Last month we flew to Phoenix to see some of Jim's cousins. Relatives from both sides of his family have winter places in the area, and we had never been to visit. One set of cousins put us up for the week, which was incredibly generous of them. They even had a car that we could borrow!
We spent time with them doing some hiking and eating at some really good restaurants. We got a few games of pickleball in as well, which is always a bonus for us. The community they live in has some very nice courts in addition to golf, swimming pools and various amenity buildings for different activities. I also try to compile a list of unusual/cool sites when we travel, so we picked a few of those off my list as well.
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| Phoenix Sites |
The Desert Botanical Garden was definitely on our must-see list. We were lucky with the timing as there was a special show going on. Light Bloom was an exhibit involving geometric light installations. We arrived at the garden late enough in the afternoon to be able to see the plant material, and then stayed through the early evening to catch the lights. It was pretty stunning.
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| Desert Botanical Garden |
We took a couple days by ourselves and drove up to Sedona. Neither one of us had been there before. We didn't think to reserve a room ahead of time, and did not take into account that spring break would be such a big deal there. We got the last studio at the Bell Rock Inn, which is a Hilton property. It was very nice and had a small kitchen area and nice patio. I think they just had one two-bedroom suite available besides our room. We very much enjoyed our time in Sedona, and the weather about 15 degrees cooler than Phoenix. It is certainly a beautiful area.
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Sedona
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We got back to Phoenix in time to have dinner with another of Jim's cousins, a sister to the cousin we were staying with, at a great Italian restaurant. They were not super busy, so they did not mind us chatting for a couple of hours.
Our time in Arizona was busy and fun, and we enjoyed catching up with family. Now that semi-annual family reunions are no longer taking place, we don't get a chance to see extended family very often. Hopefully we can keep in touch more often in the future.
