Sedona, Arizona
November 29th - December 6th 2013

Attended the North American Bridge Championship in Phoenix with friends John and Susan Wachsman. During 4 days of competition we won a Board A Match and came in second in a knockout. We were awarded over 7 Master Points.

On Tuesday, December 3rd, we drove to Sedona for 4 days of R&R. My first visit and Barbara's second.

In Sedona, we stayed at a VI timeshare, Villas at Poco Diablo, about 2 miles from downtown. We don't have a view of the red rock formations but a small river runs through the front yard. Since it's a bit cold (30°F at night, 34 to 55 during the day) we really appreciated the gas fireplace.

The first day we explored the town and signed up for one of those pink jeep tours.

In one of the shops on Main Street, two people were making artistic candles. The process involved dipping the balls in multiple pots of hot colored paraffin, each time adding a different effect and then hand carving a design.

I was intrigued by the process and asked a lot of questions. The artist made me a souvenir from the scraps.

The second day was shortened because we slept in to 10:30am while listening to rain drops on the roof. In the afternoon, the rain stopped so we stopped at a TI to find out about hiking trails and sites to see. Instead we fell victim to a timeshare pitch...for $100 cash we only had to sit through a 90 minute sales pitch. Besides the total waste of time, the activity filled up the rest of the day. We didn't count on the hour to get there and back.

The redeeming value was that the $100 paid for 2/3 of the cost of our dinner at one of the top 5 restaurants in Arizona...Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano. Barbara's cioppino was wonderful. The special of the house was Veal Shank...mine was disappointing.

The next day the sun came out but the temperature was only 38°F. Never mind the cold, we were determined to get outside and hike amongst the amazing red rock formations. We picked a trail to Devil's Bridge.

This rock formation is located in the Coconino National Forest. It's a lovely 3.6 mile hike with moderate elevation climb only as you get close to the Devil' Bridge.

Along the trail we were surrounded by fascinating rock formations.

We cancelled the off-road jeep ride because it was to cold and we didn't bring the right clothes.

On our final morning, the sun came out and we found this fabulous vista point that really captures the magnitude of the rock formations surrounding Sedona.

On the way to the airport we stopped to see my aunt and uncle, June and Ray, in Sun City West. They are part of the lucky retired community that get to spend summers in Seattle and winters in the sun.

We were treated to a tour of their home which was decorated with a plethora of fabulous art created by Ray, a delightful lunch and vigorous conversation. I especially enjoyed hearing about the stories behind the "Tales from the Emerald City" written by Ray. Here's an insider tip: several of the stories are really true, only the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Highly recommended.

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