Thursday November 20, 2014:
Waiting for Justin's arrival:
His plane arrived "On Time" hurray!!
After lots and lots of suggestions from friends, and taste testing restaurants based on magazine articles, we head to Scottsdale where we already know there are some great places to dine, and fun touristy places to walk around and stretch his airplane legs. We think the cuisine for our first meal should be Mexican!
YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!!!!! We will return again.
Justin was very happy to shed the coat and begin soaking up the warm sun:
It was a great start to our long weekend, and I am very happy to say the weather completely cooperated.
Friday, November 21, we began our day with a Starbucks coffee and a bagel, then off to Sedona:
This was the jeep tour we chose. We took this same tour when we were here in March and thought Larry our guide did an excellent job on a very COLD day. However even though predictions were Rainy and cool, I think Justin brought us some luck, because it was SUNNY and mild all day. We couldn't have asked for better!! This time we had Kevin as our guide and we say without hesitation, he is even better than Larry.
Mystic Vista:
WOW, right Justin?
Time for some quiet meditation on the very top of a mountain that is known to have vortex energy.
Private moment when Kevin explained to Justin the meaning behind facing South when he was reflecting on his life.
For me, it was all about contemplating how blessed I am in life, and how much peace one feels in a beautiful place like this. Only God could have created this, and I'm saying "Thank You".
Yes, we were on the edge of beauty!!
This is Kevin our guide, explaining why this tree trunk is so twisted here in this spot. He said that Juniper trees in Sedona twist in accordance with the whirling of the vortexes. The stronger the energy, the more twisted they are. True or false, it felt like a spiritual earth mystery.
Now for the story of our two guides, Larry and Kevin. In March Larry shared a very sweet story with us about he and his wife. He said he met her on one of his tours, and after a year of dating, thought of proposing on a hot air balloon ride. Her daughter was invited to come along because he felt an important decision like this should include her. All of a sudden her daughter says "Mom, wouldn't this be a great place for a proposal"? Mom says, "oh no, I wouldn't like that". Woops, Larry tucks that ring deeper into his pocket, to pop the question in another setting. Coincidentally, Kevin is now sharing the exact same story of how he planned a proposal to his wife in a hot air balloon. HMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! Now the best part of this story is that later on in our journey someone mentions Hot Air Balloon rides, and without thinking about Kevin's previous story, i casually ask. "Have you ever done that"? Kevin, without thinking of his story of proposal, quickly says "NO"!!!! Ha ha ha, Busted for telling a tour guide fib. We did not embarrass him with the revolation of deceit but just enjoyed the rest of the tour.
Then you can't visit Sedona without going to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
Very beautiful inside with a view that is spectacular.
Justin outside the Chapel.
Back to town for a bite to eat and a little shopping then drive back to Sun City West. Our drive up and back for a day trip leaves us a little tired from sitting so we decide to do some mini golf to stretch the legs.
Saturday:
Today we are doing a segway tour of Old Scottsdale. (Our 5th time riding, Justin's 3rd. We are becoming real pro's and don't really need the training)
Very Professional nearly 3 hours of town history and secrets that only the locals know. Places to eat and shop, and believe me I'll put all that info into my memory bank for later on in our journey.
Riding a segway is a sensation that is hard to describe. My legs get a little tired, but there isn't much work involved. It's one of the things that we continue to repeat over and over. Pic's here:
Ready, let's go!!!
This group rode sidewalks, walk paths, and even in the street.
First Catholic Church in Old Scottsdale, restored and now a high priced Mexican Restaurant.
Beautiful Bronze statues all around town.
Artsy town, beautiful pieces to not only look at, but to also experience. This one we rode right into the center and- - - - -
This is the center of the doors sculpture.
Ended tour in about 2:45 feeling like we were treated to one of our best tours yet.
We had a wonderful late lunch at the Italian Grotto, where we were treated to a fun street show.
This guy and his horse actually ride into one of the saloons later in the day, but we missed that.
And that SUN just keeps shining, making for a very nice outside meal..
Back to our rental house where Justin cooks a nice healthy meal and a fun round of a card game called 99. (he found it on YouTube) I wish I had taken a few pics of that. It involved random knick knacks.
Yummy!!!
Sunday:
7:00 Mass where Justin was the Only young person in church. Remember, we are in Sun City West, which is a 55 and over community. Breakfast, then back to pack for his trip home. Oh, did I mention we had to buy him a larger bag for the flight home. He has my "shopping gene".
One last game of Mini golf before heading to the airport.
2:00 PM he's going through Security:
Some secret grandma tears right about now.. 😪
And then we end our weekend by sitting by the fire with our friend Ed, on a cold desert evening. Not to worry though, the sun came out the next morning like it ALWAYS does..
Now Thursday we are headed to Palm Springs for our Thanksgiving Club reunion. Thanks for following my Arizona blog. I'm making this my last one for this adventure, but I look forward to our next two weeks in the Sun and our travels home on The 15th of December. God bless all of my family and friends and Happy Thanksgiving.
What are you doing in the next two weeks that you can not Blog?????
ReplyDeleteNot much new stuff, mostly repeats... Could get very boring!! Lol
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