Oh, Sedona.

In my head that sounds like the chorus of one of my earliest musicals. "Ooooooooo-klahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain..."

Anyway, that's where I was this weekend. Or for a very short time on Sunday, anyway. Kyle and I packed up and headed out Saturday morning. We got the obligatory trail mix granola bars and hit the road. After stopping for gas and dropping the puppy dog off, we made our first stop at Javalina Leap Winery.

It was pretty neat. Their wines were tasty, for the most part. We bought a bottle of their Sauv Blanc to take home (which, interestingly enough, is the only wine they have nothing to do with. It comes out of California and they slap their own label on it), and got to peek in their back room where they have huge fermentation vats. I liked the place. Some of their wines were underwhelming (particularly the rose), but the ambiance pretty much made up for that - walls plastered in local art for sale, entertaining wine sayings, etc. Kyle was a bit put-off by the amount of advertising on their tasting glasses (which included their website and tasting hours), but oh well. We didn't buy them, so I don't really care.

Headed back into town and had a late lunch at The Tavern in Old Town Cottonwood, and then wandered around town. We stopped in a few bookstores and nifty little shops. My favorite was probably the olive oil and balsamic vinegar store. Of course I couldn't leave without buying anything, so I now have a bottle of vanilla balsamic on my kitchen counter.

Oh, dog. 

We picked up the ornery dog and headed up Mingus Mountain to set up camp. Toured Jerome the next morning on our way down the hill, and someone bought me jewelry for the first time ever. (I can't get a good picture, but the earrings are gorgeous. They remind me of fern fronds. Super delicate. Beautiful.) Took a detour to Tuzigoot National Monument, where the dog remembered he was afraid of stairs, and I laughed aloud as the big, strong man carried the 90-pound wimpy dog down the steps. After that adventure, we finally headed up to Sedona. Toured the shops for a few hours, got a pretty good sunburn, and headed home so we could retire early, since I had to work at 6AM Monday.

We did much less overall than we had planned. I had a whole itinerary for Saturday - all the things we were going to do and see, etc. that didn't go according to plan. It was wonderful and relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed having a whole weekend off. On the way up north, Kyle commented on the ridiculous grin I was apparently sporting, and we came to the conclusion that, aside from planned vacations surrounding the Marine Corps (and our three-year anniversary), we had never had a weekend off together in the four years we've lived down here. We've never taken a weekend to get out of town and just go do stuff. It wasn't everything I'd ever dreamed of, but it was amazing and wonderful and exactly what I've needed.

In other news, I picked up a bunch of new books from the library tonight, including two cookbooks. Look for some new recipes coming soon!