Our Anniversary Weekend In Arizona

Ted and I escaped to Arizona for our 20th anniversary – and what a place to celebrate!

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The weather was gorgeous and we spent nearly every waking hour outdoors.

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Here’s a peek into our trip:

Wednesday:

We arrived at the Phoenix airport, rented a Jeep, met up with some of our best friends (Mark and Stacey), and had lunch at The Mission in Old Town Scottsdale. My heart was happy as we sat outside in the warm sun, surrounded by palm trees, filling up on tacos, chips and salsa!

After lunch we window-shopped in Old Town Scottsdale. This unique shopping area is filled with western style art, clothing, and jewelry.

Though there are many beautiful hotels in the area to choose from (Faimont Princess and The Sanctuary are two of my favs), we found the perfect AirBnB right in the middle of town. After dropping our bags inside the condo, we went straight to the rooftop deck to watch the sunset (and moonrise). 

This rooftop would be our favorite spot to end every day.

That night, we had a phenomenal anniversary dinner at Dominick’s steakhouse.  When we arrived, the host handed us a handwritten card, wishing us a happy anniversary. The food and service were outstanding. Our dinner ended with complimentary dessert – beignets, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and melted chocolate on the side. Yum! I’m still dreaming about that dinner. That was a delicious and memorable way to end our anniversary.

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Thursday

We conquered Camelback Mountain. When we arrived at the mountain, I read signs saying, “Beware: EXTREMELY challenging.”

‘How hard can this be?’ I thought, as I saw a smooth trail ahead of me. Well, that trail soon ended and was replaced by nothing but huge boulders. We climbed rock after rock and felt like we’d never make it to the top. I kept thinking about the relaxing afternoon that awaited us, and that kept me going one step at a time. I wrongly assumed going down would be much easier, but that was a different kind of challenge. It felt SO good to have conquered that mountain.

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We spent a luxurious afternoon at the Fairmont Princess spa! We got a couples massage, used their eucalyptus steam room, sauna, hot tub, waterfall pool, and adults only pool.

We left in time to catch the sunset from our rooftop deck and had sushi for dinner.

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Friday

We woke up early on Friday and drove 60 miles north to Sedona.

I’m not sure how I’ve lived my whole life without knowing how spectacular Sedona would be. There aren’t even words to describe the beauty.

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We started the day with a hike up Soldiers Pass, which led to a unique cave to explore. We brought sandwiches and had lunch with a view.

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We hiked back down, drove through town, got coffee, then hiked Cathedral Rock. Because the landscape in Sedona is so incredible, you barely notice that you putting in effort into those challenging climbs. The hikes were phenomenal.

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We met some new friends for dinner, then drove back to our condo to sleep.

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Saturday

Saturday morning we met old friends for coffee, then went to Hash kitchen for brunch. Hash kitchen is an experience. It’s a breakfast party with a live DJ! Unfortunately (fortunately?), I forgot my tube top or any other sort of club wear that we saw other patrons wearing. The music inside was LOUD (did I mention the live DJ?), so thankfully, we found a table outside and enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the warm sun.

After breakfast we spent the day exploring Scottsdale and a quaint little town called Cave Creek. 

We went back to our place to watch another sunset, and spend time with friends.

For dinner, we went to a cool spot called Sorsa Wine Room, and sat on their patio that overlooks a beautiful shopping area.

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Sunday

Our last day. We packed up, then went to a friend’s church (you must visit Gateway if you are in town), before heading to their airport to fly home. 

We packed a lot into that long weekend, and had such a great time!

A couple things we didn’t do that I’d like to include next time:

• Hiking pinnacle peak
• Dinner at Elements
• Shopping at Scottsdale Quarter, Kierland Commons or Last Chance in Phoenix

Things to have with you at all times in Arizona:

• Sunglasses
• Good hiking shoes (not white)
• Chapstick
• Water

Thanks for reading! Have you ever explored Arizona? What are you favorite things to do?

Thank you to my in-laws for taking such great care of our boys, our home, and our dog while we were away. We love you Kevin and Shirley!