Quick Weekend Trip To Sedona After Thanksgiving Madness

One would think that if you lived in a state that has one a few of the most highly visited tourist places that tons of people come to each year, you’d visit it quite a bit too?

Yep I thought so too, but unfortunately, we don’t go as often as I’d like.

In fact, we actually visited Sedona because we had a gift certificate from a friend to visit and take a little ‘baby moon’ before our baby was born….. 3 years ago.

And we had to use the certificate before it expired, 3 years later!

So we decided that after all the Thanksgiving madness, we would take a quick weekend trip as the girls were out of school and Steve’s office was closed for the weekend.

So we left on a Friday about 10 am and drove the 1.5 hours to get there (lame that we live so close and Steve’s never been, right?) and let me just tell you, we weren’t prepared for the temperature drop!

It was in the high 70s when we left Scottsdale and by the time we arrived in Sedona it had dropped to a cool and rainy 45-50 degrees.

Brr..

The GPS was set to take us straight to our lodging, which was this cute little boutique hotel, called Adobe Village Inn but it was too early to check in, so we went to Subway to grab some lunch and let the girls stretch their legs.

After lunch, we went to check into our room, which we stayed in the Coconino 2 bedroom suite. It had a full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and a great view of the red mountains that Sedona is so commonly known for.

That night, we decided that maybe we’d go out and explore some things, and Steve found a casino close enough to where we were staying that also had a children’s play area for the girls to get out some of their energy. So, we drove about 20 miles south to Camp Verde and the Cliff Castle Casino where we had dinner at an OG Johnny Rockets before letting the girls go play in the play area.

And the decor inside this beauty was just as I remember going to back in the day. So awesome!

Side Note: I fully believe that if more Casinos had kids areas, they would get more business! Not just for their tables and slot machines, but for their restaurants and accomodations! It was neat that we could take them and they could play on slides, climbing things and they even have a separate bowling alley for adults and kids to play together.

Steve and I then found a seat at a Blackjack table – his favorite game and I pretend to know what I’m doing, with him mostly telling me what to do.

The only thing I don’t like about casinos is they allow smoking, and as a non smoker, it’s a bit overwhelming and I really don’t like to visit them for too long becaue the smell penetrates your entire being.

I will say, if someone isn’t smoking right beside me, I get lost in the game, and don’t notice it that much.

And this particular night, I was giving the dealer more chips than I was bringing in. Steve on the other hand was playing like a wild man – 2 hands at a time, doubling the bet and then splitting and winning (mostly). So I didn’t feel so bad that my stack was getting pretty small because his was 3 or 4 times mine.

Little tip if you never gamble or have been thinking about gambling – I NEVER put all my chips on the table at first. I bet the minimum until I start to win, and then I take my starting money out and put it in my bag so I never go home down. I only play with my winnings at that point, and if Steve (because he always does) asks for chips as he’s spent all of his, it’s out of winnings. This is the ONLY way I will play!

After about an hour and a half to two hours of play, and actually coming out $300 up, we decided that it was time to go. By the time we would get back to town, stop by the store for a few needs, and to the room it would be bedtime. Plus, they played non stop like little monkeys for that time, so they were tired.

If you know me at all, you know that I’m one for a schedule and routine when it comes to morning and nights, and being on vacation is no different. We go to bed at the same time and wake up around the same time, no matter where we are. Because the girls are little, the structure is invaluable and needed to help them in life.

Saturday morning, Steve always sleeps in and never has breakfast. So the girls and I had a short little walk to the main building to get a wonderful, homemade and delicious 3 course breakfast complete with coffee, juice and homemade muffins.

When you make your reservation, they ask if you have any dietary restrictions, and I requested gluten free and dairy free. So each morning we stayed, they had a special muffin marked just for me, and were very careful with their food preparations to ensure my food wasn’t compromised with anything I couldn’t eat. <– SO AWESOME! and such great hospitality for their guests!

If you are traveling with kiddos, the portions they make are for adults, so I just let them know the morning of that they could split the meals for the girls because I didn’t want them to waste their food.

After breakfast and getting ready for the day, we traveled into the main tourist area of Sedona to check out some shops and we stumbled upon this olive oil and vinegar shop that Steve was super into! He wanted to try ALL the oils and even tried a few of the honeys they had available.

He tried to get the girls to try the oils too, but they’ve been ‘victim’ to one too many of his funny tricks and don’t really like to try what he says is ‘good’ anymore! And Leila can read a lot now, so she knows what the labels say and if it’s spicy or something she would try. But they did have a fun time trying the honey together.

Finally, he settled on a bottle of the Garlic Olive Oil, Rosemary Honey, and Some Maple Syrup from Vermont.

We then wandered down the street and found a Mexican place (our favorite food group) where we could watch some football, each some great guacamole, and enjoy some tacos. And also a quick warm up as we were freezing already!

After filling our bellies, the girls wanted to take a picture with the painting on the wall that looked similar to Miguel from “Coco”.

Even in November, there were so many tourists from other countries visiting Sedona. It was a bit difficult to walk down the sidewalk with the girls and make sure they were safe from all the traffic happening.

We did manage to find a Pink Pig that Finlee thought was the funniest thing ever! And we tried to test out a new 360 camera that I eventually decided isn’t for me (after another trip) with a family photo looking at the Red Rocks.

On our way back to the car, about half frozen from the brisk wind and cooler than we are used to temps, we stopped by The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and grabbed a few truffles and sweets for the room.

And the girls spotted a crystal store and convinced Steve to go take a look. He of course was in awe of the pricing they were charging (and getting!) for these ‘rocks’.

Side Note – if you are in the market for some crystals and go to Sedona to get them, they will be higher priced than buying from someone online or even a store somewhere else. It’s because they have to pay a premium for the retail space, and they will always have the energy of Sedona around them, but so many people touch them on a daily basis it’s important to cleanse them WELL.

We headed back to our ‘home’ for the weekend to warm up, and plan what we were going to do for the game that night. Steve is a diehard Ohio State fan, which of course doesn’t bode well with my “Purdue FOR LIFE” attitude, but it was the big Michigan vs. Ohio State game, so that won out.

As we started researching, we realized that there aren’t a lot of places for us to go watch the game because they were all for the 21 and over crowd. Then we remembered that we got a $40 gift card for booking more than 1 night with Adobe Village Inn to one of those restaurants and they delivered. So we ordered with them, and settled in to watch the exciting game that had me on the edge of my seat even as a non fan!

Sunday morning comes and the girls and I are treated to another 3 course breakfast that was equally as delicious as the previous.

We then packed our things, and started our long, 1.5 hour journey south to Scottsdale.

I am confident we will be spending more time in Sedona and the surrounding areas as we know what to expect with kids and as a family. Next visit, I plan to hike and visit a few of the outdoor attractions, of course when it’s warmer and the are up for it!

If you are planning a visit to Sedona either by yourself or with friends/family, I hope our visit was enough to get some ideas going for you. She’s beautiful and a must see!

xoxo,

AJ

A quick but Much Needed Trip to Sedona

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