Phoenix Recap

Wednesday (Jan 12)
The trip started off eerily reminiscent of our trip to Tallahassee two years ago for our winter run.  There was winter storm warning for the city where our flight departed (3 hours from here).  To avoid the scary drive we experienced two years ago, we left several hours earlier than planned and spent the day in Maine.  I did a little shopping at Target, Kohls, Old Navy and Walmart with a visit to Olive Garden in between.

This is the view we had driving into our hotel.  Can you see the street? signs?  No?  We couldn't either.  Winter in the northeast is so much fun!

I am soooooo glad we left early.  The storm began almost as soon as we arrived and soon there were white-out conditions and the roads were treacherous.  We headed for the hotel and didn't even leave for supper, opting for the hotel restaurant.  Cam and I spent an hour in the pool.  Fortunately, we were the only 2 people in the water because it was so small!

Thursday 
Flight Canceled!!!

We were given a slightly later checkout time from our hotel so we hit the pool and fitness center again.  We spent several more hours in Bangor than planned and got on a later flight to Detroit where we had to spend the night.  Boo.  Our hotel was nice and we got a great price on Priceline if that's any consolation.  Trevor was supposed to attend a hockey game in Phoenix, so that was unfortunate.

Friday
Finally Phoenix!!  Heat!!  Palm trees!!  Cactus!!  Race Expo!!  In-N-Out Burger!!  Lego Store!!

View from our hotel balcony:

View from hotel balcony (I love palm trees soooo much):

Cam's favourite part of the trip was a visit to one of the Lego stores in Phoenix:

Trevor and Cam rocking out at the Rock 'n Roll marathon race expo (where I picked up two new pairs of Asics Gel Nimbus):

Cam was fascinated by the huge bugs outside the Expo building:

Saturday
Saturday was our full day of non-race related activities!

Science Museum

Although Cameron claims his favourite part of the trip was the Lego store, he seemed to have a lot of fun at the Science Center:

More love for the Spaghetti Factory, I had to support Trevor with his carbo-loading for the big race!

After lunch we headed to South Mountain Park so I could get my fill of desert scenery and cactus!  We drove up to the summit which is approximately 1000 feet above the desert floor.  The pictures do not do it justice.  It was a harrowing drive up the mountain and I had to step back when Trevor and Cameron were exploring so I wouldn't have a heart attack.

(Click on the pics to see a larger image.)

Cactus as far as the eye could see:

 More mountains in the other direction:

A view of Phoenix in the distance:

This is where it started to get hairy, I left shortly after they started climbing down one of the sides:

Me taking pictures of other reckless people who did not make me nervous:

The cactus were HUGE!

I love this freaky mutant cactus:

At the base/entrance of South Mountain Park (it's the largest municipal park in the world and covers over 16,000 acres):

View of South Mountain Park in the distance (obviously an out-of-order pic!):

Cheesecake Factory was our reward for trekking around the mountain (more carbo-loading!) after a quick visit to Lululemon for me.  Since I just had a massive lulu spending spree during their boxing day sale, I had a very restrained visit.  I picked up a pair of capris and running shorts.


Sunday
Sunday was the big day.  Race Day!!  Trevor was off early for his marathon while Cameron and I relaxed at the hotel for the morning.  I tracked Trevor online throughout the morning and was worried that he had started out too fast because his projected finishing time was several minutes faster than his PR.  No need to worry, he did fine and finished only 29 seconds from his PR. 

Cam and I spent a few hours in this pool throughout the trip and we were always the only two people in it!  It was so nice to have our own private oasis... here's a pic from marathon morning:

After Trevor got back from the race, we headed to the zoo for a picnic!  A picnic in *January*.  I could easily get used to Phoenix winter weather.  It was in the 70s every day we were there.  Although, I have a feeling the summer heat wouldn't agree with me.

 

View from our picnic table:

 

The monkey exhibit allowed you to be in the same area as the monkeys without a fence/cage separating you.  They were so cute!

Monday
Monday brought us back to reality with more storm warnings for our return home and worries over delayed flights and our drive from the airport to our home (a 3-hour drive under ideal circumstances).  We spent one last morning in the pool at the hotel then headed out for a last "gourmet" meal at Five Guys.  This was a burger chain we had heard so much about but had never visited.  It was good, but I'd probably choose In 'n Out Burger.

We were scheduled to arrive in Bangor (Maine) at about midnight.  Instead, a paperwork error regarding the maintenance of our plane caused us to sit on the tarmac for over two hours in Detroit and wait for the mistake to be corrected at their head office.  The pilot wandered back through the plane to talk with passengers and when he spotted Cam he asked if he wanted to see the cockpit.  Cam was out of his seat and climbing over me in seconds.  Trevor and I did not join him (we weren't invited lol), but we could hear some pretty strange beeping sounds coming from the front of the plane and we had one excited little boy when he returned to his seat several minutes later.


We finally arrived in Bangor and checked into our hotel at around 2am.  What a day!!  We slept for a few hours and then hit the road for home as soon as we could to avoid the storm that was scheduled to begin later that day.



Even with the travel delays and weather hassles, it was a fabulous little get-away.  I wasn't sure if I'd be disappointed that I wasn't running (especially since there was a half distance), but I enjoyed having Cameron there with us so I really didn't miss out on the race.  Plus, I could eat whatever I wanted all weekend without having to worry about digestive issues for the run lol.  I would say the only drawback was trying to get the homework and schoolwork done while we were away.  Cameron was pretty good about writing in his journal and doing his math pages and reading most of the time.

Well, I must end this novel and get some rest.  I always find it much harder to adjust to the time zone differences when going from west to east (it's a 3-hour difference between Phoenix and home).  It's not that difficult to stay up later and sleep in... but it's much harder to go to bed earlier and get up earlier!