Happy New Year!!!
Greg and I wish you, all of our family and friends a very happy and healthy New Year!!
We've had a busy few days....I'll try to fill you all in and not bore you too much.
We've had a busy few days....I'll try to fill you all in and not bore you too much.
We are still in Arizona--it's such a beautiful state with so many gorgeous views at every turn. We did a bit more touring while in the Sedona area, most of which included driving on long, winding roads, both paved and unpaved up, around and through the mountains...I'm pretty sure I've been scared enough😥. One of those roads led us on a 40 mile trek as we made our way to a town called Prescott. We drove through Jerome, an old copper mining town, that had a feel like the narrow streets,homes and shops in Italy (Greg tells me). While in Prescott, we grabbed some lunch at "The Raven Cafe" (another YELP suggestion), walked around town that was filled with bars, restaurants, gift shops and antique malls. We learned a section of the main street was once called "whiskey row" because of the abundance of saloons that were once there.
The next day, we moved to a different campground a few miles down the road that was called Sedona Pines Resort. It was a lovely place, especially considering the last one, and the price was right- the only caveat was that we had to attend a presentation for the property which is a Time Share deal. We went on Jeep Tour around Sedona, that was a lot of fun, in spite of a lunatic woman we had with us. The tour guide was a man originally from the Bronx, dressed in his "old west" uniform, who did his best to give us some of Sedona's history, and telling us the names of the mountains and rocks. We ended our "dusty" tour watching the sunset atop a mesa. It was absolutely spectacular!! We later met with Roy and Sonny (Greg's best man and his wife) for dinner at Manzaneta, a local German restaurant they frequent, then back to their house for some coffee and more catching up, and visiting. It was a very lovely evening, with good friends, good food and lots of laughs.
New Year's Eve day, we lounged around in the morning. Greg did some tinkering on the camper, I did some laundry, and just took it easy. In the early evening, we headed back to Uptown Sedona (there apparently is NO Downtown Sedona...😏) for a very delicious dinner at "SaltRock". It was a mild night, we ate outside surrounded by fire pits and lanterns, had a very yummy meal, and admired some truly fabulous skies and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. The only bad thing we encountered that evening, was a group of young children and toddlers whose parents allowed them to run wild...until one fell and got a little hurt. After dinner, we walked around the local shops briefly, as the town shut down at about 7pm, then went back to camp to toast the new year. Unfortunately we did not make it to New Year Arizona time, but we did celebrate and ring in the New Year on New York time.
After our brief presentation of the time share property,(we did NOT buy a unit) we hit the road, heading back to Apache Junction. Roughly 2 hours later, we arrived at the campground, set up camp and met Aunt Lynn and Uncle Tony at Handlebar's Pub and Grill, a local eatery for dinner. We had them over for dinner last night, and enjoyed some good steaks, potatoes, and broccoli rabe...some laughs and story telling to end a perfect evening with family.
Today we took a short ride to Goldfield Ghost Town, a supposedly authentic mining town from the mid-late1800s. We got there early, walked around, took in the beautiful sights and old buildings, and learned some more of Arizona's history. This evening we drove to Chandler, to meet and have dinner with an old co-worker of Greg's. Matthew and Ally, and their 2 boys Issac and Henry, welcomed us into their home with open arms. Ally prepared a lovely chicken dinner that we enjoyed while catching up, and telling them about this wild and exciting adventure we are on.
Tomorrow, we may play a little golf, Greg will do some more tinkering, I'll do some schoolwork, and we'll start planing the next few days. Hopefully, we'll get some more family visits in before we pack up and head out of Arizona on Sunday. Until next time....
Love and miss you all!
Greg & Laura
As the sun sets, the moon rises.
New Year's Eve
On our way to dinner at "Salt Rock"
Spectacular views from the restaurant
Magnificent colors in the sky!!!
Hanging out on a beautiful sunny afternoon... Sorry to all on the East Coast 😟⛄
The next day, we moved to a different campground a few miles down the road that was called Sedona Pines Resort. It was a lovely place, especially considering the last one, and the price was right- the only caveat was that we had to attend a presentation for the property which is a Time Share deal. We went on Jeep Tour around Sedona, that was a lot of fun, in spite of a lunatic woman we had with us. The tour guide was a man originally from the Bronx, dressed in his "old west" uniform, who did his best to give us some of Sedona's history, and telling us the names of the mountains and rocks. We ended our "dusty" tour watching the sunset atop a mesa. It was absolutely spectacular!! We later met with Roy and Sonny (Greg's best man and his wife) for dinner at Manzaneta, a local German restaurant they frequent, then back to their house for some coffee and more catching up, and visiting. It was a very lovely evening, with good friends, good food and lots of laughs.
New Year's Eve day, we lounged around in the morning. Greg did some tinkering on the camper, I did some laundry, and just took it easy. In the early evening, we headed back to Uptown Sedona (there apparently is NO Downtown Sedona...😏) for a very delicious dinner at "SaltRock". It was a mild night, we ate outside surrounded by fire pits and lanterns, had a very yummy meal, and admired some truly fabulous skies and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. The only bad thing we encountered that evening, was a group of young children and toddlers whose parents allowed them to run wild...until one fell and got a little hurt. After dinner, we walked around the local shops briefly, as the town shut down at about 7pm, then went back to camp to toast the new year. Unfortunately we did not make it to New Year Arizona time, but we did celebrate and ring in the New Year on New York time.
After our brief presentation of the time share property,(we did NOT buy a unit) we hit the road, heading back to Apache Junction. Roughly 2 hours later, we arrived at the campground, set up camp and met Aunt Lynn and Uncle Tony at Handlebar's Pub and Grill, a local eatery for dinner. We had them over for dinner last night, and enjoyed some good steaks, potatoes, and broccoli rabe...some laughs and story telling to end a perfect evening with family.
Today we took a short ride to Goldfield Ghost Town, a supposedly authentic mining town from the mid-late1800s. We got there early, walked around, took in the beautiful sights and old buildings, and learned some more of Arizona's history. This evening we drove to Chandler, to meet and have dinner with an old co-worker of Greg's. Matthew and Ally, and their 2 boys Issac and Henry, welcomed us into their home with open arms. Ally prepared a lovely chicken dinner that we enjoyed while catching up, and telling them about this wild and exciting adventure we are on.
Tomorrow, we may play a little golf, Greg will do some more tinkering, I'll do some schoolwork, and we'll start planing the next few days. Hopefully, we'll get some more family visits in before we pack up and head out of Arizona on Sunday. Until next time....
Love and miss you all!
Greg & Laura
As the sun sets, the moon rises.
New Year's Eve 
On our way to dinner at "Salt Rock"
Spectacular views from the restaurant
Magnificent colors in the sky!!!
Hanging out on a beautiful sunny afternoon... Sorry to all on the East Coast 😟⛄
Holy crap those pictures are terrific!
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