Our First Day in Phoenix - Pizzeria Bianco, Old Town Scottsdale and Original Chop Shop Co. (Jan.28, 2025)

 We were up at 4 am, got ready, dropped off the car and headed over to the airport.

Dropped off our luggage and made it through security pretty quickly and we at the gate ready to go.

We normally have something to eat but neither of us was that hungry so I just got some egg white bites and a pink drink at Starbucks.

I'm so looking forward to the nice weather.

Then after a short trip, we landed to sunny blue skies in Phoenix, Arizona.

Welcome to Phoenix.

I got an email a couple days ago saying I could pre-register to skip the counter for our car rental (We booked with Dollar through Expedia) so I did it.

When I completed it, it said that I would get a link a half hour or so before pick up to be able to go in and choose our vehicle and sure enough, when we landed and I turned my phone back on, I got the email.

I picked the vehicle I wanted then it said to picked it up at parking stall such and such and the keys would be in the car.

It was AWESOME!!!!

The first thing we did was go for some lunch because we were hungry.

We ate at Pizzeria Bianco last time we were in Phoenix and it was so delicious we were both looking forward to going back so that's the first place we headed.

Luckily we were able to be seated right away.

I love beams on the ceiling.

The owner was actually there today, Chris Bianco, I should have snapped his picture but I didn't think of it.

He's a James Beard award winning chef.

My Honey.

Moi.

I ordered the pistachio pizza that I got last time.

The Rosa which has red onions, Parmigiano Reggiano, and pistachios which is what sold me on it.

It was really good - the crust is amazing, but the one Jason ordered was waaaaay better.

Jason ordered the same one he did last time as well, the Sonny Boy.

It had tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, salami, and Gaeta olives.

It is so fantastic, I wish I had ordered this one too, I could have honestly eaten the whole thing by myself.

Pretty tree just outside of the restaurant.

The same stray kitty we met last time we were here was still hanging around.

We paid for a couple of hours of parking in a parking garage so we decided to just walk around the downtown area for a bit.

Some interesting sculptures we saw.

This giant centipede was super cute.

I loved the little worker bugs on each of the sculptures.

There was also a scorpion.

Some random murals.

This one was near where the symphony played which was fitting.

It's a pretty quiet downtown area especially for being a week day.

There were some murals that would have been great photo ops.

I loved this one.

More awesome murals.

I love all the colors.

From there we wanted to go check out Scottsdale - we've never been there before.

I saw a vlogger I watch go to a shopping area there that looked super cute so I looked up shopping Scottdale and we headed over there.

It ended up just being like an outdoor shopping center, not really the place I was looking for but we did check out a few stores.

It did have this nice area with a fountain and a bunch of statues.

There were some really nice statues.

I liked the color of them.

I'm not sure what this tall pointy thing was - it looked cool.

There aren't any cacti growing out and about where I live so it's neat to see them here.

I like these tall ones.

It's this whole park area just randomly at this shopping area.

More sculptures.

And another.

Jason got a good close up.

Fountain

I like the movement on them.

More of a close up.

I bet this is nice at night when it is all lit up.

It's January and look at all the flowers in bloom - how lucky for them.

After we checked out everything we anted in the shopping area, I looked up the actual spot that I had wanted to see and it was Old Town so we googled that and headed there next.

We found a spot to park and walked around.

There is this whole canal with a paved road all along it.

It would be a great place to run or bike.

We happened upon an art sale that was just ending - bummed we missed it.

Then this bull statue was just outside of a restaurant I think,

I love it.

This looked like a nice restaurant.

A nice shot of the canal.

This fish was on a wall beside the road.

It was so cool.

The back of it had clear tiles instead of bricks so the light could shine through.

Now this fountain I remember from the vlogger - Through My Lens.

Old Town Scottsdale is just a really nice walkable area with a bunch of shops and restaurants.

What an interesting looking plant.

It was outside this restaurant where we decided to go and get a salad.

We went inside to order - you just order at the counter then they deliver it to your table.

We wanted something on the healthier side and they tons of great options on the menu.

I like the 'hello'.

Of course we opted to eat outside - we always take advantage of the nice weather when we can.

 

I got the Spicy Korean Steak rice bowl - it was really good.

Next stop was Walmart to get a few things we needed.

I'm always impressed with all the coffee creamer options they have.

I'm not sure if they are kinds that I would necessarily like but still love looking at all the available flavors.

I would like to try this one though - I love pistachio.

Back at the room we got settled in - we didn't unpack since we'll only be here for 3 nights.

This is our home for the next few days.

We are on the bottom floor and we have patio doors that lead out into the courtyard where there is a pool and a hot tub.

We went and tried out the hot tub for a while - I tried to go for a dip in the pool but it was a tad bit on the cool side.

Maybe if I'd gotten in the pool first it wouldn't have felt so cold.

(I left my phone in the room so I didn't get any pictures).

We had the whole place to ourselves and it was a lovely evening.

Very nice.

My kind of logic!

Well that's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Freya Gets Her First X-Ray (Jan.27, 2025)

The whole reason for our city trip is that Freya needed to go for an x-ray and an ultra sound on her finger.

She had a big lump on her middle finger that doesn't really bother her but Kody took her to the Doctor to get it checked out just in case and they ordered up these extra tests. 

First up was the ultra sound.

As you can see, she wore her new yellow outfit.

 

She did a great job - the technician was asking questions and I could tell she was shy but she tried to answer her questions.

Then it was on to the x-ray.

The technician was younger and she was really good with Freya.

She explained everything that was going on and then showed Freya the x-rays afterwards, showed her the gaps in between her joints or the growth plates - the extra room for all of her bones to grow.

I wasn't allowed to take a picture but it was neat.

Then it was back home we went.

I dropped her off to Haylee then went straight to work.

I had a few things that I wanted to make sure I got done before heading out for vacation and it took me a few hours.

Then when I got home, the girls came over for a visit.

Eden is developing this funniest little personality.

She's not saying too much yet - she does like to yell but it just nonsense and it sounds so funny.

Our girl.

She's so sad that we are leaving - we are sad to leave her as well - we love traveling but missing the girls is a really hard part.

Luckily tonight Rita and Zepplyn dropped by to invite Freya to go swimming so that was a great distraction for her.

I mean - isn't she the cutest?

I think sitting at the little table makes her feel like a big girl and she just loves it.

She also loooooves clementines and blueberries so that was what she was snacking on.

Jason got home from work an hour early so we packed up and headed to the city.

We stayed in a new hotel out by the airport - the clerk was just so friendly and helpful.

It was late when we got there so we pretty much just went straight to bed.

 Our flight leaves at 7 am so we have to be to the airport by 5 am which means a 4 am wake up call.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Chuck E Cheese with My Girl (Jan.26, 2025)

I am heading into the city today to take Freya in for an xray.

She has a cyst on her finger so the doctor wanted an xray and they made the appointment in Spruce Grove for tomorrow at 9 am.

Kody couldn't get the day off so I said I would take her.

 

I wanted to get my steps in early so right after my coffee, I hopped on the treadmill.

I did a 2 minute walk 3 minute run at 4.0 on repeat for the whole time and it felt so good to get back to running somewhat.

Plus most of my steps are done for the day - way to go me!

After my run, I packed my bags for the city tonight then also for Phoenix.

We will be turning around and heading back to the city tomorrow night when Jason gets off work because we fly out 7 am Tuesday morning.

I picked up Freya and we headed in around 12:30

The first thing on my agenda was to run a Get Well card to a co-worker, Jason, and he lives in Sherwood Park which is quite out of the way from where we were going but I didn't mind.

Then Freya came up with this idea that she wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese.

She told Jason (she was talking to him on the phone) and he ended up sending some cash and told me to take her.

So I did.

Freya kept talking about how she wanted to see Chuck E Cheese and he walked right up as soon as we got there.

She wouldn't go near him for a picture though, just kind of stood back and watched him.

I thought she might regret it when he left but she didn't.

Paying to play the games is actually pretty reasonable but the food is where they get you.

She wanted dippin dots - they were nearly 7 bucks for this little dish.

This tiny personal pizza was nearly 16 dollars - CRAZY!

This was little 3d ride that she did.

There were three different versions you could watch and she watched them all.

She didn't want to get up close and personal to the real Chuck E Cheese that was walking around but she was ok with getting up close to this animated one to take a picture.

Some of the rides/games were geared more towards littler ones but Freya was ok with checking them out anyway.

She didn't last the whole hour that we had paid for but that's ok - I think we got our money's worth.

She picked out a few things with her points.

I had to make a stop at Walmart for a few things and I wanted to make sure we got back to the hotel in time to be able to hist the swimming pool before it closed.

She got this little lizard with her points at Chuck E Cheese and she noticed that it had bugs inside it so she had to perform surgery and get them out.

Dr. Freya hard at work.

She got them out.

She was hungry and wanted pizza so I ordered one - it got there pretty quickly - we had a slice each then headed to the pool.

There was one lady in the hot tub but other than that - we had the whole pool to ourselves.

I stayed in the pool with her for a bit then I went into the hot tub and ended up chatting away the rest of the evening chatting with the lady.

Freya was having a grand time finding things, hiding things, just playing like she does.

The lady was super impressed with her imagination - she is so imaginative.

She picked out this outfit at Walmart and wanted to try it on.

She loved it and was posing in all of these different positions.

So cute.

Then it was off to never never land for us both.