The Southwest Recap

I thought this recap post was going to be easy to spin through and plop onto this here blog, but I'm tired and not feeling well and feeling like my blahness will come across as lack of zeal for this trip and the things we did.  But as I said in my last post, it was the best trip we ever did take as a family.  So because of said tiredness and just blahness, I'm going to very matter of factly just give the details of where we stayed/what we did and forgive me if it lacks the flair of a travel journalist.  Basically, I'm just going to tell you the nitty gritty. 

Wednesday we departed Southern California and 8 hours and 1 stop later we arrived at the Grand Canyon (my kids by the way pee twice a day, which can be frustrating as a mother who worries about the inevitable UTI that will result from pee holding, but can be glorious for road tripping and errand running.  Honestly it is the most convenient character trait my kids possess).  There was a bit of a wait at the gate to get in but once we entered the park, it was a short trip to arrive at Grand Canyon village in the South Rim (the North Rim is closed during the winter months but I've heard that it is quite beautiful as well, of course, and a lot less crowded).  We arrived just at sunset and because of my blahness today, I'm afraid my words will fail me and I won't be able to properly tell you just how glorious of a sight the Grand Canyon is when seeing it from adult eyes, but please, please believe me that it was magnificent.   

Seventeen years had passed since I had seen the Grand Canyon and seeing from my 35 year old eyes last week was one thousand times more incredible and awe inspiring than seeing it as a teen.  It was truly glorious and spectacular and I swear it brought tears to my eyes.  Simply said, in a gasp, it literally took my breath away.  The kids of course looked around and were like "cool, let's go look for rocks now."  It didn't bother me, I just went with it because it would be silly of me to think 4 and 6 year olds could appreciate such a sight. If you are thinking of going, please go.  You won't regret it.

(El Tovar)

As far as lodging goes, you have quite a few options; camping of course is an option, that is if you are INSANE!  But really, camp if you'd like, but there are plenty of very nice indoor/queen size bed/warm places to spend the night, all booked through  Xanterra.. the company Fred Harvey founded over a hundred years ago.  We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge which was right on the rim and although a little dated, it was perfectly comfortable, clean and affordable.

You can check out the other lodges available (we would love to stay at the El Tovar next time!), but some you can't book online, so give them a call.  Don't be put off by this, as giving them a call was very easy and helpful.  The rep spent about 25 minutes on the phone with me and answered all sorts of questions I had.  He also booked our tour for us, which leads me to what we did...

 We took a 2 hour tour Thursday morning that went as far as Hermits Rest and turned around.  We were able to stop along the way to take pictures and look around and we had a guide that gave us some history and answered questions.  Cost for this tour was $26 per adult and free for kids under 12.  There were also 1.5 hour tours and 3 hour tours.  Xanterra can book all of these for you.  There are of course the famous donkey tours and hiking tours, but I was nervous enough having the kids running around so close to the edge I wasn't tempting fate.

Dining in Yosemite Village was surprisingly very nice.  We ate dinner our first night at a place called the Arizona Room and then lunch at El Tovar (tip on dining at El Tovar - call way in advance for dinner reservations, and for lunch get there before the 11:40 train arrives in the village and the place becomes swarmed with day trippers).  Breakfast was picked up on the run at a easy little coffee shop. 

I'd say 24 hours in Grand Canyon was the perfect amount of time for our young family.  As they get older I could imagine doing some hiking and more exploring, but at this age it was just too scary to embark on that type of adventure.  After lunch on Thursday we walked around a bit and let the kids pick out some souvenirs and then we were off onto our next adventure, Sedona.

 (downtown Sedona)

 (Tlaquepaque)

 You'll drive about 2 hours to Sedona, famous for its huge beautiful red rocks, many of which resemble gorillas and famous cartoon characters like Snoopy.  Now let me say that Sedona definitely gets by with its good looks and charm because the restaurants pretty much suck and the coffee is way over priced ($5.25 for a medium latte WHAT?!).  We did manage to scout a couple of decent eats, both being at Tlaquepaque - El Rincon and The Secret Garden.  They were good but not amazing.  We would have loved to eat at Elote Cafe but it was a 2 hour wait and they don't take reservations.  Tip - get there before they open at 5 to get a table.  The menu did look pretty incredible.  Overall Sedona could take a tip from its neighbor Scottsdale and build a couple of more good eats. 

Since I know vacations aren't only about eating, but also doing, let me share a couple of the highlights that you should consider taking in -

 (enjoying the jeep tour)

Jeep Tours have popped up as the main tourist attraction it seems since we last visited 10 years ago.  At first I was a bit skeptical and saw it as a tourist trap, but after some consideration we decided to just have Art take the kids and you know what?  It was worth every penny!  They all had an incredible time on the 2 hour 4x4 ride.  Art took video footage of most of it and we've had fun playing it over and over for some of our family and just each other.  There are a lot of companies in town but we went with A Day In the West because they were family owned, more reasonably priced than other tours and they offered a true 4x4 adventure (they did the 2 hour Lil Rattler tour and through our hotel we got 10% off).  FYI, Pink Jeep Tours is a big one about town but they are very expensive and not family owned, so that was just a bit of a sticking point with me.  Nina was their tour guide and she was amazing, really knowing how to make it fun for the kids (in the video footage she engages with them a lot and stops a few times to show them different sites, including some animal carcasses which the kids LOVED and told them ancient Native American folk tales).

 (Chapel of the Holy Cross)

Other site seeing options include Chapel Of the Holy Cross, which is a chapel built right into the side of the hill and offers a pretty incredible view.  Rock seeing is fun too, especially for the kids.  Shapes like bears, Snoopy and gorillas can be spotted in the rock formations, or you can let the kids have their own imagination and identify what they see.  Traveling with kids your options are obviously a little more limited because there are beautiful hiking trails to explore and spas and art galleries galore.  But considering our travel companions and our time constraints, this is what we managed to do and felt fulfilled enough with our short trip to Sedona.

 (gorilla rock)

 (Snoopy rock)

 (view from Chapel of the Holy Cross)

I forgot to share where we stayed while there.  We stayed at the Orchards Inn right in downtown Sedona.  It was clean and comfortable but in the future I'd probably stay somewhere a little more tucked away.  Don't get me wrong, Sedona shuts down at 6 or 7 pm so we didn't have loud noise to contend with, but our room was right over a restaurant.  The Hyatt was just up the street and was about $25 more per night than the Orchard Inn and a better location.  Friends have stayed at the L'Auberge and loved it, but more for a romantic getaway.        

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that after leaving Sedona we traveled to Scottsdale and spent a couple of days wieth my best friend and her new baby.  I wont' share that part of our trip because we don't ever do much there but visit and eat :)

The last thing I'll mention before ending this very long post is that the timing of our trip was pretty much perfect.  The Grand Canyon was busy, but not overly crowded like summer and spring can be.  It was cold, mainly at night, but definitely bearable.  We planned late and booked our hotel just 2 days before but if you plan a bit more in advance you'd have more prime options for lodging.  The weather overall during our trip was pretty much perfection.  Crisp air and blue skies with just a bit of snow in the Grand Canyon and on our drive into Sedona.  Overall I can't recommend December enough as the time to take this sort of trip.

I hope this wasn't too boring?  It took me for some reason a very long time to recap this info, so please if you made it through to the end leave a note saying hi so I know all my work wasn't in vain :)  And this will be the last you will ever hear about our trip.  Even I'm tired of talking about it now :)

Road Tripping Part Uno - The Video

For the next two days I'm going to be posting about our 5 day road trip through the Southwest, so if you have no interest in reading about the Grand Canyon or Sedona and Scottsdale, then I guess I'll see you back in a couple of days.  But of course I do hope you'll stick around.  When our friends heard we were planning this trip, many of them asked me to share as much info about lodging, sightseeing and other tips as I could, so hopefully these posts will be both informative and picturesque.

I can easily say that this was the best trip we've taken together as a family.  It's not that the trip was perfect or "amazing" in any particular way, it's just that it was simply simple.  Besides the fact that travel, especially road tripping, with kids gets easier as they get older, our destinations were truly special.  Plainly said, there's a reason why a whole genre of film was inspired by the Southwest territory; the region is just magical.  Steeped with legend, eerie mysticism and breathtaking scenery, and of course graced with one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, there's no other place like it.  We as a family were happy, peaceful, content on this trip, more than we ever have been on a vacation.  I will never forget it.     

I thought I'd start with a video montage of some of my favorite pictures, so as not to load down each post with 60 photos.  The video is set to the song of our trip, Young Blood by The Naked and Famous.  Since I can remember, Art and I have always chosen a song to go along with each trip we take.  It always happens organically after our trip, when we look back and think about what song for one reason or another stuck out in our mind the most.  For some reason this one just did; I played it over and over.  I guess I find it kind of soothing.  Also on our playlist were songs by Bibio, M83, Cake, College, Young the Giant.  After the video I'll show you a snippet of our road trip playlist, just in case you're a music nut and are into that sort of thing.  I find that we always end up bringing all these songs with us but end up only listening to about 20% of them.  I guess this is our 20% here.  Do you guys create playlists for trips too, and what are some of your favorite road trip songs?

So anyhow, here's the video...it makes me tear up each time I watch it.  It really does.  I'm such a crazy sap.  There's something so cool that I've always loved about road trips and having the people you love the most locked in a car with you for hours at a time.  It's like I have them all to myself.  Okay that sounds really weird doesn't it?  Like I'm some psycho that wants to lock up my husband and kids and stare at them all day.  Sorry, it's late and before I creep out anymore readers I better go.  Night night.

I'll be back tomorrow with more travel specifics; where we stayed, where we ate, what we did, etc.  See you then!  Oh, and I'm linking up with Heather for Hello: I Love You!

I'm Leaving

I leave for NY in a couple of hours.  Yes, I was just there last month.  Yes, it feels like I was just there too.  When people hear that I travel for work, they usually ask "Is that hard?"  Women and men of all ages ask the question, it's not like anyone discriminates.  It used to bother me, but now I guess I'm just so used to it.  I say "of course it's hard."  It's not like I actually want to leave my family, spend nights away from them and yes, it can be a burden.  But I have the knack of feeling myself with guilt and dread more than anyone could do for me.  I have thoughts that I don't even like to verbalize lest they manifest themselves into reality.  Thoughts of plane crashes and kids breaking arms when I am away.  See, twisted, right?  Friends, you don't ever have to worry that I don't feel this burden on my own, because I do.  But it's something that I signed up for, and I strongly believe that when you make your own choices, you have to live with them and moan and complain as little as possible.

I notice that the anticipation of leaving is always worse than the actual leaving.  Once I am there I settle into a routine of work, dinner, walk, observe, sleep.  Before I know it it's time to come home.  I try to keep myself busy after work and I try to enjoy myself.  I guess I could sit in my hotel room and wallow in my guilt, but that's no good for anyone.  On my last trip, after dinner it started to snow, really hard.  So I sat outside my hotel and played around with my camera.  I took shots of what I saw and I sort of like how they came out, with no flash, just the warm glow of the city lights.  I for some reason was fascinated with people walking through the snow. 

This girl was not prepared at all for the snow storm.  You should have heard her howling about those pretty little oxford heels.  I sort of felt bad for her.  Just sort of.  I myself was wearing my trusty white Sorels ;)

And this guy with his Gucci loafers.  Yes, they were Guccis.  See how he's trying not to fully plant his heels in the ground.  I could not date that guy.  Or marry him.

Now this group of young kids were a lot more well prepared, all the girls wearing their Hunter Wellies. 

Here's me :)

Oh and this guy works at the hotel and he's so nice.  He recognizes me now after going there a few times.  See how he's smiling for the camera?

I started to truly freeze my tail off so I went upstairs and these were taken from my room on the 8th floor.

Again, I was fascinated with the foot prints. 

When I woke up the next morning Central Park had received 19 inches of snow and this is what it looked like outside of my window.

I literally gasped when I looked around. 

Snow looks so different all over a city as opposed to in the countryside.  It has its own kind of beauty.

Please say a prayer for me friends.  I never used to be afraid to fly until I had kids.  But those kids have a way of making you realize just how beautiful and precious life is.  Have a great day everyone and I'll see you when I touch down 3000 miles away.