Arizona, where the sun is shining. ..

Sun, sun, Mr. Golden sun!

It is amazing how much vitamin D can enhance a day! It has been a beautiful visit to Arizona. With plenty of down time, but enough adventure to get s me thrill out of the trip.

When we got in we didn't have much planned. Really what I want was some good Mexican, a nice, hike, and time with friends. All of the above were quite successful.

Day one we went on a scavenger hunt for those things I couldn't get at home. Epic fail, but it was fun anyways. We topped of the day with a "hike", in other words not a hike at all. We get to the trail and not only is it overpopulated, but there are stairs up the first half mile of the trail, followed by a safety bar that you find on stairs in arenas. New to me, but we survived. But the adventure wasn't over, after we made it past the manmade help we hit a boulder field. Lauren said that at many points throughout the hike I looked like an extreme monkey because my leg was as high as or higher than my head. Quite the hike to end with a city view summit! Afterwards Angie’s commentary on the hike was hilarious, being from the city originally she didn't know what she was in for (not that we did either.) The same night we went out to the Big Bang... a dueling piano bar that had non-stop entertainment through the night. It was a good mix of music, comedy, and relaxation... I would totally go again in a heartbeat.



The next day was Lauren's last day off from the hellish med school schedule. We decided to top it off with a mini escapade to watch the sunset over Phoenix. Nothing like a smoggy sunset to make you really appreciate where you come from, but also your company. It was a friendly reminder that I have maintained some pretty great things the throughout the years and that I need to treasure them. Once the dark set in we headed to the Zoolights display. It was by the far the most intricate light tour I have seen, but what was even better than that was Angie's excitement. Every animal or neat display she was stoked beyond belief! It made it that much better.

Over the rest of the trip we all racked up some good relaxation time, poolside reading, as well as a good game of soccer. It was great to see familiar faces. Not just Angie and Lauren, but also Trevor and Spencer from Grand Canyon University that took good care of us this summer on the road. Not to forget my favorite Mexican, Alex, who just moved back to Arizona and gave us a full tour of his hood as well as a taste of quality comida.

After all that fun, I am rejuvenated and ready to test my comfort zone and be thrown into whirlwind of fun new exciting things!