Arizona

Cacti and mountains in the distance at the Desert Botanical Gardens.
Culinary Dropout
Taco Guild, a Mexican restaurant in an old church building.
Mother Bunch Brewing
The inside of Olive & Ivy, which also has outdoor seating along the Scottsdale Waterfront.
Sitting at the bar at Four Peaks Brewing Co.
View of Phoenix from Piestewa Peak.
The view along the Piestewa Peak hike, not even at the top yet!
Red rocks at Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.
1.5 miles down the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon.
Hiking the Grand Canyon.
Stargazing in Estrella.
Getting a tour of Colossal Cave!
View from Colossal Cave Mountain Park.

Food & Drink

  • The Coronado | A local coffee shop and breakfast spot in the neighborhood we stayed in. Recommendation: try their Fried Guacamole!

  • Duza’s Kitchen | An amazing breakfast/brunch spot! Recommendation: try the Pork Belly Eggs Benedict!

  • Nami | Recommendation: try a Concha (a Mexican sweet bread)!

  • Taco Guild | A Mexican restaurant in an old church with live music!

  • Culinary Dropout | One of my favorite restaurants of the trip! The food is amazing, and the restaurant also includes lawn games like corn hole and ping pong in “The Yard.” Recommendation: try their pierogis!

  • Ocotillo | Another favorite restaurant of the trip. The food is amazing, original, and always changing, and the atmosphere is very cool.

  • PAZ Cantina | Mexican restaurant on Roosevelt Row

  • First Watch | Great for breakfast/brunch!

  • Olive & Ivy | Another favorite of mine, especially in terms of atmosphere, located in Scottsdale! Recommendation: try a few of their bruschetta options!

  • Mother Bunch Brewing

  • Wilderness Brewery

  • Four Peaks Brewing Co.

  • Cobra Arcade Bar

Things To Do

  • Explore the Melrose District and Roosevelt Row

  • Hike Piestewa Peak in Phoenix Mountains Park, the view of the city and the surrounding area is incredible!

  • Explore the Desert Botanical Gardens, especially if you’re as obsessed with Cacti as I am!

  • Walk around the Scottsdale Waterfront

  • Stop in Sedona along the drive to the Grand Canyon. When you arrive in Sedona, stop at Indian Gardens to grab lunch. Be sure to stop at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a great spot to take in the views of the surrounding red rocks! Grab some coffee at Oak Creek Espresso before heading out!

  • Spend a night at the Grand Canyon. After stopping in Sedona, we arrived at the Grand Canyon around dinner time. We made a reservation at the El Tovar Dining Room for dinner, which had an amazing view of the Grand Canyon from our table. We stayed at one of the hotels on the South Rim, and got up early the next morning to hike some of the canyon. We hiked about 1.5 miles down to the first rest stop and took in the view there for a while before hiking back up. After our hike, we grabbed lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge before heading back to Phoenix.

  • Take a short trip to Estrella, about an hour outside of Phoenix. We had dinner at The Lakeside Grill, which was one of my favorite meals of the trip and overlooked a pretty lake. The town is beautiful, and there’s a star tower there, Estrella Star Tower, that we wanted to check out but it was closed. So, we found a nice spot to pull over on the side of the road and stargaze with the surrounding skyline in the distance!

  • Go on a cave tour! We drove to Colossal Cave, not far from Tucson (stopping at In-N-Out along the way of course). I had never been in a cave before, and It was so much fun! The tour lasted for about an hour, and when it was done we walked around Colossal Cave Mountain Park.

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