The first thing I did before packing is look up the location and weather for Flagstaff. When I looked on Google Maps and saw Flagstaff's proximity to Sedona I figured beautiful desert. The weather report said thunderstorms and having spent lots of time in Louisiana I figured hot yucky quick rain showers and thunder. Now that I have been I know everything I thought was wrong!
Flagstaff is a gorgeous and lush forest area. I was told by many of the locals that the temperature has never reached above 100 degrees. And when it rains it pours, all day. So, let's just say I did not pack appropriately. But with some outfit repeats and a small trip to Ross that was rectified.
When we arrived very early in the morning to our accommodations, Woodlands Hotel, our rooms were not ready yet (it was around 9am since it was suggested to take the earliest flight due to Monsoon season) so we headed to the Hotel Restaurant for breakfast. The food was just okay. I ordered the Banana French Toast which was tasty but very unlike french toast, it was more like a corn bread. My husband ordered the Chicken fried Steak and he enjoyed his breakfast. We were with someone else playing in the tournament and he sent his foo back because it was very cold. All in all it was a hotel breakfast.
After breakfast our rooms were ready so we headed up. We had a King suite I think and it was small but plenty nice and clean. Nothing over the top. After knocking out for an hour or so the boys went out for a round of golf at Flagstaff Ranch. When pulling up to the club house you cannot miss the amazing red rock set against the driving range. After dropping them off I took the rental car and headed out to find the historic downtown. After getting back on the main road I realized I was on Route 66 which was pretty neat and just off San Francisco and Route 66 was the Historic Downtown. I parked on the street, for free, and walked up and down the streets. The neat shopping area was not all the big so I probably only spent about 45 minutes there. I went in a few nic nac shops and clothing stores but I didn't see anything I had to have. If I had more time though there were quite a few eateries that looked pretty cool.
After my short exploration I headed back to the hotel to kick back and then get ready for the first event of the weekend for the Shadows Foundation. After the boys finally made it back and my husband got ready we were picked up and taken to the theater at Northern Arizona University. There was a great cocktail hour with an acoustic guitarist outside on the lawn with some nice appetizers. After awhile of mingling there was a short auction and then we moved in to the theater for the nights performances.
First up was comedian Scott Henry. He was extremely funny and not too crude or anything, which I appreciated. After he went on a local band named Telescope was introduced and played about a 45 minute set or so. The band was very friendly and entertaining. After a short intermission America's Got Talent runner up David Garibaldi put on an hour show where he and CMYK painted 9 masterpieces in a very upbeat and entertaining way. It is just incredible to see David create these fantastic portraits in 5 minutes or less. After the incredible show some lucky members of the audience were able to walk away with David's paintings from the night during another short auction, to benefit the Shadows Foundation.
After the show nearly everyone moved to the Taverna Greek Grill for the Poker and Blackjack tournament and general mingling.
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| These wildflowers are everywhere in Flagstaff! |
The Taverna Greek Grill was very lively inside and had a nice aesthetic, very current not too fancy. It definitely seemed like a bar and grill type place. Although we didn't order food there was an open buffet and the food was very tasty!
The next day my Hubby and I slept in a bit and were starving by the time we got moving around 10am. So we headed to Google to find somewhere for breakfast/brunch and found a Wildflower Bread Company a mile away. We were stoked since we had been to one in Sedona last summer and loved it. When we got there it was very crowded and it did take awhile to get our food but we were being leisurely anyway so we didn't mind. I ordered the veggie frittata and my Hubby ordered the sausage and egg sandwich. Both were delicious! And we even went back the next day to try their pie of the month which was a Tangy Lemon Pie that was custardy goodness! After we got back from brunch the boys that were participating in the tournament in our group went back to the golf course for another "practice" round and the girls were treated to a massage at Massage Envy.
I had never had a massage at any Massage Envy before but I always kind of looked at it as the fast food of the massage world and I am not saying all of them are like this but my experience didn't really change my view about it. My masseuse was friendly the massage was relaxing but it wasn't great, she spent a lot of time stretching me and I was the last one in and the first one out. But more importantly about this location. There were about 6 or 8 of this in our group and I think only myself and maybe one other person had female masseuses. So if this matters to you, it does to me, you may want to request a woman ahead of time.
Saturday evening we met the boys back at the club house and ate out on the beautiful deck. And I have to say the food at Flagstaff Ranch is very good. My own mother works for another country club and I will even say this place was a step above.
The next morning was the day of the Golf Tournament. Although it was raining everyone participated and had a great time. By hole nine for our team the rain let up until the end of our 18 and it was really beautiful and enjoyable. Of course this day I took the most pictures. My Hubby's team didn't win the tournament but we all had a good time, even me just riding around in the cart and eating at the sponsored holes ;) A great lunch was served after the golfing was finished and the awards were distributed to the winners in the clubhouse.
It was really a fantastic weekend, for a great cause, in a beautiful location! I would definitely recommend Flagstaff as one of the amazing places in our incredibly diverse country. Hopefully next time we will get to explore some more of what nature has to offer in Northern Arizona!
Destination:
Flagstaff, AZ
Points of Interest:
Shadows Foundation http://www.shadowsfoundation.org/
Woodlands Hotel http://www.flagstaffwoodlandshotel.com/index.cfm
Historic Downtown http://www.flagstaffarizona.org/plan-your-trip/tours/historic-downtown/
Scott Henry Comedian http://scotthenrycomedy.com/
Telescope http://test.telescopeband.com/
David Garibaldi http://garibaldiarts.com/home/
Taverna Greek Grill http://tavernagreekgrill.com/
Wildflower Bread Company http://wildflowerbread.com/
Massage Envy http://www.massageenvy.com/
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