown men were giggling.

It was even more incredible than I could've possibly imagined. I was blown away. It was such a fun time and it had the usual awesome balance of action, comedy, and even a tiny bit of rommance, all while paying tribute to the original three and even the six as a whole. I'm helplessly in love with Rey, and BB8...... and Fin, and Poe....

I came home and got to work on giving myself a Rey hairstyle. Totally legit to go to work like this right?!

Soooo when comes the part when I get to watch it again? 

Senior Citizens' Guide to Punk Concerts

You're getting old. And that's okay. But someone needs to tell you things aren't working like they used to.

That's me. You're welcome. 

Although you are aging, that doesn't mean that you can no longer have fun. Let's say, you find a magical punk rock line-up in a venue about 20 minutes from your location. You should definitely go. But not without some advice. Remember, you're not the young gun you were at Warped Tour '97. 

Blue skies, dirt, and marijuana-heavy air, it's festival time!

BEFORE YOU GO: 

• What to wear. You may not fit your Reel Big Fish t shirt from high school but go ahead and squeeze into your record store shirt from college, if you'd like. Don't worry about what you wear. You're a punk. You do what you want. A little extra eyeliner won't hurt though. 

I realize I look about 16 in this selfie, but you should still listen to my advice

• Take your meds. Your heart meds, your thyroid tablets, your allergy pills. Take an extra one of those cos you know there will be black boogers for days if you're anywhere near that circle pit. You're likely to get sore muscles from standing and rocking out. And a headache from the loud music. Extended release pain killers are your friend. 

AT THE VENUE: 

• Yeah you're a punk. But even punks gotta follow rules to get in to the venue. Read the FAQ and understand what you can take in. But know that you are never too old for slight of hand. If the caps need to be off your water bottles in order to be brought in, do it. But hide those caps because you can't afford to buy new bottles inside. You never actually grew up and got a real job so you gotta make the money from your desk job last. 

It's not punk without pot! Feel free to take the kiddos to the kiddie section with carnie games and over-sized inflatables. 

Or just throw them on your shoulders and rock out!

• Sunscreen. You've probably already had a skin cancer scare by now so you know how important it is to take care. Sunscreen every hour, or two sets, depending on the sun strength. Don't forget your bald/ balding spot. Though you'll fare best with a hat. 

• The nice thing about being old and fat is that you no long have to worry about the young guns taking you medium or small merch. Relax! Your XXXL shirts will still be there after the show. But be warned that kids these days are really getting in to vinyl so if you need records look out for those first. 

GREEN MEANS GO: 

You're all sunscreen'd up, your chucks are remembering these bless'd days. You made it through security and you are here. Now: 

• Know your limits. I'm sure you used to be a hardcore mosher. But you might want to consult with your physician before participating. But also rest assured there will always be someone younger, also probably someone fatter and drunker than you in the pit. You could probably split the difference and be just fine. Start with a light ska song like Fishbone. If you fall, there will always be a hand to pick you up, and a lot less 'bows than an Anti-Flag circle pit. Work your way up. 

Sweaty skaning tattos and hazy dirty circle pit air

• Take breaks. Don't push it. No one here judges you.

Sunscreen in your eyes, filthy sweat. Are we having fun yet?!

• So sit down and work your way into that shade the port-a-potties provide. You need it. Grab some TP from the the Less Than Jake show as it shoots out of a jimmy-rigged leaf blower. You never know when you might need some. 

• Take pictures. With your recent changes in, um... memory recollection, it will help you remember all the fantastic bands you saw. 

Bouncing Souls, Goldfinger, Fishbone, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake!

• But after a few, put that camera away and just ROCK OUT! -You've still got it! (sorta)

AFTERCARE.

There was a time you could drag your semi dead half-wasted body home and be cool by 9am the next day. That day is no more. Throw on that ultra sick, newly pressed and re-released, $10-bin-find, favorite album (maybe ever), vinyl and just be cool. You made it. And it was way worth it.