Our April Vacation

A few weeks ago, we went out to Arizona for a little vacation. We haven't been there in a couple of years and thought that we would take advantage of having an April vacation and make the long journey across the country to visit some family. We were a little anxious since we haven't flown with Karis since she was a few months old. That was a short little 2 hour flight to Chicago. This time we had a long day of traveling with layovers and everything.
We did manage to get to Phoenix and when we landed it was about 90 degrees. But anyone who knows me and Shannon knows that we have the worst luck. The typical temperature in Phoenix for late April is 87 degrees. Hot and dry. The four days that we were there it rained and was about 65 degrees. Now, we didn't leave Maine for 65 degrees. Needless to say, we didn't need to worry about sun block.
There was one semi-decent day and we took advantage of that and went on an adventure to Mexico. That was interesting. Apparently, Arizonans go to Mexico when they feel the need to go to the beach. A few hours from Phoenix is the Gulf of California and a town called Rocky Point. The Mexicans call it Puerta Penasco. We did eventually get there and had a good time while we were there, but it was super windy and a little cold once you got out of the water.

Our friend Jenn drove from Albuquerque, NM to visit us in Arizona. We haven't seen her in a few years and she had never met Karis. Jenn is a really good friend and it was great seeing her again. Jenn is a veterinarian and fortunately had some time off to come see us.

Despite the weather, we did have a great time. Chris and Heather we able to take the time off of work to have fun with us and Karis we a good girl the whole time. We got to go to a "ghost mining town". It really was just a tourist trap, but that's the kind of thing that Shan and I enjoy doing. We're not above silly tourist traps.
Shannon and I think that a trip to Arizona every other year will be great, and one of these times, when Karis is a little older, we'll get out to Disney Land, which is only a few hours away from Phoenix.

At the end of the trip we got to walk around Scottsdale and do a little shopping. Actually, I don't think we bought anything in Scottsdale, but we had a good time walking around. We ate lunch at this restaurant owned by some Italian guy from New York. Man, that food was great!!! The owner is such a character too. He loved Karis and gave her a biscotti- probably to keep her quiet for the rest of the patrons, but hey, it worked. That's him in the middle, with his arm around Jenn.


We had a great time in Arizona and will definitely be back in a couple of years.