SEDONA

Due to time and money constraints, we were pretty limited in our options for honeymooning after the wedding. We didn't want to forgo the time away, but we also didn't want to just stay in town. So we decided to go someplace away from Tucson, but too far: Sedona, Arizona.

You should check it out sometime. It is a beautiful little city surrounded by red rock formations. The elevation is a little higher than Tucson, so there are beautiful pine trees all over the place and more grass than here in the desert. The scenery made for a very romantic setting, perfect for a honeymoon.

After hours on the internet, we selected A Sunset Chateau, a Bed & Breakfast located on the North face of Table Mountain. This means that we were a little higher up with great views of the surrounding red rock. It was a very artsy place, with a combination of European and Southwestern decor. It was very beautiful. We elected to spend a little more and stay in a larger room with a kitchenette and private balcony. The food was amazing as well! Flavorful and filling meals awaited us each morning down in the dining room. I think we both had foods we never had before and really enjoyed them!

We drove the 4 hours to Sedona the day after our wedding and stayed for 3 nights. Time was of no concern-only looked at the clock to be sure we wouldn't miss breakfast! We spent our days as tourists, strolling the streets as we window shopped. Many of the stores sold similar items-a lot of jewelry including silver and a variety of turquoise colors and stones, western wear, pottery, a lot of art, furniture and more. One of the stores we visited had some beautiful Pendleton blankets, so we bought one for each of the beds in our home. I also walked away with a beautiful white turquoise ring and a new hat! One afternoon we had lunch at the cowboy club where we dined on rattlesnake, buffalo and cactus fries.

Here are some photographs of the weekend; we really only have pictures from the last day as we didn't think to take the camera with us any other time over the weekend!

Views from the private balcony:

Our lovely room, complete with fireplace, king-size bed and two-person jacuzzi (behind the bed you can see the counter for the little kitchenette)...oh and yes, a leopard print blanket. 

Me enjoying my morning coffee, don't you love the cow hide stools?

Last morning of the honeymoon

We decided to use our last day in Sedona to check out some of the trails, so we loaded up the cooler with ice and headed of the main path in the pickup. We headed for a trail located in the red rock formations we saw from the balcony of our room at the bed and breakfast. We had some spectacular views:

Pondering this whole new marriage thing....

After the off-roading, we decided to head back to Tucson via a different route: the jeep trail that would take us up and around the mountains bordering Sedona. Here is a picture of Greg at the beginning of the jeep trail. Behind him is the city of Sedona.

We stopped to enjoy some turkey sandwiches and some drinks. Like my hat? It's a souvenir from the trip. My husband bought it for me.

Helicopter tours are very popular in Sedona in addition to the jeep tours. We almost did a helicopter tour, but didn't like the idea of spending 2 hours in an informational meeting regarding a timeshare. We have a friend that has his pilot's license, so if we want to see Sedona from the sky, we can ask him to take us. :)

The last picture of the red rocks before going around the mountain and heading back home:

We really enjoyed our time in Sedona and look forward to returning someday. It is such a beautiful place and there are so many things to see-it certainly warrants many more trips!