I’ve always thought travel is actually a form of time-traveling because weeks can disappear so, so quickly. Sitting here at home now it’s hard to believe I was already away and back for my last trip before the little guy arrives.

I headed to San Francisco Monday-Thursday of last week for a planning session with my team at work. I have to admit, I was completely freaked out about being so far away from J this late in the pregnancy game. My food poisoning adventures on my previous trip really highlighted how stressful and scary it would be if anything went wrong and I were by myself. In the end, I told myself lightning wouldn’t strike twice (logic!) and was determined to have a great trip.

I think the law of attraction was on my side because it totally worked and all legs of my flights (Chicago to San Fran to Phoenix, home!) were easily my best travel experience to date. A kind woman with TSA brought me to a new line that they were opening so there was no long standing wait in O’Hare’s dreaded security lines, I got PreCheck on all legs of my flight, empty seats next to me twice, bag off the plane first, etc. Oh, and Mike Tyson was on one of my flights! So thanks, Universe, for making it a great last run for my 8-month pregnant self.

San Francisco treated me to beautiful weather and while I didn’t get to walk to the Bay, my favorite thing to do in SF, I was still happy to spend some time in my second favorite city in the US. I even made it to two dinners with my team without falling asleep at the table, a serious concern after long days of meetings!

I had the day off on Friday, which was much needed when I arrived in Phoenix. J had wedding duties to attend to, but I was more than happy to lay by the pool under an umbrella and read. We had a great time with the couple’s families and friends on Thursday and Friday nights at a welcome and rehearsal dinner, and the actual wedding on Saturday arrived quickly. (A little too quickly – I could have spent an extra day at the pool!)

The wedding was beautiful – I cried my little eyes out. The service was Catholic, and even though I’m Methodist, I really enjoyed being back in a church. It reminded me that I’d love to find a church that I can attend here at home – something I’ve intended to do for years but never quite follow through on.

We made the drive out to Sedona right after the wedding and I slept pretty much the entire car ride. I think being on the go the whole week really (plus 100 degree temps in AZ!) caught up to me, so it was nice to catch a cat nap and awake to some of the most insanely gorgeous scenery I’ve ever seen.

We checked in to our little hotel and wandered around Tlaquepaque, a small arts and crafts village that I’d read about before and was so, so happy to see was adjacent to our resort. I joked that taking a short walk to go shopping and eat ice cream was the extent of hiking I’d be doing… and to be honest, that statement could be the truth pregnant or not! Dinner that night was at the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever seen – Mariposa, a Latin-inspired restaurant where we had the patio to ourselves. One of the bride’s friends was a food critic and secured us what should have been an impossible reservation for our group of 20 to enjoy the food and scenery in celebration of the new Mr. and Mrs.

Everything about dinner was amazing, but by far my personal favorites were the virgin prickly pear cocktails and an ice cream cake with mango sorbet and a coconut crust. Back at the resort later, I looked up to see a sky full of the brightest stars and said a little prayer of thanks for all of the blessings in my life and the adventures to come.

The next day we were up early and I was snoozing away another drive to the airport. (Poor Jason!) After a long day of travel, waking up to an 80 degree, cloudless Chicago sky the next morning and some serious kitty snuggles reminded me that there is really, truly no place like home.

I don’t know what my next trip will be (well, my fingers are crossed that it’s a Caribbean getaway for J and I over a long weekend in the winter!) but until then, I’m happy to be in the best city in the world for the summer.

Cheers, friends!