A "Grand" Memorial Day Getaway- Part 2 ▌Sierra Vista Photographer, Arizona

The Grand Adventure continues... Following our big train excursion we drove the very quick 34 miles from Williams to Flagstaff. A quaint college town chalk full of delicious eateries and delightful looking shops (none of which we dared visit, think "bull in china shop" with three kids in tow), Flagstaff is a blissful escape from the desert heat at 7,000 feet elevation. For the next two nights we rested in an adorable "Comfi Cottage". Though we never personally met our hostess, owner Pat had our little abode warm and ready for us when we rolled into town after dinner at 8:30pm. A pack and play was all ready for The Bundle, twin beds were made up for the boys, the fridge was stocked with bacon, eggs, milk, juice, english muffins, pancake mix, and syrup, and there were even stuffed animals tucked into the rocking chairs. The little stuffed black lab puppy stole The Baby's heart right away and for the rest of the weekend we were a family of five, with a dog. Vacation takes on another meaning when you can actually put your kiddos to bed and still stay up to enjoy the evening with your husband instead of sitting in the hotel bathroom with a book while your kids sleep in the one room you share... I would highly recommend Comfi Cottages to any parent who wants some quality alone time with their spouse and a relaxing place to let the kids wrestle about without concern for neighbors.
Sunday morning was day number two of photographic disappointments for me. Day number one having been the Grand Canyon at high noon. Day two took us to the Arboretum in Flagstaff. Lured by multiple magazine listings for wildflower displays and a bug zoo, when we arrived, there were neither. The wildflowers bloom in July due to the higher elevation and the Bug Zoo died two years ago. The tree maze hidden in the woods more than made up for both however. We also discovered a rotating succulent planter in the greenhouse that had a caleidescope attachment (See photos below.)









Sunday night, after a failed attempt to tour Route 66 through Flagstaff (thinking there would be a number of funky old barn sized roosters or something similar worth a picture or two, but no, there wasn't), which lasted all of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, we treated the boys to shakes and fries at The Galaxy Cafe. We were totally bummed to find out that had we gone there for dinner on Saturday night, we had driven right past it actually, we would have been treated to swing dancing with the NAU swing dancing club. I had a banana split, a wonderfully cold and sinfully delicious triple banana split, for my dinner, to console my aching dancer's heart. My children ate two of my cherries before I got a chance to document my sundae, grrr...