Oops, I did it again… I planned another trip. In my defense, the kiddo has a random day off school and my husband has been running himself ragged at work – so why NOT take a 4-day weekend away? I also found a pretty awesome travel deal, so basically, I put together the pricing info, called my husband and asked his thoughts on planning a long weekend and he basically interrupted to me to yell BOOK IT! Because that’s how we roll.
Anyways, due to a plane fare sale, some money sitting in my Southwest rewards account and a reasonable VRBO rental… we’re going to Naples, Florida! {And yes, I can’t say the word Florida without singing it like Taylor Swift and Florence Welch}
The house we rented looks absolutely amazing with its own private pool, hot tub and lanai. So, we are planning to spend a lot of time relaxing there.
Here is what is on our possible *adventure* list:
I heard that the thrifting in the Naples area is very, very good… so I plan to venture out at some point. Specific store recommendations are welcome!
Stop by Sun Harvest in Ft. Myers, because apparently their orange juices are super delicious
Bonita Springs Beach & Coconut Jacks for lunch or dinner
Lovers Key Beach & rent kayaks
Vanderbilt Beach
Delnor-Wiggins State Park
Bonita Springs Public Beach
I am certainly looking for places to eat in the area, so if you have a favorite be sure to let me know!
This year for spring break, we decided to continue with our exploration of Arizona. We previously visited Phoenix and Sedona (January 2023) and then we did a fabulous smorgasbord of Arizona, Nevada and Utah (March 2023) (part 1 and part 2), so this time we decided to explore Tucson!
Our plan was to fly into to Tucson late in the evening on Wednesday (after a full day of work and school) and then wake up on Thursday ready to spend 5 full days exploring the area.
Wednesday/Thursday: All the flights, a nap and Snakes & Lattes
Unfortunately, our first flight was delayed so many times that we missed our connecting flight. So, it took us 21 hours of travel, 3 airplanes, 1 night spent trying to sleep on a bench in the Houston Airport playground, and 1 Uber… but we finally arrived at our Tucson house.
Also, my 12-year-old kid is a traveling champion:
Once we made our way to our VRBO house, we napped for a few hours and then ventured out to have an early dinner at a super cool place called Snakes & Lattes – a Board Game bar!
Friday: Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway
Travis was fighting off a nasty cold, so we decided to keep it relatively low key on Friday and drive the Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway. The Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway is considered one of the most scenic drives in southeast Arizona and climbs from the Lower Sonoran vegetative life zone up to the high forests of the Canadian zone. Basically, you start with loads of cactuses and end up with snowy pine trees!
The drive is absolutely beautiful and ascends 9,000+ feet with lots of scenic turnouts for you to hop out of the car and enjoy the views. At the top of the mountain, we had lunch at the Sawmill Run Restaurant, did a little shopping at the Sky Island Trading Company store, bought some fudge at the Mt. Lemmon General Store, and also had a gigantic cookie at the Mt. Lemmon Cookie Cabin.
Saturday: Saguaro National Park – West
On Saturday, we fulfilled Jack’s request to visit a super cool rock shop with a visit to Tuscan Mineral & Gem World. The owner of the shop was very nice and Jack was in absolute heaven checking out all the amazing gemstones, rocks and fossils. Highly recommend if you enjoy rock shops!
From there, we continued on to the West side of the Saguaro National Park. We had purchased the annual ‘America the Beautiful’ park pass last March, so we were able to use that again for our national park visits on this trip for no additional cost. After checking out the Saguaro National Park (West Side) visitor center and grabbing a map, we drove to various overlook points and also did a few short hikes.
The weather could not have been nicer and the views were absolutely gorgeous.
We wanted something very Tuscan for dinner, so we tried out El Guero Canelo because they are famous for their Sonoran hot dogs. A Sonoran hot dog is popular in Tucson and elsewhere in southern Arizona and it is a hot dog wrapped in bacon and grilled, served on a bolillo-style hot dog bun and topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard and jalapeno salsa.
Absolutely delicious! And of course we had to have some churros for dessert.
Sunday (Easter): Saguaro National Park – East
Our original plan for Sunday was to go to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert museum, however it was rainy and the desert museum is all outside. Instead, we decided to switch our plans around and visit the East side of the Saguaro National Park. Once again, we used our ‘America the Beautiful’ annual pass, so the park didn’t cost us any additional money. The East side is more of a large driving loop with lots of scenic overlook spots, so it was perfect for a rainy day.
For lunch, we visited the Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar which was close by, open on Easter, and had some really delicious burgers and fries. On our way back, we decided to check out the local thrifting and stopped by a Savers thrift store. I love thrifting on vacation in a new place. You get awesome souvenirs that remind you of your trip, it’s inexpensive, and you find some super cool items!
Here is a sneak peek of a few items I found:
Monday: Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum
Monday was our last full day in Tucson, since we would be flying out super early on Tuesday morning. So, we started the day having breakfast at Snooze, a restaurant we previously loved in Austin, Texas. After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. Tickets costs $29.95 for adults and $19.95 for kids aged 3-12.
As I previously mentioned, the museum is almost fully outside and includes a zoo, botanical garden and aquarium. We still had a little bit of rain on and off, but we were able to enjoy the aquarium, the desert cactus gardens, and many of the exhibits. We saw a random packrat run by, stayed a safe distance away from a couple coyotes, saw some lizards and also a rogue hummingbird that had escaped the aviary.
For dinner, we had the absolute best pizza I have ever had in my entire existence at a place called Charred Pie. Their wood fired bread appetizer was delicious, but I will be dreaming about their Mexican Street Corn pizza – garlic crema, charred corn, queso Oaxaca, queso cotija, fresh mozzarella, cilantro, and citrus crema. OH. MY. It was amazing!
Thankfully our return flights to Maryland were on time with no surprises — I don’t know if we could have handled another marathon traveling session within the same week. However, we loved our trip to Tucson, Arizona… so now we need to decide where to visit next.
Saguaro National Park – Source: Christoph von Gellhorn on Unsplash.com
We have our next family trip planned and I can’t wait for our next adventure! We are still exploring Arizona – we previously visited Phoenix and Sedona (January 2023) and then we did a fabulous smorgasbord of Arizona, Nevada and Utah (March 2023) (part 1 and part 2).
Well, next up is Tucson, Arizona!
Since we visited the middle and top of Arizona, we figured we should check out the southern part of Arizona too with a flight into Tucson. We will be flying in late in the evening, so that we can enjoy 5 full days exploring before we need to pack up and come home on a super early flight.
Here’s what is on our possible adventure list:
San Xavier Mission for beautiful sights
The Mercando District for some delicious food
The Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum for hiking
Fourth Avenue for shopping
The Saguaro National Park hiking — East side one day and West side another day
The Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway for amazing sights and some picnic spots
I am a *little* nervous because apparently, we need to watch out for Mountain Lions, Killer Bees, and Rattlesnakes at the Saguaro National Park. So, we’ve been going over what to do if you see a mountain lion (don’t run, look big and fight back if attacked), killer bees (stay alert, run away as fast as you can for ¼ to ½ of a mile, scrape stingers out and call 911) and rattlesnakes (move in the opposite direction of them, don’t put your hands or feet in shaded areas). Oh yeah, and there are scorpions (check shoes before putting them on). So honestly, I’m hoping if I see any wildlife, it’s from the comfort of a vehicle…
Here is what’s on our yummy food list:
Charred Pie pizza
Eegees – an Arizona institution
The Tuscan Tamale Company
Daily Bread
The Screamery for ice cream
And I hear there is a pizza shop at the top of Mt. Lemmon that has cookies the size of paper plates!
If you have a place we MUST visit or a restaurant/food we need to try, please let me know!
