Our Long Weekend in Arizona Part 2: A Wonderful Wedding & Climbing Cathedral Rock

Part 1: Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock Hike, The Hudson, and Midgley Bridge

The ceremony was held in Red Rock State Park under the shade of a huge tree.  The weather was absolutely perfect (after the forecast was calling for rain all week) and the ceremony was really touching.  I couldn't help but tear up during the vows they had written for each other. It was beautiful.  Congrats Drew & Alexa!

After a few family pics, we were on our own for a few hours before the reception started.  The venue was the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village, a really cool little complex with art galleries, shops, and restaurants, so we headed right there to check out Oak Creek Brewery.  Dave drank, I ate some fries, and we got to know some of Dave's cousin's long time family friends.  And soon enough it was time for the party to start!

The reception was wonderful.  The space was so cute with a lot of special touches from the couple including a Polaroid camera setup to fill their guest book with fun shots.  The chicken marsala dinner was delicious.  The DJ was great and we even got Aunt Linda on the dance floor for the cupid shuffle.  It was a really fun wedding and I think the couple really got to enjoy it!

After jamming all the decorations into the groom's car, we headed back to the house for the after party where I somehow managed to stay up until 2 am to laugh with/at all the drunk people.

Sunday had a slow start.  Dave was hungover and I was pretty tired too.  I spent the morning soaking up some sun on the back porch until we were finally ready for another hike!

We headed up the road to Cathedral Rock for a 1 mile hike up to a look out point.  The hike was labeled moderate difficulty so we figured we'd just take our time with lots of breaks and see what I could do.  A mile seemed doable.  The first part of the hike was fairly easy and when we got up to the base of the rocky portion the view was so cool.

Then we started heading up the rock and about half way, it got pretty steep.  There were foot holes in the rock and we started to use our hands for part of it.  When we got to the top of that section I suddenly felt a bit of regret, I really didn't want to go back down it.  We took a little break and I was feeling slightly anxious.  I wanted to continue and we were so close!  But my gut was telling me no.  The portion above us looked even more difficult and I decided that it wasn't a good life choice to keep going.  I am not a rock climber!

 

I went back down the steep portion with a crab walk, dragging my butt along some parts, and it wasn't that bad.  As soon as we got back down, I was so mad at myself for not going all the way.  I was really bummed, but just had to remember that I was better safe than sorry.  We hiked a little around the base of the rock and then called it a day.

We spent our last night in the house hanging with our family and enjoying delicious steaks on the grill.  Then we said our goodbyes and headed to bed nice and early.

To be continued with our awesome day at the Grand Canyon...

Our Long Weekend in Arizona Part 1: Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock Hike, The Hudson, and Midgley Bridge

Almost a month ago Dave and I boarded a plane (for the last time for a while) for a long weekend in Arizona.  We were invited to his second cousin's wedding and thought why not make a little vacation out of it.  His cousin rented an awesome house for the whole family in the Village of Oak Creek, just south of Sedona and all the beautiful red rock formations located there.

Our trip started out a little rocky when we were stuck on the runway for a whole hour.  We were 14th in line for take off and when we finally got to the front of the line our plane was rerouted!  Our route was changed 5 different times (which the pilot said had never happened to him before and may have been a glitch in the system) but it could've been worse because when we finally took off the pilot told us there were 35 planes waiting in line behind us!  When we finally landed in Phoenix, I wanted to punch the guy at the Hertz rental counter in the face.  But soon enough we were on our way.  Dave was a trooper and drove the 2 hours up to Sedona while I slept.  When we finally arrived, it was midnight aka 3 am EST.  Dave's family welcomed us with open arms and cold beverages and soon after I crashed hard.

On Friday, we woke up right at 7 am and couldn't seem to go back to sleep since it really felt like 10.  We started our day off with Linda's famous giant pancakes (I may have had a second breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast...) and a few hours of lounging.

In the afternoon, Dave and I headed about 2 miles up the road from where we were staying for our first hike.  We did a 4 mile loop around Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock and it was so awesome!  The hike was mostly easy and the views were unreal.  Pictures don't really do any of it justice.

 

It took us about 2.5 hours with lots of stops for pictures, snacks, and taking in the scenery.  4 miles was a perfect amount for this preggo.

After some relaxing and freshening up, we were on our own for dinner since the rest of the family was headed to the rehearsal dinner that night.  I had my eye on a few places on yelp and we decided on The Hudson.  I should've made reservations ahead of time to get a table with a view, but we weren't sure our exact plan so I held off.  When we got there they told us it would be a 90 minute wait, so we headed to the bar instead and nabbed two seats together about 5 minutes later.

The food was amazing!  We started with 3 different kinds of bruschetta: smoked salmon with pesto cream cheese and capers, BLT with crispy bacon, marscarpone, tomatoes, and arugula, and a warm mushroom and riccota version.  So good!  Then we tried their famous corn chowder, which was really zesty and tasty.  And then I couldn't really settle on a main course until we realized they had prime rib, which is what I knew everyone else was eating at the rehearsal dinner, and I had to have it!  It was seriously delicious, perfectly cooked and seasoned and really hit the spot.  We took home some leftovers to save room for an ice cream stop on the way home.  And then everyone hit the hay nice and early to be fresh for the big day!

Saturday we headed out early to go see Midgley Bridge, a must do on Dave's list for the trip!

I didn't really think I was afraid of heights until we got here.  The walkway was very uneven and the rickety railings definitely weren't going to save your life if it came down to it.  As I was inching towards the edge to get some good pictures, a young boy, 6 or 7 years old, came up and stumbled and it made me so nervous!  I told him to be careful!  He casually replied "I am" and his dad told us he'd already tripped 4 times.  Eeeep.

We went on a short hike there and took some pictures of Oak Creek below, but soon we were headed back to the house to get ready for the wedding!

To be continued... Part 2

Our Trip to Italy Part 6: A Rainy Day at the Colosseum

Ok, I know it's been over a year since our trip.  And I know you would probably rather see pictures from Hawaii.  But I have to finish these!  There only a few left, I promise!

Catching up?

- Part 1: Arriving in Florence

- Part 2: A Full Day of Florence Adventures

- Part 3: Goodbye Florence, Hello Orvieto

- Part 4: Etruscan Tunnels, a Winery Tour, & More 
- Part 5: Wandering Rome

We started our day off with breakfast at a lovely cafe down the street, which was included in our hotel stay.  We sat in the window and enjoyed cappuccinos with ham and cheese sandwiches and pastries.

Our first activity of the day was the Baths of Caracalla.  It would've been a 3 mile walk from our hotel and we knew we had plenty of walking to do later, so we decided to save our legs and take a cab.  The weather was looking pretty iffy and the baths were almost empty while we were there.  It was pretty cool to picture how grand it must have been back in the day, but I think we would've gotten more out of this with a tour guide.

Our next stop was Palatine Hill, the Forum, and the Colosseum.  Our tour started soon after we arrived and we headed into the ruins.  Our tour guide was awesome and super knowledgeable.  It was raining on and off during our entire tour, but it wasn't too bad.

Afterwards we headed into the Colosseum.  We had booked the underground tour that was supposed to take us down below the floor, but due to the rain they were not allowing anyone to go there.  It was kind of a bummer and some people in our tour were pissed about it, but you can't control the weather and the tour group gave us a small refund.  Our tour did include exclusive access to the arena floor and the third tier as well.

The Colosseum was awesome!  I was truly in awe of the scale of such a project built so long ago.  Our tour guide told us that the large gladiator games were only held about once a month because they were so expensive and that everything was free to the public, fresh water, large feasts, and epic entertainment.  She told us that they brought in animals from all over the world and after they were killed in the arena they would distribute the meat to the people for them to cook right then and there.  They would basically have a big tailgating party around the outside.  She also told us this lead to a few fires in the Colosseum, but because the building was designed so well not one person died while evacuating.

Being on the arena floor was really cool.  They rebuilt a portion of it to give you an idea of what it would've looked like.

Next stop, second tier.

When we got up to the third tier, the sky completely opened up on us, it was pouring and super windy!  The timing was kind of hilarious.  But the views were worth getting wet for!

After we finished up, we had planned to check out a few more things like an open air market and the Pantheon, but we were soaked (mostly Dave, Mr. I Don't Need an Umbrella), starving, and over it.  We trekked back the 2 miles to our hotel and decided to grab some lunch at the super cute place directly next to our hotel, Mimi e Coco.

Dave ran up and changed into a fresh pair of clothes, but I was feeling ok.  After our iffy dinner the night before, I was feeling like I needed some veggies in my life and kinda sick of wine (in Italy, I know... the horror).  I ordered a yummy vodka drink and we split a tuna salad and a veggie pizza that seriously hit the spot!

We were having a really nice time people watching and hanging out.  I was probably on my second drink, but I wouldn't really say that I was drunk when I went to push my chair back a little and instead knocked our entire table over, putting the majority of Dave's wine all down his front!  I was fairly mortified, but the table was pretty wobbly and the waitress came out and said I was not the first person to do it.  She splashed some water on the ground and brought us new drinks and Dave went up to our room to change his clothes, again!

Eventually we headed up to our room to shower and relax.  We drank a bunch of wine and lounged and then eventually enjoyed some prosecco in the courtyard before we headed off to dinner.

Earlier in the day we told Traiano about our little dinner experience, so he insisted that we go enjoy a less "traditional" dinner at one of his favorite places.  He told us that he was friends with the owner, but not because he was friends with someone who owned a restaurant, but because he had gone there so much that he became friends with the owner.

Our dinner at Cybo was one of the highlights of our entire trip!  When we arrived they were still prepping our table, so we sat down at the bar where we were treated with complimentary champagne.

A few minutes later we were seated at our table right in the front window.  The bar had an extensive cocktail list and my coconut mojito was one of the best drinks I've ever had.

Dave started with cheese filled pasta with bacon and I went with the shrimp risotto.  Both dishes melted in your mouth.

Next Dave ordered a medley of seafood and I got the salmon.  Everything was just perfect.

Our meal concluded with the best tiramisu I've ever tasted with a coffee ganache.

It was such a wonderful meal, quite the redemption from the night before!

To be continued...