Mom’s Holiday Visit 2015 – Part 2

Need to read the first part of the story?  Click here.

When last we blogged (we’re all in this together, after all), while our morning started out on a somewhat disappointing note, we ended on a great one with Mom, Sara, and Megan at the Wickenburg Christmas parade.  Although the temps had been pretty mild over the past few weeks, on Friday, some clouds blew in and things dropped by a good ten degrees.  Since Mom decided to visit, we had been planning to head to Flagstaff for real winter, but it seemed it was going to be a bit more legitimate than we realized.

We slept in on Saturday morning (12/12) and bummed around the house for a little while, finally setting out on the road around 1:30.  We stopped for pie in Rock Springs, which was somewhat of a letdown; while their pie was good (we’ve had it before, mainly in “to go” form), our service was really awful, and I don’t know that we’ll bother to stop again.  At least we got to meet this cool dude in the parking lot:

Rawr!  I think!

We powered up the 17, raising in elevation, until we started to see this weird white stuff on the side of the road.  On Friday and through the night into Saturday, true snow hit Flag, and it was sticking quite well. 

Indeed!

A few clouds were sticking around, but thankfully, we only hit a few active flurries in our drive north, and we enjoyed the lovely scenery.

Pretty!

We were nice and snug in the truck, and as we drew closer to the city, we could see the snowcapped peaks of Mt. Humphreys looming to the north.

Humphreys, all decked out

We checked into our home for the night, the Hotel Monte Vista, and quickly bundled up in more clothes before hitting the town.

The Monte Vista in downtown Flag

We decided a winter warmer was in order, so our first stop was the new tap room for Historic Brewing.

Salut!

We ate an early dinner at Brix and enjoyed our meal there; Toni and I ate there when we were in Flag back in April/May, and I figured a return trip was in order.  Thankfully, everything was once again delicious.

Outside Brix, with way more snow than last time

While we initially planned to drive up the hill to Lowell Observatory, the clouds and cold temps dissuaded us (it was dropping into the teens by this point), so we decided to continue stomping around downtown, eating and drinking as we went.  We hit up Mother Road Brewing, then Dark Sky (a new brewery to us), and then Flagstaff Brewing Company, where Mom and Chris had a whisky nightcap and I rehydrated with water.  Full of spirit, we headed back home and to bed.

Chris and I at Mother Road

The next morning, Sunday, 12/13, we got ourselves moving on the earlier side of things and stumbled around the corner (quickly stumbled, because it was WAY cold) to eat breakfast at Martanne’s.  Ah, Martanne’s – so good.  We wandered around town to take some photos and then did a quick drive out toward the road to Snow Bowl. 

Snow covered vehicles on Route 66 in Flag

Humphreys in all its glory

We didn’t have time to make it up the hill before we needed to turn back around, however, as we had a reservation to keep.  We drove over to the entrance to Northern Arizona University to see the Riordan Mansion, the giant home of some of the members of one of Flagstaff’s founding families.  Built in 1906, it’s still a marvel of early engineering and design, and it was well worth the $10 to be led through the home by a knowledgeable docent.  A few pics:

One of the back entrances to the mansion

The visitors’ center, in what usedto be the family’s 6 car garage

Taking pictures at the archway out front

A close up of the stained glass in the dining room area

Overall, it was really cool to see the buildings and grounds, and I highly recommend it the next time you’re in town.  We had a cozy lunch at Beaver Street Brewery (fondue!) and then headed back south, driving through Oak Creek Canyon and seeing Sedona on the way home (well, Mom and Chris saw it – I was asleep for most of the drive in the back seat).

Lovely Sedona scenery!

We relaxed the rest of the night and spent some time with the dogs, since they had obviously been horribly neglected by our overnight adventure (extreme sarcasm – our pet nanny is wonderful).  Chris headed back to work on Monday, 12/14, but Mom and I had one more day to enjoy each other’s company.  Although we did some shopping (Christmas and otherwise), the highlight for me was enjoying high tea at Kimberly Ann’s Tea Room in downtown Glendale.  It was pretty quiet (it was a Monday), so we had almost the whole place to ourselves, and the food and drinks were delicious!  Of course, the company was the best part!

Cheers!

Mom flew home on Tuesday morning, and it was back to the real world for all of us!  We had a great time and can’t wait until we get to see each other again!

Later!

Amy