Can’t believe it’s already time to move! This month really has flown by with so much our family and friends visiting. We kicked off our first weekend with Eric & Naz (captured in previous blog), followed by Ashleigh & Alex. Then we had a Thai Siblings weekend and ended our month celebrating Mike’s birthday with Mama Mary & Aunt Elsie. Sedona definitely holds a very special place in our hearts. We’ve been here a few times before and we love it each and every time. The magic of Sedona never gets old.
When Ashleigh & Alex came to visit, we drove through a beautiful scenic route passing Flagstaff, to get to the Meteor Crater in Windslow, AZ. Oh my goodness! What a sight to see! Definitely a must see for anyone who comes to Arizona. I wish we could have hiked down into the crater, but the short guided tour was still an amazing experience! Breathe taking! On the way back home, we stopped by the Twin Arrows for a quick visit and then stopped at Downtown Flagstaff for a quick stroll. We also hiked Devil’s Bridge with them and what an adventure that was! Always happy to see friends and host them in our tiny home. So glad to have friends make time to come and visit!
Seeing family really brightened up our days. When we started off on this trip, the one thing I knew we’d miss the most was spending time with family. I’m so happy that Eric, Thi, Sam & Finley were able to come visit us in their Sprinter Van that they converted into their mini home away from home! And so cool that Alvin and Justine drove his 1989 Toyota 4Runner all the way here to be with us for the weekend! On our first adventure, we tried to go on a sunset hike at Cathedral Rock but it was too packed, so instead it turned into a night hike at Birthing Cave. What a beautiful hidden trail that’s only known to the locals. Good job Thi on discovering this beautiful hidden gem! The next day we went on a super fun adventure, off-roading on Devil’s Road trail with the whole family in Alvin’s 4Runner! This saved us a few miles of hiking, which was really nice, especially with the kiddos. Eric was a champ, carrying Finley in a carrier the whole way up! Hiking with the family was a great way to connect again! I enjoyed every moment! We also did a short bike ride with the kiddos and had lots of quality time back at home playing games, swimming at the pool and spending time around the camp fire. It’s so nice to have family come and visit! It made time slow down and we were able to forget about our daily busy lives, and just enjoy each others company. Wish my parents could have also came along, but we understand that it’s a bit more difficult for the two of them to travel. Maybe one day, we can get them out to come see us wherever we might be. First Thai Siblings Adventure in the books! Looking forward to more and more trips with Family!
Mama Mary & Aunt Elsie came the following weekend to celebrate Mike’s birthday! Of course Mama Mary wouldn’t miss her only baby’s birthday! It was also Aunt Elsie’s big 75th birthday, so we celebrated them two together! So happy to have them come and spend some quality time together and explore Sedona with us. When Mike and I started this adventure, we knew we’d want Mama Mary to come often, maybe even to every location! We knew how much she would love this life style so we planned to have her come explore with us any time she wanted to come along. That’s why it was so important for us to have a second bed, just for her! After having a few visitors come, we quickly realized the bed in the garage was going to be too high for her to get up to safely. Thankfully, my handy man husband was able to figure out how to lower the bed to a safer height that worked out perfectly! Our first day with them we went to Old Town, Scottsdale and explore a bit. It was super quiet on a Thursday afternoon. The following day we took them to the top of Sedona’s airport to enjoy the beautiful view. We then went to Bell Rock and hiked up for a beautiful 360 view of gorgeous Sedona. So proud of these two ladies for hiking and climbing up the rocks! After a beautiful day of exploring, we took them to The Hudson for a delicious dinner! (thank you, Alvin & Justine for taking us here the previous week! We loved it so much we had to come back for more!) Hands down, one of the best restaurants we’ve been to! Mama Mary wanted to go on a real adventure, so the next morning we went on a Jeep Tour! Our tour guide Gif was a fun character and really made it fun. It was a bumpy ride, but an enjoyable one. We explored the shops of Sedona a bit & afterwards we took them through the scenic route to Downtown Flagstaff to shop around a bit. I always cherish my time with Mama Mary, and it was so nice to also have Aunt Elsie come and join in on the fun. We had a very memorable weekend with them. Mama Mary’s birthday is coming up in May, and she’ll be visiting us at our next stop in Utah! So happy to know we’ll see her again soon!
Our stay here in Camp Verde has been a very memorable one! We’re all packed up and ready to hit the road tomorrow morning and head to a new backyard to explore! It’s going to be a two day trip. We’ll boon-dock somewhere tomorrow night before reaching our new home right outside of Zion, Utah! Mike’s cousins, the West Family lives out in Utah, so we made sure to book a spot thats close enough for us to go visit them and see their new home!
Another month, another location! I can’t imagine life any other way!
Mily Lourenço Adventures 