Sedona - Oct 2017

We had not been to Sedona in a while so we decided to do a quick trip up there for a night so we could do some hiking.  We left on Saturday morning around 9:30 am after getting some work done at home and arrived in Sedona around noon.  We got a quick slice of pizza at Famous Pizza and then went to hike Bear Mountain.  This is a strenuous (five mile) and beautiful hike that goes up to several plateaus with great views of the valley.  Unfortunately, Shawna got sick about half way up so we had to cut this hike short.

Bear Mountain Hike

We checked into the hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, which is a great hotel - they have updated it so the lobby and rooms were quite nice.  After taking a shower and nap, we then went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Mariposa.  We started off with a cocktail and then got a bottle of an Argentinian chardonnay which was quite good.  We shared the Atun Tuna and grilled octopus to start and then the mixed grill (rack of lamb, filet and sausage) with mushrooms for the entree.  Everything was delicious!

Dinner at Mariposa

On Sunday, we slept in and grabbed breakfast at the hotel.  We then hiked Devil's Bridge starting on the Chuckwagon Trail from the Dry Creek Vista parking lot.  The hike is about 6 miles round trip and is easy until the last mile up to the Devil's Bridge.  Another great hike with fabulous views!  We drove home and got back around 2:30 - in time to take a dip in the pool before relaxing for the rest of the afternoon.

Devil's Bridge Hike

Keith, Kate, and Margaret Visit - Oct 2017

 

ATV Tour: Kelly, Margaret, Keith, Shawna, Kate and Keith

Kate was planning on attending a conference in Scottsdale and since the conference was close to our house, she decided to stay at our house for the week.  Keith was also able to come out for the weekend thanks to JoAnna who offered to watch their kids for a few days.  Separately, Margaret had planned a hiking trip to the Grand Canyon with her friend Kelly and thus they stayed at our house for one night as well overlapping with the Artins.

McDowell Preserve: Shawna and Kate

Kate arrived on Monday. Keith picked her up at the airport and we had dinner at home - Shawna had made some Indian food.  Since Kate was still on East Coast time, we did not stay up late.  Kate's conference ran from Tuesday to Friday mid-day.  She had activities in the evenings except for Thursday evening when she and Shawna went out to dinner at Herb Box, sharing a yummy vegetarian sampler and salmon dish. 

Camelback: Keith, Kate and Keith

On Friday, Shawna and Kate went for a two hour hike in the afternoon at McDowell Preserve.  It was quite hot but still a nice hike.  Once home, they took a quick dip into the pool to cool off before getting ready.  They picked up Keith A at the airport while Keith D went over to Barrio Cafe straight from work to put our names in so that we would not have too long of a wait once we arrived (Barrio does not take reservations).  Once we arrived, they seated us right away!  We shared several dishes - guacamole, stuffed pepper, pork, filet and chicken mole.  While they were all tasty, we thought the filet was the best!  After dinner, we returned home and went to bed as we had an early and long day the next day.

Cornish Pasty: Keith, Shawna, Kate and Keith

On Saturday, we had a quick breakfast at home and then went to Camelback to do our usual hike.  Everyone made it to the top except for Shawna who turned around about 3/4 of the way.  After the hike, we had lunch at our usual spot - Cornish Pasty!  We then drove straight to the ATV tour with Desert Wolf Tours where Margaret and Kelly met us.  This was our fourth time doing the tour so Shawna did not drive, letting the others do all of the driving.  We had a great time and got some good photos! 

After the tour, we returned home, swam for a while to wash off all of the dust from the tour and then got ready for the evening.  Keith A wanted to catch up with a high school friend of his who lives in the area, so we invited him and his wife (Scott and Liza) to join us for dinner at our house - since Margaret and Kelly were also joining us for the evening, we thought it would be more social to host everyone.  We grilled flank steak and sausage and then also made Mexican corn, sweet potato stackers and roasted cauliflower.  Liza brought dessert which was a very tasty cream cheese sopapilla.  We stayed up quite late chatting (until about 11:30) when Kate had to finally say it was time to call it a night!

ATV Tour: Keith and Margaret

On Sunday, Shawna made chorizo, egg and corn/bean tostadas for breakfast.  Margaret and Kelly left around 8:30 to drop Margaret off at the airport and for Kelly to drive back to Denver.  We hung out on the back patio with Keith and Kate until 10:30 when Keith drove them to the airport.

It was so nice to have the Artins visit and to see Margaret and Kelly (even though their visit was short)!

ATV Tour: Keith, Kate and Keith

San Diego - October 2017

Patrick and Lauren had planned a trip to Scottsdale.  Unfortunately, Lauren had some work conflicts so we had to re-direct; resulting in a trip for us to San Diego.

Keith, Patrick, Lauren, and Shawna at Children's Beach

We were able to get a 5:30pm flight which was on time, so we easily got in by 6:30pm.  Keith changed clothes at the airport and Patrick picked us up so we could head straight to dinner at Cucina Urbana in Bankers Hill.  The restaurant had a "wine store" where we were able to choose a bottle (or 3!) and then pay a corkage fee.  Lauren met us at 7:15 - by then we were already well into the first bottle.  We shared a few items, including squash blossoms, grilled octopus, pate, Brussel sprouts, and salmon.  We followed dinner with a pint at Princess Pub.

Keith, Patrick, and Shawna on Cowles Mountain

Saturday morning we slept in a bit.  By the time we were up, Lauren was next door at the neighbor's house.  After a couple cups of coffee, we drove over to Cowles Mountain with Patrick for an hour walk.  It was already quite warm but was a nice (albeit highly trafficked) walk.  After a quick shower we headed out to Pioneer Park for a friend's birthday party where we hung out for a couple of hours. We then drove north to White Labs, a yeast / brewing company. They are primarily a yeast company, but have a 20 barrel brew house on site where they brew identical beer other than the strain of yeast - to teach people the effect that yeast has.  It was interesting to taste the flights of beer and sip the difference.  The brewery / yeast tour only took 20 minutes or so.  Following White Labs we headed south to the La Jolla Art and Wine festival.  We walked around the art stalls and followed by a stroll down to the beach where we stopped by Children's Beach and saw seals by La Jolla Cove.  Dinner was at Starlight, a restaurant near the airport.  Dinner included Mac and Cheese, the Grilled Octopus (really good here), Barbacoa Sort Ribs, and the Pan Roasted Chicken.  Dinner was delicious - and in order to continue the night a little bit we headed to Old Town where we had a drink at Casa de Reyes.

Sunday morning we slept in (again!), had a quick California breakfast of avocado toast, and then Patrick took us to the airport.  It was a fun weekend and great to see them again!