Merry Christmas from Sedona

[marcmuff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close marcmuff]

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Sedona. My daughter bought a turkey and all of the trimmings at Safeway and cooked dinner for 9 at our spacious Arroyo Roble unit. This is the first time I have been near a computer since we arrived last Thursday. Leaving tomorrow. I'll write more when I get back.

[hliw Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close hliw]

Arroyo Roble

I think that Arroyo Roble is such a hidden gem. My sister is going in March. Do you have any suggestions for things to do in Sedona while the weather is cool? We were there (at Arroyo) a few years ago, but in May. The hiking was tremendous. I'd love your thoughts so that I can pass them on.

Best,
HLIW

[hliw Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close hliw]

Arroyo Roble

Did you have the chance to catch a sunset from the Sedona airport???? TREMENDOUS.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Thanks for bumping this H!

Muriel - I know you had a few units...how did everyting work out???
Sounds like you didn't starve .

[marcmuff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close marcmuff]

We had a wonderful vacation in Sedona. On Thursday (December 20) My sister flew in from Minnesota and my husband and I flew from Sacramento and met in Phoenix. We got a rental car there (a great deal from Budget) and picked her up at her terminal and drove to Sedona. What a beautiful place to drive into.

Another sister and her son from Orange County CA drove to Sedona (also on Thursday) and we all stayed in the 2-bedroom unit at Arroyo Roble until they left on Sunday. We arrived at AR about 3 p.m. and our unit was ready so we could check in then. We loved the fireplaces (one downstairs in the big room and one upstairs in the master bedroom) and used them most of the time. My two sisters slept in the twin beds in the second bedroom and didn't say anything but they were really cold and should have asked for more blankets. My nephew slept on the couch - I think he pulled it out once and made it up but I usually saw him just on the couch.

We drove to the airport lookout Thursday night to see the sunset and the reflection on the beautiful red rocks.

On Friday, two other couples came (one from Sacramento and one from Gardnerville NV) and stayed at the Los Abrigados Inn. I went over there about noon and gave them both names and they were able to check in without me being there. I saw the biggest unit (1 bedroom--sleeps 6) and it was really nice. When they checked in, they were asked how many passes they needed for the "Red Rocks Fantasy" light show and they got 8 passes. So we all got to see the show "free". It is really a beautiful show.

My daughter, Sherry, and her husband flew from Sacramento to Phoenix late Friday night and rented a car and drove to another nephew's place in Prescott and stayed there the first night. My two sisters and DH and I drove there on Saturday and had a wonderful visit with his family in their beautiful house (they are remodeling) high on a hill in Prescott. We drove through Jerome to get to Prescott, but didn't get back there to look around. We did go to downtown Prescott and looked in a couple of stores and took some pictures.

Sherry and Glenn stayed at the Orchard Inn (not a timeshare) which was close to Arroyo Roble. They were only there 4 nights (Saturday-Tuesday). Sherry said there was a wonderful view from their balcony--I didn't get to their room.

We ate at the Orchard Inn the first night we were there. Good food. Not really inexpensive, but we had just looked at the menu at the airport restaurant and it didn't look so bad. LOL.

We ate (twice) at the Oaxaca (wa-ha-ka) Mexican Restaurant right near AR. Loved the food and not too expensive. We ate one night at "Hog Wild" and everyone agreed it was one of the best meals we had.

Christmas Eve, nine of us ate at Cocina Rustica--a special dinner menu - not cheap, but since it was a special occasion, we didn't mind.

We got some incredibly good deals on clothing, etc. at the factory stores. My husband got a $47 shirt for $15 and I got sunglasses at 50% off -- a couple of examples. I loved the "Dragonfly" and "The Worm" stores and bought several things there.

We went to the Oak Creek Canyon overlook a couple of times. The vendors there had excellent prices. We bought t-shirts, sweatshirts and some souvenirs.

We (7 of us) went to the Grand Canyon on Sunday. I wanted to be there at sunset so we left before noon - ate at I-Hop in Flagstaff on the way. In the park we went on a shuttle bus that stopped at three places in the park (you could get out and look around) and then catch another bus. It was so spectacular. Some of us had never been there. It was the most inexpensive trip of the week - we had our Golden Age Passport to get in free and the shuttle bus was free - and the gift shop was closed by the time we got back. LOL. We saw the perfect full moon rise over the Grand Canyon.

The couple from Nevada did a lot of hiking. I wanted to experience a vortex so the last day we were there we went to the area about half way up the airport road and DH and I climbed the rock there to the top. The vortex is where the juniper tree is all twisted.

We shopped at Safeway and Walgreen in Sedona a few times and went to Walmart in Cottonwood once. We liked the stores at the "Uptown Mall" and all those close to Arroyo Roble. I bought a beautiful mandella at "Desert Dancer" and had it shipped to my home. It arrived in perfect condition.

I liked the Crystal Magic store, but the price of the crystals, etc, there were way beyond my spending limits.

I am thankful that everything worked out great. We had a few flight delays--the couple from Nevada had the worst luck. They flew into Flagstaff and had problems with U.S. Airways. No surprise there. We had sunshine every day we were there--a glorious week.

Arroyo Roble was perfect for our Christmas Dinner. We had 9 people there. We brought the table in from the balcony so we all could sit at a table. We also played cards several times during the week. I finally got to the pool and hot tub the last day we were there. It was nice. Of course the pool was heated. The outside pool was closed.

Sherry saw a Christmas tree in the dumpster at AR on Christmas Day so they brought it in and set it up. It already had wine corks and pull tabs, etc. for decorations. She bought some lights at Walgreens and added them and we had a lovely tree for Christmas. LOL.

I have put some pictures on my website and will be putting them all on webshots when I get them all together.

Go to Crystal Pendants @ marcmuff.us and scroll all the way down on the left and click on "View Photo Album"

There are also a few on myspace at: MySpace.com - Muriel - 70 - Female - SACRAMENTO, California - www.myspace.com/angelmuriel

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I enjoyed your pics. I was so jealous to see the snow at the GC. The last time I was there in Feb. I didn't have any snow!! shaggy