After a very full weekend of music, baseball and skin
burning, it was time for the last full day in Phoenix and MLB Opening Day with
the Diamondbacks. Every day we were there, we had a full schedule of
activities, so for Monday to not have anything scheduled was weird, yet
welcomed.
We hadn’t really had a chance to check out the beautiful red
rocks that Arizona is famous for (more on that once we reach Sedona), so we
went to a public park in Tempe - Papago
Park. By public park, I mean a place that would be like a national park to
most other people in the U.S. The park centers on the red rocks that make
Arizona’s landscape famous. It is set right outside downtown Tempe and next to
the Phoenix zoo. The setting is peaceful, yet desolate. You can see downtown
Phoenix, Tempe and the surrounding areas due to the flat desert landscape, but
you feel far enough away that you feel a sense of peace and reflection.
The next thing on my Arizona bucket list was to get some
REAL Mexican food. This led us to the barrio section of town (not the official
term, obviously) to Mariscos Playa Hermosa. Thanks to Yelp’s helpful advice, we
ended up at a Mexican seafood restaurant, complete with colorful Mexican-style
decorations, Mexican soccer leagues on TV and lots of regulars. I realize we
were at a seafood restaurant in the desert, but…whatever. Trust in Yelp. There
was lots of Spanish being spoken and people ordering things not found on the
menu – so I figured this must be the type of place we were looking for.
Although we could have ordered some more exciting items, we stuck with fish ceviche
and fish tacos. Both delicious and not overly processed like many of our fine
country’s attempts at quality Mexican food.
Monday night was our last night of actual planned activities
– Dbacks opening day! As many of you can imagine, the beginning of baseball
season is one of my favorite times of year – more than Christmas or any other
religiously affiliated holiday – although I would argue that the journey to a
baseball season is as much a religious experience as any other. We discovered
our seats were wayyyy up high, but who cares? IT’S OPENING DAY! We got to Chase
Field just in time for the Opening Day ceremony and the ultimate freedom fest
of the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America. Please see the photo below
for a reminder why you love freedom.
The following day was checkout from our beloved Sheraton
with free food and drink galore – they were setting us free into the Arizona
wilderness. We made our way out of town in the 80 degree weather in shorts and
sundresses. After 2 hours of driving, I had changed into jeans and packed away
my flipflops, clinging onto the one jacket I had with me – the power of
elevation. But with elevation came the undeniable beauty of the American
southwest.
One of the things I was looking most forward to about
Arizona was shopping for all of the beautiful Native American turquoise jewelry
– and Jerome, AZ delivered in spades. This was the quintessential Arizona town
I was looking for. Like the Eagles lyric, “standin’ on a corner in Winslow, AZ”
– well we didn’t make it over to Winslow – but in my imagination this is was
what the all-American western town that Jackson Browne wrote about looked like.
I walked in and out of store after store, getting shown the very expensive
turquoise goods the store clerks were hawking ($500 FOR A BRACELET?! I DON’T
THINK SO.) All of the store clerks would say things like “this is authentic
jewelry made on local reservations” and unfortunately, it started to sound more
like a gimmick than a fact. Finally I found some reasonably priced turquoise
and we rolled on to Sedona.
Sedona was as beautiful as everyone made it out to be. It
reminded me of Uluru in Australia – it seemed every time the sun moved even an
inch, it was a new photo-op moment for the red rocks in Sedona. The ways the
shadows and sun hit the rocks was awe inspiring at the least and it seemed I
couldn’t take enough photos. The most disappointing thing was the
overcommercialization of Sedona. In one respect, I could understand why this
has happened – people from all over the world want to experience the beauty of
Sedona. In another, it surprised me that the people of Sedona allowed this to
happen. I always imagined it to be like Big Sur – hippies in all their splendor
– minus the ocean. Dan and I took a tip for where to go for dinner, met a
lovely couple from Germany, and made our way to a popular cliff to watch the
red rocks at sunset. It was as beautiful as you can imagine.
We decided staying in Sedona was both overpriced and
unnecessary, so we just made our way to Flagstaff for the night. As
anticlimactic as the LaQuinta Inn of Flagstaff was compared to our beloved
Phoenix Sheraton, it was surprisingly nice to get to Flagstaff. It was
incredible to me to that after driving for only a day, we went from warm desert
in Phoenix to Arizona’s skiing outpost. Locals in Flagstaff were looking at us
funny because we didn’t have winter coats on. The best part to me was that no
matter where we went – desert or mountains – everywhere we went in Arizona
seemed quintessentially western – and felt like freedom.
The Arizona part of the trip is officially over. It’s time
for VEGAS.
At this point, Aunt Lynn knew we were coming to town and
that Grandma and Uncle Dave were coming to town – a Vegas family reunion of
sorts. BUT she had no idea about the birthday party yet. Of course Dan and I
were running late for dinner at our favorite sushi spot ($25 ALL YOU CAN EAT
SUSHI?! EVERY DAY PLEASE.) Wednesday was really our only night in Vegas to just
chill with Lynn and Tony, as every other night would be consumed with family
activities.
Grandma Thomas, the matriarch of the Thomas clan, was flying
in from Buffalo Thursday morning, so Dan the Man and I went to McCarran to pick
her up (it’s very strange to be on the receiving end of the Vegas airport – it
seems that I should only ever be arriving ready to rage or leaving with my head
held in shame as I go home – picking someone up from this dichotomy of
scenarios is quite soul crushing). What Aunt Lynn didn’t know about this
journey to the airport was that her and Tony’s dear friends from Buffalo, Rich
and Deb, were on the same flight as Grandma, coming into town for the shindig.
After Grandma’s initial shock and awe and Aunt Lynn and
Uncle Tony’s very sweet digs, Dad and I went out for a drive and respite,
meeting our good friend Mike Hoffman at his new real estate office. My aunt
suggested we go to a place called Twin Peaks. Of course this is Vegas and very
tongue-and-cheek. I can’t believe I didn’t realize this would be a
Hooters-esque situation. We were waited on by a snappy tattooed young lady (I
suppose it’s because the finest strip clubs in Vegas did not want her and she
had to settle for Twin Peaks). Mike caught us up on his rock star lifestyle and
we commiserated on our mutual love of San Francisco. He let us know that he
would be attending his weekly bowling league at the Southpoint casino (of
course he’s in a casino-centric bowling league) and that we should stop by.
Friday was a bit busier as my dad’s brother Dave and my mom
arrived. My mom was a surprise to Lynn for the party on Saturday, Dave was not.
We took Grandma to do a little light gambling at the local casino, Green Valley Ranch. They have an
incredible pool so I chilled there while the Thomas siblings had some quality
gambling bonding time with Grandma (sorry dad haha).
That night Lynn and Tony were playing the part in high
society and going to an American Heart Association benefit at Mandalay Bay. So
what would be more appropriate than taking your Bentley sportscar to the
benefit? Nothing actually, which is why Lynn and Tony did just that. I
obviously was not permitted to, nor did I want to put my clumsy self at risk by
driving the car, BUT I did sit in it!
Pam and I had gotten a surprise for dad by getting tickets
to see the ‘O’
Cirque de Soleil show at Bellagio. This is one of the most sought-after
Cirque tickets in Vegas and rightfully so. Each Cirque show has its own theme,
and ‘O’s theme is water. All of them are a bit trippy and feel like a bad acid
trip, but once you get beyond the weirdness, the amazement wofts over you. All
of the cast in the show were incredible swimmers, divers and gymnasts. There
were always four or five things going on in a scene, much like a circus, but
much more impressive. There would be synchronized swimming, advanced tumbling,
acrobatics and skilled diving – all in one scene. We were all thoroughly
impressed.
You know you’re a music junkie when you pass by Bellagio’s
club ‘Bank’ and go “no, I definitely don’t wanna do that – I’d rather go see a
funk band at the Brooklyn Bowl”. Which is exactly what I did with my super cool
parents. There are 3 locations for Brooklyn
Bowl – Brooklyn, NY; London, UK; and Las Vegas, NV. Whenever seeing the
acts that come to Brooklyn Bowl in New York I knew I needed to check it out.
And what better time and place that Vegas? I think I am attracted to Brooklyn
Bowl’s style because it has a similar music promotion model as places like The
Hamilton – heavy on New Orleans-based music and other solid funk/jam band acts.
Also – it’s just pretty cool that you can go bowling while at a sweet live
show. The show started around 11pm and I was impressed at how awake Pam and Dan
both were. Anyone who knows my mother knows she could fall asleep runnin’ to
catch a bus (thanks, Irene). So this was a feat. The band was Galactic from New
Orleans, heavy with horns and keyboards. Then came a funk angel from above
named Maggie Koerner. Her
voice was reminiscent of Joss Stone with a bit more edge. She was basically my
hero in a maxi dress and boots, rockin’ the mic. The band played some New
Orleans classics and closed out the show with the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme
Shelter” – Maggie rocked it of course. At this point it’s about 3am and Pam is
crashing hard. Overall, great night on the Strip.
Saturday had finally come – the big day for the party. With
a couple hitches, we had successfully kept the secret from Lynn. The men were
playing golf during the day and I was going to hang out with Lynn and Grandma.
As Grandma wasn’t feeling up to much, I told Lynn I would “go shopping and hang
out at Green Valley”. This was code for going to spend the day with my mom and
sightsee a little. Neither of us had been to the new City Center (Cosmopolitan,
Vdara, etc.) so we wandered there. Cosmopolitan is definitely the new hotspot
for the 20-something crowd with a see-and-be-seen pool and dayclub, ‘Marquee’.
My favorite thing we did that day was go to the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas.
Probably the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever been in. It’s a nice departure from
the rest of the Strip, as the Mandarin Oriental does not have a casino. It was
a beautiful day in the desert so my mom and I went to the hotel pool/lounge. I
just imagined that if I ever win the lottery I will go to this pool for a
straight week and order my weight in fancy pool food. We got delicious
cocktails and basked in the sun for a bit before it was time to go get ready
for the party.
As far as Aunt Lynn knew, they were going to take the out of
town family to their hangout, the Las Vegas Italian American Social Club. Tony
had organized a beautiful party with family and friends from out of town, a
live Sinatra-esque band and enough nostalgic photos to make anyone teary. The
Italian American Social Club was very understated and old school. Mind you, as
soon as we parked, the smell of garlic in the air was beyond pungent and there
was a reserved parking spot for an ambiguous Luigi. Needless to say, Lynn was
absolutely blown away by the amount of people who made it all the way from
Buffalo and elsewhere to be there for this special occasion. Lynn and Tony’s
niece, Deborah, did an incredible job planning and took all of the photos at
the party. I was thrilled we were able to be there and share in such a special
time for my aunt.
Sunday was an early morning to the airport and just like
that the trip was done. 10 days together was surprisingly easy and always
memorable, solidifying that Dan is not only a great dad and travel companion,
but the best friend.
