Highlights from my Scenic Vacation
What I saw and did in: NM, AZ and CA
Once or twice a year, my husband has to go to L.A. for work. During the pandemic we were both too scared to fly so he started driving to L.A. We live in Nashville, so it’s quite a drive. There are parts of New Mexico, Arizona and California that I’ve never seen, so I started riding with him, which I did again last week. This was my third time doing it and I fear I’m hooked now. Here’s a little post-vaca breakdown of what I saw and did in: NM, AZ and CA.
New Mexico
I’ve been sleeping on NM. I love it out there: the landscape, the sky, the mountains, the burritos (!!). We like to stop in Tucumcari and eat at this place called La Cita. They have one of my favorite burritos.
We didn’t plan this, but the night we spent in Albuquerque was the night before the 2024 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We woke up early and found a place to park and watch the balloons lift off, or as they call it “mass ascension.” From our parking place, the sun was rising over the Sandia Mountains behind us, and the hot air balloons were rising in front of us. We were surrounded by other people there to watch the balloons and everyone was friendly and excited. This little girl had a coffee and donut stand. It felt really sweet and communal. Not gonna lie, Albuquerque kind of stole my heart.
Arizona
When we make this long drive, we like to pick somewhere to stay for a few nights and have a mini vacation during our vacation. We’re real big on vacation turduckens. This year the chicken stuffed into the duck, stuffed into the turkey was Sedona, AZ. It’s a very expensive chicken stuffed into a duck, stuffed into a turkey, but man, is it gorgeous.
We did two hikes in Sedona: Birthing Cave and Honanki Ruin. Both worth it! Some things to know for both. The trail to Birthing Cave is a 2-mile out-and-back. The trail to the cave was fine, but the climb up to the cave was at the max of what I can physically do. I was too scared to climb into the cave, which is what you need to do for the infamous photo everyone takes. Someone there was nice enough to airdrop their photos to me. To get back down to the trail, I just sat down and scooted, which unfortunately resulted in me planting my hand into a cactus twice. I’m really glad I did it. I loved the people we met and hiked with, but it was harder (and scarier) than I expected.
Honanki Ruin is amazing and you should totally see it, but I would take one of the guided tours. We were in a 4x4 truck, so we drove, but it’s one hour on a “primitive road” and the people in the side-by-side ATVs had an easier and faster time.
In Arizona, we also went to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, which blew my mind. The views are amazing. I also saw a lot of very good crows.
California
The vibe changes in L.A. because while I am still on vacation, John is working. On the first day, I walked down to the beach and made friends with a gull. We always get put up in the Santa Monica Hilton, which is a very nice hotel, and it’s close to the ocean, but Santa Monica was cold and foggy while we were there.
I was supposed to meet my friend 1Rachel for a hike and lunch, but I hurt one of my quadricep muscles climbing down from Birthing Cave, so we just met for a long lunch instead. We met at this place (in Culver City? I don’t know where I was.) called Highly Likely. I had one of the greatest BLATs I’ve ever had. Rachel had to go back to work, so she sent me off in an Uber to a bookstore called Village Well. I loooooved it. It’s a legit full-size bookstore, plus it has a full-service coffee shop/cafe.
On Rachel’s recommendation I went to The Getty the next day and had a dang blast. First of all, The Getty is free. You do have to reserve a time and ride a little tram up a mountain to get to it, but it’s totally free. I went at 10:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, so it was just me and bunch of kids on field trips. I walked through and saw all the art, I went outside and wandered through the gardens, I ate lunch in the cafe, I bought souvenirs. It was such a nice day!
At dinner that night, we walked down to the ocean and watched the sun set, then I woke up the next day and flew home.
I posted a ton of photos and slideshows of my trip on Instagram, so feel free to go check those out if you haven’t already seen them.
See you next week!
Rachel is the world’s biggest professional wrestling fan. If you’re into wrestling, or are wrestling-curious, Rachel has a wrestling podcast called I Like Wrestling.
I love New Mexico, too! I've only been for a ski trip, which means a trip where I fell and sobbed repeatedly down a snow-covered mountain, but I loved the hikes we did on dry land. I want to go back just for a normal hiking/walking trip.
That trip sounds perfect. We’re big hikers and I haven’t heard of those places in AZ. Off to google. I’m sorry you got hurt, and I hope you’re feeling better.