Tuesday, April 11, 2006

New Age Family Vacation Alert


In what may or may not be the first NY Times article with the word "vibe" in the title, senior Book Review editor Dwight Garner takes us on a textual trip to the New Age mecca of Sedona, Arizona in "In Search of the Vortex Vibe in Sedona."




A few years ago, USA Today called Sedona the most beautiful place in America. At sundown, that doesn't begin to cover it. And it's not just the views. There's a vibe in the air, something not quite audible, a kind of metaphysical dog whistle that calls people out to have a look around and to try to feel something that, if you're not a committed New-Age pilgrim, is hard to put into words.



Hmmm, vibes ARE hard to put into words. Maybe that's the whole point. Anyway, I'm glad that such an elusive concept is considered LEGIT enough for inclusion in THE PAPER OF RECORD.

Here's another choice quotation:

This isn't Aspen. There's a tasteful, turquoise-arched McDonald's on the main street here but no Louis Vuitton outlets in sight.


It was surprisingly easy to find a picture of this McDonald's on Google:


Speaking of tasteful McDonald's, check out this one in OLD SAN JUAN:



See more here.

Now I'm going to enjoy one of those painfully rare spring days when NYC, or at least Columbia, develops it's own Sedonatic vibe. Don't forget that Morningside Heights sits atop a giant GEODE.