New Year's in Phoenix

Phoenix is a beautiful and well-planned city (I think it got some kind of award). The city is covered in Southwestern styles and colors and it's got a great Southwestern feel to it, without much of the "dirtiness" that big cities usually have. I found it relaxing to just be driving around, taking in all the sights. It was like a perfect big city, with all the streets are perpendicular to each other and the colors. Phoenix offers excellent shopping. My friend that visits Phoenix all the time is always talking about the shopping there, that's one of the reasons we picked it for our "New Year's Vacation." The Fiesta Bowl is also in Phoenix around New Year's. In planning our trip, we had originally hoped that our school (Texas A&M) would be in the bowl game there. We were dissappointed when it didn't work out, but we made the best of it and had fun nonetheless!

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting around in Phoenix is easy due to the simple layout of the streets. When we were there, traffic was very light. Driving is must to get to almost any destination in Phoenix, although walking can be done downtown.

For two nights and five girls, La Quinta was the right room for the right price. With a mall behind us (Fiesta Mall), and a Denny''s in the parking lot, it was a good location also. Since the trip was more about US having a good time than the actual New Year''s celebration, we didn''t mind staying 20 minutes from Downtown Phoenix. This hotel is located in a somewhat quiet area near US 60.

The hotel itself was brand new when we stayed there, so the room was very nice and clean. We were on the second floor, and even though it was around New Year''s, it was pretty quiet. There was even a high school baseball team staying there and we didn''t even hear them (they did hang out in the parking lot, however). We had all the normal La Quinta amenities: Cable, heated outdoor pool, clean rooms, alarm clocks, and even a continental breakfast in the morning.

After a long day of shopping there was nothing we wanted more than a margarita and some good food. Our resident Phoenix expert recommended this place, and it was perfect. It was New Year's Day, so we expected it to be crowded, but we were promptly seated and served up with chips, salsa, and waters. We ordered margaritas and they also arrived promptly and were very good. After we ordered our food, a balloon artist came into the room where we were sitting and began making balloon animals for the kids at the next table. He made a very cool looking frog and put jingle bells inside the frog's eyes! It was the best balloon animal I've ever seen. He made some for a few other kids, and then came to our table. We were being silly, and since one of my friends LOVES giraffes, she decided to get one. He quickly made it for her, and then I think we gave him $5(?). Before we knew it, our food had arrived: fajitas, enchiladas, and quesadillas around the table. I had the fajitas, which came with my favorite thing: homemade tortillas. The food was excellent.

The only thing that could possibly be a problem was that there were kids all over this restaurant, and it seems to be a semi-loud, family place. But, five girls looking for a fun time and good food: it was perfect.

In our group, Chili's is always a favorite. With an extensive menu and specialty drinks (try the Margarita Presidente), it's hard to go wrong. On New Year's Eve, we didn't want a hassle, a big meal, or a long wait, so Chili's it was! We ended up waiting about 15 minutes, but that was fine. We ended up at a table in the corner with an AWESOME waitress. She was a little less-than-ecstatic about working on New Year's Eve, but she was very funny and nice.

My favorite thing at Chili's is their Grilled Chicken Caesar Pita, which comes in a nifty little "pita rack" and with fries. Their Caesar dressing is good and the pita bread is very soft and good.

I am not a big fan of the "Chili's seasoning" (whatever it may be... it seems to be on everything grilled), but it's not on the chicken in this. One of my friends LOVES their Mushroom Jack Fajitas, and she thought I would too (since we both like mushrooms and cheese, but they have the "Chili's seasoning" on them). I also like their grilled chicken sandwich with honey mustard.

It's a good, casual restaurant with plenty to choose from and a good atmosphere for a group of friends.

My Phoenix-Mall-Savvy friend decided this was THE Phoenix mall to take us to. It is her favorite, and I could see why. It's the fifth largest mall in the US... no rollercoasters or anything, but lots and lots of stores. It's a little confusing to navigate, but if you're not looking for anything real particular, it's fun to wander around in.

With anchor stores like Bullock's, Dillard's, Neiman Marcus, Robinson's May, we spent most of our time in the actual mall looking at Express, The Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch (there's a kid's Abercrombie also, which I had never seen!), Limited, and the extensive food court, where we took a break from our shopping.

The only problem we encountered was at the service desk. One of my friends had a broken ankle and was on crutches. Well, to make the mall a little easier on all of us, we rented a wheel chair. Well, it was a Sunday, the mall was closing at 6, so we hurried over to the service desk and the "door" was locked and no one was around. There was another couple in the same predicament: Their ID, deposit, and crutches were behind the counter! So, the guy jumped the counter (note to self: 3 foot locked "doors" are not the best way at deterring a break-in), and got all of our stuff!

It was a good trip, and a good mall, but not much more impressive than a mall in any big city.

Well, this was it. New Year's Eve 1999, hoping to ring in 2000 with no major catastrophes. As we got ready, we watched all the New Year's celebrations across the world (Paris, London, New York, Chicago...). It was slowly approaching US. Before the night began, we did a champagne toast in our hotel room. After we all finally got ready (we wanted to all look special!), we headed to downtown Phoenix. It was a cold, clear night and the traffic was light. Once we got to downtown, we parked a couple blocks away and walked towards the square where we could see the "Phoenix 2000" sign that they were going to drop at midnight.

We could hear the Gin Blossoms playing "Follow You Down" as we bought our tickets to get in ($10) (WRISTBAND #1). Once in, we had to stand in another line to get a wristband that indicated we were of age to drink by showing our IDs (WRISTBAND #2). Then, we had to stand in another line to buy tickets to redeem for beer (~$5 per beer). THEN, we had to stand in another line to get the beer. Badly organized if you ask me. After all that, we were ready to enjoy ourselves. We kind of wandered around for a little while, and listened to the Gin Blossoms set. It wasn't too crowded, but we were kind of dissappointed that there weren't too many people our age, it was mostly families and high school kids. We attempted to go into a bar, but it was another $15 cover charge, so we just continued to walk around.

Shortly before midnight, two of us started talking to a guy that was inside a fenced area in the center of the Celebration. He said he could get us in this "VIP section" where they had an open bar and HEATERS. We were excited! So, he let us in (WRISTBAND #3) and we got free drinks and toasted the New Year with the best-tasting champagne (which we've looked everywhere for and haven't been able to find). At midnight, the "Phoenix 2000" sign dropped and IT WAS 2000!!

We stayed there for another hour or so and befriended some VERY interesting people. We also called our friends in CA as their midnight approached. Phoenix Celebration wasn't all that we expected, but as long as we are together, we are having fun!