July 12, 2013 – July 26, 2013
We arrived in Sedona today!! So glad to be here! Our plan
was has been to get to Sedona, hang out and see family and that is just what we
did. This entry will not be day by
day and it will be mostly photos as we know the area and though we love it, it
does not need the detail of the other areas we visited since we have been here
many times.
We had a very long day coming from Moab. It was a beautiful
and nice easy ride until we hit the Flagstaff area. We cruised into Flagstaff and needed gas. We hit a local
station that seemed like it would be easy to get into. As Sean loves to say,
“You don’t know what you don’t know”.
We pulled in and suddenly realized a car was blocking our access and the
easy entry we thought we had was not near as big as it looked from the
road. Add the car and it could
have been a disaster! I got out of
the truck and directed Sean and inch-by-inch we averted disaster but getting gas was not an
option. We were just happy to not
blow up the gas station with a direct hit! We made some turns and eventually hit a truck stop and made a
pinky promise to NEVER attempt a gas station that was not a truck stop unless
we were unhooked. We gassed up and
continued on our way down 17. A
monsoon hit with a vengeance! Sean handled it perfectly and we took our exit to
head to our resort but it was a blind exit. By blind exit I mean you exit the
freeway but the exit turns sharply in the other direction in a circular fashion
so you don’t know what you are getting into. Much to our surprise, a large semi
was stalled out in this circular exit.
We came up behind him and stopped too. Quickly traffic piled up behind us. We had no idea what to
do. The truck was broken down and couldn’t move. The rain poured and we had
nowhere to go! I called 911 to let them know of our dilemma and then a stuck
motorist came to our window and suggested if we backed up we could turn around
in the median and get back onto the freeway. It looked muddy and Sean thought we would get stuck but one
of the drivers behind us was familiar with the terrain and said it was asphalt
under all the mud and we would be fine. So every one inched backwards so we
could turn and so we did! Whew! We
breathed a sigh of relief and headed onto Sedona Pines.
Sedona Pines is our timeshare resort where we own. Sedona Pines started its life as an RV
park. The current owners bought it
and turned it into timeshares but deeded 10 or so spots for owners to park
their RVs. We knew of this benefit
but since we never owned an RV, we never paid much attention to it. We called a week out and made our
reservation. Again, not really
understanding too much, but knowing we could park their for a bit free of
charge. We also had a week of free
condo time coming to us, so we reserved that for Sean Jr. and family to
enjoy. We pulled in after our very
stressful past hour or so to get into our space. The local maintenance guys led
us in. Again, you don’t know what
you don’t know and what we didn’t know was that having FIVE slides was going to
be a challenge. There were bigger sites but we didn’t ask for them so we didn’t
get them! Poor Sean! He backed in, then realized the one slide wouldn’t open.
He pulled out, then pulled back in and realized the other slide wouldn’t open
and so on and so on. It was a long ordeal and it took myself and two
maintenance guys to finally get us situated. All of this in the pouring rain I might add…….anyway we
finally got in and hooked up. We were so happy to unhook for two weeks!!!!!!
We knew we had this benefit with our ownership but again, we
werent really too sure on the details. We had originally planned to stay a week
but after I visited with owner services and realized we could stay their, free
of ANY charges for two weeks A MONTH we were hooked! Why leave the most
beautiful country in the world when you can stay there for FREE!!!! And I mean
free. Free spot, free utilities, free laundry, and access to all of the resort
amenities! This includes, a beautiful pool, several spas, free miniature golf
and all of the activities. Sean
and I felt like we had just gotten the best Christmas present ever! Wow! And we
learned from other RV’ers and owner services that you could plan your two weeks
at the end of the month, then add the next two weeks at the beginning of the next
month and really get a whole month with never moving! That is work camping
without working! We are definitely coming back for a month after the holidays
when get back to Arizona. Anyway,
we were so happy to camp for free, in a beautiful location, where we could put
up family and friends for a minimal amount. Life is good.
We spent July 13 getting groceries, hanging out in Flagstaff and having
a wonderful meal with my brother Kent and his wife Kathy in Cottonwood. His home is just about 15 minutes from
our timeshare.
Sean Jr and family couldn’t get there for a few days so our
best friends in the world, Brad and Lisa Wierck, came down and spent two days
in the timeshare and hung out with us. They are so much fun and we always have
a great time together. There son Zach came too. Then after they left, Sean Jr
showed up with his crew….his wife Lisa, Aislynn and Carson. The next day after
they got there, Sean’s mom, Lou and her partner Ken came in and spent the day
too. It was great to get the multi generations together. Cory and his partner, April, came in
and stayed with us in the RV but it was pretty squishy so we rented them a
condo too. They also brought our grand dog, Bruce as well. We were pushed to our limit but our
little condo on wheels did just fine! Luckily Lou brought some extra snacks and
with her contributions and mine we had plenty of food. Lou and Ken just stayed for the day and
headed back down to the Valley. They also had a big trip they were getting
ready for back to
Minnesota.
The next days were spent just lounging at the pool and
hiking and enjoying the area. Sean
and Lisa celebrated their second wedding anniversary. Sean and I took care of the kids so the could enjoy the day
with Cory and April. They hiked, went out for lunch and the got to sleep in the
next day because we had the kids.
The kids were perfect for us! However, I was such a worry wort over Carson
that I didn’t sleep much but that is to be expected.
After all the kids left, Sean and I had one glorious week to
do whatever our hearts desired! We hiked Devils Bridge, Cathedral Rock and
Sycamore Canyon. One day we got hit with monsoons and Sean decided to take the
moment with the free water to scrub our RV too. Talk about multi tasking!! We also
hung out in the resort pool and spa as much as possible. We just did not much
and had a great time doing it!!! We
also took a day and went to Prescott to see Cory and April. While we were there
I met my oldest brother, Hank, at my parents gravesite. I haven’t been there
since my mom had passed away so it was good to see their final resting place
and I visited with my big brother too.
We had a great time in Prescott with Cory and April as well. I sure love
that little town. Having my
wonderful son and daughter living there was sort of like a full circle moment!
I pointed out many places that I loved and shared my memories with them.
On July 26 we had an appointment to get our sliders fixed at
camping world. The original plan
had been for Sean to repair them but once we realized that there was a camping
world in Flagstaff, we decided to let them handle the repairs. We pulled out reluctantly on the 26th
and headed to Camper World. They
took most of the day and we only got to Holbrook since we hit yet another
monsoon. On the 27th we
left Holbrook and went to Albuquerque.
We are here until the 29th and then onto Texas!
No comments:
Post a Comment