For today’s throwback, I wanted to revisit a trip my mother and I took to Sedona, Arizona back in 2012. We have always made an effort to go on a mother/daughter trip away every other year.  This tradition has brought us to places like Cape Cod, Fort Lauderdale, Arizona, and Orlando. It was a short trip, but certainly memorable, as I have added it to our list of places for our current trip!

Amara Resort and Spa

My mother, being the fiscally responsible, frugal woman she is, found a last minute deal on Living Social for Amara Resort and Spa  for a few nights. We decided to go and add a few nights on to make it worth it. The best part of the deal was that we could take yoga classes every day, and we got 3 spa treatments with it as well! Sweet! We flew into Phoenix, and were immediately stifled by the heat. Good thing Sedona was further north and a bit cooler!

Jerome

On our drive to Sedona, Arizona, we were advised to drive through a little artist town called Jerome. The drive there was absolutely stunning, as I had never been out west before to see the rock formations. We stopped a few times to take pictures, and continued our ride to Jerome. Jerome used to be a mining town back in the day, and later became an artisan town, which is not filled with lots of cute shops and restaurants. We picked up some pottery, ornaments and magnets to take home, and we also stopped in a really great kaleidoscope shop too! Very unique place.

Red Rocks and Yoga with Yogi Blair

When we arrived in Sedona, I was blown away by the red rock formations. I had seen photos, but they simply do not do it justice. We grabbed a drink at the outdoor restaurant at the hotel, and planned out the rest of our adventure! One of the first items on the agenda was to try out the spa and yoga classes. Priorities! I remember how fancy the spa was, because we got nice fluffy robes, a great relaxation room with fruit infused waters, and light healthy snacks. All I know is I did not want to leave this room, especially after our wonderful treatments!

At the spa, they also held daily yoga classes with Yogi Blair (pretty clever huh?. This guy was AWESOME! He taught a yoga class that was unique to us, especially since we had not taken many yoga classes before, but we really enjoyed it. He also leads vortex hiking tours as well, which we would love to try some day.

Exploring the Area

My mom and I have an absolutely love for horses, so we always try to go on a horseback ride on trips if we can, so we found Sedona Horseback Rides at M Diamond Ranch. It was a great adventure, however it got really hot later in the trip! We were glad to head to Oaxaca for margaritas and tacos later on that night! The next day, we took a drive to the Grand Canyon. Now, we did not research the best ways to see the canyon, we just sort of drove up, saw it and took some pictures, and drove back. On our drive to the airport, we gave ourselves a lot of time for some sightseeing.

We stumbled across Montezuma Castle while driving, and decided to go check it out. It was really neat seeing the dwellings within the rocks, and learning about the people who lived there. I’m dying to go back to both Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon with my husband, because it was such a serene, beautiful place, with lots of outdoor activities.

Until next week! Be sure to check back tomorrow for answers to my FAQs!