Southwest Road Trip Day 4: Sedona

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As Sedona represented such a different vibe compared to the last few days, Carrie and I were really curious and eager to see Sedona’s otherworldy rock formations up close and personal. Sedona, aside from its natural beauty, is considered by many in the New Age community to be a spiritually powerful place, with several “vortices” of energy that purportedly exist near these rock formations. No matter what though, this is one seriously breathtaking place to look at.

We started off the morning to check out the Airport Loop Trail, which is said to host a Vortex and was walking distance from our hotel.

This trail definitely humbled me as it was labeled “easy”; the trail was tilted at an angle with huge vertical drops just beyond it…no thank you! But climbing to the top of the hill above the supposed vortex did afford the most spectacular views.

We then headed off in the car to explore other parts of Sedona. We did a short 2 mile hike inside the Red Rock State Park, too. Beyond the park, there was a lot of really indescribable scenery on such a grand scale. For some of them, you really had to leave pavement for quite some ways, but it was definitely worth it!


We’d thought ahead and packed lunches for the trip, so by the time we were hungry and many miles away from any services, we had lunch waiting for us. Roadside picnic!

Our final stop for the day was Cathedral Rock. It’s something, isn’t it!

Upon returning to civilization, we stopped into the local UFO store, filled with all kinds of alien kitsch, including countless pieces of “evidence” proving their existence. We perused the store to the looped recording of the X-Files theme!

A bonus today. We moved to a room with a spectacular view. And a fireplace.

Southwest Road Trip Day 3: Grand Canyon

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They always say that nothing can prepare you for the awesome sight of the Grand Canyon. Yes, we’ve all seen pictures of it, but can they really do such a monumentally place justice? Actually, both Carrie and I have been there in our youth, but it had been so long that it was truly like being there for the first time again.

Carrie and I got up this morning, rarin’ to go. We drove on in and parked in the Grand Canyon Village, where the various lodges and eateries are located. We decided from the beginning that we would follow the Rim Trail as that would afford us a great variety of spectacular views. Our first glimpse was no disappointment!

It was hard not to become reflective looking at the view…

We kept hiking the rim until we became hungry. What to do? No worries there as we had prepared a picnic lunch!

Walking further along, we finally caught a glimpse of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon!

What an amazing day. Well, all that hiking did make us pretty hungry, and we still did need to address the matter of celebrating our third anniversary, so what better place to go within the national park than to El Tovar, the finest dining establishment at the Grand Canyon?

We started off with a few cocktails, naturally…

The restaurant turned 100 years old in 2005, as these plates show.

Carrie had a New York Strip while I went all old school and ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu. Seriously, who gets that anymore? It was delicious…

Wonderful and awe-inspiring day. And still so much more yet to come! Tomorrow, we hit the road again, so stay tuned!

Southwest Roadtrip Day 1: Laughlin, NV

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So, our long awaited road trip is finally here! Carrie and I decided this year for our annual anniversary vacation that we’d take in some of the amazing sights we’ve got within our own border. And how best to do that? Road trip!!

We will be spending the next nine to ten days driving around the Southwest, primarily Arizona. We won’t give you spoilers as to where – you’ll just have to keep checking back over the next ten days to see where we’re at!

Anyways, we started off our trip literally during rush hour after work. We packed the car the night before and went to work this morning. After work, I drove to Carrie’s office and picked her up, and off we went towards Arizona. And where did we spend the night tonight before our “real” journey starts in the morning? Laughlin, Nevada.

Neither of us have been here before. Think of it as a “Vegas Lite”, but with more kitsch. As you can see in the pictures below, kitsch is the name of the game here. We are staying overnight at the Colorado Belle, a hotel shaped like a steamboat on the bank of the Colorado River. Hey, for $22, we’re in.

After checking in, we went downstairs for a little video poker action. After losing our $20, we walked around the facilities and found that the Colorado Belle sure loves its murals. Here’s me picking an argument with two gentlemen:

Tomorrow morning, the real journey begins as we hit Route 66 eastward and explore a wonderful, bygone era. Stay tuned!!

Discovery Science Center with Ethan and Mikayla

After our wonderful museum day with Kendall and Jordan, it was time to spend some quality time with Mikayla and Ethan. After an evening with 102 Dalmatians, we started off the day in much the same way as the prior night with Kendall and Jordan…no Facey kids’ weekend at our house is complete without some Guitar Hero! Here’s Mikayla rockin’ out.

Ethan learned how much Sophia loves to be treated gently! Look at her paws – that’s her way of saying, “I really like you!”

So then it was off to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. We took Kendall and Jordan here a couple years back and now that Mikayla and Ethan are a little older, we thought they’d enjoy it too! This kids’ museum is full of all kinds of neat interactive exhibits that are both entertaining and educational.

Some highlights:


Ed and the kids at the pin wall; you push yourself into the pins from behind and a three dimensional image forms from behind!


Here, Ethan learns how tornadoes work!


A lesson in water erosion!


Ever wonder what it feels like to be in a hurricane? Step inside!


Mikayla LOVED the rock wall! She did it at least five times.


Carrie reminds us that only YOU can prevent forest fires.


Just before the “4D” movie about sea turtles and being respectful to the environment.


Mikayla and Ethan both got to make “jitterbug” robots!


“Camping” in the Discovery Science Center!


Mikayla the Zamboni driver!


Afterwards, it being the warm day it was, we had to finish it all off by introducing the kids to Golden Spoon!

What a great day we had! Check out even more pics by clicking below.

We miss you, Facey kids!

Mikayla and Ethan visit – August 2009