Trip Report: Phoenix

Last week, we packed up the arrow, headed up into the friendly skies, and touched down in the desert for a family trip to Phoenix.  I'll be sharing some more details on our trip and lessons we learned in the next couple of weeks, but as with every trip, I wanted to provide an overall look at our three days there.

Clinging to dad at the splash pool

We flew out of Indianapolis at 6 a.m., which required waking up the arrow at 4 a.m. Yikes!  But he did doze off on the plane for about an hour, which was great. We landed in Phoenix at 6:30 a.m. local time, so we still had a full day ahead, and yet a very tired little guy. We spent that day getting settled into my in-law's time share at the Marriott's Canyon Villas. After the arrow took a nice long nap, we hit the children's splash pool. He was too afraid of all the cascading water and splashing (have I mentioned he's a bit of a scaredy cat?), so we soon retreated to the regular pool. That night, we enjoyed dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.

Taking in the Desert Botanical Garden

On Friday, the arrow was up VERY early, which meant he needed two naps to survive the day. Between his naps, we spent a couple of hours at the Desert Botanical Garden to explore all the plant life and desert scenery. That evening, we swam, hot tubbed, and grilled out with extended family who live in the Phoenix area.

We woke up on Saturday morning to sunny skies and warmer temperatures, so while I had other things on my to-see list, we just couldn't resist spending the day splashing around the pool.  We left the water to play at the resort's playground and for dinner that evening at Ristorante Tuscany, but otherwise, it was all about capturing as much of the sun's rays. (Because if you've spent a winter in Indiana, you know you need to stockpile the sunlight to combat the months of gray that lie ahead.)

On Sunday, our adventure came to an end and we headed home. It wasn't our most action-packed trip, but it scored very high on the relaxation and family bonding meter, which was what we wanted.