Morning
It was the last day of our trip and I had hoped to be nice and
refreshed after a somewhat early night the previous evening. At 5:15AM my
Fitbit alarm started going off. WHAT? Why? I guess when I set the alarm from
the previous day for our early Grand Canyon morning, I set it to daily alarm
instead of a one time only. Nonetheless, I was awake, so I went to the balcony
to read my Bible and just enjoy the silence. Around 6:15AM or so, they started
calling out names for tee times and then my crew was up. TIP- That is a
downfall if you do stay in this hotel. Since it is attached to a golf course,
they call out names for tee times constantly and if you are facing the golf
course, this could wake you up if you are a light sleeper.
This view was spectacular!
We all got up and got ready and then made our way to the
breakfast in Embassy Suites. We had missed it the day before due to our early
exit for the Grand Canyon, so we were all excited to get another omelet.
Unfortunately, the hot custom line was closed on this day, so we did not get
our omelet. They did still offer hot food on the buffet line which featured
eggs, French toast sticks and sausage links. TIP- Natalie and Chris both said
the eggs were very overcooked all the days on the hot buffet. When the custom
line was open, you can have eggs made to order but the pre-made eggs were not
as tasty as we would have hoped.
After breakfast we decided to walk along the golf course. We
walked about 7 holes before turning back to start getting ready for check out.
I had investigated the golf course prior to our arrival as an option for us to play a round, but
they required EVERYONE to have their own clubs and the rental fee was $75 per
person for clubs. This was not including the tee fees or golf cart rental. An
18-hole round of golf would have cost us about $450+ so we passed. However,
this was a gorgeous course if you are in the area.
The kids LOVED running up this hill! OH to be 8 again!
Luke loved being able to just run around!
We checked out of the hotel around 9:30AM. I was hoping to be able to speak to the Manager about the issues from the previous night, but she was nowhere to be found. In the end, the Embassy Suites did not do anything other than apologize via the phone for the inconvenience of the pool times changing. As I mentioned in the previous blog post, I was not expecting or even desiring a free hand out, but rather a respectful explanation. This is no way shape or form dilutes from our experience at Embassy Suites and I would still highly recommend it.
This hotel was phenomenal and I highly recommend!
We made our way to Old Town Scottsdale to meet my college
roommate Katy Foster. We were roommates at OU for our freshman year of college
and had not seen each other since mid- Junior Year of college. We met up at
Cartel Coffee Shop in Scottsdale and sipped coffee while we caught up on life
and memories. TIP- This was a great LOCAL coffee shop in Old Town Scottsdale.
The coffee was strong, and the service was superb! It was so good to see Katy
and truly wish we lived closer! She was a FANTASTIC roomie and I will never
forget her! Thanks, Katy, for the morning fellowship! I Miss you!
Katy, Thank you SO MUCH for this time of fellowship!
BOOMER!
This commute would never get old to me!
Afternoon
We left Old Town Scottsdale and made our way back to downtown
to eat at Pizzeria Bianco. This came highly recommended by my sister in law, D’Ann,
as well as a few other friends who frequent Phoenix often. Then when talking to
Katy, she too, recommend it. This chef has been awarded the James Beard Award for
Best Chef: Southwest in 2003. We even got to meet him while we dined outside
this restaurant. The pizza was fabulous and cooked to perfection in the brick oven
inside. We ordered the classic Margherita and the Wise Guy Pizzas. I was a
little nervous as Luke can sometimes be really picky, but this boy destroyed
the Margherita pizza. In fact, he said this was the best pizza he had ever had!
Well Lukey, I tend to agree. We dined at the red brick downtown location but
there is also a location in Heritage Square and near Town and Country. This place
is NOT TO BE MISSED! The prices and service were SPOT on and the pizza was
PHENOMENAL! Thank you, Chef Bianco, for a FABULOUS experience!
This is a MUST DO when in Phoenix!
This is the kitchen and brick oven... BEST PIZZA EVER!
The Classic Margherita!
The Wise Guy
(Sausage, onion and mozzarella... We did change the sauce from white to red)
Chris Bianco... he was so cool and laid back!
WE LOVED THIS PLACE!
After lunch we drove down to South Mountain to drive up to
Dobbins Lookout. This was a look out perched on the top of South Mountain overlooking
downtown Phoenix. However; this was not a drive for the faint of heart. Chris
was driving our rental minivan, while Luke and I were as nervous and anxious as
we could be. Those twists and turns were NO JOKE! We made it about ¾ of the way
up the mountain before even Chris felt a little anxious as well. We stopped at one of
the lookouts and got a phenomenal view of Phoenix and the desert surrounding
it. TIP- This is a FREE activity and well worth the pictures but be sure you
are comfortable driving up the winding road!
We were a "wee bit" anxious driving to the top!
Just a bit of the WINDING road to get to the top!
Downtown Phoenix from about 3/4 up Dobbins Lookout!
Panoramic View
Another view of Phoenix!
Once again... Thank you Chris for making all of this happen!
My mini-me and I enjoying the view!
You can see Chase Field!
Family Selfie #100+ of the trip! HAHA
While at the top of the mountain, I ran into a swarm of
flies and gnats. They were attracted to my shirt, it seemed. We made our way
back down the mountain and stopped at the foot of South Mountain to do some
hiking. These trails were very well defined and offered easy to moderate
hiking. The boys ventured off the beaten path a few times to see some iguanas,
while Natalie and I stayed on the beaten path. TIP- There were MANY trail options,
but we chose the easy “Judith Trailways” at the entrance of the South Mountain
area. This was a 1.8-mile LOOP trail that was PERFECT for our family!
The boys enjoying the trail.
We loved the scenery of this area and this trail!
The guys found an iguana!
One of the few cacti in bloom while we were in the area!
We then ventured out to Tempe to see one of the MLB Spring
Training Sites. This one happened to be the Los Angeles Angels Tempe Diablo stadium,
and it was AWESOME. It was much bigger and nicer than I would have imagined. We
even got to a see some new up and coming MLB players practicing! We drove all
around the site and saw the Hilton Hotel where these players stay while training
here! This was so cool and another Bucket List check off! One of these days, we
will come out here and see actual spring training! If you are a baseball fan,
do this when in Phoenix! You will not be disappointed and there are MANY team
stadium options!
This was such a nice Spring Training Stadium!
It was now close to 3PM and we still had time before we
needed to go to the airport so we asked the kids what they wanted to do and
Luke said go back to Papago Park and Hole in the Mountain... so off we went. Chris
stayed in the car and enjoyed some peace and quiet while the kids and I made
our way back to the Hole in the Mountain. It was not crowded at all and we
enjoyed the space all to ourselves for about 20 minutes. TIP- As mentioned
before, this is an EXCELLENT and FREE attraction right in the heart of Phoenix
and is a very easy hike. Even for those who are a bit older or hesitant to do “hiking”.
The slopes are not steep, the trails are well defined and even the tiny amount
of stepping over rocks to get to the top are very much worth it! Just do it… You
will thank me later! We then spent our last hour in Phoenix just hiking along
the trails of Papago Park near the Botanical Gardens. This was a great way to
get out all our energy before our flight home.
Chris took this one from the ground! This was so cool... We got it all to ourselves!
This kids loved being able to move around freely and truly enjoy this area!
Picture perfect end to our trip!
Selfie #101 (haha)
We got in some miles before we got on our flight!
We then made our way to the Rental Car Center outside of the
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The rental car return was incredible easy and fast.
We hopped aboard the shuttle back to the airport and was in line for TSA security
well before our 2-hour window. The security was the absolute shortest we had
EVER seen, and we were through that within just 6 minutes! That is HIGHLY
IMPRESSIVE and will probably never happen again!
This was waiting for us as we arrived in the terminal!
(It took us about 6-8 minutes to get through this security check point!)
Times are a' changing...
We made it... Next Stop-HOUSTON!
Evening
The Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is laid out a little different
than most airports we have traveled. There are MANY terminals/ concourses (6-8 I believe)
and each offers only 8 gates. These terminals each have 3-4 restaurants and a convenience
store but if you want other food options you must travel to a different
terminal via the sky course or walking. With COVID being an issue and travel JUST
NOW (after 12 months) picking back up, the food options were scarce at best. Some that were available were not open due to "lack of foot traffic". Then when a place WAS open, it was CRAZY OVERPRICED. In fact, I have never seen
such outrageous prices for airport food. We traveled all over A, B, C, D and
even E terminals before settling on a “grab and go” option in our B terminal.
This was sandwiches, burgers and pizza… all costing $18-25 EACH! The kids each
got pizza and Chris and I got burgers. It was a $82 tab in the end! And
laughingly (well not at the time… TRUST ME) the kids didn’t even eat HALF of a
pizza each! We ended up taking theirs with us, only to throw away before we boarded
the plane! TIP- Even though Phoenix Airport is known for having “The best airport
food”, next time we will grab McDonald’s before we get to the airport! This was
ridiculous!
The menu and prices for one of the ONLY places open in Terminal C.
This place also had a 1hour+ wait time! NO THANK YOU!
The kids were both really dehydrated and did not feel well
leading up to the actual flight. I was a little worried they were going to get sick
and we might not be able to board the flight but after some much needed water
and Gatorade, and a brief nap in the terminal, they were both fine. REMINDER- The Arizona desert temperatures are MUCH hotter than other places. Be sure to STAY hydrated and drink water, even when you are not thirsty! Lesson learned... the hard way!
Our flight was supposed to leave at 7:50PM but the plane did
not arrive until 7:45PM. Southwest did a great job of cleaning the plane and
turning it around quickly and we were taking off by 8:15PM. We were boarding group
A this time and got GREAT middle of the plane seats. The flight was “full” but
somehow, both Natalie and I and Chris and Luke got an empty seat in our rows! AND the screaming baby was far away from us! We enjoyed this flight MUCH better than the outbound flight on Sunday! The kids
did remarkably well and STAYED AWAKE the entire duration of the flight, thanks
to in-flight movies and games.
Thank goodness for iPads... Am I wrong?
We touched down in Houston at 12:15AM, just 5 mnutes late
of our original arrival time. Surprisingly, it took longer than expected to get
our luggage and take the shuttle to our parking spot. TIP- The Parking Spot 2 IS MUCH CLOSER to the terminal (and offered faster shuttle service it seemed) than
the “original Parking Spot” on Airport Blvd. We will be booking there on our
flight in June!
It was 1:10AM before we even made it to our car, and then we
had an hour drive to our home in The Woodlands. It was a long and very
exhausting evening, but it was worth it! We got home shortly after 2AM and were
all four wiped out and asleep by 2:15AM. This trip was AMAZING, and we were
able to do and see SO MUCH! Thank you, Jesus, for protecting us, keeping us
safe and healthy and providing for us in order to be able to take this trip!
God is so good!
Thank you all so much for following along! I hope we have shared some tips and tricks with you about Phoenix and Arizona travels! Up next, the kids are off to Florida with Gigi and Poppy and Chris and I are headed to the California Bay area in June! It's not cruising but I refuse to NOT TRAVEL!
Thanks again for supporting us! We love y'all!
God is Good… ALL THE TIME!
Did you miss a day? Catch up here:
Saddle Up Your Horses, We've Got a Trail to Blaze- Day 3
Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies- Day 4
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