Travel

Recently my daughter and I decided to take a quick trip to Sedona, Arizona. We only had 4 days and 3 nights, which included travel time, so we made plans for a couple of highlights that we didn’t want to miss, and then kind of winged the rest. We flew into the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where we rented a car for the rest of our trip from Alamo, located at the airport. Getting our car went super smooth, they had exactly what we asked for and were on our way to Sedona in no time.

Sedona is about a 2 hour drive from Phoenix, but that part of our trip was great. We cruised through Arizona and just enjoyed the time and the sights. When we arrived in Sedona we were instantly greeted with views of the Red Rocks, exactly what we were waiting for.

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Arroyo Roble Hotel. We had a room with a balcony and a view of the Red Rocks, beautiful view. Once we got settled in and relaxed for awhile we decided to walk to dinner. We decided to go to a restaurant called The Vault Uptown, and it did not disappoint. My daughter had the Grilled Salmon with Acini Pasta and I had their Prime Beef Filet, so good that it’s hard to explain. Then to top it off we got dessert to go. We ordered the Brown Butter Cake, all I can say is WOW!

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On our second day, we got up and decided to drive to the Grand Canyon. We went to the South Rim Entrance, which was about a 2 hour drive from Sedona. We entered the park and made a stop at the gift shop for souvenirs. We then took a 22 mile drive along the Desert View Route. This route had numerous viewpoints to stop at. We only spent about 3 hours in the park but saw numerous sights.

We headed back to Sedona for dinner. We decided to go to Sedona Pizza Company. We really enjoyed the wood fired pizza and the drinks, we definitely ate too much. We still went out for ice cream afterwards though. We were back at the hotel and in bed pretty early though because we had early morning plans the next day.

Our last day in Sedona we planned an early morning trip to see the Red Rocks with a Pink Jeep Tour. We did their Broken Arrow Tour. This trip takes you for a bumpy ride and stops along the way so you can get out, enjoy the view and take photos. Great views, fun ride, and our tour guide was informative and hilarious. Can’t go to Sedona without taking one of these tours.

Once we were done with our tour we headed back to lay around the pool for awhile. We spent the afternoon shopping all of the little shops on the main drag through town. It was a really nice relaxing day. We ended it by going back to The Vault Uptown for dinner and both got the same meal we had on the first night. It was too good not to go back one more time.

The next morning we checked out and made the two hour drive back to Phoenix. Dropping the car off was quick and easy and then we were on our way back to Washington. We can’t wait to go back again. The perfect mother daughter trip.

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I am by no means pro yet, but have been on cruises alone with my husband and with kids. I love it!! I highly recommend cruising as a vacation. This is one of the best ways ever to vacation because there is something for everyone no matter what age.

The most relaxing cruise was of course just my husband and I. We had time to ourselves, lots of relaxing around the pool, nice dinners, shows, it was great. I could go hit the casino while he went to soak in the hot tub and then meet back up for lunch. We spent lots of time together but also enjoyed a little alone time. We made up for a lot of missed date nights. It was the best!

Our next cruise was a huge family affair. It included all of my husbans siblings, their spouses and kids, his parents and us with our kids. There were 17 of us in all. Not as relaxing but just as much fun. Lots of options to do as a big group but still time for us to do things with our individual families as well.

While on this trip we did some of the excursions. My husband and daughter went scuba diving with some of the family and all of us went swimming with the dolphins. So fun!

My husband and I still got some time out as adults, going to shows and lounging around. My teenage daughter had dancing, nightclubs, bingo and some shows. My son, 6, at the time absolutely loved kids camp. We could hardly get him to leave. We had to practically force him to hang out with us or to go to dinner. I was glad he had someplace safe and fun to hang out though. It gave us a chance to relax while he was being entertained and making new friends. We didn’t feel guilty because we knew he was having the time of his life.

There is a lot of planning involved for a cruise though. I’m sure the more you do it the easier it gets though. So I better get onto planning another, haha. Besides just choosing dates and destinations you need to take some time to research the trip your planning and the ship you will be on.

Once you decide on your trip and purchase your tickets you can then get into your account and start adding in the extras. This is when we started really looking into the excursions that we wanted to take and booking those. This is also your chance to add other things such as unlimited drinks. Not just alcohol but carbonated drinks as well if you plan to be getting any of these from other locations on the ship other than the buffet area . We aren’t big drinkers so we did not pay extra for this. We would just swing through the buffet area to grab drinks throughout the day. We did however purchase a case of bottled water ahead of time, which they have in your room upon arrival. Another thing we paid for ahead of time was our gratuities. You’ll pay for this either way. You can wait and they will track automatic gratuities everytime you order a drink, eat dinner, etc ,or you can pay one lump sum ahead of time. When I did some figuring I decided it was cheaper to pay the lump sum and just not worry about what I might owe at the end. I don’t like surprises.

You have the option to add a credit card to your account or you can use cash and go put a certain amount of money on your account when you first arrive for boarding. This is what we chose to do. That gave us a way to put only a certain amount of money on each of our accounts. If we needed more we could always add more later. There are kiosks around the ship so you can check and manage your account whenever you need to.

Be prepared for numerous photo ops. They take pictures all of the time, you can then go find your printed photos and purchase. I usually buy one or two that I really like and get one nice one of the family. The rest of the time I just make sure I take lots of photos myself because it can get expensive quickly when you purchase theirs.

Even with all of the extra charges that you can rack up during a cruise I still feel like you’re getting a lot for your money. It doesn’t involve as much planning as other trips. You don’t worry about hotels, restaurants, or things to do. You have so many options and you are not going to starve with the unlimited food, haha. There is literally something for everyone. I can’t wait for our next one.

Happy planning!

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When you are taking care of your family and working you definitely have a lot on your plate. If you have to travel at all for work then you understand the planning that goes into that week that you’ll be gone.

You spend the previous week not only getting things sorted out at work, making sure you have your work items, travel documents and email notifications set, but also prepping things at home so your family will survive the week.

You spend time cleaning, making sure house is organized, weekly schedule is sorted out, meals planned, shopping done and the list goes on. On top of all of this you need to pack for your trip.

I have a basic list of items that I pack. I like to go with neutral blacks and grey’s for pants and shoes and add color with tops. I plan to wear each pair of pants twice and just change outfits up with the different tops. This saves on space when packing and keeps things simple. I usually end up packing at the last minute so it’s nice to have a basic list so you don’t forget anything. Just make sure you don’t forget your suitcase. I have actually done this before! Does not make for a great trip.

Clothing Items

• 1 skirt or pair of slacks (black or grey)
• 1 pair pants (black)
• 1 pair nice jeans
• 1 blazer (neutral/black) will wear a couple of times
• 2 blouses (to wear under blazer)
• 2 blouses to wear alone
• 1 pullover sweater
• 1 pair heels
• 1 pair flats
• 1 pair tennis shoes
• 1 workout outfit (leggings, tshirt, sports bra)
• 1 sweater or sweatshirt
• Socks
• Underwear
• Pajamas
• Nylons
• Swimsuit

Travel Bag (I use a roll up bag that I can hang on a bathroom hook when I get to hotel for easy access) (I also use travel sizes so everything fits in one bag)

• Basic makeup
• Nail polish
• Qtips
• Tweezers
• Nail clippers
• Hair tie
• Hairspray
• Razor
• Shampoo/conditioner
• Tothbrush/toothpaste
• Lotion
• Ibuprofen
• Pepto Bismol or Tums
• Make sure if you’re flying all of your liquids are in the small clear part and easily accessible for security.

Other Items

• Hairbrush
• Hair straightener (if needed)
• Jewelery (I take 1 necklace, 1 bracelet, 1 pair earrings)
• Portable steamer
• Phone/charger
• Work items (laptop, charger, business cards, pens, notebook, etc..)
• Snacks and a couple microwavable meals (for when you just want to stay in room)

Once I arrive at the hotel I actually unpack. I hang clothes so they don’t become anymore wrinkled. I set my items up in bathroom. I set snacks up near microwave. I set up work station at desk.I like to be comfortable and not feel like I am living out of my suitcase. I feel like this makes my week go smoother.

I always try to get to bed early also. Might as well take advantage of your time away to try to relax little. I always miss my family but sometimes it can be nice to only worry about getting yourself ready for bed.

I find all business trips exhausting but make the best of it and eat good, sleep early, watch what you want on TV and try to relax a little. Safe travels!