For our third wedding anniversary, my husband, Josh, and I took a trip up to Flagstaff and stayed at our favorite hotel, the Little America hotel. When you go out for your anniversary, people always ask how long you have been married. This makes us feel a bit awkward, because we can never remember! We have to think about it and then respond with a small number under 5. Then we have explain, well, we have been together for 13 years, but married for 3!
I thought getting married in our 10th year of being together would make it easier to remember. But the flaw in my plan is that we didn’t get married on our anniversary. So for half the year, there is 10 years in between, but for the other half it is 11. Hence all our confusion at this simple question. Well, enough about remembering what anniversary we are on, and on to the trip!
We slept in until about 6 on Saturday (yes, this is sleeping in for us), got ready, packed, and headed off… to the Sprouts two miles from our house. Hahaha. We stopped at Sprouts to pick up breakfast (they have vegan muffins!) and snacks for the long (hour and half) drive up to Flagstaff. And of course we had to stop at Dutch Bros to pick up some coffee. By the time we got into Flagstaff we were ready for second breakfast/lunch. We stopped at Mike and Rhonda’s The Place and had a nice breakfast. I had hash browns and a smoothie and Josh had a giant egg and bacon breakfast.
Our plans for the weekend were pretty simple: movies, Pita Jungle, HGTV, and to hike the 2 mile trail behind our hotel. I know, we can go to the movies and Pita Jungle at home, but those are some of our favorite things to do together. And what better way to spend your anniversary than doing your favorite things in one of your favorite places? It was still a bit early to see about an early check in at the hotel, and we were too full to put any popcorn in our bellies, so we decided to hang out at the Barnes and Nobel for a bit. After looking at their vinyl collection and art books, we went to find the Harkins.
We were very confused when google told us the Harkins was 14 minutes away. Wasn’t it just down the street last time we came? Are we going to the mall? Is it in the mall? What is going on?! Well, apparently the Harkins had moved right next to the mall and is now super fancy. When we bought our tickets we had to choose which seats we wanted to go to on a touch screen. The boards above the theater that tell you which movie was playing was now a TV screen. And the seats were way fancier than the ones at home, but not quite those fancy lazy boy chairs at the dine in theaters. We laughed our butts off to Guardians of the Galaxy, ate way too much popcorn, and then headed to the hotel to get in a good dose of Fixer Upper.
If you have never been to Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, you are missing out. This hotel is nestled in the pines and has a 2 mile trail in the back. The rooms are cute little vintage style rooms with seating areas next to the bedroom area. If you get a room facing the back of the hotel, the views are amazing! The best part? They are also a wedding venue! If you are planning on getting married at the Little America Hotel, hit me up! I would love to photograph a wedding there!
Around diner time we headed back out to Pita Jungle (which was 9 minutes away). After we ordered way too much food for dinner, we wanted to grab ice cream for some more HGTV binging. Josh suggested we go to Cold Stones (which was 9 minutes away). On our way to Cold Stones he joked about getting a gallon of ice cream, and I was like, well it would be cheaper! And we were just next to a Whole Foods! But we were already on the freeway and the next exit was for the Cold Stones.
When we got of the freeway, we saw the Sprouts and deiced to stop there. The whole time we were deciding where to go for ice cream we were hysterically laughing at our indecision and our failure to try and be spontaneous. We each grabbed our own little thing of ice cream (which probably ended up being more than Cold Stones) and a spur of the moment mother’s day card. Then we headed back to the hotel (which was 9 minutes away) to enjoy our ice cream and our cable tv.
The next day we bing watched some more Fixer Upper while we ate room service for breakfast. This is the first time we have ever ordered room service. It was so nice to eat in my pj’s and look out the window at the pine trees. I definitely recommend it sometime in your life. We got dressed and then went out to the trail. (Many photos of the trail to follow.) The 2 mile nature trail had lots of places to stop along the way to take in the views or to learn about the area. The signs on the trail talked about fires in the area, the wild life, restoration efforts, and the giant pine trees which I can be seen hugging below.
After the hike, we were ready for lunch and then to head home. Unfortunately, we still had an hour before our favorite lunch spot, Mountain Oasis, opened. So we grabbed some snacks from our bag and headed to the downtown Flagstaff area (which was 9 minutes away). We swear, every time we googled directions to something (other than the Harkins) it was 9 minutes away! We joked that if we ever move to Flagstaff, we know everything we need will be within 9 minutes of us. This was an ongoing joke of the trip and I am sure will be next time we are in Flag.
We walked around the downtown area visiting some of our favorite shops for about an hour before Mountain Oasis opened. We always end up buying new backpacking gear when we go to Flagstaff. There are just so many shops that specialize in backpacking equipment compared to in the Valley. We have outgrown most of the Sportsman’s and Cabella’s gear. And AZ Hike Shack is a bit further of a drive than we often like to make. So if we are already in Flagstaff, we make a point to stop into some of these stores. This time we bought a new backpacking shovel, which we sorely needed.
Finally it was time to eat! We went over to Mountain Oasis and I got my stand by Tempeh Bacon Lettuce Tomato with vegan mayo and my husband got a delicious chicken sandwich that I cannot remember the name of. We love coming to this restaurant because they have a good number of options for all type of diets: meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free peeps. Everyone can find something to enjoy here!
After a full and fun overnight trip in Flagstaff, it was time to go home, cuddle with the pups, and do our normal Sunday chores. Until next time Flagstaff!
