Arizona: Phoenix

It's true. Phoenix is a hot, dry town with a large senior citizen population and not much going on. But there are some restaurants, attractions and highlights of the area that are worth checking out. In fact, some might argue that it's worth travelling to Phoenix just to see them.

The highlight of going to Phoenix for me, of course, is seeing my mother. But a close second would be soaking up the heat by the pool. Although it has gotten as warm as 118 degrees when I've visited, the heat is always manageable when you stand still. It's so dry in Phoenix that 30 degrees cooler in New York still feels much worse.

Quick Tips:

Bring plenty of sunscreen and be careful reaching around in the dark. Black widow spiders and scorpions are all over the place, and potentially deadly if they sting you.

Best Way To Get Around:

You'll need an air-conditioned car for getting around this spread out city. Biking is possible as everything is pretty flat, but the heat is stifling when you exert yourself.

This is one of the best ice cream parlors I have been to in quite a while. They scoop numerous flavors of hard packed ice cream out of its container and slap it down on a long marble countertop. Then at your request they mash it until its somewhat soft and fold in fresh fruits or dry ingredients such as candies or nuts. This results in an infinite number of flavor combinations, and some truly weird sounding ones at that. One lady in standing in front of me ordered peanut butter ice cream with fresh strawberries and oreos, while another kid sampled chocolate ice cream with smarties! Yuck!!

For Thanksgiving my Mom and I had dinner at the Camelback Inn Marriott Resort, a four hotel and golf resort on the outskirts of Scotsdale. While I was thoroughly uninterested in hitting the greens, I'd return to this popular resort for another meal anytime.

The meal was served buffet style, which of course gives any serious gourmand a reason to pause. But the entrees and sides were all of superior quality, and when they ran out of the yummy sweet potatoes a server ran off to the kitchen to see if the chef would make some more. He did, and I was left pretty full making buffet dessert consumption all the more difficult. Always the trooper, I managed to down some pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate torte and a cookie. The sacrifices one must make to share recommendations with fellow travelers...

The last time I went to visit my Mom in Phoenix she took me to the Mesa Amphitheatre to see Sarah McLachlan perform. While I had seen McLachlan in concert before, I was happily impressed with the outdoor amphitheater. Shaped much like the Greek amphitheaters of the past, its bank rise steeply up a fan-shaped hillside. The soft grass is comfortable to sit or lie back on, and the hill has been leveled in parts to create flat platforms, or steps, so that patrons don't roll down on top of one another.

Perhaps it's just my romanticizing the notion, but it seemed like the concert took on an entirely different air about it by being performed under an open sky. Maybe looking up in to the clear evening sky and gazing at stars helps one reflect on lyrical musings, but I'd guess it has more to do with simply enjoying the chance to spend some quality time outdoors.

Make sure to arrive early to grab a good seat. Refreshments are served, but like any concert venue they are well over-priced. You can call (480) 644-2178 for more information and a list of upcoming schedule performers at Mesa Amphitheatre.

One of the unfortunate things about Arizona is the popularity of shopping malls. The extreme heat drives the locals inside to seek refrigirated shelter. Tourists, meanwhile, see the shopping mall as the number one vacation activity in this culturally rich and nature friendly corner of the world. Fashion Square Mall is the fifth largest mall in the United States, but other than that it doesn't seem to offer much more than your typical shopping center back home.

Still, time and again, I find myself back at this mall when visiting my mother. Perhaps she longs to trick me into purchasing new clothes to replace the ones she doesn't really care for? If stuck at the fashion Square Mall, here are some pointers to make your time pass a little faster.

There is a pretty extensive record store called Circles Records and Tapes, with more variety and hard to come by titles than you would expect in Scottsdale. I was happily surprised by te number of bargain items available at the Gap, but refrained from spending any money and adding to my luggage, much to the chagrin of my mother. The food court is a step up from other malls that rely on bad Chinese and hot dogs to satisfy customers. And the gurgling fountains situated throughout the mall make for a nice place to sit back and read a few chapters of a book while you wait on your fashion hungry friends and family to finish up their labored shopping.