Eight Month Milestone | Remembering Teri in Antelope Canyon

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn't matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.” - Hindu proverb (From Teri's Facebook Profile)

The month of November was a big blur. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. I can't believe it's already December, which marks eight months since Teri passed away. I feel at peace for the most part, thankful for this routine I have to blog about my journey and how loved and supported I feel by so many of you that continue to read and encourage me. Thank you.

Antelope Canyon Trip

A few weeks ago, I took some much needed time off with a group of close friends to hang out in Page, Arizona to see Antelope Canyon, a trip that was on Terwin's bucket list. The trip was a success with no need to come home early. Here are a few of my favorite photos:

While this trip was planned months ago, there were moments like I've done earlier this year that I wanted to back out last minute and just stay home. I was even presented this option, as my friends have been very patient and understanding with my needs since Teri passed away. But then I thought about how I also felt the same way with Teri planned trips, since I always like staying at home. So I told myself, I should go and make the most of it. And now that I'm back into "busy mode" with work and getting ready for all the holidays and stuff, I'm sure glad I went!

And to no one's surprise that's been following along on the blog, I couldn't stop thinking about Teri during the trip. There's so many times that the Antelope Canyon trip reminded us past trips with Teri. I am so thankful to have close friends that allow me to process how I am feeling in real time about Teri instead of just internalizing it. Here are a few of the stories I shared with them that stood out the most:

Drive to Muir Rock | Drive to Monument Valley (Day 2)

In May 2017, Teri planned an unforgettable trip us through the Majestic Mountain Loop. Originally I sketched out a plan to explore Santa Barbara and Morro Bay, but Teri didn't really seem up for it and steered us towards a different path.

For those that still don't believe me that Teri was the real planner in the family, here's her meticulously planned schedule she made for our trip (and the rest of her time in CA):

The trip to Muir rock is a pretty long out and back. The journey was a long, winding road with repetitive scenery, punctuated only by a few generic lookout points. Let's just say that Muir Rock would have been the last place I would have visited if I were in charge of planning. I considered the stop "Completely out of the way" and since I love efficiency so much, I thought it was a terrible idea.

Here's some footage of the very long drive that brought me a smile watching again, listening to one of my favorite songs, Key Largo. This video resembles how present Teri was during our road trips, admiring all the scenery and making the most of it:

Since Teri and I were only dating for a few months, and being in the honeymoon stage, I didn't complain too much and just made the most of it.

I also shared a little bit about Muir Rock in the about section but have a lot more about why that place was important enough for me to register the domain name. As strange as this may seem, this video of Teri on Muir Rock is my all time favorite video of her:

On my road trip to Antelope Canyon last month, the drive to Monument Valley from our Airbnb reminded me of the drive to Muir Rock because both trips took four hours (round trip) with nothing really to do along the way. The best part was to get to Monument Valley and find out the route was closed because of the Monument Valley Veterans Marathon and Half Marathon. Instead we just took a brief stop at the Visitors Center (also closed) and at the beginning of the Monument Valley route:

In the past, I would have been really upset. A long drive to something I wasn't really interested in seeing, to find out it was closed because of something I would have loved to particpate in but didn't get to since we didn't know about it. Instead, I just sort of laughed about it and still embraced that I get to be on vacation in the first place.

Revisiting Horseshoe Bend

On our way back from Monument Valley, we stopped by Horseshoe Bend, a place that Teri and I visited our our drive back from Atlanta to California with Khoa, Minna and Mustard in July 2020:

I've taken a few cross country trips with Teri. They were always rushed, with me wanting to just power through the trip and Teri wanting to take our time and do some sightseeing along the way. I was focused on getting to the destination and minimizing costs/travel time. While we could have done even more with those road trips, we still saw quite a bit of places since we met in March 2017. I am very thankful.

Death Valley (2023) | Our last road trip :(

The trip to Antelope Canyon reminded us (same group of friends) of our recent trip in February 2023 to Death Valley:

During the Antelope Canyon trip, we were reminded of how nice it was to have Teri be in charge of the planning and logistics. Instead of Google Sheets, Teri used Wanderlog to plan our trips:

I also find it funny that Teri found Wanderlog in the first place, as it's usually me who finds software to replace excel /google spreadsheets since that's literally what I do for a living.

A really memorable moment was all of us (including Mayo) were being silly in the Sand Dunes.

Hiking in the Sand Dunes still stands out to me because Teri started having issues with walking. We had to take a lot of breaks because of her breathing and fatigue. We found out about the cancer returning a week later, which explained why she struggled. She still persevered like she always did and didn't complain as much as I did:

The hike in the sand dunes also reminded me of the quote from the Hindu proverb on Teri's profile. We got into a few disagreements during the hike since there's no real path to the destination we were walking towards, but I would always insist on which way we go. Like the road trips, I was so "goal" focused and couldn't just enjoy that we were together and Mayo was free to just run around on the sand and have so much fun.

It's really crazy to think that the Death Valley trip was Terwins last road trip, and was also a powerful reminder for me that you never know when which trip or holiday will be our last. It reminds me to keep taking things one day at a time, have no regrets, and not get caught up on arguing about things that really don't matter in the end.

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend everyone!

Erwin