Thursday, April 22, 2010

New York: Departure, Phoenix: On Time

Hello Darlings,


So I went to sleep fairly early on Friday night because I had to wake up at 2:30 am in order to shower, wash my hair, and be ready to leave by 4:00am. We had a 6:00 am flight and luckily the airport in Newark only took us a half an hour to get there; My parents and aunt and uncle feared traffic. For the airplane, comfort was at the forefront of my mind. I decided to wear a shirt that can be transitioned from plane ride to exploring the day. As for the five hour flight, sweatpants and flip flops were necessary. I couldn't bear to sit still in jeans that would be digging into my hips. On the plane ride were my parents and sister, my aunt and uncle, and my two cousins. We were going to meet the rest of my family at the hotel.

I am wearing: Shirt: (Old Navy); Sweatpants: (Calvin Klein); Sandals: (Merona); Sunglasses: (Betsey Johnson)

Waiting in the airport wasn't too bad. I'll admit, with my coffee and Vogue magazine I felt like quite the fashionista. There is something about airports that excites me; I can't wait to start traveling the world and trying to be dressed nicely only adds to that appeal. Of course, there really is not anything glam about sweats but hopefully you get what I mean.

Catching the flight!

I got to sit with my mom and sister on the flight which made the journey easier because I didn't feel so squished. However, it was a bit uncomfortable because it is impossible to fall asleep in a comfortable position. Even leaning on my mom's shoulder hurt my neck! After the flight we went to the car rental place which was a nightmare! It took about an hour to get the car and have it inspected when it should have taken 15 minutes, 30 at most. We were on a tight schedule because we had to be back to our cousin's house for an informal get together dinner so we didn't have alot of time to waste. Everything went smoothly except the rental car pick up which was quite frustrating.

Our rental car license plate


As soon as we hit the road, we were off to our hotel in order to drop off our luggage and quickly freshen up. The first thing we saw as soon as we got out of the airport: cactuses! I was so excited because this was one of the main things I was looking foward to on the trip, lame I know! Everything was beautiful, the mountains were a constant backdrop and the weather was warm and dry; perfect for not sweating. The only complaint I had about the state was that there was no color: everything was brown and yellow. Even the houses seemed to blend into the background. But other than that, the nature was spectacular. I am a city girl at heart, but I love and appreciate all of nature's beauty

What the first thing we saw in Arizona? That's right: cactuses!


The beautiful scenery
Some of the houses

The hotel my entire family stayed at.

Once at the hotel, I changed my sweatpants into my skirt and freshened up by brushing my teeth and hair and putting on my contacts. We did everything quickly and were all set to go. In the lobby we met up with the rest of my family and some extended relatives. It was great to see and catch up with everyone; some of my *cousins I haven't seen in a few years! *Cousins of cousins that I technically consider relatives.



Meet my sister, Nicole :)


After all of the greetings, we were off to explore the brand new state. It was too far a drive to go up to the Grand Canyon, so we went to see Sedona. It was beautiful; the only downside was that we didn't have enough time to go on a tour or even go horseback riding as I really wanted to do that. We saw alot of beautiful sights such as the Red Rocks and a cute little village filled with tourist shops that we walked around for about an hour.


The Red Rocks



My family :)

After Sedona, we made the two hour drive back to Scottsdale (where we were staying) and met up with everyone on my side of the family who was going to be at the wedding the next day. It was nice to catch up over hamburgers and antipasto in a calm relaxed atmosphere although you could feel the excitement about the wedding looming in the air...

9 comments:

lauren said...

hope you had an ah-mazing time. i freaking love the desert. and always like arizona. great silver/turquoise jewelry ;)

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Maddy said...

Love my Newark Airport :) What a change of scenery for NJ/NY to Arizona! Gorgeous! Arizona is on my list of places to visit. Hope you have a great time!

daisychain said...

wow it looks so stunning

Lillian said...

Great pics! Looks like you had a great trip :) xx

Marz said...

I get excited at airports too! I love taking airplanes.
I've always admired the desert beauty and I'm glad you're having so much fun there!

Emilie said...

Have an amzing time in Arizona, I've been there and loved it!
x

Marta from With Love... said...

Sounds like a fun time, I adore Arizona :) So beautiful!

-Marta

Julia said...

Hope you have fun! I also feel the same excitement when in airports, and think about all the wonderful places I want to visit!

xoxo
FashionEye

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

My mom's family is from Arizona so I grew up going to all of those places. In the summer, people actually slide down Red Rocks. It's FREEZING though because the water is melted snow. Fun though =)

We own property by the South side of the Grand Canyon and spend summer at Lake Mead.

With all that AZ time you'd think I'd love it...but I actually hate the desert haha!

Glad you had (having?) a great trip!