A Trip of Many "First"

The Punta Cana trip was filled with many "first". First time flying for more than 5 hours, first time swimming in the Atlantic ocean, first time feeding a monkey, etc., etc.  Well it was also my first time swimming with a Dolphin! I also, danced and kissed a dolphin.  It didn't stop there, I held a sting ray, let a sea lion kiss me and held a tropical bird! It was such a fun experience that I will remember for the rest of my life and can honestly say I put a check mark on my bucket list! The location was beyond beautiful and I honestly felt like a I was in a photo you see on screen saver. 

Unfortunately we were not permitted to take photographs of any of these activities because they have employees photographing you through out the park and then sell you a dvd  movie and cd with all your photos and footage for a very high price. We paid it because we figured we didn't pay for the entrance so why not? For information on the Dolphin Explorer Experience click here.

Next Stop: Sedona, AZ

If you read my previous post, you know I just came back from a family vacation. Our first stop was Scottsdale, Arizona and our second stop was Sedona. Oh my gosh, you guys, Sedona is beautiful. This was my first time in Sedona and it was a very short visit but wow it took my breathe away! 

Driving into Sedona has somewhat of a desert feel but a lot greener than what I expected.  As soon as we had a chance we pulled over and took in the beautiful scenery. In case you're not familiar with  Sedona, it's famous for it's red sandstone formations.

 Driving into the city the weather was  sunny, with beautiful large clouds and chill in the air. As we walked around taking pictures, the rain started to slowly move in. We ran into the car and kept driving in search of a restaurant we found on yelp. Have you guys used Yelp? My husband and I use it all the time to find new restaurants and see what people have to say, you can say we our fans of the app. I'm not however a fan of some of the long reviews some users leave, but that's a whole another post. 

Anyways, back to the restaurant, Hideaway House they describe it as home style curious country Italian food. Honestly I think that is the best way to describe it, we all had sandwiches and my mom had lasagna. The food was truly scrumptious. The food was not the only good thing about our yelp find, the view was great as well. We sat outside and our view was amazing. Our backdrop, incredible creek side views and the amazing red sandstone formations.  

Once we were done with lunch, we headed into the woods and continued on our journey to the Grand Canyon. Something I learned on this trip, Arizona has forests! I thought it was just desert and didn't expect this at all. It's always nice to learn something new.

Once we were out of the woods the landscape was just as beautiful.

We made it to the Grand Canyon by 4:30 p.m., just in time for the sunset tour. More on that later.