Getting Settled

It has been very busy!!

After returning to Phoenix from Sedona we were back at getting settled into the condo - it always takes a lot of work to find things and get things set up.  Thankfully Craig is so handy we have been able to replace all the towel bars etc and even some lighting.  There are new window coverings mounted and the place is feeling very cozy. 

We had a treat day and went for Pedicures.  It was the shops's Christmas party and all the staff were in their red attire and they were cooking out the back of the store and brought all the customers fresh made spring rolls.  They are starting to remember us now and even asked where our friends were (Faye and Bob) that we brought there in October.  Too funny!!

Spent Christmas day baking and watching movies.  That night we had the most wonderful Christmas dinner with Mom at the Hilton hotel restaurant called  Different Pointe of View.  You get a view of the whole city lit up at night. 

The weather has been cool but in the sun with no wind, 63F can feel just lovely!  Craig was on the bike today and got a bit chilled because when the sun goes, so does the warmth.  I was able to go do some errands and am very proud of being able to find my way around now.  One sure way to learn your way around is to forget your GPS at home when you go on holiday!!  It is such an easy city to find your way that even directionally challenged people like me can manage. 

The decorating is coming along and I have taken a few photo's of the condo so check the Condo Photo's tab to see what is there.  I will add more in the next few days of the pool and the buildings and the complex. 

That's it for now - it's movie time. 

Lynn

The condo is great!!
Arrived safely at the new condo - it's just lovely!!  What a great job Craig and Frank did setting us up.  I have been busy (re)arranging the kitchen cupboards and closets and settling in.  I have not taken any photo's yet but I will get some up before we leave.  We have a few pictures hung up now and the small table Christmas tree is out.  Very cozy!!

And we are off!!
We left Friday morning and drove to Sedona.  We took the Pink Jeep Mogollon Rim Tour and it was so beautiful!!  The road was not too bumpy and the ascent was so gradual you hardly noticed you had climbed so high.  Our guide Mike was wonderful, as every guide we have had is.  They seem to hire engaging and interesting staff and they all are interested in sharing their knowledge. 

It was also such a different experience to see this terrain with scattered snow on it. It makes the shapes and colors so defined.  Here we are all bundled up.

Here's some other neat photo's - so hard to take a bad one here. 

Here's a view of the snowy road.  Very cool in the shady areas and we were glad there were some nice warm Mexican blankets for us to use to keep warm. 

We had a great dinner at the Heartline Cafe in Sedona.  It was just up the street from our hotel.   They had an accoustic guitar player entertaining us during our wonderful meal.  Worth stopping in there.  We were so pleased with our hotel too - first time we have stayed here and we will stay here again.  It was the Best Western Plus and the location was amazing.  The room we had had a front and back door and out the back was a large patio area with table and chairs.  There is a nice hot tub and pool, both heated.   If you are there at sunset you could watch it set from your room.   Here's a view from the room patio.

Of course the view all around is stunning!!  This is from this morning before we left.We are home now and settling in to watch a movie so that's all for now. 

Two More Sleeps

What's New? 
Well folks...for those of you following my blog, a lot has changed since we were there in October and I was blogging for the first time.  We have moved to a new condo!! And I have not even seen it yet!!  

We closed on a new condo last month and this Wednesday, I get to see it for the first time.  That feels quite strange.  Craig has been a busy boy and went to see it before we finalized our offer and then he had a long weekend and Craig and our friend Frank physically moved us from the old condo to the new condo.  The other condo is now up for sale and we hope that in the new year it will sell quickly.  

Why the move? 
Well, we certainly were not unhappy where we were but we wanted more outdoor space since that is the main reason to spend time in Arizona.  Our new home has a nice yard and we even have our very own palm tree and a cactus!!  There is a grassy (fake grass) area and a covered back porch.  We have moved down in bedrooms from three to two bedrooms.  This condo is a split-master with two master bedrooms upstairs both with walk in closets and ensuites.  The main floor is very bright with lots of windows in the living/dining and kitchen.  We are also fortunate to have met some wonderful people who helped us get the new condo ready, even long distance.  It has been freshly painted from top to bottom and the carpets cleaned.  All I need to do is decorate and hang pictures from what I hear.  

Christmas Holidays
We will have the pleasure of having my Mom, Liz, with us for the first week during the holidays.  We have a number of things planned to do and we will be going to Sedona for a Pink Jeep Tour.  We are taking the Scenic Rim Tour since we are told that is not as "exciting" as the Broken Arrow tour we have already taken twice.  That's part of Mom's Christmas gift so we hope she enjoys it.  There are a ton of things to do and see so I will post what we get up to. People have asked me to keep blogging...  

The second week we are there on our own and we hope to get out on the motorcyle a bit but who knows?  I may even get Craig to lay by the pool and read a book.  Strange things do happen in Phoenix.  

We wish our friends a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing everyone in the new year.

Bye Bye till Xmas

Another wonderful visit to Phoenix is ending. We are now in the airport grabbing lunch and waiting for our delayed flight. It is going to be a late night but the time change is working for us going home. (Guelph is 3 hrs ahead)

Reflecting back on the last couple of weeks we realize how lucky we are to have had such great company to share our love of Arizona with. The condo felt empty when Faye and Bob left but we kept busy day tripping and going to the movies or watching movies at home and sitting by the pool. Yesterday we rode the bike to Cave Creek and went to a Coffee and Crepe shop we found. I think its Cave Creek's hidden gem - family owned by Russians who it seems have as much passion and history of crepe making as the French.

Although sad to leave we are looking forward to seeing the dogs who we miss so much when we are away. I also miss my Mom especially since she was in England for two weeks and a couple of days after she got home, we left for our trip.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the blog. It seems to be a nice way to share "Lynn and Craig's Excellent Adventures" with a few photos and updates.

Bye for now!!
Lynn
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Fun Day - again

Had a great day today.  Craig went off for a ride on the bike this morning to see if he could test ride some bikes at a motorcyle demo day in town but with the 3 hour wait, it did not work out.  I ran out to my new favorite store, The Container Store, here in town and bought a few things for the condo.  It feels great to get organized even though we don't have much here. 

Toured around later this afternoon and then met up with friends for a Desert Belle Cruise at sunset on Saguaro Lake. It was so lovely!!  Not a big lake but there were a number of boats and some people were camping around the area as well.

pulling out from the dock

getting dusk

coming back to the dock

After the cruise we found a Chinese restaurant and had a lovely dinner - food has been very good this whole visit.  I think it would even be "Mom approved"!!

Only a few days left here for this trip.  It has flown by so fast and we have managed to do and see so many things. We have been to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Williams, Jerome, Tortilla Flats, Canyon Lake, Cave Creek and more!!

Well, time for some shut-eye. 

g'nite all!!

Rainy Day

The weather has changed here, had heavy rain in the night.  Much cooler today so all the windows are open and it's lovely. 

Our fabulous guests, Faye and Bob, are back home safe and sound now and we are on our own.  Still keeping busy though.  Last night we went to Bike Night at the Westgate Mall which is always interesting to see.  Some people are such posers and I have never seen such a variety of motorcycle apparel.  From super short shorts with cowboy boots to flip flops on the ladies.  Some of the guys just had on sandals and shorts too.  Anything goes and helmets are not required.  A neat mix of sport and fancy bikes and some amazing paint jobs.  Ate dinner there and the food was great - nice places to eat since it is the Jobbing Center where hockey games and concerts are also held. 

The house is all clean, beds are all changed.  Now to figure out what to do for the rest of the day.  Oh, I know - EXPLORE some more!! 

Hope everyone is having a great Friday.

Lynn

Cave Creek etc

Had a lovely time yesterday and explored the Cave Creek shops and had a nice lunch.  The items for sale in this tiny town are so unique but unfortunately too big to bring much home unless you have a truck.  Here's some painted metal flowers and wrought iron things.

There is just so much.  Another store has beautiful woven rugs but those items don't fit in our northern climate very well and look out of place sometimes. 

Had an amazing dinner out at the Hilton resort (600+ rooms!) built on a mountain in town and the dining room (called A Different Pointe of View) overlooked the lights of the city.  This photo is a bit blurry but you get the idea.

We like it so much we made reservations for Christmas dinner.  The restaurant has won a lot of awards and the food was amazing and the service excellent. Definite A+ place!!

Now our wonderful guest are packing and we are sad to see them go.  It will be so quiet without them.   

Goldfield Ghost Mine, Canyon Lake & Tortilla Flats

Stopped in at Goldfield Mine. Bob's favorite place after the Grand Canyon. It is off season so no gun slinger or street shoot-outs today.

Next stop was Canyon Lake. Beautiful spot and on such a beautiful day there are a number of boats and water skiers out.

On two miles further to Tortilla Flats and lunch at the saloon. Note the walls behind Bob and Faye are papered with dollar bills.
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Saguaro Lake stop at the Salt River

Having a day out exploring. It's our first time at Saguaro Lake which is about half an hour from the condo. Lovely spot we will have to come back to with a picnic and lawn chairs. And bathing suits since you can swim here and on the other side of the lake is a beach.

On our way now to Canyon Lake and lunch at Tortilla Flats. A sunny 90 degrees today.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Grand Canyon

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Grand Canyon

We are back from the Canyon and relaxing at the condo. It has been a long couple of full days but we have seen so many beautiful areas. Going in and out of the Canyon you have different terrain and go from cactus to pine trees. I will post more photo's once we get the internet working.

Hope everyone is enjoying the blog so far.
Lynn.
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Here we are at a stop on our way out of Sedona. Beautiful day! Heading to the Grand Canyon now.

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Sunset in Sedona.

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Monezuma's Castle

Nice stop on the way to Sedona. Busy today with a few buses. When we were here in the spring it was full of flowers. Most are hanging by a thread now with the heat.

Next stop will be Sedona.
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Lookout

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Meet Faye and Bob!

On our first stop at the lookout on the way to Sedona.
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Packing etc.

The little pile of clothes and items to bring along is building up in my closet.  Not too much to bring since I have myself outfitted in the condo and don't really need much.  Hopefully I will have shopping success and bring home a few nice things too.  

The big news - the big bike is being shipped down for us to use over the winter while we are there.  We will enjoy some nice rides and more exploring.  Sent some riding clothes, jackets and helmets along with the bike so we are set to go.  We will also be able to hit Westgate City Center Bike night on a bike!!   This is a cool attraction to check out and there are some amazing sights both in people and their rides.  

Can't believe it is almost here.  This weekend will fly by and then we will be off!!  Hope our friends are as excited as we are.  Maybe this is why I can't sleep? 

Cave Creek shopping. Favorite spot.

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ok, still learning this blog business.  I think I am getting somewhere now.  

We are now 12 days away from the trip which is so hard to believe!! Wow, that comes fast!  Really looking forward to seeing some sights and having fun with great friends.  I will have to make sure I tell them about the "free-pour" when you order a margarita!  Those can be dangerous!   You don't realize how much you've had until you stand up, or try to.  

Bottoms up!! (very large Cactus Pear Margarita, location - Sedona, Arizona)

13 days and counting, can't wait to sleep in the best bed ever!!  Looking forward to showing our friends all the reasons we love Arizona.