Honny Visit - April 2019

Talavera at Four Seasons

Shawna's mom, Honny, came out to visit us again, arriving on Thursday afternoon and leaving on Tuesday morning.  On Thursday, Shawna picked her up at the airport and then returned home to get settled, catch up and cook dinner - Shawna made parmesan encrusted chicken with roasted vegetables.  That evening we started to watch Our Planet which we watched several evenings.

Talavera

On Friday, Shawna did some calls in the morning and then we went shopping - stopping at Dillard's, Talbots and Ann Taylor.  Honny bought quite a bit and Shawna got a few things as well.  That evening we had dinner at North Italia - we shared the roasted cauliflower, bolognese pasta and the diver scallops - everything was very tasty.

Butterfly Garden

On Saturday, we went to the Open Air Market in Phoenix which was nice but not as big as we thought it would be - lots of food and craft vendors.  We had lunch at the Phoenix Public Market, which is a large cafe next to the market with mostly healthy food - we shared a rice bowl.  That afternoon, we went to the mummy exhibit at the Arizona Science Center - it was interesting to see mummies from different countries.  We returned home to relax a bit and then we went to dinner at Talavera where we sat on the outside patio and enjoyed the beautiful sunset and views.  We shared several appetizers - crispy chickpeas, blistered snap peas, morel mushrooms with artichokes, lamb meatballs and grilled octopus - everything was delicious except for the octopus which we vowed we would never order again (we have tried it now at several restaurants and didn't like it).  Mom really liked this place.

Botanic Garden

On Sunday, we went to the Botanic Gardens which mom enjoyed seeing all of the cacti in bloom.  We returned home to have lunch and then we watched Mary Queen of Scots.  That afternoon, we went to the Butterfly Garden but it was not as impressive as usual - there were less butterflies flying around for some reason.  For dinner, Shawna cooked pork tenderloin with couscous and roasted vegetables.

Botanic Garden

On Monday, Shawna did a few calls in the morning and then did some yard work with Honny, mainly trimming the lantanas.  We ate lunch at home and then went to see the flowers at a few of the resorts - first driving around the Phoenician and then walked around the Royal Palms which has beautiful bougainvilleas which Honny really enjoyed.  We had dessert there in the courtyard - sharing gelato and passion fruit creme brulee.  Honny commented that we should have dinner here the next time she came to visit.  On our way home, we stopped at DSW to get some shoes but Honny had no luck.  That evening, Shawna cooked turkey burgers with sweet potato fries.

Royal Palms

On Tuesday, Honny's flight was early so we left the house at 4:30am to drop her off.  Shawna made sure she got through security OK and then returned home to work.  We had a wonderful time together!

Ginger Visit - April 2019

Submarine Rock - Sedona

Ginger and Michael came to visit us for a long weekend - they last came about two years ago.  We had a great time showing them around and exploring Sedona with them and we tried to convince them to move here!

Shawna picked them up at the airport on Friday morning and after dropping their stuff off at home, we went for a day of grazing and beer tasting.  Keith had some calls so he met up with the group later in the afternoon.  Our first stop was lunch at the Cornish Pasty place - Michael had mentioned that he had really like this place from the last visit so we went back!  After eating our pasties, we then did some beer tasting at Goldwater Brewing Company and OSHO Brewery (Keith met us here) - we hung out for quite some time at OSHO enjoying the outside patio and their awesome happy hour deal of $7 per pitcher.  We also snacked on a few more items there, including french fries, buffalo cauliflower and pretzel sticks with cheese.  We were quite full at this point so we headed home and called it a night.

OSHO Brewery

On Saturday, Shawna made avocado toast with eggs for breakfast and then we drove up to Sedona to do some hiking and to spend the night.  Shawna had rented a cute two bedroom house on AirBnB which is newly remodeled and convenient to both Sedona and Oak Creek Village.  Once we arrived in Sedona, we hiked for a couple of hours around the Bell Rock / Courthouse Butte Loop.  We had packed some sandwiches so we sat for a while at Bell Rock while we ate lunch and enjoyed the views.  We then drove into Sedona and walked around town for a bit and enjoyed a beer on the patio at Canyon Breeze (which is a courtyard of food stalls and a bar with a great patio with nice views).

Bell Rock / Courthouse Butte Loop - Sedona

We checked into the AirBnb and then napped and cleaned up.  For dinner, we went to our favorite place, Mariposa, where we sat outside with a drink and then dined in their main dining room (the patio was full) with great views of the sunset against the rocks.  Our eyes were bigger than our stomach as we shared two appetizers (sausage plate and fried avocado) and then each shared the meat trio along with four sides (potato gratin, roasted brussel sprouts, sautéed mushrooms and yucca fries).  For dessert, we tried the tres leches cake and a chocolate/caramel bread pudding.  Everything was delicious!

Mariposa

On Sunday, Keith and Michael ran out to get coffee and yogurt for breakfast which we ate at the house.  We then packed up and hiked for 6.8 miles and 3 hours and 30 minutes, starting at Little Horse Trailhead and hiking to Chicken Point and then on to Submarine Rock (on the Broken Arrow Trail) and then back.  It was a great hike!  We grabbed lunch and a beer at the Hudson, sharing the steak and blue salad (so yummy) before driving back home.  On our drive home, we played a lot of songs that we all knew the words to so we sang along the whole way.

View on Little Horse/Broken Arrow Hike - Sedona

That evening, we hung out at the pool and then had dinner at home - Shawna cooked beef kabobs, couscous with roasted vegetables and tomato/cucumber salad.  We served it with pita, hummus and tzaziki.

On Monday, Ginger and Michael relaxed at the house and then packed up and headed to the airport for their flight home.  It was so great to hang out with them - lots of laughs and good times!

Simran Visit - February 2019

Lost Dog Wash Trail

While Rakesh and Ria stayed in Utah skiing, Simran came to AZ to spend the week with Shawna after their girls weekend in San Diego.  Shawna worked during the day while Simran relaxed and did some work.  The weather was quite cold and rainy so limited our ability to do walks outside.  But in the afternoons and evenings, we explored a bit.  After indulging in San Diego, we decided to detox the first couple of days so Simran cooked a few healthy meals that we had for lunch and dinner - Shawna liked having a 'wife' around!  Carrying on the coffee trend from our weekend in San Diego, we checked out a few local coffee shops including Maverick Coffee, Press and Cartel Coffee Lab.

Yes, that is snow!

On Thursday evening, we were supposed to do a food festival in the Japanese gardens but it was rained out so instead we got take out and watched A Star is Born.  On Friday, we stopped at a local Mexican grocery store (not as nice as the one we saw in San Diego) and then met up with Keith at Barrio Cafe for dinner where we shared Queso Fundido, Kuali de Cameron, Chile Colorado (best of the dishes) and del Mar grilled fish.  Dinner was very good but not as amazing as we had remembered it being.

On Saturday, we hiked for a couple of hours at Lost Dog Wash trail and then had a light lunch (salad and shishito peppers) at Doughbird.  Back at home, Simran packed up and then Shawna took her the airport.

Pagna Visit - January 2019

Sunrise Peak - Keith, Pagna, Shawna

One of the students from EYC, Pagna, is in the States attending college in Bridgewater, MA and over his Christmas break, he spent time with several families.  He stayed for a weekend in TX with Keith's parents and then came to AZ, first staying with Jodi and Tim and then with us.

To hand over Pagna to us, we hosted Jodi, Tim, Ali (who was in town to visit with Pagna as well) and Pagna for dinner on Friday night.  We had Mediterranean dishes - kebabs, couscous and roasted vegetables followed by ice cream for dessert.  It was great to catch up with all of them.

Golf Pros!

On Saturday, we made breakfast at home - avocado toast - and then hiked Sunrise Peak which took the usual two hours.  It was a bit windy but sunny and beautiful and the trail was relatively empty.  We then went back home to clean up and then had Pho for lunch at Slanted Rice.  Pagna was craving Asian food.  In the afternoon, we played a couple of rounds at Top Golf, teaching Pagna how to hit a golf ball by two people who know nothing about golf!  Pagna did pretty well, coming close to beating Keith!  We tried to go racing go karts but the wait was too long so we opted instead to go home and take a nap.  That evening, we had Thai at Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery - great restaurant with cool decor and food was very tasty! We then went to see The Upside which was quite funny.

Lost Dog Wash Trail

On Sunday, we had breakfast at home again - this time our usual yogurt with berries.  We then went for another hike, Lost Dog Wash Trail which lasted about 1.5 hours.  Back at the house, we cleaned up and then Keith took Pagna to the airport so he could fly to LA for a few days before returning back to school.