little black journal

It was a three-hour drive from Antelope Canyon to our AirBNB in Sedona, and we boogied, eager to kick back for a bit at our new digs before beginning Part II of our Arizona vacation.

We freshened up and then settled into a beautiful table at Broome and Orchard, reserved courtesy of Shane.

The drinks were tasty, the food was exceptional, and the company couldn’t be beat.  We’d logged so many hours in the car that day, but spirits were high as three days in a new town stretched out in front of us.

We slept like logs on Wednesday and awoke on Thursday ready to carpe diem.  Our explorations started at Indian Gardens Market, where we wolfed down french toast and chilaquiles on their charming patio.

From Indian Gardens, it was a short drive to Slide Rock at Oak Creek Canyon.

This place was like a natural water park, with small pools and rock slides and a lazy river…  It was a bit too chilly to get in the water that day, but Juliette and I did some exploring and rock-hopping.

Shane and Isaac would love this place…we’ll be back.

After Slide Rock, we strolled downtown Sedona, iced chai and iced coffee in hand.  We picked up a little toy for Isaac and Juliette bought an opalite charm at a rock shop.  Good vibes!

We vegged at our condo in the afternoon and then set out for a short hike at Bell Rock before dinner.  The trailhead was just a few minutes from where we were staying and it seemed worth a wander…

Unlike a lot of the forested lake hikes we do in the PNW where the destination is hidden from view until you’re upon it, at this place it was always abundantly clear where we were headed.

Always chatting, us two.

Getting closer…

We made it to this perch and decided it was the perfect place to stop and hydrate.  A gaggle of more adventurous teenage boys scrambled past us and further up the rock, but this sunny seat felt just right for us.

Rather than retrace our steps back to the car, we rounded Bell Rock toward Courthouse Rock to stretch out our finish.

One of those “Is this real life?!” kind of landscapes.  I’ve never been anyplace like it.

We made good time getting back, eager to make our dinner reso.  We stopped for a minute when we spotted a couple of coyotes eyeing us from a distance, but they didn’t bother us and we didn’t bother them.

Beautiful hike.  Highly recommend!

We had dinner at the Mesa Grill, again reaping the benefits of Shane’s good restaurant scouting, and then went back to the condo for a dip in the hot tub before calling it a night.  We had a early trailhead date the next morning!

I spent a long time reading trail reviews, trying to find us a just-hard-enough Friday hike, and settled on Cathedral Rock via Baldwin Trail.  I’d read that the parking lot is often full, so we rallied early, grabbed coffee and muffins from a nearby bakery, and set out from the trailhead at 8am.

Long dusty trails led us into the woods and then near the river, where we stopped for a bit to rest before starting the elevation gain in earnest.

We climbed switchbacks and rock steps, huffing and puffing a bit as the sun rose higher and the day got warmer.

Still, though, she smiled.

A moment to hydrate before the final ascent:

It was a scramble to the top in some places, where we crawled on our hands and knees over sheer, sloping rocks, but WE DID IT.

Well done, Juliette!

We rested in the shade for awhile, reveling in the chance to cool off and catch our breath while taking in the view.

And back to it!

When in doubt, descend on your butt…

Quite the five-miler!  Proud of us for conquering the rock.

We slurped Diet Cokes and wolfed down burritos from a Mexican restaurant across the street from the condo, Facetimed back home to find that brother was goofy as ever, and then lounged poolside for the afternoon.  We’d earned it.

We made a short stop at Chapel of the Holy Cross before dinner, taking in the austere architecture and sunny plaza.

And then pizza and cards at Oak Creek Brewery in Tlaquepaque Village.

The shopping center was beautiful, with gardens and fountains and Spanish-style plazas.  We wandered around and window-shopped for awhile.  I made note of a pottery boutique that was was closed for the day but likely worth a return trip the next morning.

Gosh, what a top day with my top girl.

Saturday was our travel day home, but our afternoon flight left us enough time for breakfast at the Pump House back at Tlaquepaque.

Plus a pop into the pottery shop…

And a creekside sit for reading and Sudoko…

I was eager to get home to our guys, but also reluctant to leave this slice of magic behind.  I fell hard for Sedona, with its dramatic scenery and chill vibes.  I can’t wait to go back.

Now, back to our boys!

It was an easy flight home and we were greeted curbside at the Seattle airport with the biggest of hugs.  Juliette had been such a rockstar travel buddy.  Isaac was healthy and happy.  And SHANE.  Shane had pivoted and swapped his Arizona Spring Break for a staycation with Isaac, complete with trips to the arcade and movie theater and multiple playgrounds.  He administered the middle-of-the-night inhaler treatments and nursed our son back to health.  Total hero, that guy.  It was good to be home.

Always a season behind here, but hey!  Spring Break 2026!  But before I get to the roll of pics featuring me and Juliette gallavanting around Arizona, a note on why Shane and Isaac are not featured in said pics…  Isaac came down with a light cough two days before we were all meant to leave, but I largely set it aside and figured it was nothing worth changing plans over.  We’ve seen so many coughs come and go in our house.  And then the day before our flight, I noticed how rapid his breathing was as he napped on the couch.  This was…different.  It seemed worth heading to Urgent Care, just in case we needed to scoop up an antibiotic prescription before our trip.  An hour after walking through the doors of our neighborhood Urgent Care, we were being rushed to the Emergency Room at Seattle Children’s by ambulance.

Honestly, the call for the ambulance may have been overly cautious on the part of the clinic doctor, but still, Isaac’s breathing was labored and he needed more help than they were primed to offer.  Buddy was incredibly brave (braver than me!) through a barrage of breathing treatments and chest x-rays and vitals checks.

It was a long, long night, but he improved with each passing hour, eventually giggling over his ET-like oxygen sensor while using his bed controls to fake-phone his friends.  We were discharged shortly after midnight with a diagnosis of pre-pneumonia.  He was stable, but in no shape to board a plane in several hours.

So…what to do?  Gosh, I wanted this trip.  I felt like I needed this trip.  Work had been running me ragged and I missed hanging with my kids and I was counting on that sun-break.  Shane wanted this trip, too, but more than that, he wanted me to take a break, and so as we pulled into our driveway at nearly 1:00 am, Isaac snoozing in the backseat, he urged me to go. Take Juliette and GO.

So we did.  Early the next morning, with just a couple of tears, we said goodbye to our guys and got on a plane to Phoenix.

Upon landing, first things first.

We settled into our cutie AirBNB in Tempe and then grabbed dinner in Old Town Scottsdale.

The evening was warm, the sky was brilliant, word from home was that Isaac was in good spirits, and Juliette and I were officially on vay-cay.

We caught up over tacos and margaritas (Jarritos for Juliette) and while this wasn’t the vacation we’d pictured, we both agreed we were going to make the most of it.

Making the most of a Mama-Jules trip meant binge-watching This Is Us late into the night and then sleeping in.  It was nearly lunchtime by the time we’d breakfasted and dressed on Monday.  Shane and I had planned this first leg of our Arizona trip as a total lay-low, where we’d enjoy the pool at the house, kick back, and eat in.  Juliette and I carried forth with that plan, but with a little bonus shopping and a nice meal at The Canal Club.

Tuesday was similarly lazy – I finished my book, we worked on our tans and streamed Gilmore Girls on the patio TV.  I took a nap.  It was glorious.

Still though, I was antsy by mid-afternoon, so we put on real clothes and headed into Phoenix for coffee and pizza.

And then we drove over to the Desert Botanical Garden for an evening stroll among the cacti.

This place was beautiful – local flora at its finest.

Late night hangs with my girl back at the house…

But not TOO late, because we were getting an early start on Wednesday!  This was the point in the trip at which “making the most of it just being the two of us” transitioned from vegging to adventuring.  I’ve been wanting to visit the Antelope Slot Canyons for years but figured it wasn’t in the cards for us, given the four-hour drive time from Tempe.  Then again, if it was just me and my best co-pilot…I booked us an 11am tour.  We were doing it.

We made great time on the long drive north and stopped by Horseshoe Canyon on the way to Antelope.  The path from the parking lot was flat and dusty and I wondered if we were in the right place, but then you get a little closer…

…and see this:

Turns out Arizona has a few tricks up her sleeves!

We hopped back in the car for a short drive through more lifeless landscapes…

Followed our guide down another flat, dusty trail…

And then began our descent into a magical underworld of flowing red rocks.

I cannot overstate how surreal this place was, sculpted by the natural forces of wind and water.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

We stuck with our group but had plenty of time throughout to stop to ooh and ahh.

While I’d seen plenty of pictures of the slot canyons (they inspired my architectural thesis project!), Juliette had no context for what to expect, so it was fun to watch her discover it with completely fresh eyes.

Core memory.

Eventually we emerged from below with the sense that we’d just traversed an alternate universe.  Totally worth the trip.  Next stop: Sedona!