Bold, green text are links to other fun places.
Bestie Andrea and I determined that Arizona would be a peachy locale to "meet in the middle" for a weekend of unscheduled fun. Phoenix is a shorter than normal hop for her from the far flung but beautiful riverside city Portland in the NE and I can hop to just about anywhere within a couple of hours, give or take, from DFW. Beyond Phoenix, Scottsdale is a very short ride by taxi from PHX. If you only have a couple of days to unwind and are longing for mountains and vistas, it's an ideal destination. Perk: year round summer!
Andrea treated us to our kicky Kimpton stay at the incredibly charming and inviting Fire Sky Resort. We didn't let any minutes escape us before we hopped on two of the resort's complimentary bikes and pedaled a short distance to Old Town Scottsdale. Signing our kidneys and first six vertebrae away on the resort injury disclaimer forms:
The area is chock full of history and I could easily envision cowboys and their cows ambling about the town, going about their cowboy and cowgirl business. First stop: refreshments at Barrio Queen, with a precious patio. We learned of this location when we braked our bikes next to some gals enjoying their own refreshments on a patio nearby, and asked for a margarita/patio/food recommendation. Here's a snap of our bikes parked next to the world's most stylish little person bike. The photo doesn't show this particular detail, but the bike seat is etched leather, a la flowers and like:
From there we browsed Old Town's variety of art, historical displays, shops and boutiques. Charming, very charming.
A stop for the requisite afternoon coffee - iced, for this weekend's temperature. Note the "Poke In The Eye" option in the cafe menu:
Suitably caffeinated, we pedaled back to the resort for the complimentary wine happy hour. In simple terms: FREE WINE. Can you dig it?
The outdoor seating area of the resort lobby and bar included a fire pit. Another complimentary service included s'mores set ups for guests. Andrea and I managed to cook up a batch without impaling ourselves on the two pronged pitch forks, nor setting anything other than marshmallows ablaze!
Day 2 bloomed equally swell with another check out of the resort bikes. I am almost positive that the bell hops who facilitate the bike check-out process groaned when they saw us darken the lobby exit doors since the day prior we prompted a thorough search (which turned out non-fruitful) of the luggage and bike storage closet for a quintessential bike basket to store our bike carry-on items. And off we pedal for Camelback Mountain!
We had grand visions of reaching the saddle of Camelback, but time for that was in short supply since we had a couple of other stops on the day's loose itinerary. We met a number of people on their way down who did, or intended to, reach the saddle as well but they were upfront about how technical the trek becomes with elevation. I don't think it's officially classified as an incredibly difficult hike, though. You can see in one of the photos below at which elevation we decided to make our u-turn at and the views alone made the experience incredible. I shamelessly admit to taking a nosy photo of a mountain resident's home living area windows, where we could see least two shiny motorcycles resting:
Above: Shucked clothing left by hikers. Hey, who needs a closet when you have a boulder?
Above: our u-turn elevation.
Above: Hey, why so prickly today?
Declining was milder on cardio reserves, but more technical, in my opinion. First stop once back in Old Town: fuel for the tummy. The Chop Shop is doing it right, folks. Our brunch meal was tasty down to the last morsel and our coffees - though there was a wide selection of juices offered - were slurpalicious. A photo from establishment that I agree with 100%:
Once refueled, we sought out and scored mightily in a pedi/mani destination: The cutest and sassiest beauty stop west of the Mississippi, Pistols n' Polish Nail Saloon. Oh my word. A detour to Scottsdale is made well worth it through a visit to this location alone, guns hands nails down. The owner and her assistant made our time having our nails and toes prettified 100% delightful. I present to you, Pistols n' Polish:
Above: The Swanky Girl, she's the cat's pajamas, bum firming moisturizer.
Above: bathroom art.
Above: temporary tattoo, Nailed in Old Town
Above: Andrea's purdy nails
Both evenings in Scottsdale provided us with delicious dinners, one at a sidewalk view table in Old Town's Italian Grotto and the second at Stingray Sushi, Old Town location. Exiting Italian Grotto and awaiting the resort's complimentary shuttle service made us what is - in my experience - the most supremely timed photo bomb victims, this guy was a total ninja:
Above: we thought the volunteer photographer (an Italian Grotto employee) was just creeping when he suggested we take another photo after this one. Andrea Peppermint Patty Laughed when scrolling through the photos later that evening. This photo made me extremely happy.
The weekend also made me extremely happy and we've decide to make a tradition out of visiting Kimpton Hotels. AKA: selecting cities we want to meet in that also host a kicky Kimpton location.
Though not an official birthday celebration trip, Andrea treated me like a birthday gal and we, as usual, had a grand old time! I felt so grateful to spend super-duper fun time with this treasured and funny friend. The beatific backdrop was icing on the cupcake!
