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a day away

I hope everyone is as lucky as I am to have a lifelong friend like A. She and I have known each other since grade school, kindled a friendship through middle school, lost touch completely through high school, college, and early adulthood, then found each other again after we'd both established our marriages and our families. Over the past two years our friendship has deepened during our early morning Tuesday/Thursday walks together.

Last year we decided to plan an overnight getaway biannually, once for A's birthday and once for mine. In 2006 we escaped twice, overnighting in the spring at a rental condo in the Catalina foothills, then in the fall at The Shady Dell in Bisbee. This year we missed our spring getaway but this past weekend we spent the night at Whisper's Ranch Bed & Breakfast outside of Canelo, AZ.


That little three-story house on the prairie? That's Whisper's Ranch.


Whisper's Ranch is part of the owners' larger endeavor: Whisper's Sanctuary, a place for animals to live when nobody wants them anymore. We spent a little time with some of the animals, but I guess they found us a bit *yawn* boring.


The highlight of our getaway was the food. We shared dinner at
Canela Bistro in Sonoita, where A had the quail and I had the pork chop and we finished dinner with pots du creme and Ibarra Mexican hot chocolate. Positively sinful, exquisitely delicious. I couldn't say enough good things about this restaurant and its proprietors. If you find yourself in Sonoita, Elgin, or Sierra Vista, get yourself to Canela.



We had a lovely overnight and came home feeling recharged but not as reconnected as we've felt on previous overnights. Part of it was the setting: there just wasn't much to do where we were... honestly, we slept a lot! And part of it was the timing: we wanted to get away before 2007 slipped away entirely, so we chose a weekend that really wasn't as open as we had thought and our downtime became rushed. Still, I'm glad we went, I've already started thinking about our spring getaway, and I'm thankful everyday for a friend like A.

Comments

sulu-design said…
Sadly, I'm always a week behind on my blog reading nowadays. But I was so happy this morning to find a whole week of super fun posts to read here:
I love that you and your friend have reconnected and that you do two getaways a year with one another. What a fabulous idea.
Your Halloween costume was amazing. Amazing.
The sweet little story about the bus mishap got me a little choked up - my own mother references The Runaway Bunny each time I make a move, like my last cross-country one.
And you did it! Congratulations on the race. I am so impressed, and maybe a bit inspired to sign up for such a race myself. Maybe.
Have a great week... I'll be around in seven days or so!
CRUSTY MOM-E said…
what a great place it looks like!!How far from south arizona? is it an expensive place?

Always,
Crusty~

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