Monthly Recap // September 2017

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➵ Finished up my long term subbing job as a music teacher.  It was a pretty enjoyable gig, I must say.

➵ Took our 1st airplane trip together from Atlanta to Phoenix.  The flight was so overbooked we couldn't get seats next to each other & had to settle for sitting right behind/in front of each other.  Thankfully, the flight back had us side-by-side!

➵ Celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary in Arizona!  We stayed in Scottsdale + drove our rental car all over the state.  We even were all traditional & ate a couple slices from the top tier of our wedding cake {that had been frozen all this time}, that I carefully packed in one of our carry-ons.

➵ Played around the "ghost town" of Goldfield + went on a mine & mystery shack tour + train ride + viewed the legendary Superstition Mountains from way up high via a zipline {twice}!  We also toured the Superstition Mountain Museum + saw the mysterious Peralta stones!

➵ Experienced real desert for the 1st time + the mighty saguaro cactus!

➵ Drove up & around the majestic red rock town of Sedona, where we visited the Church of the Holy Cross {built right into the red rocks}, strolled around, did a mini hike up to the top of one of the high perches, ate McDonald's at the only turquoise-colored arches I've ever seen, & star gazed after dark {I'd never seen so many stars before}!

➵ Enjoyed the Desert Botanical Gardens {where we actually got to see quails & some beautiful butterflies (which I was excited about)} + loads of amazing cacti.  We strolled around in the morning & then came back again at night.

➵ Traveled to the Grand Canyon on a mini day tour & visited some pretty spectacular view points + had lunch perched right on the wall outside of Bright Angel Lodge & dodged some very unafraid/hungry squirrels + ran a ways down one of the trails, carefully avoiding mule doo-doo, out of breath + laughing.

➵ Traveled on the beautiful scenic drive known as the Apache Trail,  22 miles of which is a winding/bumpy/narrow dirt road!  Stopped by Tortilla Flats, Canyon Lake, Roosevelt Dam, + the cliff dwellings of Tonto National Monument.

➵ Got dressed up all fancy & ate at Scottsdale's superb Preston's Steakhouse.  {We highly recommend their butter cake for dessert!}

➵ Drove our rental car all the way up to the city of Page & toured Antelope Canyon X - one of Arizona's extraordinary slot canyons + hiked to Horseshoe Bend!  We almost hit a coyote in the road somewhere in the endless miles of the Navajo Nation + we stopped by some more Native American ruins on the way back near Sunset Crater.

➵ Wandered around the shops + galleries of Old Town Scottsdale.

➵ Took a little day trip to Macon, GA to explore the mounds at Ocmulgee National Monument.

➵ Started a Star Wars movie night with friends, where each couple is hosting a night + showing a couple of the films, until we've seen them all {hopefully before the new one comes out in December}.