Weekend Trip: Scottsdale, Arizona - Welcome to Olivia Rink

Posted February 26, 2018

Hi guys! I’ve been a little quiet on my blog and IG lately due to a much needed mental break from social media and work. I’m not the best at remembering to flip the on/off switch and it’s so easy to get caught up in the “grind” and lose focus of what really matters. But, I’m thankful for all the reality checks God has thrown into my life to keep me in check. I’m sure I’ll go into detail on this later on here, but for right now I just wanted to let ya know I’m slowly getting back into my routine and have a lot of new post ideas coming your way 🙂

Starting off with a quick recap of my trip to Scottsdale this past weekend with John & Ali! It was short and sweet and more of an actual vacation for me than a ‘blog vacation’, but a lot of you were asking about recommendations so I wanted to include what we did in to give you some ideas if you’re planning a trip to Scottsdale:

Food

Brunch: Hash Kitchen

Arizona’s biggest build-your-own Bloody Mary bar! Plus, they have delicious nutella toast and cannoli doughnuts.. it’s a no brainer. Such a fun brunch atmosphere with tons of people, good music, and incredible food.

Lunch: Farm & Craft

We had lunch out on the patio at Farm & Craft in Old Town – a cute bistro that serves organic and gluten-free eats. Also a good option for brunch or dinner!

Dinner: The Mission

We had dinner here our first night and loved it! Modern Latin cuisine in a sophisticated but casual setting. Amazing guacamole and margaritas. You have to try the avocado marg!

Dessert: Sugar Bowl

An ice cream shop delivering shakes, malts & floats plus sandwiches & salads since 1958.

Things to Do

Hot Hair Balloon Ride:

Checked this one off my bucket list! I’m such a chicken about airplanes, so I figured I’d be the same way about this, but the whole experience was actually so peaceful and relaxing. The balloon was SO much bigger than I pictured it would be and the ride was really smooth and controlled. We celebrated with a champagne toast when we landed! [Hot Air Expeditions]

Bike through Old Town Scottsdale:

It’s such a quaint little area to ride through with lots of shops and restaurants. Make a stop at Ruze Bakehouse for a lemonade drink covered in cotton candy or an iced coffee and ride by the LOVE sculpture and snap a cute Instagram picture (the famous sculpture by Robert Indiana).

Hiking in the desert:

We went on a guided hike of Gateway Loop Trail, a 4.5 mile loop. Our guide was so knowledgeable about the desert and kept throwing out little fun facts about the desert throughout the entire hike. Fun fact: A saguaro cactus doesn’t usually begin growing arms until it’s about 15 feet tall and around 75 years old. The tallest saguaros are about 200 years old and have more than 50 arms! (our guide was from here).

Where We Stayed

Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia – this was such a pretty resort, it was perfect for a weekend escape. The resort had 3 pools, an award winning spa, picturesque views of Camelback Mountain, great restaurants and beautiful rooms.

Here are some pictures we took in Arizona!