Goodbye Sun, Hello Reality

Today is our last day...laundry is finishing up, we're heading to lunch at the club, and our flight leaves at 5:45.

We have had a fantastic trip! But ready to come home to a schedule, our bed, and less food. We are likely more than a few pounds heavier, something neither of us need!

Back to work tomorrow, Friday night going to see Anthony Bourdain (thank you Cory for my birthday present!)...then catching up at home.

Thanks for reading if you did - I know it was boring as shit this vacation.

Peace everyone!

Musical Instrument Museum Day!!

Due to a great friend at work, I was able to get pre-opening ticket to the Musical Instrument Museum, the new museum in Phoenix that was the idea of Bob Ulrich, Target's former CEO. Let me just say - AMAZING! But more later on that...

Chris and I decided to have lunch, go to the museum, and go to dinner and make a day of it. Finally - above is a picture of Chris and me tonight and yesterday...proof we are actually here.

We started at Postino, a great little restaurant with a cool lunchy kind of menu of paninis and bruschetta - very tasty combos, so I took a menu. Look out Book Club! Next time I host, you'll be having bruscetta!! They also had DogfishHead 60 Minute on tap, and Chris got a 1/2 pitcher for $7.50. Yes, $7.50! I had wine, and frankly, should have had beer. :(

We then went to the museum. Like I said above...amazing! There are literally thousands of musical instruments from all over the globe there. Some new, some old, but referenced from just about every country in the world, a few countries I didn't even know! The building is beautiful, and they have this cool headphone system where you walk up to each exhibit and it picks up the music playing so the sound is great, and if you don't like it, you just walk away! I think it is fantastic that someone would focus on this - there is such shrinking in the arts, and kids don't get many creative outlets anymore, so if you can foster a love for music early on, I think we would all benefit!

We then had dinner at Humble Pie - pizza joint. Pretty good. Had a wedge salad that was great, and good pizza. Another glass of wine...didn't pay off. Bummer.

Our one scary piece of news today was that our good friends house was broken into yesterday while they were at work. Their electronics and other important stuff was stolen. I'm just thankful they weren't at home. Makes you feel like the world sucks ass. I'm so glad they are OK, because it could have been worse, although what a pain in the ass for them if nothing else. People definitely suck.

Tomorrow is our last day...going to just hang out, do laundry and get ready to come home to reality!

Say AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..........

Today was cabana and spa day at the Camelback! So awesome.

I could have stopped the post there, but let me regale you with the awesomeness of our day.

First - drove down to Phoenix and had a quick breakfast at Paradise Bakery. Chocolate croissant. Need I say more? Chris had the usual bagel breakfast sandwich (BO-ring) but I had the most nummy, wonderful, sinful, chocolate croissant with a giant milk. Tasty treat #1 of the day.

Then we got to the Camelback. Fabulous. Went to our cabana, and it was just so great. Charlie was our waitress and she was bubbly to the point of annoying, but she acted as if her most important job of the day was to keep us hydrated, fed, and pliant with alcohol. So we immediately liked her.

It's really weird, but at the Camelback, I only ever saw two other people in the pool. Chris and I got in a few times to cool off, but people stared at us. Maybe there were in awe of our sexy physiques in our bathing suits. Stop laughing, it could happen...on Mars. Anyway, it wasn't really a "get in the pool" kind of place.

We had lunch: Bruschetta, shrimp with chili lime sauce, and a turkey club sandwich. Awesome, awesome, and awesome. And we had a few New Belgium Mothership Wits too. (See, you were wondering when the beer reference would come in.) Fabulous meal #2!!

We then napped, read, and Chris listened to the iPod until 4:00 and my spa treatment time.

OK, if you are here, you HAVE to have the Desert Honey Nectar Wrap. So awesome. They rubbed oatmeal, honey, nectar stuff all over me, then wrapped me up like a baked potato while she massaged my head with some conditioner. Then I showered, and she rubbed shea butter that smelled like peaches and cinnamon all over me, wrapped me up again and gave me a facial. Seriously? All I can say is WOW.

Oh my God! I almost forgot the best part!! THE SHOWER!! I took a shower before my wrap, and it was like someone turned on 5 garden hoses and the water just poured on my head. Holy shit! I alternted between feeling super guilty about wasting water (and let me tell you, it was a huge waste of water), and not caring at all!! AMAZING!!

Then I came back to the cabana and Chris's butt was asleep from the cabana chairs and we called it a day.

Now we are back at my mom's and I just downed a Stone Ruination IPA. Amazing. Going to have an Odell IPA next, then finish book #3 that I'm reading here.

Two more days until reality. It's going to blow.

One glass away from a 60 Minute IPA...

Another great relaxing day today. I went shopping with my mom, and Chris and Dave golfed. Found three pair of capris at Coldwater Creek and a cute cake plate at Crate & Barrel. Chris golfed, had a better round than his first one, which is good.

Tonight we had dinner at The Painted Horse, and when we walked in we looked at the taps and saw...DOGFISHHEAD 60 MINUTE IPA!!! Come on, could it get any better? I think the last time I had a 60 Minute on tap was in Seattle. We were both so pumped. I could have cried. And then...disaster.

"We just finished the keg...I'm so sorry." Really? What are the odds?? So sad. At least I think we bought one earlier this week and it is in the fridge.

Best part of the night? Dave ordered a B&B and no one could open the bottle at the bar. After 10 minutes she brought it over and asked if we could open it. Guess who did? Chris. Big man, strong like bull.

Tomorrow we are going to the Camelback Inn and renting a cabana for the day, then I'm getting a Desert Honey Nectar Body Wrap at the end of the day. Likely not much to blog about, but we'll be happy...sunburned, but happy...

Blog overdose.

Q: What is the definition of ridiculous?

A: Me on our Netbook writing the blog, my mom on her laptop reading the blog, and Dave on his Blackberry and now his laptop reading the blog.

You'd think we could just talk about it like normal people.

This year...a Rattlesnake! Psych.

So today was another great day. I went for a great walk, and Chris went on a bike ride. We came back and hung out in the back for a while, while Dave was trimming bushes. All of a sudden he said, "Huh. A baby rattlesnake. In the rosemary bush." Which I interpreted in my head as a small, 4 or 5 inch snake. I ran over, fearless as I am, and Dave tried to point it out to me as it slithered under the bush. I couldn't see it. Partially because it blended in so well, and partially because I'm useless when it comes to spotting things. Even rattlesnake tails.

So my mom called the fire department and they came by. See picture. Three fire department guys with a bucket, a snake grabber (think Discovery channel), and Dave's shovel and rake. That's when I learned that it was 18 inches long and an inch in diameter. Way to undersell, Dave. Clearly I wouldn't have run over if I'd have known that, for Christ sake.

Anyway, they poked around for a few minutes and determined that it was either not going to be culled out, or had gone into a hole under the bush. Then they said, "Call us back if you see it again."

That's it? Really? I've been here 6 times, and this was my first shot at seeing a rattlesnake? Jesus. Talk about anti-climactic. It was like last year when I barely saw the scorpion run toward Dave's chair and then he mashed it like a potato into the carpet. Well, we have 4 and a half days left, so maybe we'll get lucky and see it.

The rest of the day? Pool, nap, golf, nap, beers, and now going to dinner at the club. All things more eventful than the snake.

Tomorrow? Walk, shopping with Mom, golf with Dave, and dinner out. I'm going to try not to take a nap.

Word to the Wise: Altitude and Wine Don't Mix

EDITED: Note: this is a picture of the bathroom in the hotel we stayed at in Flagstaff. The shower was about 2 feet square, and Chris couldn't bend over to wash his feet without getting out.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. Chris and I drove up to Sedona and through Oak Creek Canyon on our way to Flagstaff for a fun night of wine bars and great food.

We had lunch at Flagstaff Brewing, and had a yummy burger, and Chris had the ESB and the Porter. Chris really liked the Porter, which is weird for him, so it must have been good. Since I was having wine that night, I had diet Coke.

There were three wine places we were going to go to. We had a meal at a place called Pasto of a cheese and meat plate, and pasta to DIE FOR, but after one glass of wine, we were convinced that someone slipped us both a roofie.

Honest to God, we went back to the hotel for our coats because we were planning on going to the next place for wine and dessert, but we both promptly passed out at 8:15! I guess altitiude + wine does weird things to me. If nothing else, we were well relaxed and rested.

We got up early this morning and had a great breakfast at MartAnne's in Flagstaff and then did a quick sight seeing trip to Sunset Volcano Crater National Monument. Very cool. We wanted to hike up to the rim, but my new Converse One Stars didn't seems sturdy enough to ensure that I would live through it.

We had lunch at Beaver Street Brewery, which doesn't have the greatest food. I'm recording that here so that if we go again, there is a record to help me remember not to eat there. The beer was OK, and I again had a diet Coke since I was driving.

Drove back to Mom & Dave's, and got here about 3:30. On the docket tonight will be the boozefest we didn't get in Flagstaff!! Friday night fun is about to begin!!

Ah...vacation...

What a great day! Got up early, went for a walk, read outside, ate lunch, took a nap, went shopping and spent $200 on beer...I might have died and gone to heaven.

We bought a ton of great beer - Odell, DogfishHead, Deschutes, AleSmith, Lost Abbey...all stuff we can't get at home. Amazingly, we've been to the first three breweries on our last few years of vacations.

After Chris made friends with the beer and wine guy at the liquor store, the guy ran back to the backroom and got us a bottle of Balast Point Sculpin IPA - supposedly very rare. Or we just looked like suckers who would pay nine bucks for a bomber of beer. I think that was after he saw the bottle of Lost Abbey "The Angel's Share" in our cart that was $29.99 for a big bottle (Cory - we're bringing that one home to celebrate once you finishe your boards!).

Tomorrow we are off to Sedona and Flagstaff overnight for sun, fun, wine, and beer!

Helloooooooooo Sunshine!!

Well, we're within 20 minutes of being at the airport for our spring vacation to Arizona, within one hour of my prescription drug fix, and an hour and 45 minutes from take off!

Nine days in the sun! I can't wait. Much needed.

Say a prayer that my flight is uneventful and boring, will ya?