Sedona, Arizona is a magical place with breathtaking scenery and plenty of outdoor activities. I came with Ford, yes the car company, to meet an amazing group of people I am excited to work with for the next 8 months. It was one of the most powerful trips I have taken in a long time and am leaving with new found gratitude, strength, love, bravery and excitement. We were here to get acquainted with program details, each other and take pictures for the campaign launch. When those are ready, I get to tell you what it is!
What I will admit is that this is not a paid campaign. Ford is not compensating me for my involvement. It is for a cause that I am passionate about spreading awareness. I arrived on Thursday and after sitting on a plane for 6 hours and then driving 2 to my resort, Enchantment Resort, I was ready to stretch my legs. There are two trails accessible at the resort and I decided to run the longer one. Afraid of wild animals, my heart rate was sky high the entire time on high alert for nature.
I ran a total of 3.7 miles for an out and back route. I did not see any animals but I was easily frightened by two small dogs walking with their owner after turning a sharp corner. While the beginning was rocky and challenging to run, the middle two miles were easy to run rolling hills. Easy, meaning the surface was even. The altitude made the run more challenging than it should have been given my speed.
After my run, we had a fabulous cocktail hour where I got to meet the other participants in the program. Most of which are not vloggers. Enchantment Resort has 3 restaurants that looked delicious but since we had such a big group, we ate mostly at the conference rooms. The food was very good but I wouldn’t say I ate exactly what I typically would given the buffet style with limited options. Still I always managed to get in my fruits and veggies and there were always plenty of vegetarian options. This resort would be a very good option for vegans.
After dinner, we had a special Native American dance performance for out group. It was entertaining, educational and totally unique from anything I have seen before. My picture sucks but the video is incredible. This guys, who looked about 50 years old, was jumping rope with a tiny ring that maybe was 2 inches in diameter.
The next morning, our day was scheduled to start early. I got up and went for a run on the street this time. The resort offers mountain biking, yoga, guided hikes, meditation, bootcamps, water aerobics and more. Unfortunately our schedules did not allow us to take part in much of the activities included in the resort fee but the rolling hills workout was awesome.
I went to the juice and smoothie bar at the spa after my run for a fresh green juice. The spa has an indoor and outdoor pool, crystal meditation room, sauna, whirl pool, steam room, gym, healthy restaurant and an overwhelming list of spa treatments.
The resort also has another family pool, bocci ball court, croquet, tennis courts and access to a spectacular golf course. During the day, we had business to take care of but at the end, we took a bunch of group shots out by the family pool. The other two social gals on the trip with me were YouTubers Samantha Scheurman and Sonia Castaneda, both beauty vloggers and hot moms!
It’s always fun to hang out with other YouTubers since there are so few of us for comparing notes and sharing advice. After our group photo shoot, I went on an actual hike in Boynton Canyon to nearly the top of the rock that my finger in touching above. It was a 25 minute hike to the top and easy for people with bad knees or a little older to complete. At the top, we were told that there was an energy vortex, meaning that we were supposed to be able to feel the energy from the earth. I’m enough of a yogi and spiritual person to accept this as fact, but couldn’t feel anything and was skeptic. My phone died and pictures of this hike are on my video camera, no accessible by iPad.
Saturday morning was my time to strike a pose for the camera. I got in a quick Barry’s style 25-minute workout before I had to get into hair and make up. I need to workout before I shoot to de-bloat. I also enjoyed a spinach, kale, pineapple, banana and blueberry smoothie with spirulina for breakfast from the spa bar. We drove about 15 minutes away from the resort to a golf course for the shoot. I didn’t think I was afraid of heights but as I got close to the edge for my yoga shots, I felt all tingly and weird. Maybe it was the vortex energy from Sedona! Or, I am a little freaked out by heights. Either way, I did it and it was cool. I can’t wait to see the final images.
After my shoot, we finally had some down time to which I spent sipping prickly pear margaritas by the pool with Sam and Sonia. There were a bunch of families at the pool having fun and it reminded me of a family vacation I took to Arizona as a kid only we were gift with unseasonably warm weather.
We finished our scheduled activities at a place called Angel Canyon which was a unique experience that had us practicing Native rituals and meditating a little. I was not expecting it to be emotional but the amazing group I was a part of, made it an exceptional experience that left me feeling very humbled, blessed and loved. It also made me reflect and realize I am stronger than I give myself credit for and that when faced with a challenge out of my control, courage, love and strength can overcome. We were instructed to walk around a labyrinth and with each step to let go of something we were holding on to. When we got to the center, we were told to start fresh and “let it go” to which I sang the Disney anthem. As we retraced our steps exiting the labyrinth, I repeated positive mantas inviting new courage, strength, self love and compassion into my life.
We finished with a rowdy group dinner at the Barking Frog. I’m so thankful to be a part of this group and excited to share the rest of the details next month. Big thank you to Missy and Steph (my twin below) for organizing an amazing visit.
