WendyYoung
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2016
Prior to departing, we received a box from ABD with a travel toiletry bags, leather luggage tags (one for each family member) and an adventure handbook.
DAY 1 - We arrived at Phoenix airport and met our ABD guide, Korey. After gathering our luggage in a central and well supervised location, we were able to go grab lunch in terminal 4. PHX has numerous meal spots that are outside of security. We regathered as an entire group (33 people in all) to embark on the 2.5 hour bus ride to Sedona.
The bus was slightly older with narrow seats but had WIFI (when in cellular range) and outlets at every seat. The bus driver, Courtney, was nice and helpful. (More on that later). The ABD guides introduced themselves, Diana and Korey, and gave a brief overview of that day and the next as well as interesting info about where we were traveling. This was a theme for the entire trip, don’t bog us down with a lot of information, just what’s necessary for next 24 hours which I appreciated.
After a brief stop in downtown Sedona, we arrived at the Enchantment Resort to a private check in for the group. We were whisked away by a bevy of golf carts to the various casitas where an embroidered ABD duffel bag was waiting for us in our room. The resort is a sprawling 70 acres nestled in Boynton Canyon. The property is breathtaking and the rooms are well appointed. The resort has free use of pools, bikes, putting greens, ping pong tables, and various other activities for both adults and children. Dinner that night was a group affair with a fajita buffet and a Hopi Nativ American presentation. We received the first trading pin that night. Trading pins are a DISNEY thing especially in the parks. The pins are a sweet and easily storable memento.
DAY 2 - We were able to sleep in a bit and have breakfast on our own at the nice restaurant on property. This ended up being the best food of the trip. We all gathered at 9:45 for the guided Pink Jeep tour through Diamondback Gulch. This tour ended up being 3 hours of mostly off reading through steep and rocky terrain. Our guide, one of seven jeeps we had as a group, was a wealth of endless knowledge about the local flora, fauna, history, terrain, etc. Interesting at first, but then the bumps and jerks become quite tiresome for the adults. My teen boy enjoyed. A shower is needed afterwards as the jeeps are open air and quite dusty. The jeeps dropped us all off at a local restaurant that seemed to be open just for us. We all had the same lunch, BBQ chicken, French fries, spinach and artichoke dip and creme brûlée. Food was tasty and plentiful. The rest of the day was on our own.
NOTE - a sunrise hike was offered before the start of day 2. My husband and I chose to get up early but my son stayed in to sleep. We thoroughly enjoyed the hike, the views were amazing, and the guides were helpful in getting us there and back.
We did a helicopter tour with Sedona Air on our own. It was fantastic.
DAY 1 - We arrived at Phoenix airport and met our ABD guide, Korey. After gathering our luggage in a central and well supervised location, we were able to go grab lunch in terminal 4. PHX has numerous meal spots that are outside of security. We regathered as an entire group (33 people in all) to embark on the 2.5 hour bus ride to Sedona.
The bus was slightly older with narrow seats but had WIFI (when in cellular range) and outlets at every seat. The bus driver, Courtney, was nice and helpful. (More on that later). The ABD guides introduced themselves, Diana and Korey, and gave a brief overview of that day and the next as well as interesting info about where we were traveling. This was a theme for the entire trip, don’t bog us down with a lot of information, just what’s necessary for next 24 hours which I appreciated.
After a brief stop in downtown Sedona, we arrived at the Enchantment Resort to a private check in for the group. We were whisked away by a bevy of golf carts to the various casitas where an embroidered ABD duffel bag was waiting for us in our room. The resort is a sprawling 70 acres nestled in Boynton Canyon. The property is breathtaking and the rooms are well appointed. The resort has free use of pools, bikes, putting greens, ping pong tables, and various other activities for both adults and children. Dinner that night was a group affair with a fajita buffet and a Hopi Nativ American presentation. We received the first trading pin that night. Trading pins are a DISNEY thing especially in the parks. The pins are a sweet and easily storable memento.
DAY 2 - We were able to sleep in a bit and have breakfast on our own at the nice restaurant on property. This ended up being the best food of the trip. We all gathered at 9:45 for the guided Pink Jeep tour through Diamondback Gulch. This tour ended up being 3 hours of mostly off reading through steep and rocky terrain. Our guide, one of seven jeeps we had as a group, was a wealth of endless knowledge about the local flora, fauna, history, terrain, etc. Interesting at first, but then the bumps and jerks become quite tiresome for the adults. My teen boy enjoyed. A shower is needed afterwards as the jeeps are open air and quite dusty. The jeeps dropped us all off at a local restaurant that seemed to be open just for us. We all had the same lunch, BBQ chicken, French fries, spinach and artichoke dip and creme brûlée. Food was tasty and plentiful. The rest of the day was on our own.
NOTE - a sunrise hike was offered before the start of day 2. My husband and I chose to get up early but my son stayed in to sleep. We thoroughly enjoyed the hike, the views were amazing, and the guides were helpful in getting us there and back.
We did a helicopter tour with Sedona Air on our own. It was fantastic.
