In the spring of 2019 we were ready for another trip. We had not been anywhere other than a few weekend getaways in quite a while, so we really wanted to get away. Let me start this trip narrative by talking about the fact that we have a time share. I consider this bad. I was sucked into it many years ago and try to make the best of it. Many of you probably have one also. Difficult to schedule, maintenance fees, no way to get rid of it, etc. A lot of negatives, but also a few positives. We use it when we can but mostly it does not fall in line with our travel plans. Anyway, this trip was based on what we could find on our time share network since we really needed to use a week or risk losing it so we made the effort to schedule something around that. We try to make the most of it and sometimes it pays off, other times not so much. This trip paid off. When you find availability at a place you want to go at the right time, having a week for basically no cost is a huge benefit.
I started searching based on dates and what we might be interested in doing. We both have a love for golf. This does not mean we are good at it, we just love to play. Scottsdale, AZ is a big golf destination and we were lucky enough to be able to schedule a week in May at one of our time share network destinations. Lynn had been to AZ before (she has been to 46 out of the 50 states, so yeah...) but I had never been. I booked the condo for 5/18/2019 through 5/25/2019 and then we built the trip around that.
We wanted to get some golf in, obviously, and I had never seen the Grand Canyon so a drive there was also in the plan. Also, I am somewhat of an Architecture fan and my daughter, upon learning we were going to Scottsdale, bought us tickets to Taliesin West for my birthday. Taliesin West was the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright from 1937 until his death in 1959, and is an operating architecture school and museum today. Awesome! Other than that we would take it as we go. This was shaping up to be good trip!
The day arrived and we headed out to the airport for an 11:30am flight. After a Bloody Mary at the airport we boarded the plain. I don't know why we even bother with a Bloody Mary other than Lynn's famous recipe she makes at home. Live and learn. Anyway, we boarded with no issues and were off to Scottsdale.
Once on the ground we took the shuttle to the rental car lot. On this shuttle there was a group of guys that came to town for a bachelor weekend to play golf and party. Let me tell you they started early! There was singing and maybe some stumbling and they had just gotten off of the plane. I hope they made it through the weekend in one piece..
We picked up the rental. So, I had in my mind that the weather will be warm, sunny, perfect for a convertible, which was true. Top down in Arizona is mostly year round. What I did not take into account, however, is that we needed to fit luggage and 2 golf bags into the car! This was a challenge but we managed to make it work. No top down on the way to the condo for sure. We had to cram the luggage in the small trunk, which becomes even smaller with the top down, then lay the golf bags across the backseat against the windows on both sides and even touching the soft top. Hey, but we made it to the condo. The rest of the week would be clubs or luggage, not both.
Our rental car:
On the way to the condo we stopped at The Mission Old Town for a late lunch. This was my first experience with cuisine in Arizona. The guacamole made tableside was off the hook good! The margaritas were also just as impressive.
LOL! She loves a good margarita!
I have a dear friend who lived in Scottsdale for many years. He recommended a bar where he met his wife. Well, of course we had to stop in there on the way.
From there, on to the condo which was about 30 minutes north of downtown Scottsdale. We checked in about 6:00pm. I have expressed my love/hate relationship with timeshare destinations. This one turned out to be just what we needed! On site bar, restaurant, great pool. This was looking up to be a good get away. We spent the evening on site at the resort relaxing by the pool and then turned in.
Our goal for the next day was to explore as much as we could by car, take in the scenery, and experience some of the local vibe. Right out of the condo Lynn was taking an interest in the local plants and landscape.
Before hitting the road to explore the Arizona countryside we stopped in at Snooze Eatery for breakfast right up the road from the condo. We had Bloodys and absolutely fantastic breakfast burritos. Now, I have said this before. Lynn's Bloody Marys are off the hook good. I'm not even sure why we ordered one at Snooze because we would probably be disappointed. They were good, but not up to her standards... The breakfast burritos were excellent. Our waitress informed us that they were in the process of opening a Snooze location in Charlotte so we made a note to try that back at home.
From there we headed east with the goal of seeing some mountain scenery and local hot spots. Canyon Lake is northeast of Scottsdale and looked like a good drive and something we may want to see so we set our sites on that and hit the road. Wonderful top down weather and a beautiful scenic drive.
Then we saw this. Tortilla Flat Saloon. Hit the brakes! Local dive bar! We love dive bars. Now this dive bar was actually more of a tourist attraction but the ambience was right up our alley. No question about it we had to stop.
We took our seats on the saddle bar stools and ordered a beer.
From there we started making our way back west around Canyon Lake. The scenery was awesome and Lynn was really enjoying the plant life.
We got back to the condo about 1:30pm. Canyon Lake and the Tortilla Flat Saloon were not very far from the condo we were staying in. We had reservations at the Phoenician for dinner, but meanwhile Lynn kicked my ass at Connect 4 at the bar in the resort.
We relaxed at the condo until it was time to head out to the Phoenician for an early dinner. This was an excellent dining experience!
After dinner it was still early so Lynn and I went looking for a local music dive bar kind of place. it did not take long for us to find our kind of place. The Rhythm Room. Technically it is in Phoenix but really close to Scottsdale. We stopped in to check it out. Live music was awesome.
This place was our kind of vibe. We spent some time there and then headed back to the condo for the night.
The next morning we had an early tee time for a round of golf. The weather was fantastic. Actually a little cool for this time of year in Scottsdale. That made for an excellent morning on the course.
After golf we stopped by Manuel's for lunch, then spent the afternoon at the resort. We headed down to Old Town Scottsdale for the evening. Really neat place to spend some time. We had dinner at the Bourbon and Bones Chophouse, then walked around Old Town. Did some shopping and some bar hopping.
The next day spent some time at the pool, then off for an other round of golf. There are a lot of great courses in Scottsdale, this was not one of them...LOL. We had a great time though. Our intention was 3 rounds of golf at 3 different courses during our stay.
Thus far the weather had been excellent. We were told that it could be really hot in May, but our week was mild so far, which made the golf that much more enjoyable. After golf we headed back to the condo and got cleaned up for dinner. The Roaring Fork had been recommended to us so we went to check it out. Fantastic! Wood fired cuisine. This was an excellent dining experience.
Our plan for the next day was to go to the Grand Canyon, stay the night there, then back again. I had never been to the Grand Canyon so this was something I had been looking forward to for a while. We would site see along the way and make this a trip within a trip.
We hit the road around 9:00am, but not without getting some more plant photos first. The resort we were staying at had gardens with native plants dispersed throughout the property. Lynn was really enjoying that.
This brewery was relatively new and they had come up with a unique way to generate capital. For $1000 you get a beer a day for life, along with some other perks. Looked like it was working well so far.
Aside from the natural wonders in and around Sedona there is also a man made historical site worth visiting, The Chapel Of The Holy Cross.
Luckily we were prepared!
This definitely put the brakes on our plans for the morning, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
We stopped in Williams on the famous Route 66 for Breakfast. My motorcycle buddies and I have talked for years about doing a Route 66 ride. I intend to at some point.
We had plans for that evening to meet a friend that lives in Scottsdale for dinner at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain. This place offered some majestic views. We had a great visit and an equally fantastic dining experience.
The next day was Friday, our last full day on this trip. We had a lot planned for the day so we got an early start. First up was another round of golf. We chose a par 3 course for this as we wanted a quick game and our golf skills could definitely use some focus on the short game.
Ok, after that we headed over to The Mission. The food their is off the hook good. The tableside guacamole is the best I have ever had. Love this place.
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