We Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

 I discovered long ago that there are actually no awards ceremonies for refusing to ever leave my kids with their doting Grandparents for the weekend.  I'm lucky like that.  So, just about every year on our anniversary, Dan and I get away somewhere so that the children can have all the Sprite and marshmallows they can eat in the safety of the Grandparent's homes where they will be treated graciously despite the inevitable sugar crash.  And we eat things with peanut butter, sleep in and soak in the sound of silence.  And we laugh and remember how much fun we have together when we're not so busy doing the paying of the bills, the making of the money and the folding of the clothes.
    We really love trying out different Bed and Breakfasts, mostly because we really love breakfasts.  We've stayed at sweet little inns in Sedona, Prescott, Door County,and even Snowflake.
    This year we're raised a lot of eyebrows when we picked Jerome, Arizona.  What's in Jerome, Arizona besides ghosts?  Were we ghost chasers?  Ghost busters? Nope.  And, I guess because I survived the Year of Brave, we ain't afraid of no ghosts.

   We saw the Ghost City Inn immediately as we turned the corner of the hill into Jerome.  There was a note on the door stating they did not give tours.  Because the house was originally built in the 1800s the inn keepers often get tourists wandering through their parlor uninvited.  The innkeeper showed us up the creaky outdoor steps up to our room as she explained that this was actually her last day and that the new owners were taking over the next morning.  So strange to be there on that exact same weekend!  The inside of our room took me by complete surprise.  I'd stayed in dainty, Victorian-furnished bed and breakfasts, with lacy window coverings, antique couches and white doilies.  This room was decorated in manness.  Fake moose heads, signs warning against spitting from balconies and even a taxidermy duck.
   And the floor seemed a bit slanted, like the legendary sliding jail down the street. It seriously made me laugh.  But oh that view!  From our porch balcony we had a view of the Verde Valley, Sedona's red rocks and even the San Fransisco Peak in Flagstaff.  THAT's why we really came up there.

    While we were there we took advantage of the hippy-artist culture, browsing through whimsical galleries and shops, such as the world renowned kaleidoscope shop.  On Saturday night we caught a little of the monthly art walk, in which a variety of galleries stayed open late, showing off their pottery or paintings and offering wine, snacks and live musicians.  We even had listened to a poetry reading.

   We enjoyed some fantastic food both in Sedona and Cottonwood.  Saturday evening we ate at Grapes, where we ate yummy bruschettas, split a burger and then indulged in the deepest, creamiest creme brulee' we've ever eaten.  Saturday we ate at a pizza place we'd read some great reviews on, Pizzeria Bocce.  It did not disappoint one bit.  We started with some southwestern deviled eggs.  Then, we added fig chutney to a mushroom, mozzarella and goat cheese pizza.  And don't laugh...I think I will dream about this heavenly dish for the rest of my life.  In fact, it inspired us to stop in at the oilery down the street and purchase a fancy bottle of fig balsamic.  Then, as though we ever needed to eat again, we had dinner at the Asylum inside the haunted Grand Hotel at the top of the hill.  And it was kind of creepy.  But also delicious.  We sat in a dark clue-board looking room, served by waiters with funny piercings.  A table wearing a cross of old school Gothic and hipster clothes giggled and gasped at the prices on the menu.  They mostly ordered hummus.

  But, we ate like grown ups.  We started with the most delicious roasted butternut soup you could ever imagine.  I know you're trying to imagine it but you're not doing it right.  There was something spicy about it and they had formed this spiderweb shape on the top out of crema.  I still don't think you're imagining it right.  Then we had beef medallions, duck and fancy grains and veggies.  After all, it was our twelfth anniversary dinner!

 


We did do more than eat while we were there  We went to a museum.

It was a historical mansion also filled with relics from the old mining days where we watched an video on the history of Jerome. Did you know that Winston Churchill's mom lived there (Jerome)?  On our way out of the area we stopped at an old mine shaft with Plexiglas over the opening.  It went as deep as two Eiffel towers stacked on top of each other and it made a weird sound when we stood on it so we didn't stay on there long.

    Growing up in Arizona I think we both always had a bit of a fascination with the mysterious town of Jerome.  So, even if it was a bit unusual, I'm so glad we had an opportunity to stay there for longer than a day trip.  And no, we didn't see one single ghost! Except maybe the duck...