Phoenix, Arizona
Welcome to the Desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona! What a great vacation in the Wild Wild West. Every day 90 degrees, but with NO humidity! We stayed just outside of downtown in Tapatio Cliffs. Phoenix and Tempe are "ok", but Scottsdale is the new and upcoming area. Ladies, the Scottsdale Fashion Square has over 225 stores! Gentlemen, the golf courses are unbelievable! Plus, they're currently building houses into the mountainside - amazing to view in the evening.
We took a sunrise hot air balloon ride! (I highly recommend you do this once). Here's a shot from 5000 feet. Notice the balloons in the distance. We're heading to the Sedona desert. Our balloon pilot remarked, "we make it hot and we get it up". hehe My tip is to be the last one into the balloon basket. If you get stuck under the burners, you will have a fried head! (ladies lay off the hair spray in the morning!). Once you land, they set up a breakfast table and we have a champange toast. Pretty neat.
We played some golf. Here's Lookout Mountain's signature hole - #10. Ridiculous course, built into the natural desert landscape. Basically your drive has to carry 150 yards just to reach the fairway. Go too far left or short (100 yard drop from the tees) and you'll be fighting the cacti!
It can't be a successful vacation without a trip to the ballpark! We caught a San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game at Bank One Ballpark. We arrived early and I tried catching homeruns during batting practice. Jack Peavy, a star pitcher for the Pads, was shagging fly balls and eventually stopped to chat with some fans (including me). He was sooo nice and down to earth - definately a favorite player of mine. I even got his autograph! I also was lucky enough to see Brandon Lyon and Xavier Nady (two players on my 1st place fantasy team) play, so that rocked!
One of the 7 natural world wonders - The Grand Canyon! We drove 2 hours north through Flagstaff (cruising on I-17, Route 66 "The Motherroad") to catch the Grand Canyon Railway train taking us onsite. On the ride, a Navajo Indian sang songs, a hillbilly played the banjo and on the way back they had a fake "train robbery" where Cowboys on horses rode up to our train, shot their guns and "jumped aboard to rob us" har har har!
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There's a new sheriff in town! |
Cacti! Each "arm" takes 50 years to grow out of the main stalk. Interesting fact: Cacti roots only grow a few inches into the ground, but spread out up to 50 feet in diameter, to soak up all the water during the few rainstorms. |
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"Here's looking at you kid" |
Sunrise liftoff |
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Before the D-backs game, Apache Helicopters did a fly-by over the stadium. Soo cool! I like the Phoenix/San Diego area with all their military bases. People here really honor our armed forces and their many sacrifies protecting freedom worldwide. |
Didn't believe me that I met Jake Peavy? Ha, here's proof. Such a good, down to earth guy. |
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Another Grand Canyon picture. Our tour guide was hilarious! |
Grand Canyon again! |
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Flying into Phoenix airport! The place to be downtown is Copper Square. All the streets are named after President's, so it's not hard to get around. I'll be back. |
