Phoenix

Wes and I just got back yesterday from his conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This was our first trip away together without Oliver since he was born, and only our second "vacation" trip since we were married (the first being a truly unforgettable trip to Portland, Oregon). There was some work -- I had to finish a final paper for my Maymester class, and Wes was at a work conference where he presented and had a dinner meeting on Friday night. But mostly we were just together. We stayed up late when we wanted to, slept in late when we were able (the time change threw me the first morning), sat by the pool, and ate good meals.

We did do some sight-seeing around Phoenix. We went Friday afternoon to South Mountain Park. We had planned to do a little hiking, but we had some trouble finding trails and ended up just driving to the summit at Dobbins Lookout. There were really great views of the city (from 2300 feet up) and surrounding mountains, and we started to get a real sense of the terrain. We drove briefly around Scottsdale, which is a cute, somewhat touristy area.

Saturday was our big day out on the town. We slept in, then had a big breakfast at Butterfield's Pancake House (New Orleans french toast, with sauteed bananas for me, and Strawberries and Cream Belgian waffle for Wes, and hot chocolate for both!), and then went to the Desert Botanical Gardens near the zoo. It was unbelievably hot outside, but with lots of water and some rest in the shade, it was nice. We saw lots of different cacti, some really pretty flowers, and several geckos. We briefly visited Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall, which might be the fanciest mall I've ever been in, but it didn't have a bookstore, so we weren't there long.

We had dinner with some old Northwestern friends and colleagues almost every night (tortilla soup -- mmmm). It made Wes glad he went there for residency, but certain about his choice to leave for his current job. Mostly it was just nice to have the time together. I read a lot, slept a lot. We did miss Ollie and were sorry to miss the fun that he was having with my mom and sister, but we also enjoyed the freedom we had without him with me, and I knew my mom and sister were having a great time, too.