It’s that time of year again for the 31st Annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival. The event that blends food and entertainment is expected to attract more than 40,000 visitors to Scottsdale over the six day celebration April 14th-19th.
Last week was a whirlwind that included spring training baseball, hiking, train rides, festivals, sunshine, swimming and somehow a little bit of work. For the last seven days my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew were all visiting me to escape the harsh Midwest weather. In a week that went by way too fast, I think they got the idea of why I moved to Arizona and plan on being here for a long time. What I took away from their trip besides a chance to spend time with my family who I haven’t seen since Christmas, was a fonder appreciation of Arizona and how great of a place it is to live.
The month of March back in the Midwest is always a crap shoot as far as weather. I have spent spring breaks golfing and getting a tan and I have also had to dodge snowballs and ice patches. A week before my family visited the temperature in Iowa and Arizona were both around 64 degrees. During their first few days here in Arizona, the Midwest got hit with what is hopefully the last winter storm. So, that being said my family was very excited to spend a week in some stable weather.
My niece and nephew are six and four years old and have never flown on a plane until this trip, so being able to flying direct into the Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a big bonus. (I love being able to fly direct and the convenience of a smaller airport). From there they met my parents at the condo they were renting for the week and set out to explore the city. The condo was located off of Chaparral Rd, which was the perfect location to make everything a short drive.
On Sunday, I did an open house in Carefree that coincided with the Thunderbird Artists Fine Art and Wine Festival. The family stopped by my open and checked out the great town of Carefree. They couldn’t get over the beautiful homes and scenery that came with being elevated up in the mountains. For my niece and nephew, it was their first time getting up close and personal with a cactus, which they had been dead set on checking out. The next day a few of us went to a spring training baseball game a Scottsdale Stadium. It was my first game at Scottsdale Stadium and it really lives up to all the great reviews. It’s located in Old Town Scottsdale, but parking wasn’t a problem even right before the first pitch. We sat i
n the outfield lawn which was a great atmosphere and I suggest to anyone going with kids. It’s really tough to beat watching an afternoon ballgame from a blanket in the left center field grass. The kids had fun running after home run balls and the game actual ended with a walk-off.
The rest of the week we managed to cram in another baseball game, but this time at Phoenix Municipal Stadium to watch the D’Backs vs. A’s. A trip to McCormick Ranch Railroad Park so the kids could ride in a miniature train and see a bunch of other exhibits. There was also a visit to the Phoenix Zoo, where my niece and nephew rode a camel, a hike up Camelback Mountain for incredible views of the city and there was even time to spend soaking up some rays by the pool. I also took my brother around the area to look for a possible vacation home.
When it came time to drive everyone to the airport, nobody was really ready to leave. Although we accomplished a lot over the week there so much more to do (even if that only meant laying by the pool). Everything we did was the kid’s favorite (camel ride, swimming, rock climbing) and the weather was great the entire time, so we couldn’t have asked for a better week. And when it was all said and done, I felt like I had just spent the a week on vacation. I got to see a couple new baseball stadiums, the zoo for the first time and I’m never disappointed with a hike up Camelback. For me, it doesn’t get much better than spending a week basically on vacation without leaving home.
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