On Friday morning, we woke up and had another huge breakfast. Soon after, we re-packed our suitcases, and headed out on the road for the drive to Sedona.
Luke's grandparents live in Green Valley, AZ, which is about a half hour south of Tucson. It's pretty close to Mexico, and almost as far south as you can go in Arizona. So we were on the road for about 4 hours on the drive to Sedona. However, due to the beautiful scenery, it did not feel nearly that long. Plus I was still reading "The Harvey Girls," so that kept me busy.
When we were getting close to Sedona, Luke told me to watch for red in the mountains. I put my book down and anxiously looked out the window. We rounded a curve, and all of a sudden, I was surrounded by the most majestically beautiful scenery I'd ever encountered. I knew it was going to be beautiful, but I didn't realize just HOW beautiful until I saw it for myself. I keep saying it was like seeing the ocean for the first time, only even more beautiful than that. Here are some of my first pictures taken out the window of the Avalanche while I was in awe of the beauty. But take my word for it: that pictures don't do it justice...you HAVE to see it for yourself!
Once we arrived in town, we stopped at an information building because we were ready for lunch at this point, and wanted to find out about some of the local dining. We asked the man who worked there where he suggested for lunch. He told us to go to The Cowboy Club in Uptown Sedona, so that's what we did.
When I saw Uptown Sedona for the first time I just thought it was so cute! In Sedona, all the buildings are colors that blend in with the landscape and scenery. There are no tall buildings, and everything just works together perfectly so that the view of the mountains is never obstructed and the buildings are never distracting. I loved this, and wished my sister could have been there to see it. Being an interior designer (well, less than a semester away from being one), she would have really appreciated it.
We walked and walked in Uptown Sedona, and finally found it: Cowboy Club
Since it was around 2:00 in the afternoon, it wasn't too busy and we were seated right away in a semi-circular booth against the wall. I loved that, because I got to sit right next to Luke and look out at all the people while we ate (I like to people-watch. I hope that doesn't make me too creepy).
Since it was around 2:00 in the afternoon, it wasn't too busy and we were seated right away in a semi-circular booth against the wall. I loved that, because I got to sit right next to Luke and look out at all the people while we ate (I like to people-watch. I hope that doesn't make me too creepy).I ordered the sandwich of the day, which was a BLTA sandwich: bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado on sourdough bread. It came with Tortilla soup.
I've got to say that this little meal wins the award for best restaurant-meal of the week. It was maybe the best sandwich I've ever eaten. And while I love all the Mexican food we ate, this was a much lighter meal, and I didn't feel like I was going to die after I ate it :-P Or maybe it was just because I was on some sort of high just being in Sedona, what I now consider to be the most beautiful place in the country. So everything tasted better :-)
After lunch we walked up and down the streets of Uptown Sedona, into the little shops selling jewelry, souvenirs, clothes, Southwestern attire and decor, red rock shirts, and lots of other fun things. While we were out, we ended up stopping at the Pink Jeep Store since we were going on a Pink Jeep Tour the following day. Luke bought a t-shirt, I bought a sweet pink sweatshirt, and we got a magnet. Since we spent so much money there, we got a free book about the Pink Jeep Tours, and a coupon for the Pink Java Cafe next door (which we sadly never ended up redeeming. I guess we better go back soon so we can use it!! ;-))
After we were all shopped-out, we drove around, looking at the red rock mountains and looking for hiking trails to explore later on in the weekend. I got some beautiful pictures
By this time it was late enough to check into our condo. It was so nice! It had tall ceilings, a loft area, a fire place, a full kitchen, and a bathroom you could get lost in, with a gigantic whirlpool bathtub.
It was so nice to be able to rest there for awhile before heading out on the town again :-) We sat around watching TV and reading for a few hours, and then felt rejuvenated. Once we were finally hungry again, we got ready and headed out to dinner.
We chose to eat dinner at the Javelina Cantina. It seems to be everybody's favorite Mexican restaurant in Sedona, so we had to check it out.
When we got to Javelina's, we were ushered to a table right beside the fireplace! I loved this, because I love fireplaces. Plus, it was pretty chilly in Sedona. A lot colder than it had been in Green Valley, 4 hours south. Our table had a candle flickering on the end, and I loved that too. We munched on chips and salsa while we waited for our meal.
It was all so delicious, and we had a great time! This place wins the award for best atmosphere in any restaurant we visited :-)
I've got to say that this little meal wins the award for best restaurant-meal of the week. It was maybe the best sandwich I've ever eaten. And while I love all the Mexican food we ate, this was a much lighter meal, and I didn't feel like I was going to die after I ate it :-P Or maybe it was just because I was on some sort of high just being in Sedona, what I now consider to be the most beautiful place in the country. So everything tasted better :-)After lunch we walked up and down the streets of Uptown Sedona, into the little shops selling jewelry, souvenirs, clothes, Southwestern attire and decor, red rock shirts, and lots of other fun things. While we were out, we ended up stopping at the Pink Jeep Store since we were going on a Pink Jeep Tour the following day. Luke bought a t-shirt, I bought a sweet pink sweatshirt, and we got a magnet. Since we spent so much money there, we got a free book about the Pink Jeep Tours, and a coupon for the Pink Java Cafe next door (which we sadly never ended up redeeming. I guess we better go back soon so we can use it!! ;-))
After we were all shopped-out, we drove around, looking at the red rock mountains and looking for hiking trails to explore later on in the weekend. I got some beautiful pictures
By this time it was late enough to check into our condo. It was so nice! It had tall ceilings, a loft area, a fire place, a full kitchen, and a bathroom you could get lost in, with a gigantic whirlpool bathtub.
It was so nice to be able to rest there for awhile before heading out on the town again :-) We sat around watching TV and reading for a few hours, and then felt rejuvenated. Once we were finally hungry again, we got ready and headed out to dinner.We chose to eat dinner at the Javelina Cantina. It seems to be everybody's favorite Mexican restaurant in Sedona, so we had to check it out.
When we got to Javelina's, we were ushered to a table right beside the fireplace! I loved this, because I love fireplaces. Plus, it was pretty chilly in Sedona. A lot colder than it had been in Green Valley, 4 hours south. Our table had a candle flickering on the end, and I loved that too. We munched on chips and salsa while we waited for our meal.
Luke ordered enchilladas, and I ordered a chicken and vegetable burrito.
It was all so delicious, and we had a great time! This place wins the award for best atmosphere in any restaurant we visited :-)
After dinner we went back to our condo, and I used the self-timer to get a picture of the two of us, because this was the most dressed-up we were all week. (I guess when you're hiking and exploring most of the time on vacation, you don't have to dress up too much :-)
{I wish I had moved the can of root beer and bag of chocolate chip cookies from Luke's grandma out of the way before we took this!}
And that pretty much concludes day 3 of our vacation!
{I wish I had moved the can of root beer and bag of chocolate chip cookies from Luke's grandma out of the way before we took this!}And that pretty much concludes day 3 of our vacation!
*************
I may take a break in the recap posts for the weekend, but I'll be back sometime soon with the recap of day 4: our Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona, and our drive to The Grand Canyon!
I agree Sedona is majestically beautiful & good choice with the mexican food!!
ReplyDelete