My memorable birthday at the Red Rock County, Sedona!

At an elevation of 4500 feet, in the midst of red rocks, canyons and creeks, Sedona was my 29th Birthday present. Personally I love growing older and the blessing of living in this beautiful world year after year gives me immense joy of its own. I am so so excited to enter into the 30th year of my life and I will strive my best to make my existence worthwhile.

We landed at Phoenix airport and made our way up the deserted mountains towards Sedona. About 2 hours away with a drive of giant cacti on both sides, we reached the red rock county at lunch time. Restaurant Hudson was a perfect lunch spot with magnificent views. The glass doors there opened to the view of huge red rocks. It all painted a beautiful picture of how delightful Sedona was going to be. After enjoying corn chowder soup and beet salad at the Hudson for lunch, we stepped into the art and crafts village of Tlaquepaque.

Tlaquepaque is an excellent outdoor traditional Mexican style market featuring art galleries, craft shops, cobblestone paths and decorative arches. We spotted a beautiful bohemian style chai spot where we enjoyed the hot chai listening to the tunes of bollywood music at their rooftop. After exploring a few shell shops and painting galleries, we reached to the corner where Santa arrived for Christmas celebrations. The joy of Holiday season was in the air and the carols sounded lovely.  We slowly made our way to check in to our hotel although I did not want to leave that market at all.

We stayed at the Poco Diablo resort on our first night in Sedona. Our room overlooked a huge golf course with a backdrop of the mountains. While the sun was setting, we enjoyed sipping hot green teas at our backyard of the room. After a good night sleep we were all set to hike and explore the West Fork trail. Sandy trail with 13 creek crossings of the West Fork Oak Creek and canyons all around made our hike both challenging and fun at the same time.

The most awaited part of our trip was our stay at the Enchantment resort on my birthday night which is one of the most finest resorts in Sedona. Standing up to my expectations, Enchantment resort was a very delightful sight to the eyes. With deers and javelinas frockling around the resort property, our golf cart ride to our red mud casitas was just spot on. The resort in sorrounded by Boynton Canyon and is world famous for its Miiamo spa facilities.

Through the back door of the spa facilities, we hiked to the top of Kachina Woman Vortex which is believed to radiate positive energy. The vortex found in Sedona are rare and signify the balance of masculine and feminine energy. There was a flute musician who played very soothing music on the top of the vortex. He also handed us heart shaped carved rocks and gave us his blessings. I still remember his message about how unconditional love can overcome negative energy in all forms. After resting for a while on the top , we made our way back to the resort facilities. I also vividly remember the lovely stars as it grew darker and colder. I enjoyed gazing at them during our golf cart ride for dinner.

Next morning was my 29th birthday and I couldn’t have asked for it to be more beautiful than this. As the sun shined, I practiced my first sun salutation and thanked mother nature for her blessings in all forms. We then hopped on to our golf cart to take a tour of the property and enjoy breakfast in the main lobby of the resort. Relaxing in the hot tub, eucalyptus steam room and sauna of the Miiamo spa was such a lovely experience.

My 29th birthday was like a dream come true I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful birthday. What has been your favourite Birthday so far. Do share, I would love to read!

Our stay at the Cliff House, Maine!

Fond memories of our stay at the Cliff House resort in Maine brings me to write about our pleasant experience there. Nestled between the Atlantic ocean and the city of Cape Neddick stood the Cliff House Maine in the midst of wild waves and rugged rocks. Encompassed by glass doors and windows on each side, the resort provided significantly beautiful views of the glistening Atlantic ocean. Just the sight of the resort made us fall in love with it and we were all ready to enjoy our stay there.

Pickled Vegetables and Quinoa Bowl at the resort restaurant!

We reached the resort right at lunch time and enjoyed our order of pickled vegetables and quinoa bowl which was filling and delicious at the same time.  The cherry on the top of it was the gorgeous views from the resort restaurant. After our meal, we started to walk on the cliff side exploring the shore side where I picked different kinds of mussel and crab shells to add to my sea treasures. As I walked by the shore making my way through the rugged rocks close to sunset, the level of water was starting to rise with high tides. So it was safer to just get out from the shore and head back towards the resort.

Shore bordering the resort!

Our room was just perfect with a beautiful ocean view. We were amazed to see the phenomenal sunrise early morning next day right from the double glass doors from our balcony. I could clearly hear the waves crashing into the shore. During breakfast I was so so excited to spot some whale humps in the ocean. Also for the first time in my life I experienced swimming in an infinity pool. It really looked like the pool was infinite and merged into the ocean. We also enjoyed the hot tub right next to the pool both during the night and day time gazing at the stars and the infinite stretch of the ocean. I remember trying to be as present in the moment as I could to make the most out of it. Both good and bad moments are momentary and we must capture the best ones while we can.

My star fish and urchin shell shopping!

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After checking out of the hotel, we made our way to the little town of Ogunquit, where I  really enjoyed shopping cute tea cups, sea shells, candies and handmade crafts. I loved the whole experience of it and enjoyed being all touristy. We also stopped by to check out the Nubble light house which was a historical little light house in the end of the city. Overall I loved the experience of being so close to nature at all times and would love to return to New England sometime soon again. What’s your favorite resort experience. Do share. I would love to read.

One of best Birthdays ever, Palm Springs, California!

I was very apprehensive when I started to plan my birthday trip to Palm Springs. However how things turned out to be absolutely opposite and wonderful was such a great birthday surprise. Palm Springs is a desert in Southern California which is located within a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. The landscape of the desert itself is very unique. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria resort located at the Coachella Valley which was indeed the highlight of the trip. The resort was nestled in between the Santa Rosa Mountains with a backdrop of huge palm trees. The architecture of the resort was quite fascinating with red-tile roofs villas and welcoming gateway arch filled with Bougainvillea creepers. The colorful flowers mostly red and white roses complimented the tangy smelling citrus orange and grapefruit trees. In short it was an absolute nature’s paradise.

All we did during our trip was explored our resort which in itself was such an adventure. The resort was so huge that we would travel from one place to another in hummer carts which was such a fun and bumpy ride. The restaurants in the resort had an amazing roof top view of the mountains. We enjoyed the Mexican dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort and relished the natural beauty and view it had to offer. Our breakfasts were super healthy with so many fresh fruits and vegetable options which we enjoyed by the outdoor patio. This travel was a real vacation for me. Relaxing in the resort by the pool, pampering myself with spa, appreciating the little things instead of running around covering things to do and see in the city was the best part. I loved this kind of vacation and would definitely recommend you all to try it out once. Sometimes we all forget about the real relaxation that a vacation has to offer.

The resort had all kinds of fun activities to offer during the morning hours. There was a meditation class early in the morning which I really enjoyed under the huge palm trees . Breathing deep, listening to the chirping birds in silence and focusing on the different chakras of the body was such an amazing experience.

The activity I enjoyed the most was yoga hike. Early morning at 6:30 am on my birthday, we woke up for the guided hike through the trails that run behind the resort along the mountains.  The weather was a bit chilly early morning, however we were all bundled up feeling toasty and warmed up from the hike. We did see the sun rise through the mountains lighting up the Santa Rosa mountains with reddish-brown color. After reaching the hill-top, our teacher guided us through yogi sun salutations which was definitely my best birthday gift ever.

All I would say is I never knew that I could have so much fun inside a resort. Sometimes experimenting different options helps you learn what you actually love. This was an absolutely different kind of travel than my usual travel journey but I really enjoyed it and I am definitely looking forward to many more pleasant stays in beautiful resorts all over the world. Do you have any recommendations of resorts you stayed in? Do share. I would love to read.