We took a family vacation to Arizona (except for Mariah who had her spring break a week earlier), and stayed with LeAnn's mom in Apache Junction. It rained on Monday, but the rest of the week had clear skies and temperatures in the low 70's. It cools down quickly in the evening and was getting down into the 40's overnight.
Tuesday was spent lounging around the pool and soaking in the sun. In the evening we went to the Mining Camp restaurant which serves family style meals using metal plates, cups and glasses on large tables and benches.
Wednesday we went to visit LeAnn's sister Yvonne up in Anthem. Ray, LeAnn and Kara golfed with Yvonne and her daughter Jenny, and LeAnn's other sister Sue and her husband John. The course snakes through a neighborhood development, but the houses are far enough off the fairway that you don't feel crowded. From the fairway, there is a buffer of desert between the houses and the course. Lots of deep sand traps, but not much water on the course. It was nice to swing off the real grass rather than the indoor mats we are currently using in Minnesota. While we were gone, we got about 6 more inches of snow in Minnesota, delaying the start of the golf season up north. What grass was starting to show was covered back up.
While we golfed, Hailey and Lois stayed back and played games and enjoyed the sun at Yvonne's. We came back and had a great barbecue dinner before heading back to Apache Junction.
On Thursday we headed to the new Salt River Fields to watch a Diamondbacks-Athletics spring training game. This is a brand new stadium which is shared by both the Diamondbacks and the Rockies. The Diamondback's training facilities are behind the third base and left field area, while the Rockies facilities are behind the first base and right field areas. We had wondered through the Diamondbacks area on Monday when we came to pick up tickets. We sat out in the right field lawn area. It is a very casual and fun atmosphere for watching a game, but it is easy to get distracted from the game with all the people watching. LeAnn's sisters and John joined us at the game
Friday morning we went to the Mesa Flea Market. The market has new and used merchandise and is open air, but is covered by a roof with 4 long aisles with vendors on both sides. Each aisles is about 450 yards long, so there are hundreds of vendors, many selling a lot of the same things.
In the evening, we went to Barleen's Arizona Opry, which is a dinner theatre and show featuring music and comedy. The room holds about 500 people and is filled almost every night. The Barleen's spend the winter in Arizona and will be going to do the same thing in Estes Park Colorado this summer. One of the fun things is that when you are seated, there is a large piece of chocolate cake on the table waiting for you, so you can eat your desert before dinner to make sure you have room.
Saturday we went to Old Town Scottsdale and met up with LeAnn's nieces Beth and Laura for lunch along with her sisters and John. We ate at The Mission, which is located next to a real mission church. After lunch, we wondered through town and took in some of the sites. There are many sculptures scattered throughout the Old Town area. Horses and carriages are available for rent, along with bicycle rickshaws to bring you form one side of town to another. There was a baseball game going on in nearby Scottsdale Stadium, so lots of San Fransisco Giants fans were in the area.
We headed back to Minnesota on a red-eye flight Saturday night, giving us a full Sunday to recover from vacation.
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