Girl's Weekend Out - Part 2

by Crystal Coons
Jul 30, 2003

We unpacked our bags, and I dumped out my cheerleading duffle bag, which was filled with makeup, and every fashion, celebrity and beauty magazine on the planet. My mother-in-law turned to me and asked, "When do you plan to do any reading?" They giggled, and I began to thumb through the August 2003 issue of "In Style Magazine."

Once all of our girlie-ness was unpacked, we got back into the car and did what I love most. We went shopping and played tourist.

I was shocked to find an area of Flagstaff I had never been to before. A place filled with people buzzing and shopping and laughing and dining. It was a mini heaven with a mountain backdrop. We parked and began to trek through the streets of Flagstaff, passing more outdoor shops than I knew what to do with. We weaved around people going in the opposite direction, and I began to take everything in.

Most of the shops were vintage clothes, taking their influence from the 60's and 70's era. May I point out that the look on Jena's face was one of pure heaven when she found a gypsy inspired skirt that would be great for her belly dancing class? I stood back and admired the background. Could it get better than shopping in northern Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

, with the San Francisco Peaks and Snow Bowl watching over your shoulder? Actually it could. After hours of shopping we stopped into my favorite Flagstaff Italian Eatery, Strombolli's. We ordered a pizza that would take days of working out to burn off, and some of the best spinach and artichoke dip I've ever had. We finally got full enough to leave, and we headed back to... the caboose.

Jessie and I sat in the back together, and we looked outside at the pitch-blackness that had overcome the sky. Our original idea of sleeping alone in the top bunks changed very quickly. We decided to sleep in the queen bed in the front room. Once again, we were the chickens. But at least we'd be chickens together.

The night passed quickly and we rose early. We got showered and dressed and headed out to breakfast, which turned out to be quite the popular idea at that time of morning. We found a small little diner on the corner of the street, and settled in to eat. Once we were set to leave Williams, we headed back towards Flagstaff to go to a small farmer's market, where my mother-in-law bought tomatoes and a cookie. We noticed a storm brewing and figured that with the weather warnings that we were bound to get soaked sooner or later.

We walked back to the car once we were done looking at the overpriced produce and began our drive towards my favorite place. Yes, loyal readers, yet another trip to Sedona. On the way down, my mother-in-law and Jena decided to go hike to see if berries were ripe. Jessie and I quickly requested a drop off in Uptown Sedona to walk through the shopping district. Our wish was granted, and we stepped out of the car and into one of my favorite spots in Sedona: The Plaza. We headed straight up to the main eating are which consisted of several merchants, as well as several gift shops. We looked through the merchandise, and then strolled in and out of other boutiques and specialty shops. We then decided that it was time for something cold, something creamy -- Katie's Gourmet Ice Cream. Ohhh yes. We placed our order and took our surprisingly reasonably priced ice cream down to the benches and waited for Jena and my mother-in-law to pick us up.

As I waved goodbye to Sedona, I looked forward to going back to Jerome, a place I've decided should only be visited in the daytime, on account of the haunting and all. (There's that chicken thing again).

By the time we got to town, we were getting hungry. We shopped around for a bit in Jerome's vintage and one-of-a-kind shops, before climbing the three sets of stairs (there goes that pizza) to get to the coolest place to eat in Jerome, The Haunted Hamburger. I once again dove into a plate of Artichoke dip, and chips and salsa. We relaxed for an hour or so before heading back down to the car. Note: On the lower level street coming into Jerome, there is a candy shop. Remember the "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" from the Harry Potter movies and books? They have a neat little set up in there. Jessie and I had quite the laugh when a teenage girl exclaimed in disgust at chewing on a vomit-flavored bean. Stop in here for the laughs, if nothing else.

Once we were done laughing, we got back in the car and decided it was time to head back home to Phoenix. The drive out of Jerome was nice, and I enjoyed pointing out the old mining tracks and entrances that were still atop the mountains. She was in awe of the old tracks, and we speculated at how people got up there, and how many people died, and are still haunting the city. We laughed as Jena drove the way up to Mingus Mountain when the car began to overheat.

We pulled over, and made the necessary calls to loved ones in case we were stuck there. Thankfully, within minutes, we were back on the road, through Prescott and down to Phoenix. The ride was spent with Jessie and I bopping our heads and lip syncing to the songs on our personal CD players, while my mother-in-law and Jena listened to hippie music and talked about everything under the sun.

The sun set as we pulled up into the driveway of my mother-in-law's house. It had been an interesting weekend, caboose and all. And I can't wait to do it all over again.

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