Flashback Friday

July 2007 – Sedona, Arizona

Rob and I had been to Arizona a few times, but we had never been to Sedona. We heard the red rocks were something you just had to see at some point in your life and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about. We planned a weekend trip to Sedona in July 2007. It just so happened to be just after our first niece, Gracie, was born and right after our own new arrival: Buddy.

We only had Buddy for about 3-4 weeks at this point and everything was still hard and new with him. The morning of our flight, I took Buddy out to go potty. Going potty in the morning in the early days was a process. It could take up to 30 minutes for the little guy to go #1. I think we were just trying to get a schedule down with him plus he really liked to be outside so I think he held it as long as he could because going potty meant we go back inside. FINALLY the little guy went and I went back inside. Rob was saying “we aren’t going to make the flight” and I kept saying “no, we’ll be fine, the airport is 1 exit down from where we live, calm down.”

So we get to the airport and the first time out of ~30 years of flying out of this airport, I see the line to get through security was so long it was inside the PARKING GARAGE. This is at the San Jose International Airport so anyone who knows the airport knows this is just ridiculous. So we told the security lady our flight was leaving in twenty minutes and could we please go to the front and she said nope. So we finally get to the gate and the plane is still there but the guy or gal, can’t remember, told us it was too late because the door was closed – apparently he didn’t want to open it. Luckily for us, there was a flight leaving in the next 45 minutes and they got us on that flight with no charge. We finally were able to breathe and relax a little.

So we finally get to AZ, rent our car and were on our way. I think the ride to Sedona from Phoenix was around 2-3 hours. There wasn’t much to look at for most of the drive so we kept ourselves entertained by looking at the weird street signs in the middle of the desert. They were streets called “Ox’s Blood Way” and things like that. Totally random. I also kept myself busy by taking portraits of myself.



Once we started getting near Sedona, we started to get a taste of red rock country – it was really pretty. At last we saw signs for the Enchantment Resort. I found this place on an Arizona message board. I told my friend Lyn about it and she said she saw this place on the Travel and Leisure world best hotels list online so this made me feel better – I was a little nervous as the pictures online were limited. The hotel is a couple miles off the main road which was kind of scary but when we pulled up it was just beautiful. The resort was in the middle of canyons of red rock. We requested the room travel and leisure said was the best room with a view and even the concierge said we got the best room – woohoo! The room was cute – it had a southwest vibe to it:








This was our view:





That night we ate at the more casual restaurant on-site and ate outside to take in the views:





The next morning we had room service breakfast out on the patio.



After breakfast the next morning, we both took a yoga stretch class together. It was fun to take a class like that with Rob. Something tells me it’s the last time that will ever happen.

After we got ready for the day, we went to the gift shop to pick up some souvenirs then went to the front desk to see about getting a jeep tour of the red rocks. We were able to get a ride with just us two and the tour guide. I was a little nervous on the ride – sometimes I felt like the jeep was vertical but it was really fun.





Rob with Willie Nelson our tour guide.



Rob and I



Rob's mom told us about a beautiful church in Sedona that we had to see so after our tour, we set out to see the church. We then went to downtown Sedona for lunch and shopping.






When we got back, before dinner, I had one of the best massages I’ve ever had complete with the sound of rain on the glass roof top. Yes, it rained every now and then while we were there. We were told it was normal for that time of year.

That night we went to the nicer restaurant at the hotel and enjoyed a yummy dinner. After dinner we looked at the stars with some guy who had some expertise about the subject – sorry I don’t remember the details. He had a massive telescope and I think he worked for Nasa at some point, or something.

The next morning we went to the breakfast buffet which was held at the fancy restaurant and enjoyed our last meal in Sedona. We were only there for 2 nights but we managed to squeeze in a lot of activities and R&R. I still think about the trip with fond memories and would love to go back someday.