Our Favorite Fall Getaway - The Strawberry Inn

Our little family absolutely loves out visits to The Strawberry Inn. We have been going there for a few years now and it's the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation time for us. Last year we went a couple of days before Thanksgiving (our school always gives us a full week off for the holiday) and getting to spend a couple of days in the cooler pine trees really is the perfect transition from calm into the holidays for us. We love it so much!

On our recent visit in November, it started drizzling when we arrived and if you've never experienced a rainy night in Strawberry- it's the coziest thing ever! We picked up our favorite pizza and salad from The Old Country Inn on our way to The Strawberry Inn, and once we got to our Studio Cottage, we were able to have the coziest night eating, playing games, and watching sports on TV before snuggling into the comfiest beds for the night.

We have stayed in just about every room type the Inn has to offer but this was our first time staying in a Studio Cottage and it was perfect. It had a modern kitchenette which was perfect for us, a dining table and chairs to eat at, and a big comfy bed for me. There were also built-in bunkbeds with a pocket door for the kids. This cottage was pet-friendly, so we were able to bring our new puppy too!

After a cozy night in, we were ready for a full day of adventuring our next day. After sleeping in, we stopped by our favorite Pie Bar for some empanadas before hitting two of our favorite hiking spots near The Strawberry Inn - Pine Trailhead and Tonto Natural Bridge. Pine Trailhead is super peaceful and less than a ten-minute drive from the Inn. Its' part of the Arizona Trail System and has lots of soaring tall pine trees. We even saw several deer off the trail this time. We took our cute puppy along with us and he was so relaxed that he fell asleep in my arms while hiking.

After hiking Pine Trailhead, we grabbed lunch at the best little gas station around! They seriously have the best snacks, and we love their sandwiches too. Plus, the employees are really friendly- everyone is really friendly in this cute little town!

We drove a scenic 15 minutes to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park and ate our lunch. It was an incredible view. Because we had our puppy with us, we couldn't go down on any of the actual trails, but we were able to walk around the entire park and see all the scenic viewpoints which were still super breathtaking. If you haven't seen the Natural Bridge in person, it's a must see for sure! We took tuns going down to our favorite waterfall trail too.

After hiking we couldn't resist shopping amongst the cute shops in Pine and Strawberry. A favorite of ours is Fancy Finds- they have so many cute things to look at and we ended up buying some cute holiday decor and hostess gifts.

Afterwards we went back to our cozy cabin to reax for a bit, play some yard games, and play on the new swings and climbing structure in the Lower Park Yard. Right before dinner, we almost always see many elks passing through the creek bed right behind The Strawberry Inn cottages and this visit was no exception. I am never not in awe of how incredible these magnificent beasts are!

We walked to pick up dinner after watching the elk play. There are two great dinner spots right next door to the Strawberry Inn- we've had them both and recommend them always. We ate and had another cozy night in playing games and watching sports all snuggled up in our cottage. 

We had to get back to Phoenix early the next morning, so we stopped by Windmill Coffee for our drive back and picked up a new book form the cutest little free library ever - both located on the main Strawberry Inn property!

No matter what the season - there's also so many fun things to do at The Strawberry Inn! See some of our past adventures here, here and here. What is your favorite time of year to visit Strawberry?

Celebrating National Nutritional Month

 This Post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx. 

Nutrition and healthy living are really important to me, but if I'm being honest, sometimes it is the first thing to slide when things get really busy in my life. That's why I was thankful that this National Nutrition Month BabbleBoxx came over my Spring Break - when I had more free time was able to recommit to a stronger focus on nutrition. 

The first thing I pulled out of my BabbleBoxx were The Secret Nature of Fruit-Powered Vitamin Chews. I was instantly drawn to their bright fruity packaging and love how they harness the power of real fruits and plants. The two varieties I tried are their Energy blend and Beauty blend. They tasted really good, and I love that they also provide natural antioxidants too!

I'm a HUGE fan of CORE Foods bars so I was stoked to try a few new to me varieties of these bars. CORE bars are not only insanely delicious, but they also support my gut health too - which I love! Their CORE Bars powered by adaptogens are formulated for stress relief - how great is that? Even though we are on Spring Break this week - I was still experiencing some stress- anyone else guilty of packing their days off with even more commitments than workdays? It was delicious and I can't wait to enjoy all three flavors. 

I also really enjoyed the CORE Plant-Based Keto + Probotics Bar- in a super yummy birthday cake flavor. It tasted vanilla cake and even had crunchy rainbow sprinkles inside - so fun! But these bars are so functional too- 0g added sugar and vegan. You can purchase them in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store. 

Another thing I was really excited to pull out of my BabbleBoxx were these Soulless Ginger Ales. I LOVE a good non-alcoholic alternative drink to wind-down at the end of a day and these Soulless Ginger Ales fit the bill perfectly. I tried the lime and original varieties, and both were bursting with bold flavor and had a nice spicey finish. I think I preferred the lime variety a bit more, but I am a sucker for anything lime flavored! They are made with cold-pressed juices which really made them taste super fresh and refreshing!

Last but not least, I loved this Cauliflower Rice from Nature's Intent! I love using cauliflower rice to add great volume to my meals and this new to me brand was super fresh and had a great fluffy texture. 

Sometimes I think a renewed focus on healthy habits is as easy as taking a break from routine or trying some new nutritious products. I was lucky enough to have both time off and some new healthy goodies to try this week - now here's to hoping I can keep up the healthy habits when life gets back to routine during the weeks ahead!