Girls' trip to Arizona

Before my two month inpatient stretch and my sister buckling down to study for the GMAT, my roommates and I took a weekend girls' trip to Arizona! 

After a frigid SF winter in our new apartment on Grove Street (which at times did not have heating), we were determined to go somewhere HOT. K was inspired by a billboard of a woman sitting by a pool in Arizona which looked scorching, so we were sold. JJ used some of her hotel points and booked a trip for us at the JW Marriot Camelback Resort in Scottsdale and we were on our way! 

Even though the three of us live together, it's pretty rare for all of us to all hang out together for an extended period of time since JJ travels during the week and K gets home late from commuting a long distance. On a recent Friday, JJ remarked "I can't believe we're all home," which just goes to show how rare it is for all of us to be together at once, without outside influences like work, friends, boyfriends, etc. This weekend was really nice just to hang out, just the three of us, and fully indulge in our most "basic" girly desires like making boomerangs, shopping, and taking food pics. 

Our first stop was what else, Mexican food. We first stopped in a local taco shop called La Santisma in Phoenix (Phoenix and Scottsdale are actually neighboring towns) that was featured on the food channel with an extravagant salsa bar! One of the best parts of leaving SF is experiencing the affordable food options and huge water glasses. Chips and salsa were complimentary and this whole meal cost around $15 with tax and tip! 

Street tacos

We decided to stay in Phoenix which was closer to the airport instead of staying closer to Sedona, which was actually a 2 hour drive away. The Grand Canyon is an even further 2 hours from Sedona, and because our weekend trip was so short, we decided to skip it in favor for a more relaxing and chill getaway rather than one filled with a full day's driving. After lunch, we set off for the home of the beautiful red rock formations. My sister and I had gone here as kids with our grandparents, so we had great memories of Sedona and were eager to return again. 

The road to Sedona from Phoenix is a single lane highway which initially Google told us would take 2 hours, but just our luck, there was an accident on a narrow stretch of canyon road that blocked off the entire road. We were literally sitting at a standstill--a la the beginning of La La Land. We started to freak out a little, turning off our engine to conserve gas and AC meanwhile boiling in the 100 degree heat, because we didn't know how long we were stranded there, but thankfully it was only about 45 minutes or so. As you near Sedona, the rocks change color into the trademark red hues (made from iron) that are completely different from the landscape around Phoenix. We pulled over to see this beautiful rock formation that seemed like right out of Westworld.

Then we drove farther into downtown Sedona, stopping at a cute craft shop on the way.

Since our tour wasn't until 6 pm, we took an acai bowl break. It's so hot in Arizona that a snack of acai bowls or smoothies is a necessary break when you're wandering around outside. My friend recommended this place to me before our jeep tour. I asked her what the name was but didn't need to worry as it was the only acai place in the area.

The acai was pretty good but I probably should have gotten the acai in smoothie form as it was a little gritty for me. Though the toppings were on point! 

It was finally time for our jeep tour! If you ever go to Sedona, the jeep tours are ubiquitous and a necessity to explore the red canyons in the area. They take you on the rugged trails that are too dangerous to be explored by car and take you to beautiful vantage points high above the canyon. 

The pink jeep tour is probably the most popular jeep tour company in Sedona, but honestly it doesn't matter which one you take as they all have similar routes. We saw many other jeep companies on the exact same viewpoints and vistas as ours. We just had a bit of brand envy as last time we came to Sedona, over 15 years ago, we still remember the Pink Jeep Tours over our jeep tour company. 

 Promo for Pink Jeep Tours

I specifically booked the sunset tour so we could see the beautiful hues of sunset over the red rocks, and it didn't disappoint. 

As we drove to a lookout to watch the remaining few minutes of sunset, it really was amazing how the colors changed minute by minute, second by second until the sun finally dipped below the mountains across town. 

The view as we drove down the mountain and back into town to end our tour. 

We drove back to Phoenix that night and thankfully there were no accidents so we made it back in good point. The next morning we slept in and then went to the cutest brunch place called Arcadia Farms. The same type of place in SF would have had a line out the door with a 2 hour wait, whereas this one had plenty of space even on the garden patio! I could get used to this (though not the heat).

Matching the cacti outside

In the afternoon, we only had a couple of hours before our flight so we were determined to lay by the pool, just like the woman in the ad we saw. It was so hot and dry that the water felt immediately comfortable. But it was so hot we couldn't stay outside too long.

The time for our weekend getaway came to an end. We bid farewell to our hotel for the weekend and returned to a completely different temperature back in SF. It's easy to forget it's summer right now when temps in SF never rise above 70 typically, and it's always windy, but this weekend was sure a good reminder!

Saying goodbye to our beautiful hotel, the Camelback Mountain Inn! Arizona, you were a great weekend getaway for these Bay Area girls.