Thursday June 15, 2006

Arizona Trip - First Day

Southern Arizona Trip - First Day

I spent a few days in Arizona with my wife and daughter in the middle of April and would like to share some of the experience here. Our route was San Francisco - Phoenix - Casa Grande - Phoenix - Wilcox - Douglas - Tucson Phoenix - San Francisco. We started in the morning of April 13. The 10 a.m. flight was pretty convenient and it took 2 hours to get from SFO to Phoenix. Luckily the sky was pretty clear and sitting near the window I could see California snow-covered mountains and Nevada/Arizona deserts, and was able to take a few aerial photos of Phoenix.

Our first stop in Phoenix was the little Doll and Toy museum which is about 20 minute drive from the airport. It is located within a big museum complex which has its own big parking (free with museum validation). It has an interesting collection of toy houses, little replica of an ice cream cafe, big toy school with 16 students and a document, claiming to be 1872 Rules for Teachers.

Other places in the same complex are, probably, worth visiting, but we skipped them and went to the Desert Botanical Garden. On the way there Liza fell asleep and we checked in in our AmeriSuites hotel in downtown Scottsdale instead. The hotel is located right near the old Scottsdale, has a free wireless Internet (which we didn't use) and was only about $80/night.

After a little rest in the hotel we finally went to the Desert Botanical Garden and arrived there around 7 p.m. This turned out to be an excellent time for the garden tour as we avoided crowds and heat and caught the wonderful evening lighting very suitable for taking pictures. On the downside some of the exhibitions were closed and some trails were closing as we walked. The main park attraction are various cactuses. here are some samples:

The combination of cactuses and sunset is a real photographic feast! Every tour book recommended the Desert Botanical Garden and it is really worth it. After the long day we headed to My Big Fat Greek Restaurant in downtown Scottsdale where we had plenty of Greek food and fun. Make sure you order one of the two flaming cheeses - either Flaming Saganaki "OPA Time" or Flaming Feta"OPA Time". Couple of guys come to your table with a small dish and produce a huge fire right at your table which quickly disappears and you are left with a small piece of a tasty cheese. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera there thinking that a restaurant is a boring place to make pictures.