Phoenix Trip

On Sunday last week I drove 6 hours to Phoenix to spend a couple days with my sister Alyssa and her husband Chris.  You may remember our blog post from September when Brian and I drove through Phoenix on our way back to Minnesota for Brian's ordination. Well, I took the trip again (just to Phoenix this time) in order to spend some time with my sister. Though 6 hours is a big commitment, it is still wonderful how close I live to them now that we are in So. Cal.  It has been a long time since Alyssa and I have lived so close to each other, so I need to take advantage of the situation as long as we are out here!


We had a good time together while I was there. Alyssa had to two days planned with great food, a couple desert hikes, and plenty of time to catch up!  We love cooking together, and since Alyssa is a vegan, then there is always something new and different to try when I visit her.  This trip we shared some sesame tofu sticks for lunch that we picked up from Whole Foods.  She also cooked herself some teriyaki tofu to go along with the delicious chicken teriyaki she cooked for Chris and me.

Alyssa recently discovered a wonderful hike a short drive from her house that leads to a great overlook of the city.  She first went on the hike with a yoga group that her friend is a part of.  She was excited to take me to the hike when I got to town, and of course we brought yoga mats to do a little yoga while overlooking the city. I mostly did some stretching and laying, while she contorted herself into some impressive yoga poses.  It was a beautiful view and a great morning activity! 

After hiking and shopping a bit around Phoenix, we were thinking happy hour would be just the perfect activity for two sisters to do together.  We called up the Blue Martini, and sure enough, they were serving half-off everything for their afternoon happy hour.  We enjoyed some tasty martinis and good conversation for the afternoon.  While sitting at the Blue Martini, we got a phone call from our dad updating us that our brother Mason got a job he had applied for as the morning radio show host at the country music station in Salida, CO.  We were excited for him and his new opportunity. We toasted to him and sent a picture text with our congratulations!  Good work Mason!  We hope your new job is starting off well this week!

Alyssa and Chris have a grapefruit tree in their backyard that produces impressively sweet grapefruit juice.  So I thought it would be fun to head outside with a step stool to help them harvest their fruits.  I picked a whole bag of them, and then juiced about 8 fruits for them.  As an added bonus, I got to bring some home with me to make my own delicious juice!  I love the abundance of fresh citrus down here in the South West!





I left on Tuesday afternoon in order to be home and rested before getting back to my work schedule on Wednesday afternoon. But before I left Alyssa wanted to do some more hiking. So after breakfast we went out to the trails around her neighborhood.  Old desert trails lead off from the neighborhood trails into the desert, and though there are some large "No Trespassing" signs, we decided to try the old trails out and see what cool things we might find. I was pretty nervous about trespassing, but when I saw how many bike tracks and footprints were on the trails I decided the signs might just be a way to keep people who don't live in the neighborhood away from the desert that surrounds the residential area. We only headed about 30 minutes before turning around, so I was thinking it was pretty harmless. It was fun to see more of the desert though, and we enjoyed spotting some birds and checking out the cactus and other desert terrain. 

One last picture of us together before saying goodbye.  We were trying for good pics the whole time, but since we were both showered and hair done, we were hoping for a good close up this time.  I think this one turned out pretty well. We were in her back yard with the wonderful sun on our faces and her little orange tree in the background. Thanks for the wonderful visit Sass! I had so much fun with you!