Category: Travel

I’ve been dragging my feet on writing this post because it means that our trip is over. However, I do want to get everything down while it’s still fresh in my brain because I love reading back through my blog and reliving our vacation memories!

As I mentioned last month, we had planned a trip back to Tucson, Arizona that worked around Jack’s winter break schedule. We visited once before in Spring 2024, but decided that there was still plenty to do on a return trip.

Let’s get into it:

Day 1: Fly to Phoenix

Last time we flew directly to Tucson, but with only connecting flights we had the bad luck of having our flight delay so many times that we ended up spending the night in an airport. So, this time we decided to fly into Phoenix instead. We flew out late at night, arrived in Phoenix after midnight and stayed at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Airport North. The hotel was super cheap, very close to the airport, quiet and exactly what we needed for a good night of sleep.

With that being said, we did NOT enjoy our experience with the hotel’s shuttle service, as you have to use an app to call the shuttle and then when it arrived… it said it didn’t see us and left. Sigh. Rather than wait another half hour for the next possible time slot, we ended up paying for a taxi because it was late and I was getting grumpy.

Day 2: Have a Turo rental disaster, Queen Creek Olive Mill and Tucson

Due to a glitch in the Turo system, we found out our rental car was not available when we reached out for the final access information. Thankfully, we were able to get a quick refund and book a replacement car, which showed up just an hour later.

The drive from Phoenix to Tucson is a little less than 2 hours, but we decided to take our time and stop at the Queen Creek Olive Mill on the way. And we are so glad we did – the food was incredible (loved the bruschetta trio and the margherita pizza), the grounds were beautiful, and we even picked up some olive tapenade to enjoy once we got to our VRBO.

Once we got to the house, we settled in and then ran out to stock up at a nearby Trader Joes.

Day 3 – 7: All the Tucson!

We had 5 full days in Tucson, so each day we had a mix of lazing around, visiting a park, hiking, and eating. Oh, and using the hot tub and firepit at our VRBO! We tried not to make our trip *too busy* or regimented, so that we felt refreshed at the end, rather than feeling exhausted.

Here’s what we did:

• Saguaro National Park – West
• Catalina State Park
• Saguaro National Park – East
• Mt Lemmon Scenic Byway
• Saguaro National Park – West, AGAIN

We purchased a new America the Beautiful annual pass ($80), which paid for both sides of the Saguaro National park. A day pass for Catalina State Park (for 2-4 people in a car) was $20. And the Mt Lemmon Scenic Byway is free.

Once again, we absolutely loved both sides of the Saguaro National Park. There are easy driving pull-off areas, tons of hikes that you can choose from, and neither side felt too crowded. We actually visited the West side twice during the trip. The second time, Jack opted out, so Travis and I did a much longer hike and enjoyed all the cactus.

This was our first time visiting Catalina State Park and there were lots of easy hikes to choose from. It was also relatively close to where we were staying, so it made an easy day trip with plenty of time for other activities.

As for the Mt Lemmon Scenic Byway, it was an absolutely gorgeous ride up the mountain. We pulled off at many of the overlooks to give all the ‘ohhs and ahhs’ and take all the photos. At the top, we grabbed a meal and topped it off with a gigantic cookie, before heading back down the mountain.

Food We Loved:

Each morning. we would make breakfast/brunch at the house and then go out into the world to explore. For dinner out, here are some of the places that we really enjoyed:

• Charred Pie
• Seis Kitchen
• Zinburger
• Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar

Shopping We Loved:

We didn’t do a ton of shopping on this trip, but we did hit up a few of the nearby thrift stores. You can find my vacation haul post here. In addition to the thrift stores, we had a fun return visit to Tucson Mineral & Gem World. I also purchased a shirt at the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center, and a bracelet from Mast (a cute shop that has handmade jewelry and leather goods).

Day 8: Snakes & Lattes for breakfast, Queen Creek Olive Mill, Drive to Phoenix

On our last day, we packed up the rental car, checked out of our VRBO and made our way over to Snakes & Lattes, a board game bar, for breakfast. We had visited on our previous trip, and it was on the “must return” list for Jack.

This time we went for breakfast, which was so delicious! We also played a card game that had the three of us laughing the entire time. All in all, the place is a bit expensive but very much worth it for us.

From there we hit the road and made our way back towards Phoenix. We decided to visit the Queen Creek Olive Mill again to wander around the fruit groves and then have another delicious lunch. From there, we drove to Phoenix, returned our Turo rental car, and got situated at the airport for a late night flight back home.

All The Photos:

It was a super fun trip and I’m so glad that we decided to re-visit Tucson. The weather was great, we loved the VRBO house that we stayed in and we did ALL of the hiking!

After being *fiscally responsible* like a grown-up and not traveling for our October anniversary or over Thanksgiving break, we are so excited to have another family trip on the horizon. We will be returning to Tucson, Arizona! We visited once before in Spring 2024, but decided that there was still plenty to do on a return trip.

I’m currently figuring out a plan for this trip, so please let me know if you have any recommendations I should add!

Here’s our current thoughts:

Day 1: Fly to Phoenix

I guess it should really say “Evening 1” because we aren’t flying out until late at night and arriving in Phoenix. You may be wondering why we aren’t flying into Tucson… Well, there are no direct flights from Baltimore to Tucson and last time we visited, our first flight was delayed so many times we missed our connecting flight. It took us 21 hours of travel, 3 airplanes, 1 night spent trying to sleep on a bench in the Houston Airport playground, and 1 Uber before we finally arrived at our Tucson house.

This time, we decided to fly into Phoenix (yay direct flight!). This allows us to get in a full day of work, before packing up and heading to the airport. We will arrive in Arizona after midnight and then stay in a nearby hotel for the night.

Day 2: Pick up our Turo rental car and Drive to Tucson

Once we wake up, we will pick up our Turo rental car, find some delicious breakfast and drive to Tucson. The drive from Phoenix to Tucson looks like it’s a little less than 2 hours, but there are a few fun places to stop along the way, including: Picacho Peak State Park, Casa Grande and Queen Creek Olive Mill. Once we make our way to Tucson, we will check into our VRBO and probably stock up at a nearby grocery store.

Day 3 – Day 7: All the Tucson!

We have 5 full days in Tucson, so we plan to do all the exploring. Some places we will most likely re-visit from our last trip: the Arizona-Sonoran Desert museum ($30 per person), the Saguaro National Park (East one day and West another day, using America the Beautiful Park Pass), and the Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway.

Other fun ideas on the list:

• The Winterhaven Festival of Lights – hundreds of homes are decked out in festive lights and decorations! There is live music, food vendors and even horse-drawn carriage rides.
• Sabino Canyon
• We will absolutely be checking out Tucson thrift stores!
• Forth Avenue, the Mercando District and Saguaro Square Small Business Mall
• The Flandrau Planetarium
• We will absolutely be revisiting Charred Pie, the place where I had the best pizza I’ve ever had in my entire existence.

Day 8: Tucson to Phoenix to Home

On our last day, we will pack up the rental car, check out of our VRBO and make our way back to Phoenix. We’re not really in a hurry though, as we are not flying out until late in the evening. So, I’m not sure if we will do stuff in Tucson, stop somewhere halfway to explore, or perhaps spend some time exploring Phoenix before we make our way to the airport.

Once there, we will return our rental car, grab some dinner and fly back home. We are getting in quite late, so once we make the drive from our home airport to our house, we then plan to sleep as long as we want before we go and pick up the dogs at the dog sitter and enjoy all the ‘welcome home’ snuggles.

I can’t wait! If you have any recommendations for places we shouldn’t miss – whether it be food options, hikes, stores, or views – let me know!

You know how sometimes you promise your kid a prize for something, and then later have to figure out how to deliver on it? Yeah, that was us. Jack crushed it in 6th grade, landing on the honor roll all four semesters. As a little reward, we came up with the idea of an end-of-year prize. Then came 7th grade. Jack worked his butt off again and made the honor roll another three semesters in a row. By spring, things were looking a little shaky, so we sweetened the deal: if he could pull his grades back up to all A’s and B’s for an eighth straight semester, he’d earn something big… an overnight trip to NYC.

Which he earned! YAY for Jack!

The only problem? Summer got busy, and the thought of wandering around the city in hot, sticky, swampy weather wasn’t exactly appealing. So, we kept pushing it off. And pushing it off. Until… well, basically the very last minute. Jack and I finally squeezed in our NYC adventure over the weekend, just in time for him to roll straight into his first day of school the very next morning.

Where We Stayed: Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea

This is our third time back at the Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea hotel. As always, the check-in was easy, the rooms were clean, and the price was good by NYC standards. It is also about a 10-minute walk from the train station, and within easy access to lots of shops and restaurants.

What We Packed

When we do an overnight in NYC, we keep the packing to a minimum with just a backpack for each of us. This was Jack’s first time in the city in the summer, so it was so nice not to have to be bundled up in coats, hats and gloves! We each pack a change of clothes, electronics (Kindle for me, Nintendo Switch for him), and toothbrushes.

What We Did: Chelsea, Midtown, Chinatown & Little Italy

We arrived in the city around 2pm and walked over to the hotel. Our room wasn’t quite ready yet, so we ventured out to grab some food at Crompton Ale House (YUM!), then back to the hotel to drop off our backpacks and charge our devices.

We took an Uber to Midtown, to spend some time in Jack’s favorite stores – the Nintendo store and the Lego store. He was absolutely thrilled to pick out a couple new Lego sets to add to his collection.

Lots of streets were shut down for little street festivals, so we decided that instead of Ubering back, we’d just walk the 20+ streets back to Chelsea since it was a beautiful day. We poked around looking at stores on our way and had an energy-boost stop of some FroYo about halfway through our walk. By time we got back to Chelsea, we were ready to be lazy, so we grabbed some food at the nearby Whole Foods, had a bed picnic and enjoyed the sunset from our room.

The next morning, we made a quick run to a nearby Starbucks for coffee and breakfast sandwiches and headed back to the room to relax for a bit. Our check-out time was noon, so we packed up our backpacks and left them with the front desk for the day.

We took an Uber to Chinatown and checked out lots of stores in the Mott Street area, making our way from Chinatown to Little Italy. One of our favorites was Yunhong Chopsticks — because they have so many sets of beautiful chopsticks to choose from. We each picked out our favorite set, as well as a set to bring home for Travis for our next sushi or ramen night. I also enjoyed Senti Senti, which is a shop devoted to k-beauty products. With the help of a super helpful salesperson, I bought a couple items I can’t wait to try out!

Oh and we had some absolutely delicious crepes while walking around Chinatown as well. Jack had one with bananas and Nutella and I got a mini GF version which included strawberries, bananas, custard cream, whipped yogurt, chocolate pearls and crushed pistachio. So good! Absolutely would eat them again, but Jack recommends sticking with the mini version because his was HUGE.

We hopped an Uber back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and then walked over to Eatly for lunch/dinner. I’m obsessed with their pesto gnocchi, so I will take any chance I can to get some in my belly. We didn’t have much time to spare, so we packed up our leftovers and power-walked to the train station, thankfully getting there with the perfect amount of time to use the restrooms and line up for our train.

And just like that our whirlwind trip to NYC was over. It was one of those last-minute plans that came together and a really fun end to our summer!