Hangin’ in Sedona
Earlier this year I won the North American Travel Journalist (NATJA) award for best travel video. My prize was accommodations at a lovely boutique inn in Sedona called, El Portal. I rarely get to travel without working, so this has been a wonderful past few days.
Because I travel so much, I don’t often get an opportunity to just hang out with friends and family, so for this trip I invited one of my favorite cousins (Nick) to join me. Nick has been a flight attendant with Delta for many moons, so it was easy for him to hop on a flight and come to AZ and join me.
Nick has been to Arizona before, but this has been his first time to Sedona and he’s been loving it. Our first day was spent just showing him some of the highlights of Sedona, for example: Slide Rock State Park, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, some the art galleries, etc.
Yesterday we went on a couple of scenic hikes. The first was to Oak Creek via the trail at the bridge outside of town a few miles, within Oak Creek Canyon. The next hike, which I had never done before, was around Red Rock State Park. I cannot believe I had never been to this area…so scenic!
Today, we drove around the area to explore Old Town Cottonwood, Tuzigoot National Monument, and to Jerome where we spent some time at the Gold King Mine.
We’ve also had some wonderful meals these past few days. One was a creek-side fine-dining meal at Cress Restaurant at L’Auberge. Another was right across the street from where we are staying ,at the Creekside American Bistro. We also had a wonderful meal at my favorite vegan restaurant, the ChocolaTree.
Breakfast each morning has been wonderful as well. Our first morning we ate at El Portal and had a sensational Southwestern meal. The next day we had breakfast at the Wildflower Cafe, one of my favorite local Arizona restaurant chains. This morning we walked from our accommodations to the Secret Garden Cafe at Tlaquepaque. The service was not very good, but the meal was.
Tomorrow will be our last day here in Sedona and then I will take Nick to the airport. I have been to Sedona many, many times, but this has to be one of the best visits for several reasons. For starters, there are absolutely no crowds to speak of. Note to self…early November is a great time to visit Sedona, the weather is still really nice and it appears to be a slight shoulder season. Stay tuned for my next Road Diary update, likely from San Diego or Los Cabos, Mexico.
Mike Shubic
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