Day 1
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Sedona Lunch and ExploringBy the time we make it to Sedona, I'm hungry and, okay, maybe a little cranky. We go for lunch at ChocolaTree Organic Oasis. We order the ginger lemonade (freaking amazing, the best lemonade we've ever had), the green goddess salad (not good, topped with "sea vegetable dulse," which is the consistency of chalk and tastes about as good), vegan saag paneer (surprisingly good for having no actual paneer), palak uttapam (an Indian pancake with a spinach curry filling, delicious), and sweet corn uttapamitas (little lentil rice pancakes filled with corn, also delicious).
They've got a chocolate counter, so we each grab a piece on the way out. The chocolates are stupid expensive, like four bucks for a single truffle, but they're going to be good, right? Wrong. I'm hoping for four-dollar-good chocolate. These taste more like one-dollar-good chocolate. Can I please have my other three dollars back? Oh well. To the Jeep! We head next to Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village to do some shopping and to look for more coffee. This is a bad idea, since I'm not handling my first coffee buzz all that elegantly, but I'm unable to reason myself out of it. The place is super pretty. This whole shopping area is shaded and done in that typical Arizona architecture. And this is probably a good time to mention that all of Sedona is beautiful. The red plateaus, the beautiful blue skies, the endless views. Also, it's so hippy. Everyone is super crunchy. Not what I was expecting at all, but I love it. We browse the shops and wind up in a Christmas store. Wouldn't it be cute if we got an ornament? Yes. I pick the one I like and bring it to the counter. Try to pay. The lady wants to see my ID to compare it to the credit card. Sure. I hand it over. "Your names don't match," she says. "Oh yeah, I got married," says me. I don't add what I'm really thinking, which is, seriously? I'm a white chick in freaking Sedona trying to buy a $7 ornament. Do I fit the profile for a criminal? "I shouldn't allow this sale. You really need to get that fixed," she berates me. I arch a brow. Silence from me. She lets me buy it anyway, then wishes us a happy marriage on the way out. It rings false. Mike points out that she really does have a point about the name. I do some more eye rolling. We walk into Cake Couture Coffee & Dessert and the girl at the counter immediately asks us if we drink dairy. Sure, we say. "Do you guys want these two coffees?" she asks. She accidentally made them for someone who doesn't drink dairy. Caramel and vanilla, she tells us. She was just going to throw them away anyway. Hell yes. We cheers. |
Margaritas & Funky GlassesWe're driving through Sedona and Mike sees a sign for specialty margaritas at a place called Saltrock. Let's get some? Mmmm. Yes. We sit and sip and enjoy the view.
Mike and I have this thing about the sunglasses he bought in Europe. I love them. They look good on me. I take them and wear them often. Mike humors me mostly, unless he really needs them. Like now. Because even though I remembered to pack sunglasses, Mike forgot his. We do some playful bickering over who gets to wear them. I finally relent. Fine, you may wear your very own sunglasses, but let's find me a new pair. We end up in one of the shops around the town. I see a sunglasses rack and start trying them on. A worker girl comes over and decides to help me. We're giggling over this. The glasses are so silly and outrageous. Mike finds me and the girl and is surprised. None of this is like me. The sunglasses, the new friend. "It's just funny," he tells the girl, "because if you knew her, you'd know these sunglasses are just very unlike her." I wind up with a pair of hexagon ones. It's vacation! We also find a wooden giraffe that looks like he needs to come home with us. We do a bit more shopping, then decide it's time to head up to Flagstaff. To the Jeep! |
Dinner in FlagstaffWe arrive to Flagstaff, shower and head out to dinner at Criollo. We order the ensalada mescalada (so super delicious), rellono vegetables (also amazing) and pastor fajitas. I also get a glass of wine and Mike orders a beer. Everything tastes great and I'm loving the vibe and the weather. It's nice, much cooler than we expected because of the elevation.
We walk around downtown a little after dinner. I look up and see the stars. The city has restrictions on how bright lights can be, and it makes a difference. When we get home, I pull out my star app and we stand in the driveway finding constellations. Just what I love, to gaze at the stars. |
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Day 2
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Lunch, Breweries and DinnerAfter the Grand Canyon, we make the drive back and find a spot for lunch at My Pita Wrap. It's rated five stars on Yelp, which is almost unheard of. We get to the counter. The cashier is super nice and helps explain (over-explain?) everything. The owner is there, too, and does the same.
"We make our falafel with garbanzo beans, not chickpeas," the cashier says. Aren't they the same? "No, but I can't explain the difference." I frown. I'm pretty sure they're the same. "The owner can explain the difference," the cashier assures us as he walks over. "Oh, garbanzo beans and chickpeas?" the owner asks. "They're the same." We each order a salad, mine with falafel and Mike's with gyro meat. We also get a platter with grape leaves and pita and dips. Everything tastes great. A long nap is in order before we shower and change for drinks and dinner. We start at Mother Brewery. (Again with the funky smell inside. What is it with these places?). Mike orders a flight and I share it with him. We meet this friendly pair of guys who'd driven up from Phoenix to go hiking in the morning, and are doing what we are now - enjoying a beer. They recommend a few more hikes and good breweries to check out in the area. Cool. Thanks guys. Next up: Beaver Street Brewery. We walk in and shrug. This one's not really a brewery, not in the typical way. It's more like a bar. We almost skip it, but decide, what the hell, let's have a drink. I order a shandy that I greatly enjoy. I'm starting to feel the buzz. We walk to Lumberyard next, but walk right back out since we realize they have exactly the same beer selection as Beaver Street. Are they owned by the same person? Must be. Okay, on to the next. We find our way to Historic Brewing Company, which ends up being one of our top two favorites of the trip. I order a flight (me! On my own! My very own flight!) and Mike does the same. I try their prickly puss sour, the blood, sweat and tears (my favorite beer of the trip, it's a blood orange sour that actually tastes like oranges), the how now brown cider (it's a dark cider, but really good) and one other that I've already forgotten. But everything is really, really tasty. Mike finds another restaurant that's rated five stars called Nomad Global Lounge. It's an eclectic mix of Mexican, Indian, Mediterranean and some others. We order a few different things, like the bacon, date and goat cheese dip (amazing) and a platter that came with a corn salad (really yummy), beef pot pie (like a little hand pie), and some other stuff. It's not much food, but we're glad because between the two of us, we're satisfied. |
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Day 3
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Skip the Nap, Time to DrinkWe quickly shower, get ready and then head to Dark Sky Brewery. It's our other favorite brewery of the trip (really cool inside, and they brew 100 beers every year so there's lots of fun options). I ask for whatever their most sour beer is and they hand me a sour IPA. Mmmm.
As we're sitting, Mike spots some old Ohio State friends. We say hello and chat for a bit about Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. After, we walk to Flagstaff Brewery, which isn't actually a brewery again, it's more like a bar. As we're ordering, we hear the guy in front of us ask if they make good Moscow Mules. The server gets all sassy. "Well, it's only three ingredients." He orders it anyway. Okay, enough of this place. Next, we hit up one last brewery called Hops on Birch. They have two different kinds of sours, so I'm happy. Mike and I play darts. He wins. Barely. On our way out, we pass a wine bar. "Let's go. Do you want to go?" Mike asks. Of course. We get inside and the bartender (who I suspect is also the owner) tells us there's a "mix your own" option. I obviously want that. Like kids in a bathtub. Only we're adults, and the bathtub gets you drunk. |
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A Ramen Place that Sells No RamenWe go for dinner at SoSoBa. There's one server and he's running around like crazy, so we settle in to wait. We order the pork belly ssam (very good), the cold soba salad (I thought it was a real salad, but it was actually all noodles. Kind of tasted like mint chocolate. Still tasty), and Mike ordered ramen (but he was disappointed because the noodles weren't ramen noodles, and therefore it wasn't really ramen). Even for it not being what we expected, I was happy with all the food.
We talk about going out for more drinks, then laugh at ourselves, self-deprecating. As if we'd ever really stay out past dinner time. |
Day 4
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Being Dreamy
We continue on our way to the ancient pueblo ruins. As we drive, I daydream. When I daydream, it's thoughtless, but it's always scenes of fictional characters. I imagine characters talking to each other, conflicts between people. I learned a few years ago (publicly and much to my embarrassment) that this isn't normal. But for me, the internal dialogue is practically constant.
Mostly, I forget the imaginings as soon as they're over. Sometimes, though, an idea sticks.
When that happens, it turns into a book. That's how I got the idea for Elvish. That's how I get my ideas for all my books. So as we're driving through Arizona, looking at the amazing topography, I get an idea. And it sticks.
The first chance I get, I pull out my phone and begin furiously taking notes. When I get home in a day, I pull out my laptop and write the first 5,000 words.
In a few years, I'll sit down and really write what I've now named Breaking Spirit. I think it's going to be a good one.
Mostly, I forget the imaginings as soon as they're over. Sometimes, though, an idea sticks.
When that happens, it turns into a book. That's how I got the idea for Elvish. That's how I get my ideas for all my books. So as we're driving through Arizona, looking at the amazing topography, I get an idea. And it sticks.
The first chance I get, I pull out my phone and begin furiously taking notes. When I get home in a day, I pull out my laptop and write the first 5,000 words.
In a few years, I'll sit down and really write what I've now named Breaking Spirit. I think it's going to be a good one.
Ancient Pueblo Ruins and DinnerThe pueblos are cool. We walk around and imagine what it would have been like living in that time. I'm feeling a little out of it. My mind is on this new book.
We drive home, shower, change and head back downtown. We're not quite ready for dinner, so we start at Karma, a sushi restaurant to get a sushi "snack" before dinner. I order the Autumn Roll (tempura sweet potato, cream cheese, etc. It's delicious). Mike also orders a ginger martini that's so good. Next up is a brewery called The State. I order another flight and Mike does the same. The bartender is a little...off. We can't tell if she's new or just an idiot. She's really, really slow. Can't remember our orders. Doesn't understand what we're asking for. She doesn't look like she's new. We scratch our heads. We finally get our drinks and grab the fun table by the window. Mike finds a game called Joe Name It. We roll the die and play. It gets harder the more we drink, which is funny. After, we people watch out the window. "Let's play another game," I say. "We'll give every person a story." We take turns. "That's Michelle and Jacob, they've been dating since high school and she wants to get married, but he's dragging his feet." "That's Carl, he knocked some girl up and thought it was a huge mistake, but now he lives for his daughter." Mike tells me I'm better at this game than he is. I laugh. After, we head to Aloha Hawaiian BBQ. This place came recommended, and we've been itching to try it since we arrived. It's good. Really good. We order some dumplings, the most amazing grilled chicken and pot stickers. After, we go for the third (fourth?) time to this sweet shop for gelato. We can't get enough of this place. There's time for a quick shower, then it's packing and driving back to the airport. We make it all the way to the rental car lot before I remember Mike's supposed to be driving. We perform a Chinese fire drill. They'll never even know. Well Jeep, it was a good ride. |
Our Favorite Memories
Mike: "Swimming at the end of the hike."
For me, it was the same! Hiking to the crack at Beaver Creek. The hike was hard, but that was so much fun.
For me, it was the same! Hiking to the crack at Beaver Creek. The hike was hard, but that was so much fun.