My Heart Is In Arizona.....

Hello everyone!!!! I swear, now that I am done with school, I marvel at the fact that I was able to get anything accomplished. We have been so busy (what's new, right???) and I have not had much time to sit down and write.
That is one nice thing about FaceBook: it doesn't require that you put much effort into it, unlike blogging. ...
Now, about my trip....My good friend, Karen, and I decided that we should celebrate my graduation and her birthday by going on a "girls" trip. We booked our trip through Costco Travel, and the whole thing (airfare, hotel, resort fees etc...) came to $302 per person, and that included tax! Pretty cool, huh???
We stayed at the JW Marriot Desert Ridge Resort and we had a blast. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area was breathtaking, and we were there early enough that things were still green (I am thinking of your comment, Chelsi...although I love the desert when it is brown too).

We arrived during a heat wave/heat advisory, with the average temperature falling around 114 degrees during the day and 90-95 degrees at night.
We weren't bothered by the heat though, because there were four pools and a lazy river (all open 24 hours), so we spent a lot of time in the water.I fell in love with all of the cacti that surrounded us, and I probably took way to many pictures of them. It was so neat to drive down the highway and have blooming cacti all around you...and the birds???? Oh my goodness, were they ever cute!!! So were these little rabbits that seemed to be everywhere....

We also went shopping, and my favorite place was Old Town Scottsdale, with its Southwestern flavor and great shops. I bought a pretty turquoise and silver ring, and an unique piece of Navajo horsehair pottery.
One really neat thing was that all of the malls and shopping centers that we went to were open; that is, the main walkway between the shops was not enclosed. Instead, there were palm trees, fountains, and large pots of plants.

Oh, and everyone was tan, healthy, and fit, unlike the people who live in WA...lol!!!! I guess that is what happens when the sun shines over 330 days per year.....We had really wanted to drive up to Sedona one day, but we never felt like driving over five hours round trip. I think that we may have to make a family camping trip that way sometime though, because I hear that it is breathtaking. Anyway, we had a nice, relaxing time, with no husbands, and no kidlets. I would love to move to the Southwest, but I am still leaning towards NM; somewhere in the high desert perhaps....
I hope that you are all having a good week, and I will be back again soon...I promise. : )