Over the last week, I’ve had the great pleasure of traveling across the country to visit with friends and family. The traveling was inspired by a plan to meet up with my friends Lara, Grace, Kathy, and Jennifer. We all went to graduate school together at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Most of us were on a two-year project studying whether an exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo changed zoo visitor’s behavior (here’s the link to our research!). They’re a great group of girls, and we’ve gotten together a few times in recent years. In October, 2007, we met up in Austin for a wonderful weekend (blog post here! photos here!). Some of us were also at Jennifer’s 2008 wedding and Lara’s 2010 wedding. Kathy bid on (and won) a weekend home rental in Scottsdale, Arizona, so we all traveled…from California (Jennifer and Kathy), Wisconsin (me), and Washington DC (Grace and Lara) to meet in Arizona for a girls weekend.
Enroute to Arizona, I dropped off Sylvia and Andrew at the Dallas airport. LuAnn was able to get through security to meet us at the gate, so I could wave goodbye and run across the airport to make my connecting flight. The kids stayed with Granny and Grandad for the week, since it was also Andrew’s spring break.
In Arizona, the weather was warm…actually, often HOT! After the cold spring we’ve had in Wisconsin, I welcomed the hot sun:)
My girls and I love good food. It’s the glue that held our master’s project together through thick and thin. And so when we get together, food becomes a wonderful thing to anticipate and enjoy.
We started our visit of Scottsdale in Old Town. Upon the recommendation of a friend (thanks Becky!), we ate at a restaurant called Bandera. Rotisserie Chicken, here we come!
This picture, my friends, is of my favorite dish of the trip. It’s called Macho Salad. Ingredients include chicken, avocado, corn, dates, goat cheese, almonds, and some amazing fried corn bread croutons. I found a recipe online that seemed to be a fair interpretation. Oh, so good!
April in Arizona is beautiful! This is my first time to the Southwest, and I was in awe of the flora and landscape.
Me and a silly statue in Old Town.
Check out the cactus! I’m now a huge fan of cactus. Such a cool plant!
One of many group pictures we took. Check out how the light spotlights Lara’s baby belly:)
The next morning (I guess that was Friday), I woke up early and wandered around the yard taking pictures in the lovely morning light. Here’s the sun shining through a palo verde tree.
And here’s the huge house we occupied for the weekend.
Three suguaro cacti landscaped our front yard. Like the cactus equivalent to trees!
Lovely purple flowers blooming in the back.
Super cool bush.
Here’s the pool…
Ahh, the morning light! I wish there was audio so you could hear the Gavin’s Quail and Inca Doves. There were also Cactus Wrens pip-hopping about, and we saw some Flickrs nesting in the cacti.
Here’s our first morning of breakfast. There was a lot of laughter and fun!
