Before Anjali started her new job full time, we decided to getaway for a few days to sunny Arizona, away from rainy and cold Sausalito. We knew this is likely our last flight together as a family until the summer when we go celebrate Dada-Dadi’s 50th Anniversary in Europe with the entire family. The kids were very excited to be on a plane again. We had the most amazing luck during our journey across 4 continents that all our flights were on time, no lost baggage etc. It came to an end when our flight was a couple of hours late and slightly messed up our plans since we were driving straight to Sedona that day. The kids did well on the short plane ride and had a nice nap. We rented a Jeep and drove 2 hours to Sedona that evening arriving to our hotel at night, a little past their bed time (Arizona is 1 hour ahead). Ayaan has gotten to the age where every few minutes he’ll ask “how much time left to reach?” It makes us wonder how we ever did our 10000+ miles of driving! (Luckily he only started on this trip). We stayed at the Sedona Pine Ridge resort that turned out to be super kid friendly and had a nice small cottage for us.

Kids didn’t sleep great though and Ayaan woke us up in the wee hours (he’s awake at sunrise). We ate some yummy Mexican breakfast and started our day hiking in Sedona. Weather was wonderful in the mid 60s and sunny, and we all enjoyed hiking the red rock Cathedral trail. I took the carrier, but I was very proud that both Ariana and Ayaan wanted and were able to hike themselves with little help. Ariana on the way back told me “I am having a lot of fun doing this with you daddy”. They are so attuned to the outdoors and travel at this point. We did another short trail to the bell, before grabbing some Tamales for lunch. The kids were quite tired so we headed back to the resort for a dip in the heated pool and hot tub. That got Ariana exhausted and she had a nice nap. I had to do some project work, so Anjali took Ayaan to the park and to play mini golf in the resort. They also went and bought some groceries so we could BBQ outside the room (inspired by our neighboring cottage who helped us set up) and have a chill night. Our last morning in Sedona, it was overcast and started pouring before lunch so we drove around, went to the Chapel of the holy cross and had some chai and listened to live music at the arts and crafts market.

Done with the rain, we drove to warm Scottsdale while the kids had a nice long nap for the entire time. We checked into the Westin Kierland resort and spent the afternoon in the lazy river and pool. Ayaan made a friend who had a water gun and Ariana befriended a couple of older girls that kept her smiling. The resort was kid friendly once again as we sat outdoors to grab dinner while listening to bagpipes first and then a live singer. A huge surprise was awaiting Ayaan, as they had S’mores – his absolute favorite! Anjali and I spent some together on the balcony of our 11th floor hotel room overlooking the Sedona area and the golf course, while enjoying the live music downstairs and discussing career decisions for me. I’ve been a bit stressed this trip as I decide amongst a few options. Our final full day in Scottsdale started with story time for kids at the resort. We then took them to Macdonalds ranch nearby. It was a super unique experience for us visiting a traditional western ranch with a petting zoo, pony rides and western games. The kids loved every bit of it. We ate Vietnamese for lunch and Ayaan was so happy to get Vietnamese crepes – his favorite from the entire journey over the last few months. After a nap, we spent more time doing the same as yesterday – pool time and live music.

It was a great short getaway and family time before we truly end our full time travel and start full time work.