Phillip made an offhand comment one day several months ago that was something like “You know, we should just head to Sedona for breakfast sometime.”

He didn’t have to ask me twice.

I said “Let’s go this weekend!”

We both love Sedona and the surrounding Verde Valley, and we head up there regularly. We hatched a plan to go to our favorite omelet place, The Coffee Pot, the Saturday before we’d start our gluten-free experiment.

Since they serve breakfast until they close at 2pm, we decided to stop on the way to see Arcosanti and have a light first breakfast in the cafe (closer to Phoenix = food sooner) and then drive up to The Coffee Pot to split an omelet and pancakes for a breakfasty lunch.

The Coffee Pot is kind of an old-school diner-style joint named for the nearby Coffee Pot Rock, as well as (I assume) the carafe of coffee they plunk down on your table, so you can refill your mug at will. It’s frequented by both locals and tourists. They serve 101 kinds of omelets. The ones we’ve tried have been delicious. Next time, I’ll skip the pancakes and stick with those.

After second breakfast, we rolled out of the restaurant and drove towards Oak Creek Canyon. We contemplated hiking. But the rain had turned from a sprinkle to a downpour and the creek was already absolutely raging.

I worry about flash floods. (Am I being overly cautious? Or smart? Hard to say.) So we opted to take in the Oak Creek views from the car, and then head back to town to do our walking under storefront awnings.

By the time we got as far as Canyon Breeze, I was ready for a pit stop. When you’re wandering around Uptown Sedona and you need a bathroom and/or you can’t agree on getting coffee vs. ice cream vs. an actual meal vs. continuing shopping and/or you’re with a big group, Canyon Breeze is a good bet.

It’s less like a single restaurant and more like a nicer version of a food court. Inside is a Starbucks, an ice cream counter, a souvenir shop, a bar and grill, and, yep, it has its own restrooms. There are lots of tables inside and outside with a fantastic view. Of course, the patio was drenched that day, but I managed to score a table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

I sipped hot tea, watched dark gray clouds roll across the tops of craggy red mountains, and did a little crafting at the same time – tearing the cardboard sleeve from around my cup into roughly the shape of the mountains in front of me to add to an art journal.

After that, we started working our way home to unwind with some Downton Abbey.

Of course, this isn’t a list of must-do things in Sedona for someone going the first time or even on a (much more common) sunny day. But it worked for us.

To me, the essential thing to do in Sedona is take in the beauty of the red rocks. You can do that on a hike, on a jeep tour, or even through a restaurant window.

Side note: Awhile ago, I posted a close-up photo of my torn cardboard mountain range, so you could guess what it was. The day I posted it, the Slide Fire broke out, which seemed crazy after the same area had been soaked with rain earlier in the year. In any case, I didn’t think it was an appropriate week for a lighthearted post about fun in Sedona. As far as I know, there were no casualties from the fire. By the time it was out, I had a whole bunch of other things to tell you about, so it’s taken me this long to circle back around. Sorry to keep you hanging!