For the past three years, I’ve spent the holiday season through the New Year driving around Baja Mexico in a Jeep.  I enjoyed it because the weather was gorgeous and it gave me time to get away from civilization, which always helps me think about where I am in my life and what I’d like to do in the coming year. The result of my first drive through Baja, in fact, led to my changing coasts to set up shop in Southern California a few months later.

This year, after tossing around a few ideas including the Pacific island Kauai, I decided to stay a little closer to home and skim the Mexican border, from California, through Arizona to Patagonia for a few weeks. Instead of a Jeep, which is great for off-roading, I’ve recently become a fan of RVs, which let me have all of my gear along and many of the comforts of home. If I need to stop and wait for the sun to set in order to get the shot that I’m looking for, no problem!

Another thing that is driving this road trip through Arizona is a new website that I recently launched to host my constant exploration for great food and dining experiences. If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you may remember my tinkering around with tossing in restaurant suggestions from my travels here and there. Well, now I’ll have Hit the Dish to handle my restaurant and recipe raves from across the country. I encourage you to check it out and pass along any “must try” spots, especially Arizona restaurants, in the near term.