An Arizona Wedding (and Everything in Between)

Maybe I'm a pansy for having made it to my 26th (pushing 27th) birthday without ever driving all night. I'm sure a lot of you have done this on more than one occasion, but it was brand new for me, and, to my lasting surprise, an experience I wouldn't mind repeating.

We had a strategy in place before we left, and I believe this is key. Driving while you're tired is no laughing matter, unfortunately, and you don't want to be messing around with the possibility of falling asleep behind the wheel. Years ago I had one near-sleeping disaster, and it made me realize that it CAN happen, and that you don't really see it coming until you're jerking back awake and swerving back between the lines, if you're lucky. So. Strategy.

We promised each other that no matter what, if we felt tired we would pull over and ask the other to drive, or pull over and sleep. We checked the car before we left -- I didn't want to be stranded in the mountains or the desert in the middle of the night. There are long stretches of road between towns. We also agreed to fill the car with gas at every reasonable opportunity between the half- and quarter-full marks.

Nick was to drive first, since I usually go to bed earlier than he does and would therefore be more likely able to sleep at 10:00 pm, which was our departure time. Unfortunately, in this case, I was not, so by 12:30 when he was ready for a snooze I had not had much in the line of decent sleep. But I felt okay, so I took the wheel and a swig of something caffeine-infused.

The first hour of that was the roughest, but I pulled through until 3:30 when I turned the car back over to him. I was out immediately until he woke me at 6:00 to take another turn.

I felt lucky to be driving as the sun was rising behind us. We stopped at 8:00 for some food and I kept driving on to the Grand Canyon, our first real stopping point.

I thought the road would wind endlessly, but the trip went surprisingly quickly. There was something remarkably peaceful about driving in the dark for such a long time, about seeing occasional headlights (usually trucks) and the rocks near Moab, Utah, glowing in the moonlight against a dark backdrop. The sky was clear and sparkling, and I peered up out of the window as often as I safely could.

I would not, at this point, recommend a trip like this without a buddy to share the driving. But if you have one, and you're up for it, it's a nice way to save some time and quietly experience the great American highway, one sleepy gas station at a time.

When I traveled alone, I took a lot of pictures. Not "a lot" according to some people's standards of a lot, which gets to be overkill, but I took enough to adequately aid in my memory of a place, and to color my travel journals.

This is one of a few recent smaller trips that I took with someone, and picture-taking just isn't the same. To start with, if we're talking and carrying on, I just don't think to pull out the camera and start snapping. As we walked out of Flicka's, we were still raving about our burritos and pondering the strange math that led to the total on our check, so it didn't occur to me to turn around as I left and capture the entrance in digital.

Concerning Nick and me, during our year and a half together we've not been people to take pictures. I have a mere handful of photos of us together -- which is absolutely regrettable, I admit, but it seems we're both in a habit of not using a camera. I guess we just don't think of it.

More than that, when you travel with someone, he (or she) is doing half the remembering for you. A week later (a month, ten years), I have someone with whom to look back on Arizona and smile. When I miss a detail, he will fill it in. We don't need any pictures for that, and it's worth so much more than all the photos in the world.

However, that doesn't help you. So for your sake, dear traveling reader, I will do better next time, whether I am on my own or with a travel buddy. My camera is at the ready. Now I just need a plane ticket.

Of course, there are probably 1,000 or more Grand Canyon reviews, and a bazillion Grand Canyon pictures. But these are mine.

When I traveled overseas, listening to people talk about the things they wanted to see in the US made me realize how much I had left to see in the US. Much like the Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, Hawaii, Yellowstone, and so many other American treasure, the Grand Canyon is just something you really need to see. And now, finally, I have.

We drove to the South Rim. My phone started going out of service around 8:30 am, and we passed through the fee station around 9:30. It costs $25 per car -- too bad we were one day too soon for the national museum and park day, where all national parks were free! Ah, well -- a small price to pay for such grandeur.

End of September and early in the morning meant we didn't have to compete very hard for parking or viewing areas. I can't help but envy some of my friends who have hiked and camped in the canyon -- however, you need permits for those things, and we didn't have the time anyway. So we contented ourselves with gazing over the expanse with the busload of French tourists.

The Colorado River looks so tiny at the bottom -- it's hard to believe that it is responsible for the beauty we were lucky enough to behold.

There are several stopping points along the road; we pulled over for about half of them. The Grand Canyon Village has a restaurant, post office, and a very well-stocked grocery store. We stopped to see what was there, but ended up just using the bathroom and continuing on our way to Phoenix.

As we drove away, Nick wondered how many people live in Arizona who have never seen it. I had to laugh, because isn't that the way with the things we have so close to us -- we take advantage, we think we can go any time we want. If you live close to the Grand Canyon, or whatever you have close to you, just go. Go now. See it, experience it, tell me about it.

Nick's not a big breakfast person, so I felt a little bad for asking that we go here for breakfast on Saturday morning -- but I love breakfast! Come on!

It was very busy -- we had a 15-minute wait. We were seated at a little table and handed a menu. We ordered water (foregoing the coffee bar and the milk, which, to Nick's horror, was $2.00 per glass) and then considered our options.

I wouldn't call it outrageously expensive -- but it's a little more pricey than what you might normally expect to pay for similar items elsewhere.

Build-your-own omelets seemed to be a popular item. Ingredients, which apparently are subject to change, were listed on the chalkboard. Nick went straight for the Quick Start -- two eggs, toast, bacon and fruit. He shared his pineapple with me -- it was perfect and sweet.

I debated between the cinnamon challah French toast and the jalepeno biscuits and gravy before settling on the nutty pancakes -- three cakes with maple syrup and toasted candied nuts! I couldn't eat all of it. But I did eat all the nuts.

There are lighter breakfasts, as well, including oatmeal, cereal, and yogurt with fruit.

We were served very quickly, although we dealt with three different waitresses. There was still a waiting line when we got up to leave.

This little corner restaurant is worth your time, and probably your money -- the food is great, the atmosphere fantastic. If you want a treat, stop on by. If you're on a tight budget, eh....skip it for Denny's or last night's pizza.

My friends got married at the luxurious Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale. I can't do much in the line of reviewing this, except from what I learned in the few hours I was there doing wedding-y things.

1. Weddings are clearly an area of expertise for the people at The Phoenician. Prior to the ceremony, there were people on hand giving out water and making sure everything went according to plan. The food was wonderful and the dining experience was well-organized.

2. The place is huge. You could walk for days through green lawns and fountains.

3. Rooms were specially priced at $199 for the wedding. Hence, we stayed elsewhere.

4. The golf course is right there, should golf be your thing.

Maybe you can afford The Phonician, maybe not. But if you get a chance to go there, you should take the opportunity just to check it out.

I chose the Best Western Papago Inn for its price and proximity to the place where my friends got married. However, from now on I'll choose it for its BEDS.

I have found the perfect bed. Super-soft, perfectly comfortable. Most hotels are concerned about missing towels and pillows -- but if there had been any way to load that king bed into my car and take it home, well....I can't promise I wouldn't be trying to squeeze it through my door right now.

The desk staff were friendly and helpful. We didn't use the pool, but it looked nice and was right next to a cage of birds. Poor little guys. The entire pool area was inviting, indeed, if we'd had the time.

I booked online through Best Western, and I got a lower rate for staying two nights. I double-checked through all the typical booking sites, and felt confident that I received the best available rate.

The room was very clean and included a refrigerator. The one downside is that the air conditioner barely worked, and let me tell you -- it is HOT in Phoenix, even though it was the end of September. We had to put everything capable of melting into the fridge, and we slept without blankets. There was a fan in the room that helped a very little -- I set it up near the sink when I was using a curling iron.

Best Western Papago Inn: definitely worth your nights.

We drove up and down the street about four times before deciding on Flicka's Bar and Grill, a happy-looking little place we nearly missed. It was early on a Friday -- around 3:30 or so -- so there were only a few customers, but we hungry from skipping lunch.

The decor was typical bar: random and cluttered, dark and cozy. There was a giant (and colorful) fish near our table and a statue of the Captain as you came in the door.

The menu was full of American and Mexican items (including some seafood!), like nachos, chicken wings, salads, hot dogs, grilled chicken, tacos and burritos. Nick and I settled quickly on the burritos -- he ordered a steak burrito, I ordered chicken, and we had the cook cut them in half so we could share.

The guacamole, which I had been looking forward to, was not the best by any stretch, but the burrito was big and satisfying. It came with a "salad" which was little more than a few leaves of lettuce next to my burrito.

The prices were perfectly reasonable and the waitstaff was friendly, if not overly attentive. The place began to fill up after an hour or so, but the owner, Flicka, still stopped by our table to introduce himself and offer to buy us a drink, which Nick took him up on.

Here's what was strange: our burritos were $5.95 each, so simple math tells us our total from there should have been $11.90 before tax. Add two beers at $2.00 each, we're up to $15.90. I don't know what tax is in Arizona, but I would have imagined more than 21 cents. That's right: our total was $16.11. At this point our waitress was nowhere to be found for questioning, so we threw $20 on the table and left.

So, in summary:

1. Flicka's is a great place to eat and grab a drink.
2. If someone knows what tax is in Arizona, let me know.