USA - Phoenix

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Thursday 1^stDecember

Had to get to the airport by 8.00am to catch the plane to Phoenix! It was the bumpiest journey I had ever had and more like a roller coaster ride! Apparently, the Santa Ana winds were to blame, and we learned 25 planes to LA were diverted because of the wind! A few people were sick, and they had to stop serving drinks as it was too dangerous!!

Anyway, we duly arrived in Phoenix and met up with Wendy and Peter who took us to Alice’s house in Chandler. We all went out to lunch at a lovely little Italian restaurant before going back to Alice’s for coffee and delicious raspberry tart!

Back to Wendy and Peters house where we had a relaxing evening eating my favourite food – salmon and drinking Cosmopolitans and wine!!

Friday 2^nd December

After breakfast (bacon and egg rolls!) drove out to Spur Cross Cavern! The whole area is desert with these amazing Saguaro cactus, growing to about 30 – 40ft, although they can grow to 58ft!! Makes for a very weird landscape, with whole hills covered in spiky cactus! Had an excellent stroll on the Spur Cross Trail down to the creek and then back up again following the path through the cactus, looking at the old Indian grinding stone and an Oasis before driving to Cave Creek!

Had a wander around the shops at the wild west ‘town’, looking at the little white chapel and graveyard before going to El Ancanto, a Mexican restaurant for a superb lunch and margaritas! They sure serve large portions here!! Back to A & J’s shopping centre to pick up more supplies and then back to the house where we had a wander around the garden, looking at their huge Saguaro cactus, lots of holes (not sure if they are snake, scorpion or spider holes!) as well as the woodpeckers and hummingbirds!

Had a relaxing evening with loads of delicious nibbles ( not sure they were low fat!!) and wine!

Saturday 3^rd December

Today was Peters 65^th birthday so it was a ‘special’ breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream and bacon before the opening of presents and the drive out to the McDowell mountains where we met up with a couple of Wendy and Peters friends – Pam and Doug! From here we had a 5 mile hike on The Gateway Loop which took us up to the gateway saddle at 2378ft. An excellent trail through the desert landscape with the now familiar Saguaro cactus, with views right over to all of the Phoenix area and to the mountains beyond! The weather wasn’t brilliant and we had a small hail shower before the skies turned blue and the sun came out (for a while!!) but it was an excellent walk!

Went to ‘Lush Burgers’ for our lunch where Peter treated us all to ....a lush gourmet burger!!! Back to the house for a relaxing afternoon before Pam & Doug arrived to drive us all out to Flemmings for a fantastic steak dinner – the steak was the best I had had for a very long time and was topped with fresh crab, which went deliciously with mash potatoes, carrots with almonds, creamed spinach with cheese, garlic mushrooms and green beans. And finished off with a birthday cake and a lava chocolate cake, which we all shared with ice cream! A big thank you to Wendy who treated us all!

Drove back and then scoured the neighbourhood for Christmas lights and then to the house to play Mexican Train Dominoes! I would like to say that I won but unfortunately only came 3^rd!!

Sunday 4^th December

A lovely sunny day with blue skies after a frost – a very unusual event for Phoenix! Had a local walk around the neighbourhood, hoping to see some havelinas (sort of small pigs I think!) or some coyotes - we didn’t see either but we did see quite a few woodpeckers and a Harris hawk!

Back by 11.00ish and then a drive out to the China King in Chandler, Arizona where we met up with Marty, Fran and his two girls, Diane and Carly, Alice and John and Dennis, Alices’ next door neighbours and the rest of the Chinese community for a Chinese lunch! The food just kept coming and we gorged ourselves on dim sum,fried rice, pork balls, steamed dumplings and various other Chinese delicacies.

We all then went back to Alice’s house where she had prepared more food – cookies, grapes, nuts etc as well as a birthday cake for Peter and Chris! Also went next door to see John & Dennis’ Christmas tree, Disney memorabilia and their two rescue poodles and then had a good catch up with everybody before heading back to the house!

Lovely sunset that Chris watched from the roof and a relaxing evening with cocktails –maybe another game of dominoes – and packing ready to pick the car up in the morning!

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