Winter Getaway
February is tough in Minnesota. The holidays are over, the kids are back in school and there's still at least eight weeks of winter left (I don't care what that rodent in PA says, in Minnesota winter lasts at least until the end of March). Both of our WorldPerks balances were screaming at us to get out of town for a while. We had just been to Florida in early December - other than Florida one of our favorite places to visit and relax is Phoenix. We started looking for early February - a lot of places we usually try to book were already full. Realizing that late February also brings Spring Training - we planned our dates so we could (ok so I could) take in a game or two.
I found a kitschy Airbnb well positioned to be able to take in hiking, games and enjoy one of our favorite restaurants. The Shaggy Dog Bed & Breakfast was a great find and allowed us to have our own private spot nested in the backyard of our very gracious guests. The RV has been completely renovated - super chic and very comfortable.
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| Our Airbnb |
One of our favorite things to enjoy about the Phoenix area is hiking. We've done Piestewa Peak on a previous trip and enjoyed the challenge, and on this trip we took on Camelback Mountain. Well, Tim took on Camelback. I took on about the first third of Camelback. We also met Tim's former coworker at Lake Pleasant Regional Park and enjoyed the views on the Yavapai Point trail.
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| Base part of trail, Camelback |
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| The view at Camelback |
While we did make meals in the camper, we also enjoyed a few of the local restaurants, sampling nachos at the Half Moon Sports Grill and fish tacos which is one of our favorite things to try whenever we see them on the menu.
We were also able to take in a couple of Spring Break games - in fact I moved our departure date to about 10 days later to align with the start of Spring Break. Little did I know that would be the only professional games we would see in 2020.
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| Dodgers @ Diamondbacks: Salt River Fields |
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| Tempe Diablo Stadium |
The first day we were relaxing in the garden at the Airbnb, I saw an add for Hot Air Expeditions in Phoenix, and I thought - we're going to do this! So I booked using TripAdvisor, and set my mind to overcome my fear of heights. IT WAS AMAZING. We had a great time and learned so much!
One of the best things - the Champagne toast: The tradition of a champagne toast after a hot air balloon ride dates back to the 1780’s when hot air balloons first took flight. Today, upon landing, it remains a tradition with balloonists’ around the world to offer champagne to passengers after a hot air balloon ride and recite the Balloonist’s Prayer:
Have you ever taken a hot air balloon ride? Where? What was the best thing about the ride? Leave your comments below!
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