A few weeks before my 29th birthday I decided to take a road trip with two close sober friends. The destination? Sedona, Arizona! This small city is a spiritual epicenter for new age Woo Woos like myself. In Sedona, there’s actual ENERGY VORTEXES. What does an energy vortex do? I had no idea! Maybe I would reach instant enlightenment, or maybe a scary demon thing would pop up and rip my face off. It’s all part of the adventure, as far as I was concerned.

This was a trip I’d been talking about for a long time, but had never taken the initiative to organize. In my head there was always a reason why the trip wouldn’t work, despite it being less than a full day’s drive away. I always found an excuse – some inconvenient situation or potential travel companion who didn’t want to go that would discourage me from even taking the first step to venturing out.

I decided that I had enough of the bullshit. It’s time to follow the call of my true desire. I’ve recently arrived at a place in my life where I’ve taken on full responsibility for the emotions I feel and the experiences I have.

I’ve never been in this place before.

The realization dawned on me – if I want to do something or go somewhere, I really don’t need to ask permission. I mean, except from my boss at my day job. I submitted a time off request a month beforehand though, so it was cool LOL.

Thus, with minimal planning and some lightly packed bags, Dakota, Joffrey and I set out for Sedona. We started driving around 10pm on a Wednesday and arrived at the town of Blythe around 2am, four hours later. We planned to be traveling for 4 nights and 4 days round trip.

We spent the night at a Best Western near the border of California and Arizona. After a hasty few hours of sleep, we started the next day by driving to the nearby town of Quartzite. This small Arizona border town is home to Gem World, a Costco sized warehouse store that specializes in crystals, geodes, Native American crafts, and jewelry making materials. Everything is sold at wholesale prices, and the selection is mind boggling.

We spent about an hour and a half shopping around and all picked up some very unique and beautiful crystals for our personal collections. I bought a couple pieces for friends. Dakota bought a cow skull. We named the skull Casper and all felt the vibe that he was going to be our spirit guide for the rest of the trip.

With our car now full of amethyst, various types of quartz and a friendly bovine spirit, we drove onward to Sedona. At this time, the realization dawned on all three of us that we didn’t have a place to stay. I felt panic well up in my gut as we scrambled on Google to find a place that was affordable on short notice. We ended up calling the Andante Inn, which somehow had availability for two nights at rates much better than publicly advertised! We decided that we would figure out plans for the last night once we got to town. Our journey continued.

Even as we approached the city, I felt a shift. There were scenic outlooks along the 17 North from Phoenix where we stopped for breaks. The landscape got more and more grand as we headed north. Finally, entering Sedona itself was an unforgettable experience. It was similar to what I imagine venturing into El Dorado or Wakanda would be like. We turned a corner and all of the sudden we were graced by some of the most majestic rock formations I had ever seen. This is the point where the trip started getting weird.

I’m not going to pretend to be some kind of all knowing spiritual guru, because I’m not. I can’t satisfactorily explain what “energy” is (at least, not the kind of energy I’m talking about). But, believe me when I tell you that there is something different about being in Sedona. During our stay, we were bombarded by a non stop sequence of incredible synchronicities and guiding signs that led us to the right place at the right time, over and over again.

Upon arriving, we checked into the Andante Inn, still mesmerized by the surrounding scenery. We set up all of our collected spiritual stuff in the room for group meditation later that night and decided to grab some food.

To my surprise, there was an amazing Thai restaurant next door to our hotel. I highly recommend Thai Spices Natural Restaurant to anyone who visits Sedona. The instant I saw the owner, Pearl, I knew I was in the presence of someone very special. She approached our table and introduced herself. I noticed that she was wearing a beautiful, one of a kind crystal necklace. We exchanged compliments on each other’s jewelry (I was wearing my own black tourmaline pendant) and then, unexpectedly, Pearl started commenting on my aura. I won’t delve into the details of the conversation, but it was magical and life affirming in the best possible way. There was a mutual understanding that went beyond words.

This type of interaction happened 2 more times over the next couple of days, with two other proprietors in Sedona. It became obvious that the whole city is a magnet for extremely high vibration individuals who arrive and end up staying, opening their own businesses and cultivating the beautifully vibrant community of creatives and healers that currently exists.

Later on in the first night, we stopped by a magic crystal shop, appropriately named Crystal Magic. They provided us a useful map of all the energy vortexes in Sedona, which we referenced heavily.

After meditation and a good nights sleep, we awoke the next day ready to take on Cathedral rock. The hike to the summit of this energy vortex is less than two miles long, but very steep. The view along the way is breathtaking in every direction.

During the hike, I was astounded by the diversity of my fellow spiritual seekers. I heard a multitude of languages being spoken by the other hikers on our way to the top. I realized that many come from faraway places to visit these sacred rocks in Sedona, and I felt aligned with something greater than myself. I felt like I belonged.

Near the top of Cathedral rock, I felt an urge to cry. I was overcome by positive emotions. Upon reflecting, I know what I felt during that moment was love. It was every kind of love I’ve ever known intertwined; an all encompassing, unconditionally accepting universal force. It flowed through me, and I was its catalyst. We stayed at the top for about an hour, meditating and reflecting. I thought about my journey through life and sobriety, in gratitude for how incredibly far I’ve come.

After our trek back down from Cathedral Rock, we needed a plan for our last day before heading back to California. We decided to find a local group of people in recovery and go to a meeting. At the meeting, we received recommendations to visit the Grand Canyon. We were also told about a group of young sober people who meet on Saturday nights in Flagstaff. We decided to follow the recommendations, and go with the flow.

The next morning we attended a local yoga class in Sedona at 7 Centers Yoga Arts, had lunch, and then drove to the Grand Canyon. The two and a half hour drive was beautiful, and we were greeted by light rain and patches of snow along the road.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon around 3 in the afternoon. I was not ready. The vastness and scope of the canyon CANNOT be captured by photographs. I felt a deep sense of reverence and humility as I stared into the depths of something too substantial to comprehend. The rain and mist filled the entire scene with an added sense of mystery. We explored two different viewing points and asked a passerby to take a photo of us.

Exhausted and cold, we drove to Flagstaff. We checked into our Airbnb and met our amazing host, Katie King, who happens to be a rock star. Check out her band, Helioscope! After settling in, we set out to find this mythical group of young sober people. Incredibly, we found them! They were literally some of the most friendly (and beautiful!) people EVER. We all went out for pizza. It was the perfect ending to our unbelievably epic day.

The amazing people we met in Flagstaff made a lasting impression on me, and I know all of our paths will cross again. The next morning, I took a walk with Katie, her dog and her son and talked about her beautiful home (which you can stay at, btw)! She made us coffee. We gathered our things, said goodbye, and set out on the road back to California.

I’ve never been in this place before. I have no reasonable explanation for how I ended up here. The past few years have been a series of unbelievable events, each one a bit more uncanny than the last. At this point I’ve learned to simply stop questioning it, and just go with the flow. This trip has taught me so much – about life, friendship, love, and faith. I got to share the entire experience with two incredible men, who I now consider my soul brothers. To me, this trip feels like a milestone. I’ve finally grown into my life, and it fits me just right.

I’m very grateful, and sooooo excited for what’s yet to come!