Arizona Friends and Family
Wow, that was quite a vacation. Completely packed, totally fun, and also completely draining, ha.
So, if you didn't know, Kari and I visited Arizona for 9 days. The first 5 days were spent with my grandparents and the last 4 were spent with friends. I'm gonna try to summarize my trip as best as possible - otherwise this blog could be incredibly long... and I've already uploaded too many photos... so, here we go!
Sunday the 8th. Grandma and Grandpa picked us up in Phoenix and drove us up to Cameron where we had american indian food and shared a hotel room.
Monday, we visited the Grand Canyon then drove down to my grandparents' house in Green Valley. It was Kari's first time seeing the grand canyon and my second. That thing is still stupid-big. Photos do not do it any justice - however, that didn't stop me from taking a billion. You should go see it someday.
Tuesday, we woke up and went to the Desert Museum - with a pit stop at Tiny's Saloon. The Desert Museum is a nice place - made up of desert trails with animals and various plants along the way. Afterwards, we visited the San Xavier mission, then stopped by my great uncle Cliff's place for snacks. It was a really nice day.
Wednesday, grandma and grandpa took us to Kartchner Caverns, which is a live cave and quite amazing. And to keep it alive, we had to go through 2 sealed rooms and get misted while entering the caves. I only wish they would've let me bring my camera in; sad. After touring the caves we relaxed on grandma's back porch, then went to a neighborhood social and played a card game, which I can never remember how to play.
Thursday, we hiked, golfed, took grandma and grandpa to PF Chang's, and saw a show at the Gaslight Theater. Everything was nice. Grandma and grandpa had never been to a PF Chang's - I'm sure they'll be back soon. The show at the Gaslight Theater was also a good time - typical play with some great improv and good jokes.
Friday was our last day with grandma and grandpa. They took us to the lapidary where grandpa makes jewelry then we headed up to Phoenix - shopping and eating along the way. Once in phoenix, we of course were crazy excited to see our friends - so we started partying immediately. Then later, we met a bunch of Iowa friends and Mike Loy at Dirty Pretty. It was a great night.
Saturday, we went to a spring training game, got some Sushi, and then hung out at Allie and Shannon's for the night. None of us were really feeling it that night, so we stayed in.
Sunday, swimming at the Clarendon Hotel, then bellinis at Oregano's. The Clarendon was an amazing (and apparently gay) hotel with a public pool and rooftop bar. We had a great time spending the day there.
Monday, our last full day in Arizona we met friends for lunch, went shopping, then had a couple drinks and some food at Lost Leaf and Fate. My hometown friend Matt Hughes also stopped out for a drink. It was a good, chill night.
Finally, on Tuesday we woke up at 4:45am and started our journey home.
It was a great, great trip. We literally traveled the state - from the northwest corner to the southeast. Thanks a ton to our friends and family that took care of us. Amazing hosts. We had a blast.
And here's a couple hundred photos to prove it.
So, if you didn't know, Kari and I visited Arizona for 9 days. The first 5 days were spent with my grandparents and the last 4 were spent with friends. I'm gonna try to summarize my trip as best as possible - otherwise this blog could be incredibly long... and I've already uploaded too many photos... so, here we go!
Sunday the 8th. Grandma and Grandpa picked us up in Phoenix and drove us up to Cameron where we had american indian food and shared a hotel room.
Monday, we visited the Grand Canyon then drove down to my grandparents' house in Green Valley. It was Kari's first time seeing the grand canyon and my second. That thing is still stupid-big. Photos do not do it any justice - however, that didn't stop me from taking a billion. You should go see it someday.
Tuesday, we woke up and went to the Desert Museum - with a pit stop at Tiny's Saloon. The Desert Museum is a nice place - made up of desert trails with animals and various plants along the way. Afterwards, we visited the San Xavier mission, then stopped by my great uncle Cliff's place for snacks. It was a really nice day.
Wednesday, grandma and grandpa took us to Kartchner Caverns, which is a live cave and quite amazing. And to keep it alive, we had to go through 2 sealed rooms and get misted while entering the caves. I only wish they would've let me bring my camera in; sad. After touring the caves we relaxed on grandma's back porch, then went to a neighborhood social and played a card game, which I can never remember how to play.
Thursday, we hiked, golfed, took grandma and grandpa to PF Chang's, and saw a show at the Gaslight Theater. Everything was nice. Grandma and grandpa had never been to a PF Chang's - I'm sure they'll be back soon. The show at the Gaslight Theater was also a good time - typical play with some great improv and good jokes.
Friday was our last day with grandma and grandpa. They took us to the lapidary where grandpa makes jewelry then we headed up to Phoenix - shopping and eating along the way. Once in phoenix, we of course were crazy excited to see our friends - so we started partying immediately. Then later, we met a bunch of Iowa friends and Mike Loy at Dirty Pretty. It was a great night.
Saturday, we went to a spring training game, got some Sushi, and then hung out at Allie and Shannon's for the night. None of us were really feeling it that night, so we stayed in.
Sunday, swimming at the Clarendon Hotel, then bellinis at Oregano's. The Clarendon was an amazing (and apparently gay) hotel with a public pool and rooftop bar. We had a great time spending the day there.
Monday, our last full day in Arizona we met friends for lunch, went shopping, then had a couple drinks and some food at Lost Leaf and Fate. My hometown friend Matt Hughes also stopped out for a drink. It was a good, chill night.
Finally, on Tuesday we woke up at 4:45am and started our journey home.
It was a great, great trip. We literally traveled the state - from the northwest corner to the southeast. Thanks a ton to our friends and family that took care of us. Amazing hosts. We had a blast.
And here's a couple hundred photos to prove it.