Arizona - Bearizona

On the way from Williams to Scottsdale we stopped at a place called Bearizona. Yes such a place exists! A driving safari through some woodland with lots of animals including big brown bears! Ethan thought it was amazing. Well he thought it was fun sitting on my lap!

Arizona - Scottsdale

The last bit of our trip was to relax. So we spent 5 nights at a resort in Scottsdale. With a molar cutting Joshua it's fair to say it wasn't always that relaxing. But we had fun. Yummy restaurants, great kids pool and a huge sand pit with construction toys. What more could Ethan want!

Arizona: Grand Canyon

Our second stop was a place called Williams. It purely serves as a stop off for Grand Canyon visitors. We'd orginally been planning on driving all the way to the Canyon but then I discovered the train which I thought Ethan would like. It runs once a day, drops you at the Grand Canyon South rim village at 1145am and you depart again at 3.30pm. A perfect amount of time we thought with the boys in tow. 

It really was a spectacular place. Completely jaw dropping. The train was a fun way to travel too and eased the pain of more car seat time. And given Ethan had been up since 4.30am it helped keep  him interested in the day.

It definitely ranks as one of our favourite days in the US so far. 

Some photos below.

The train

The canyon

Us!

Joshuas first hair cut

Before

After

Ethan got his done too.

Arizona: Sedona

We flew to Phoenix from JFK on Sunday 11 October for our mini Arizona road trip. It had taken much deliberation to decide where to go this trip. My heart had been set on California but we decided to go somewhere new.

Our first stop, of three, was two hours drive from Phoenix airport. Sedona is famed for its red rock backdrop scenery.

We had one night in Sedona. After a large Mexican breakfast we went for a walk in one of the state parks. Scenery was spectacular. We then headed back to town for Pizzas and then onto Williams via the drive through Starbucks (had to be done).

Photos from Sedona are below.

View from hotel:

A man offered to take a family shot. He was from Erith!

Apple picking

Fall started this week. We decided to get in with the apple picking, a traditional Fall family activity, early this year. We headed up to Stuart's farm, enjoyed a picnic, went on a tractor ride and then picked apples. A lovely few hours in the sunshine.

Fight or embrace: Starbucks

OK so you know the answer to this one. But it wasn't always that simple.

Living in the UK I wasn't a fan. I thought they were a huge faceless company and other places deserved my business.

But then I moved here and started frequenting the one in Rye (too much). And not only is their hot chocolate some of the best I can buy here, it manages to feel like a friendly local coffee shop. Staff know my order, my name. They welcome the boys like long lost friends. 

And then there's the technology. First it was just paying via my phone. And now it's ordering via my phone and skipping the wait.

And you have to credit the power of the branding that Ethan who, after just his first visit, could spot the Starbucks branding in new places and know he's get a yummy treat.

So yes, they converted me and now they're fully embraced!