Aaron and I landed in the tiny Belize City airport around 11 a.m. on June 28. We spent around half an hour collecting our bags and clearing customs, and then met Marlon, our driver, outside. The first thing we noticed was the humidity... the Ohio Valley has nothing on Belize, which regularly sees levels of 80-90%.

Marlon of Belize Shuttles & Transfers was very friendly and told us about Belize as we drove the nearly three hours south to Hopkins. Although the distance is less than 90 miles, the roads aren't great and the speed bumps, which seem to be randomly placed along the road, are rather vicious. That's one way to keep speedometers in check.

Two kids played with bottlecaps on the Hopkins pier

We passed through Belize's capital of Belmopam, which was gone in nearly the blink of an eye. With less than 400,000 people in the entire country, there is no such thing as a big city here. After Belmopam, the landscape became more scenic, with dense jungle vegetation, citrus orchards, mountains, and even a glimpse of Mennonite farmers on a horse-drawn wagon, wearing the same conservative dress as they do in the U.S.

Hopkins is 4 miles off the main highway, and consists of only one real street (a pothole and puddle-ridden dirt road), running north to south along Hopkins Bay. The Garifuna, descendants of West African, Central African, Island Carib, European, and Arawak people, are the majority population of this village.

All Seasons Guest House, our home for the next week, is located near the edge of the south side of town. We were greeted by Becky, All Seasons' owner, who is from northern Indiana. She and her husband Gary packed up and moved down here just four months ago, and are almost constantly painting, power washing, sweeping, and fixing.

It was 3 p.m. Belize time (5 p.m. Eastern), and most restaurants were closed. We hadn't really eaten much at all, and dinner the night before had been gas station food in Indianapolis. Mango and cantaloupe smoothies and Guinness chocolate cake at the coffee shop down the street were a good way to tide ourselves over.

Lorraine, who was working at the coffee shop, made us feel right at home. After preparing our food, she followed us out to the porch and sat down with us to chat. She spent several years working on cruise ships, and her favorite location was, of all places, Alaska! Hopkins is home, though, and she recently returned with hopes of finishing her associate's degree in accounting.

The friendly faces in Hopkins certainly aren't limited to Lorraine's. As you walk down the street, most everyone greets you. Alex, who sells his creations at a shop near our guest house, is no exception. One morning he told me that he gets up every day at 5 a.m., rides his bike for an hour, swims in the ocean and is often joined by manatees, takes a shower, and starts his workday. Each time we walked by, he greeted us with a smile. Aaron had Alex make some custom guitar pics for him, and he was excited to try his hand at a new challenge. They were done in less than two hours, and the quality was fantastic.

There was a Garifuna holiday during our time at Hopkins. I didn't get the name of it, but the people drummed off and on for three days. They are known for their drum making and playing here and it was a beautiful and exotic sound. The holiday's final evening, I'm pretty sure the drumming lasted until daybreak. Apparently the occasion celebrates the dead, and takes place every three years. During that time, many of the women dressed in what looked like traditional African clothing, the fabric adorned with bright colors and patterns.

Alex, hard at work. I think this is the only time I saw him NOT smile. :-)

There are several businesses run by the Chinese in this town of 1,500 people, including pretty much all the grocery stores. As we waited on Chinese food one night, a four-year-old boy came up to our table, took my bottle cap, and began playing with it. He and Aaron began a game of "hockey" on the table with the cap, and he was more than happy to tell Aaron "You lose!" each time he failed to hit the goal he made between his two tiny hands.

Dong Lee Supermarket, where we did much of our shopping

Walking back to the room that night, we encountered a group of kids, all of whom were probably under age 7. They were "shooting" each other with sticks and boards, and we became part of the game. We became victims of a "holdup" and they loved that we played right along. After being released, we got excited fist bumps from the kids. I really wish we'd had room in our luggage to bring a few treats for them. They are so sweet.

We tried to eat at restaurants only once a day to stretch our budget, which was challenging since we had no kitchen. Between the grocery stores, fruit stand, and the back of a guy's truck, we purchased plenty of mangoes (the hugest you've ever seen), tangerines (which have a green peel here), avocados, plantain chips, tortilla chips, Marie Sharp's hot sauce, and fruit juices (soursop juice is pretty awesome). Restaurant meals consisted of mostly beans and rice for me. Aaron enjoyed chicken fried rice and one night he was served a whole fried fish, complete with head. Oh, and I can't forget the fry jacks, which are a breakfast delight - big pieces of puffed fried bread you can fill with beans, eggs, and lots of other fillings. Delicious!

We didn't go on any fishing or snorkeling excursions in Hopkins, instead spending our time walking the street, riding bicycles, sitting on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and trying to get used to the humidity. I'm not sure I have ever sweated so much in my entire life. It's been a nice place to get acclimated to Belize and to get some clue as to how things work here, although we still have a long way to go before we have it figured out.

Next up, further south to Placencia!

Two weeks ago, I meandered through the desert, past the beautiful blue waters of Lake Havasu, and into the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix has definitely lived up to its nickname, as UV rays have been in plentiful supply here, and there certainly hasn't been a single drop of rain.

I even got to experience a day at what they refer to as the "century mark" when the mercury climbed to 100 degrees on Sunday. You always hear people say that it's not as bad because it's a "dry heat." They're telling the truth. I'd take a million 100 degree days at 6% humidity over 90 degrees with 90% humidity back home. Heat is infinitely more tolerable when you don't feel like someone wrapped a wet blanket around your head. Sorry, Ohio Valley.

While I feel I've barely scratched the surface of what this city has to offer, I've definitely enjoyed my time here. I had visited Scottsdale several years ago, but didn't really get to do or experience much on that trip. I honestly had no idea how large the city was until I got here. With a metro area of around 4.5 million people, it's around 3 times the size of my Louisville hometown.

It's been especially fun to spend some time with my friend Kalisha, who relocated to Phoenix from Louisville at the first of the year. She was kind enough to tour me all over the metro area, and I truly got a more local perspective thanks to her. We attended a self-defense class, visited the farmer's market, saw the city sprawl from up high at South Mountain Park, gazed at Camelback Mountain, hopped up to the hole in the rock at Papago Park, went to a Young Nonprofit Professional Network event, and devoured a few delicious meals.

Blooming saguaro at Desert Botanical Gardens

Kalisha also scored me a free pass to the Desert Botanical Garden. As a self-described "plant nerd," I think was probably the highlight of my time in Phoenix. Other stops included the Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera exhibit at the Heard Museum, the Rose Garden at Mesa Community College, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. I took a day trip to Sedona and hiked in Oak Creek Canyon, and stopped at Montezuma Castle National Monument's gorgeous cliffside dwelling on the way back to the city. I enjoyed lunch and olive oil tasting at Queen Creek Olive Mill (olives!!). South of Phoenix, I visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, a multi-story structure built in the 1300's by Ancestral Sonoran Desert People.

I also was really happy that my return to the Sonoran Desert unexpectedly coincided with the saguaro cacti's annual bloom. The white flowers, which open at night and only last through the following day, are Arizona's state flower.

One of the things I enjoy about being somewhere on a more extended timeframe is the chance to just spend time like a normal person. I ate some great Mexican food, spent a lot of time with my paintbrushes, shopped a little, enjoyed my Tempe neighborhood, and put some new tires on my car. After nearly 16,000 miles of traveling, it was time!

There remains plenty I haven't seen, done, or experienced in Phoenix, but I've learned to let that go and not wear myself out. Sometimes you have to walk the line between tourist and pretend local... between vacation and real life.

Where to next? I'm really excited to hit the road this morning and head toward one of our nation's least visited national parks, Great Basin National Park in Baker, Nevada. I'm very excited about the diversity of this remote park, which includes mountains, a glacier, ancient bristlecone pine trees, and a cave. Time to put some wear on these new tires!

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