Sedona Arizona 2008

2008 turned into one of those years. As I usually do, I planned my vacation in the spring and made my reservations way in advance. I booked and paid for everything I could at the time of booking. I always try to do that because life has a way of getting in the way of the best plans and this way, I am committed! As it turned out, the bottom dropped out of the real estate market, my job relocated my office (25 miles away) and layoffs became a household word. My company pulled all overtime so I was not immune to the economic woes around me. The loss of what had previously been almost unlimited overtime really threw my finances into a tailspin.

 Normally I would not have gone on a vacation but in 2008 had I canceled my vacation, I would not have gotten anything back because in order to get the best prices, I made non-refundable reservations. After much soul searching I decided to keep my vacation plans. The bulk of my out of pocket expenses for the week I was gone would be for food and gas, pretty much what I would have to deal with by staying home and the economic pressures were so great at that time that a chance to get away, even if all I did was sit by a pool, would be a welcome relief.

I would be traveling alone this trip because Sandy chose to skip it this time due to the down state of the economy.

When I had looked for a place to vacation I had skipped Hawaii because of the cost of airfare and it would have been the 3^rd year in a row. I would have loved to go back but the winds of recession were blowing and I was nervous about the future like everyone else. So first I checked my time share exchanges and then I checked plane fares and at the time I was booking everything (March for an October trip) a round trip ticket to Phoenix was the best deal. At first I reserved Scottsdale for the timeshare but as I researched the area, I decided I would be better off in Sedona for the things I wanted to see and do. I was changing my reservation early enough so there was no penalty to switch.

Sedona is very new age, artsy-crafty. Surrounded by spectacular red rock formations, it is known as one of the spiritual areas of the central Arizona. Everywhere you go you will hear about the energy vortexes and the area’s history seems to bear this out. The area has been treated as a powerful place by both the ancient and present day Indian tribes for millennia. Since I was a flower child wannabe of the 60’s I figured I’d fit right in. Where are my tie dyed T’s?

As I researched the area in preparation for my trip, I found nature preserves, trains, the Grand Canyon, and Indian Ruins to name just a few things. There was also a chance to go horseback riding where I wouldn’t be turned away because I’d let myself go. (read that as “exceeded maximum weight limit”) It was becoming apparent that I would not be stuck just “sitting by the pool”. Coming up I will chronicle my trip and the choices I made for activities that turned this into a vacation to remember.