Wyndham Phoenix - Downtown

Erin is one of, if not, the oldest friend I have. We met in fourth grade and have managed to keep in touch over the years. I blame Erin. And this little girl I played tag with in elementary school is now a mother of an adorable little boy. She and her husband Mike had Alysia two years ago and we had a wonderful ...

We did a bird walk this morning at Veterans Oasis Park, a new reclamation project in Chandler. Reclamation meaning the end product of a waste water treatment facility.<br>We have a fish able lake here with limits and everything, a large wetland and an environmental education center on site.<br>Parks like this are an inspiration in the desert. Take a look at the pictures to see what I mean--would you guess it's genesis?<br><br>When you grow up ...

I know that I have spent some time in previous entries trying to convince all of you that I have turned over a new leaf when it comes to my border-line obsessive planning!! I really do feel that I have made huge strides forward in this endeavor. With that being said I have to now confess that I am back to my 'old' ways. <br><br>We will be spending the winter 'season' in the heavily visited 'snowbird' region of the country. This area encompasses ...

... could show the taxi driver, i could have done with one of those in Montreal! Anyhow so everyone was sure to be on time. The landscape changed dramatically from San Diego to Scottsdale as we headed into the dessert. This was a long day on the coach, we didn't have too many days that were spent on the coach but if memory serves right i think this was one of them. We had plenty of stops along the way ...

... we were indeed an hour ahead of what we thought. Bri was very perplexed. <br>- The palm trees on the way in to Phoenix further perplexed Bri. She does not feel that palm trees should be beside cacti. Furthermore, she does not think that palm trees make sense in Arizona, period. Christen told her to relax. Bri is very rattled by time changes. <br><br>Things we did in Phoenix:<br>- Checked into Lexington Inn &amp; Suites ...

We started our trip from Tempe, Arizona (see how we currently lived there). Our goal was to find a new life and our destination was the south-west, southeast, and notrth-east sections of the United States.<br><br>So it was time to say our 'Good byes.'

... Auction ($10.. max travel gift wrapped/ also called an Elephant gift) The ship has a lot of great things to do as well. It has a basketball court, golf simulator, a giant movie screen by the main pool (12ft by 22ft) that will play movies, concerts and sporting events (basketball/hockey playoffs), water slide, mini-golf, 4 pools in total, fitness center, casino, several theatres with live performances, 22 bars and lounges, not to mention all the free food ...

... would have had to splash his face. Then the driver said to me: "Don`t worry, we`ll figure things out in a moment." A few minutes later we stopped at a parking lot. In general Arizona is a desert and nothing else, thus even when half an hour from Phoenix you still are in the middle of nowhere. The driver stopped the coach and said to the jerk: "Take all your belongings with you and get out of the bus", and he gave him a few quarters for a phone box. The guy started ...

... served and we were pretty hungry. "Chinese food or Western food?" was offered as the entree. Now, which do you think I requested (take your time)? Unwrapping the foil on the Western entree revealed: seafood AND pork. Once at the L.A. airport we stopped at a restaurant and ordered pizza. Looking back, we both had an excellent trip and came away with a new concept of life in Asia. These were my initial thoughts about the country and I realize that ...

... sea-The Tyrrhenian Sea. It seemed wilder and more alive for some reason. You really can't put down the Adriatic though. Favorite Italian (non family member)- I spoke to an old man in Matera about Fava. I also loved the old guys who helped us out in Bominaco. Louie, Roberto and the man with no name were fun and interested when others may not have been. Overall the Italian people were so kind to us it was pretty amazing. Favorite moment- So many, it is hard to say. I guess ...