After the excitement died down from picking up the family and getting them to the apartment... (still can't believe how clean it is. Of course, I won't be able to find anything for a while), we all slept... (except Natalie who was up at 7 and figured out how to turn the tv on for cartoons: she figured out the remote faster than I did). I made breakfast for all and then we went out for a guided tour of my "hood". I drove them around Tempe and then downtown, showed them where I worked, and then we wanted to check out the Botanical Gardens for some cactus and other indigenous plants. We drove there and found out it was closed for a private party... (bummer). So, instead we took a ride into Old Town Scottsdale and had lunch at the Mission... (could be the best guacamole I have ever eaten, no offense to those who make their own). They prepare it at the table and I am inspired to actually try to make it myself...(hopefully I won't poison myself in the process). FYI, here's a great website for cooking hacks like your author for all kinds of recipes and cooking hints---www.allrecipes.com.
But I digress...(and you know that no one goes off on a tangent better than I do). After lunch, we walked around Old Town and the shops... (the girls are master shoppers. Nothing in the stores goes uncooked at or untouched). We left (dragged them) out of there and went to pick up the rental car in Tempe, then home to pack for the trip up north to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. I turned the family on to the only fast food that I will eat and we had In N' Out burgers for dinner. We left Sunday morning and drove up "the" 17 to the Flagstaff area...(the transition from desert to pine forest is amazing...pay attention, Sheryl, zzzzzzzz). We checked into the hotel... (the beginning of the "one and done tour of 2011". More about that). Then we went to the Meteor Crater... (a practice hole for the Grand Canyon), but it was amazing how a piece of rock (I know its not just a rock) 150 feet across could make a hole that huge...(They found pieces over 2 miles from the impact zone). www.meteorcrater.com. (Blogs that entertain AND inform). The wind was howling so hard that I thought we might lose one of the girls, but they were troopers and it was spectacular. I nodded off in the movie...(dark, cool, zzzzzzz). We then had dinner at a local brew pub (Sister and Bro-in-law are connoisseurs of micro-brews). There are some pretty awesome restaurants in Flagstaff but the best part of Flagstaff was the weather. It was in the 70's during the day and down into the 50's at night (Phoenix was in the 90 's that week). Inspiration #2--plan 2-3 day excursions up north during the red-hot summer to come. We were now prepared to visit the highlight of the trip (for me the highlight was having sister and family here), the Grand Canyon...
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