Travel day Sedona

The first day of any vacation I’ve ever taken always seems to be a mixed bag. I’m excited to be heading to someplace new but I hate to leave my pets and home behind. I always seem to be having mixed feelings. It was even more so this trip since I was going alone and questioning if I should even be traveling at a time of financial crisis. But since I was committed I headed out of the house at 2:30 am to get to the airport in time for a very early flight. I forget the exact time but it was the first Delta flight out of Providence that morning.

I left my car at Airport Pre flight Parking and took the shuttle to check-in. The airport was closed. I sat down in one of the many empty seats and was soon joined by 2 very pleasant and interesting ladies. They were both well traveled, one being an educational trainer who traveled the country conducting seminars for teachers and the other was an officer (VP or maybe even president) of the National Flower Growers Association. She had been in the area to consider locations for flower shows. When you travel alone you meet the most interesting people!

Once on the flight I sat next to a mother from Houston whose daughter was in New England to check out Brown University. When I changed planes in Cincinnati it was a bigger plane and we had 3 seats in the row. My seatmates this time were two sisters. One slept but the other chatted with me all the way to Phoenix. She couldn’t get over the fact that I would go on a vacation alone! This kind of surprised me because if you’re single and wait for someone to travel with, you may never get to go anywhere! People are so busy these days. The rest of conversation covered so many things that there is too much to write here. Suffice it to say that the flight passed quickly.

The flight was on time and I retrieved my luggage and headed to the rental car counter. I had reserved an economy car but the rental agent told me it wouldn’t be any good in the mountains around Sedona and that it could even over heat on the drive from Phoenix. They recommended an upgrade. I asked how much and they said they had a lot of mid-size cars on the lot and could give me the upgrade for free. WOW! I love anything for free so I said ok , give me an upgrade. They gave me maps including very simple directions in and out of the airport. Almost made me wonder if my reputation for getting lost had preceded me!

As I pulled out of the airport and headed north on 17 the palm trees quickly turned to cactus and scrub brush. . As I began to climb the vegetation changed with the altitude. The views were wide open and the only animals I saw were a couple of hawks. At one point road signs warned motorist to turn off the A/C to avoid over heating. So far my car was performing beautifully but as if to validate the warning, I passed 3 cars on the side of the road, all over heated. All of the service people I had met so far had warned me as a “tender foot” to stay hydrated. After all this is desert.

I arrived in Sedona around 2 pm and located the Sedona Summit Resort right off the highway. I couldn’t check in until 4 pm so I went off to explore a little and get my bearings. I used the time to practice taking pictures of the red rocks the area is so famous for. Not knowing the area I grabbed a quick dinner at a familiar chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. I spotted a grocery store a bit later so I picked up a few things for the condo and headed back to complete my check in.

Back at the resort I unpacked and explored my unit, a very spacious studio. That done it was time to wash the travel dust off me. After my refreshing shower I was surprised to see it wasn’t even sunset yet! At home it would have been almost 9 pm. Rather than heading out for more exploring I chose to settle in for the night and relax. After all, I’d been up since 2:30 am eastern time so an early night should get me off on the right foot in the morning.