“So you guys were just like, ‘Hey, let’s go to Arizona?’”
Matt and I looked at each other awkwardly as the waitress in the Thai restaurant where we’d just finished a late lunch asked us this and laughed. “Um, yeah,” he answered, “pretty much.”
“Okay.” She clearly wasn’t sure what to think of us. We’d just shared a bit of our story — that we were living in South Korea and were in the States for a bit of vacation. Outside, the sky was turning a brownish-gray as a thick cloud of dust preceded the afternoon thunderstorm. One could see why she might question our logic.
It was true: this wasn’t our ideal vacation. We’d had more grandiose plans but had changed them when we realized Jayna couldn’t come with us so that we could see her on the weekends that bookended the time Matt was going to be stateside with us. Arizona was close enough for an easy roadtrip — and you should know by now that we love our roadtrips! — with interesting things to do for a relatively low price.
Our arrival in Phoenix was heralded by the first big thunderstorm of the season. I love a good thunderstorm, so I was pretty pumped — right up until hail started pelting our rental car! It turned out to be an unusually strong and detrimental storm. We spotted several uprooted trees and broken branches, and as we watched the evening news in our hotel that night, we heard of damage to homes and businesses in the area.
But thanks to the storm, the next day was relatively cool (for July), around 90 F. We headed to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.
Our next two nights we stayed at the Arizona Grand Resort which has a small water park attached. We all felt that it was a little overhyped/ overpriced. There were really just three water slides, a lazy river, and a wave pool. It was fun, but we could have stayed in a hotel with more practical amenities (like free breakfast, which is huge when you’re traveling with kids!) and bought tickets to another water park and probably had more fun for less money. But we enjoyed spending the evenings on the lazy river or in the wave pool. (I realized after the fact that I didn’t take a single picture there.)
During the day, when the sun was at its hottest, we headed to the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
This was a big hit with my dinosaur-obsessed youngest two especially.
trying to replicate the pattern on a Navajo blanket using colored tiles, and panning for “gold”
We left the Phoenix area the next day and headed north to Flagstaff. On our way, we stopped at the Montezuma Castle National Monument.
All of us felt that a stop at Slide Rock State Park was a must, so that is where we had our picnic lunch.
The kids had a great time (except for Annalee — she was not a fan!), but if there were a time when I’d have thought for sure we were going to end up in the Emergency Room, it would have been here (not in the peaceful lake that did land us there!). Lilly was the first one in the water, and just as I asked, “Is it slippery?” she went down! It seemed like every time I turned my head someone was either falling or tending to someone who had fallen! Wyatt whacked his head pretty hard, too. But I think even with the bumps and scrapes we got, that was one of our favorite stops.
We spent the night in Flagstaff and headed west again fairly early. On a whim, we stopped at Bearizona, a park with a zoo and a drive-thru part with bears and other animals roaming freely.
We drove into the sunset, back to California and Jayna filled with happy memories of saguaros standing tall on jagged mountains, red rocks and gray clouds, and so much more. It felt too soon to leave, but now we know places to go back to and keep exploring!
If you’re going: during the summer months, at least, Hotwire seems to be a great way to score good deals on rooms. Our first night in Phoenix, we stayed at a well-rated Embassy Suites for about $60. Prices are probably more when it’s not quite as hot.
Also, the Thai place I mentioned at the beginning of this is truly some of the best. Thai Delight. Do not miss it if you’re in the Phoenix area!!! The family that owns and runs it is also incredibly kind. If at all possible, leave room for dessert because the house-made mango-and-coconut ice cream is absolutely heavenly!
The 1954 Chrysler New Yorker DeLuxe (235 hp) was our the favorite family car growing up. Did you catch the great hood ornament?
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