Brian & I just got back from a week long vacation to Scottsdale, Arizona. It was the first full week vacation we have taken in a long, long time and we were so excited for it! We had an incredible time and can not wait to go back (it was the first time going to Scottsdale for both of us).
We went with out friends, JP & Sara, who live in Portland and another friend, Nick, came and hung out with us for a few days.
Here is the review of the trip in numbers:
2 hikes up Camelback Mountain
1 trip to Last Chance (8 tank tops for $9!! And they are from Nordstrom...hard to beat that!)
1 helicopter mountain rescue (not us, but we watched it!)
3 afternoons by the pool
1 NBA basketball game
5 great friends
1 Botanical Garden
2 Mariner's spring training games
8 WARM days
1 Frank Lloyd Wright Tour
1 day trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona
It was definitely the break that we needed and we could not have asked for a better week!!
Our second night in town, we went to a Suns vs. Blazer's NBA basketball game. The Blazer's are from Portland (as are JP & Sara), so of course they were cheering for them. Unfortunately they lost (it was a close game!), but we still have fun!
On Monday, we all went to our first baseball spring training game. We went and say the Mariner's play. It is the BEST way to watch baseball. We sat in "lawn" seats (for $6!) and watched the game, in the 75 degree sun, and relaxed on the grass.
On Tuesday, we went to another Mariner's game and this time we sat in the stadium seats. It was a different view of the game and also very fun.
Go Mariner's!
While we were at the game on Tuesday, Ichiro made an incredible catch...you can watch it on the video below:
On Tuesday morning, we hiked Camelback Mountain, which was about a mile from our condo. It is a 3 mile round trip hike and from the top you have a 360 degree view of Phoenix.
Here is the before picture:
Here is a view from half way up the trail...you can see our condo in the distance.
And the after picture...we made it!
On Wednesday, we went and checked out Frank Llyod Wright's winter home in North Scottsdale.
He was a very interesting man...you can learn more about him and his homes here.
On Thursday we set out on a day trip to see the Grand Canyon and Sedona...
Isn't it incredible?
There was still snow on the ground! We did not quite dress appropriately...we were used to the warm Phoenix weather!
Beautiful Sedona...
On Friday, after JP & Sara headed home, Brian & I decided to hike Camelback Mountain again. On Tuesday when we hiked it, it was cloudy and rainy, so we figure this would be a completely different experience. It was a gorgeous day and the views were incredible.
Here we are at the top of the mountain:
We found a friend on our way down...
Also, on our way down we witnessed a helicopter rescue off of the mountain...a girl had hurt her ankle, and due to the rough terrain, could not make it down (even with assistance!). Here is a video of it...pretty cool to watch in person, but not cool that the girl got hurt (sorry the video is sideways, we didn't know we couldn't rotate videos and this is just the beginning of the rescue...we have second video showing her being taken up in the helicopter, but it's too big to upload!):
Here is a view of the sunset from our deck at the condo...
On the last day we were in Phoenix, we had some time to kill before we went to the airport, so we stopped by the botanical garden that was nearby the airport. Here are some photos from a desert botanical garden:
We had so much fun in Arizona and are excited to go back! Hopefully next March we can go back again!
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