The Logans left for Tucson this morning and I’m not sure what the rest of us did with the day. That gives me a great chance to pop in some extra photos. You don’t care exactly what we did on each day and in what order, anyway.
This morning Ron hit the green of the golf course.
Susie, the Daniels and the Mundys hit the pinks…The Pink Jeep Tour of the Ancient Ruins http://pinkjeeptours.com/tour/ancient-ruins/.
Ron met other golfers and fell into a meal at the Ridge Grill. We had a good, but windy and dusty trip out to the Honanki Ruins. The cameras and smiling touristas had a great time made even greater when Susie found her beat up baseball cap she lost on the way out.
After a bit of freshening up we all met at Elote, which is Susie Logan’s favorite restaurant of all time – anywhere!! http://www.elotecafe.com/. We were not disappointed. The food was elegant and the new wine, 1448, we definitely plan to revisit! Cath had the snapper, I had the carnita and we all shared an Almendrado Brulee that was pure heaven in the mouth. Beam me up!!
After the oats, we loaded up and headed to Jerome, semi-Victorian mining town stuck up on the side of a mountain. It’s splendor is evident only in it’s ruins, but that’s what we came to see!
The cameras smiled all morning with indoor and outdoor wonders to feast upon. Gene and I found Geisel’s, a MOST unusual venue for lunch. Named after the owner’s mother, Geisel, who was a great chef, (Annie?) and her husband, Jeff have built quite a business in this subterranean brasserie. We were also fascinated by the kaleidoscopes ant-farm-like moving sculptures up the street.
Susie and Ron Logan arrived in time for dinner, and we all watched the movie, Hugo, they had brought with them.
We are all having a wonderful time in Sedona!
We got off to a reasonably early start for a hike on Bell Rock Trail. We tried the first exit which put us at the south end of the trail, but finding it very crowded, opted for the north end which was just right. The terrain was smooth and gentle for awhile, but then got very steep and uneven. We had walked enough and were there mostly to enjoy the beautiful rock formations. Bell Rock did not disappoint.
We then drove into Sedona and introduced Gene and Mary to Tlaquepaque, the amazing Spanish Colonial shopping extravaganza near the south end of Sedona. The Daniels were knocked out by the detail and beauty of the architecture and plantings. We ate lunch in the Secret Garden Cafe http://www.sedonasecretgardencafe.com/. Yum.
This morning we did the circle tour. Cathy’s parking karma worked once again (and the handicapped plates on the car didn’t hurt the situation) and we parked up top for the Chapel in the Rocks. By noon it was time to drop into the Coffee Pot Cafe. The reviews were right on the money: the food was great and plentiful and the surroundings – just right. We dropped into Bashes (local grocery) for a few items, did some more reconnaissance and headed back to the condo. After a supper of great pasta, we watched the Botany of Desire, a great Netflix we brought along featuring the work of Michael Pollan.
After a reasonably long drive for us and a very short one for Gene and Mary we met up at The Ridge on Sedona Golf Course shortly after the 4 p.m. check-in. A very accommodating staffer slipped us the code for free WiFi (even in this ritzy Silver Crown Resort, they would still like to poke you for $5/day to check your email…).
The wine flag was raised and the still frozen turkey soup from home had a chance to thaw. It was great to see the Daniels and catch up on news and travels.
On the road again and stuck. With a minimum of preparation I thought I could update these posts from afar using the app on my iPad. With a little more preparation I still think this is possible, but was unwilling to spend precious time on vacation and with wonderful friends trying to figure it out.
So, here I am at home after TWO back-to-back trips to widely differing paradises trying to reconstruct the events.
Here we go.
We drove to Albuquerque and had our first real encounter with the Negotiator App (thinly disguised shell for Priceline). We made a ridiculously low bid ($65) and got a suite of rooms w/full kitchen at the Residence Inn. We had packed large quantities of perishable food items so the large fridge and freezer were a real boon.
We ate pretty good Manchurian food up the street and slept well.
Daniels left Mimbres and planned to drive 1/2 way to Sedona (St. Johns?? Snowflake??), but missed an exit and went all the way to Flagstaff.