Martin and Michelle Visit - February 2017

Keith, Michelle and Martin on the Flight to Scottsdale

Martin and Michelle came to visit us in Scottsdale (Keith and Martin used to work together at Aimco).  While it was a quick 36 hour whirlwind visit, we were excited to host them.

Keith was in Denver the week before so was able to get on the same flight from Denver to Phoenix on the Friday afternoon as Martin and Michelle.  He saw them as they were sharing a drink at Root Down, and all sat together on the plane - helping burn Keith's Southwest drink coupons.  We Ubered to the house in time for a bottle of wine before heading out to meet Tim and Jodi for dinner at Spiga.  Dinner was delicious - the baratta appetizer was great and we shared the the caprese salad and short ribs over polenta.  After returning home, we shared another couple of bottles of wine, with Keith bailing out and going to bed before the others!

On Top of Camelback

Saturday was a busy day.  The first stop was the traditional trip up Camelback.  Like the previous weekend, we dropped the car at Keith's work and Ubered back and forth to the Echo Canyon start.  After the hike, we (of course!) headed over to the Cornish Pasty Company for lunch.  The waitress knew our order before we could even tell her - a tell tale sign that we are becoming regulars there!  The next stop of the day was Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe.  We shared a couple of beers before we started the 2:30pm brewery tour which was led by a guy who ran the operations.  It was probably the most informative brewery tour we have been on.  The tour was only $10 each and comes with 2 free beers afterward.  We were able to sit on the outdoor patio enjoying the beers before driving back to the house.

Brewery Tour at Four Peaks

We had only a bit off time to shower and get ready for dinner - but enough time to share a final bottle of wine and show them our Uganda/Rwanda gorilla photos.  Dinner was at Ocotillo - while the food was delicious, the service that evening was spotty - they had run out of the wine that Michelle wanted and one of the entrees we had ordered so we quickly had to place another order.  We shared a vegetable dish and crudo for appetizers and then Keith and Shawna shared the pork tenderloin for an entree and also tasted some of the pasta that Martin had ordered.  The restaurant is very lively with seating options both inside and out.

Shelly had to be back in Denver for work Sunday morning so they left the house by Uber at 6:30 am.  We used the rest of the day to catch up both personal items and work.