2:35 PM

My Trip to Arizona Continued

I wanted to follow-up on my trip to Arizona, as I said I would. Next week it will be back to business as usual. I promise.

After staying in Scottsdale for the first part of our trip, we rented a car and drove two hours north to Sedona. We had reservations at the Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa, which definitely had the look and feel of the area of Sedona. It was a very comfortable place to stay, very laid back and friendly.

This was the view from the parking lot, so different from New England. I had never seen such red rocks before! I believe this mountain was called Courthouse Rock. Other "rocks" to see in Sedona are Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Coffee Pot Rock and Snoopy Rock. Yes, Snoopy Rock looks like Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse!

I thought I would be remiss if I didn't show a few photos of cactus. Interesting plants, aren't they?

This cactus was blooming. Do you see the yellow flowers on the tips of the plant?

There were all sorts of flowering trees and shrubs blooming everywhere in Sedona, which surprised me for some reason. Wisteria has always been a favorite of mine and to my delight there were wisteria trees all over the place!

As we drove down Route 179 and navigated the many rotaries along the way, we discovered just how beautiful and interesting Sedona really is. There are tons of different rock formations everywhere. All of them were unique and different from one another.

We had heard about the Church of the Holy Cross from a cab driver in Scottsdale and decided we had to visit it. Luckily, the church was very well marked and easy to find. It was clear by the amount of traffic we encountered trying to get to the church that is one of the biggest attractions in Sedona.

It's hard to tell from this photo but, the view out the windows of the church was extraordinary!

After seeing the Church of the Holy Cross, we decided it was time to take an official tour of Sedona. Neither of us had ever been there before and we have had great luck taking similar tours in other cities. We ended up taking a Boynton Canyon tour with the Red Rock Magic Trolley. We rode in an open trolley that served water and cookies...not a bad deal! We got to see a home that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz once owned, Thunder Mountain (the mountain that inspired Walt Disney to create the theme park ride!) and Jordan Park to name a few. We also learned all sorts of interesting facts about Sedona. Sedona was once where many westerns with filmed with a real live western town and everything. Unfortunately, with the decline of interest in westerns, the town was torn down. It appears that John Wayne was a regular visitor in Sedona, as well.

This photo was taken at Jordan Park along the route of our tour.

To be honest with you, my husband and I didn't find many restaurants that were terrific in terms of cuisine. They were average at best. Of course, both of us had colds so, perhaps, nothing would have tasted great :) We did, however, happen upon this restaurant, Cucina Rustica. It is a local favorite with a local celebrity chef. The experience was great! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very romantic with outdoor fireplaces and twinkling lights...very nice. (And did you notice the wisteria?)