Road Trip, Part 1

Hi friends! I want to first start off by letting everyone know how appreciative both Chris and I were when we read all of the positive comments on my recent moving post. I am excited to go back home (I moved from GA to CA in 2007) and I know we're both excited for this new adventure. Also, I haven't been able to read blogs for about 2 weeks (or watch any TV which is so devastating!) and probably won't get a chance to sit down and go through my Google Reader until after the road trip. I'm so sorry that I haven't been reading your blogs or leaving comments. I hope I haven't missed anything earth-shattering, and if you think I have, please let me know in the comments!

We left Los Angeles at 4:30 am on Monday morning. It was brutal, but I'm so glad that we got an early start. Driving with a 3,000 pound trailer attached to our SUV only allows us to travel at about 55 mph, and even slower climbing up all of those hills. We were on the road for about 10 hours and we made it to Flagstaff mid-afternoon. Instead of taking a nap, we decided to push through and went out for dinner at Beaver Street Brewery, tastings at Mother Road Brewing Co., and we may or may not have made a stop at Dairy Queen for a blizzard (they don't have these in CA!). I'll neither confirm nor deny.

On Tuesday, we had an early lunch at Diablo Burger. I had read so many good reviews about this place that I knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it out. And it definitely lived up to the hype! I actually think it dethroned my #1 burger favorite - Le Burger Brasserie, I loved it that much. It's served on an english muffin!

Downtown Flagstaff was super cute and full of fun shops. We got some candy at The Sweet Shoppe & Nut House and walked around an awesome store called P.J. Chilcottage. I loved these decorative soaps! They had so many designs, but I think my favorites were the cupcake, ice cream, and cake ones.

We left Flagstaff after lunch and drove to Sedona, where we were spending our second night. It was so beautiful! The rock formations are so amazing, and I'm really glad we were able to stop here for a fun day. 

Our first stop was Bell Rock Vista, which was recommended as an "easy" bike trail. Um, no. Not easy. I have never ridden off road on my bike and this was really off road, dirt & rocks & cactus everywhere! Luckily, I didn't fall and it was actually really fun. I did have to walk my bike through quite a few areas of the trail. This is Courthouse Butte behind us in the pictures. The trail was a loop around this formation.

I got really dirty!

Chris treated me to a delicious belated birthday dinner at Oak Creek Brewery and Grill. I had the petite filet mignon with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Oh. My. Word. It was amazing. But please don't tell my doctor that I had red meat twice in one day. She would definitely not be happy with me!

And I also got my nails done after our bike ride. I went with a light pink gel, which I think is really pretty, and it matches my new earrings I bought in Flagstaff.

That's a lot of food I posted about, but did you really expect anything else? I live for food, after all.

We are driving to Albuquerque, NM today. I'll try to update soon! I'll also try to announce the winner to my Kendra Scott earrings giveaway by Friday. There is still time to enter if you haven't done so yet!

Also, I'm doing a much better job of keeping my Tumblr and Instagram up to date. If you'd like to know what I'm up to, check those out!