West Coast Road Trip: Part 1 – Sedona, Arizona

Hi all! John and I had been planning a road trip across the West Coast for over half a year now and we finally were able to take this trip. It was truly amazing! We spent 2 full weeks driving from Arizona, to Utah, to Nevada, to California, and then finished our trip in Oregon. A vacation was just what we both needed and was my first vacation in about 4 years. It was an experience of a lifetime.

This is the first part of a series of posts I will be writing about this trip. I had to write multiple posts for this trip as 1 blog post would have not been enough. Also, be prepared for an overwhelming amount of photos. I couldn’t stop taking them and feel they are SO necessary to share!

Our adventurous road trip started with us flying into Phoenix, Arizona on Friday, June 21, 2019. From here we drove 2 hours to Sedona, AZ which is honestly one of the most beautiful locations you could ever visit. There are crazy gorgeous brilliant red rock formations surrounding the main roads you drive on. It truly makes you feel as if you are driving inside a mountain.

Our trip truly began on Saturday, June 22, 2019 the day before my birthday. Just outside Sedona lies a cute little town with a few stores you can pop into and go shopping. The town is called “Clarkdale” and a must do is going into a bakery called “Violette’s Bakery And Cafe.” We stumbled upon this bakery that was hidden in a string lit alley way. It was just precious and really caught our eyes.

We ordered this chocolate cake that was SO delicious. It was so good John had to finish the whole piece, which you could see is HUGE. John’s not a big cake person either so that’s saying a lot.

After we walked around this town, which consisted of lots of artsy stores, we checked out the airbnb we were staying at for the night. This was such a fun airbnb! We stayed in a Camper/RV that was hosted by Jo in Sedona. On airbnb it is listed as “Vintage Camper – Sedona (VOC) – Views of BELL ROCK.”I highly recommend this airbnb if you can handle a small living space that is super cozy. This was a different sleeping arrangement that was made so personal and had great design touches.

The best part about our stay was probably that the host Jo had a book full of suggestions of places to eat, hiking trails, shopping, etc. It was extremely helpful to a couple like us who has never been to the area before. Suggestions from locals are always the best! We actually used her suggestions for the whole stay in Sedona and were not disappointed.

For dinner we went to a restaurant called “Tortas De Fuego.” This was one of our airbnb host’s suggestions for Mexican and it was so yummy! It also wasn’t as pricey as other places in Sedona. Just a heads up Sedona, AZ is very expensive and the views are probably why. Beauty is costly!

We went to the location at 1630 AZ-89A, Sedona, AZ 86336 but I probably recommend their second location due to the fact that the location where we went didn’t serve alcohol (BUMMER). The food was still good though!

After dinner it was around sunset and we were told the best place in Sedona to see the sunset was called “The Sedona Airport Overlook.” The address for this location is 1156 Airport Rd #540, Sedona, AZ 86336. From this location there is a parking lot where you pay a small fee to park and then walk over to the edge to see the whole city of Sedona. There are also hiking trails you can do as well.

Before sunset the views looked like the photos below. Here you can really see the city along with all the beautiful red rocks it’s surrounded by.

Below are pictures of the sunset from the same lookout. It was really pretty and relaxing but beware this location is definitely a tourist trap. Though I am happy I went it was swamped with tourists fighting for good picture spots. Probably better to show up a little earlier that way you can really see the sun go down behind the mountains in full motion.

This was a great way to wrap up our first night in Sedona. After here we headed back to the camper, finished that cake we bought earlier, and went to bed.

The second day in Sedona was Sunday, June 23, 2019 aka MY BIRTHDAY. It was one of the best birthdays I could have asked for. Don’t judge me but we started off the day by hitting the gym. If you are a member of Snap Fitness then you know you are allowed to access any Snap Fitness in the US as long as you have your Snap Fitness Membership Card, which of course we brought just in case! Sedona had 2 Snap Fitness gyms so were completely satisfied.

The best way to follow a good workout is a big hardy breakfast. We went out to eat at the “Red Rock Cafe.”

This restaurant had outdoor seating, which I always choose whenever possible, and was one of our deciding factors. The other deciding factor was that they are known for their cinnamon rolls. Who doesn’t like a good cinnamon roll at 8am in the morning?!

This restaurant is more affordable and let me tell you you will get your money’s worth. It was HUGE portions and extremely delicious! Probably one of the best breakfast places we went to during our whole trip.

Now that cinnamon roll may look like an average tasty dessert but that cinnamon roll was 3 POUNDS….3 POUNDS! It was basically the size of my face! Sometimes when restaurants make large dishes the food quality doesn’t add up to the quantity but believe me this place sure did.

Look how big that cinnamon roll is! I think I was pleasantly pleased that this cinnamon roll was more than bread and icing. It also had raisins and nuts that added a little something extra to the meal. Yum!

You had to roll me out that breakfast joint when all was said and done! Nothing better to burn off a high calorie breakfast than a popular hiking spot! This may be common sense but for those who are not aware, when you go hiking in Arizona the best time to go is early in the morning before noon. At noon the heat is really blazing down on you and it’s better to be at the poolside than cliff side.

We decided to venture onto a hiking trail called “Devil’s Bridge Trail.” If you are scared of heights or ledges this probably isn’t the trail for you but if you are not fearful it has a beautiful sight at the top! Make sure to bring lots of water and read reviews posted in the hyperlink above for further information/insights.

The hike starts off on very flat sandy terrain. You walk on a long path of an easy trail for around half a mile until you finally start the actual trail. The longer you walk/hike the more intense it gets and the better the views become.

Soon enough we made it half way up the mountain for some insane views! I can’t get enough of all these mountains.

There was a variety of rock formations on the way up that John really took advantage of to interact with. My personal favorite is when he made the rocks into a gym (photo below). I DO NOT advise anyone to do this. I was worried sick.

As you start to hike to the main point of your destination the paths get very steep and narrow. I thought I was in shape until I really started climbing. Man was that difficult at times!

We finally reached the main destination of this whole hike and why this trail is called “Devil’s Bridge.” We literally were on a thin narrow rock bridge extremely high off the ground! If you fall…you wouldn’t make it out alive. It was truly terrifying seeing people do yoga poses on this bridge to get a picture of their Instagram…we decided to do a simple pose. I didn’t feel like risking my life for Instagram on my birthday.

After this hike we were HOT. It was a steamy 100 degrees out so we decided to head over to “Slide Rock State Park.” This was an AWESOME place to visit. I definitely recommend it for swimmers out there! If you’re from New Jersey like me you’re use to beaches with sand and waves.Well Arizona does it a little different. Slide Rock State Park is basically a flowing river with natural made water slides made out of smooth rock. Along the river are huge rocks inside a mountain that you can set up chairs, music, etc and hang out at all day as if you were at the beach. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Along with the cool water slides you could also jump off the rocks into the water (as if it was a diving board). The water isn’t actually that deep though and there are no lifeguards present so jump and swim at your own risk.

I thought this water would be slightly warm since the Arizona heat can be brutal but unfortunately it was ice cold! I guess since the river is constantly flowing it doesn’t have time to warm up in the sun. That was the biggest downside to that whole experience.

After what had been such a fun day, it was only 2pm! We decided to head into the shopping district called “Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village” and grab some lunch. We ate at Oak Creek Brewery and Grill because it was one of the less expensive places to eat and again you can sit outside. To reiterate I LOVE eating outside.

We both ordered fun cocktails and split a club sandwich. It hit the spot!

After this we did some shopping downtown and started our way in “Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village” which was a pretty expensive area.

We didn’t stay long because it wasn’t necessarily fun to shop for items I couldn’t buy but just down the street from there were tons of stores on either side of the road which was much more inexpensive! Ice cream shops, hat stores, tourist stores, candles, clothing, knick knacks, etc. This strip mall also had great views of the gorgeous Sedona mountains.

We can say my birthday in Sedona was a true success and bliss! Sedona is known for being the most photogenic locations and it truly was. I HIGHLY recommend visiting if you never have before. I already want to go back.

Our next stop on our 2 week West Coast road trip is to the Grand Canyon! That’s how I finished my birthday.I Can’t wait to tell you all about it in my next post. Stay tuned as I am so excited to continue to share this adventure with you!