March 2-6, 2016 ~ For the past several years Brandon has taken a guys trip to St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training in Jupiter, Florida and while I got to go on this trip last year I wouldn't be going with him this year. Well sugars, I knew I wasn't going to sit at home so I booked a trip for Momma and I to head out to Arizona and watch the Kansas City Royals Spring Training!
Now before y'all get any wild ideas of me jumping teams have no fear that I am a loyal and true St. Louis Cardinals fan. However, with the awesome season that the Kansas City Royals had last year and supporting another great team in Missouri I wanted to check out their Spring Training. When the Cardinals aren't playing the Royals I am happy to cheer for them plus this was something I have never done before and wanted to cross it off my bucket list!
On Wednesday March 2nd Momma and I headed to Kansas City, MO after work to meet up and have dinner with my little diva cousin and her hubby to celebrate his 35th birthday! I have wanted to stop by this artwork and it seems we had a little extra time to grab a quick photo.... Now that's one big shuttlecock!
One of my favorite places to eat in Kansas City, MO is McCormick and Schmick's....
and you have to get the "Chocolate Bag" for dessert! YUM!
After visiting with Stephanie and Justin it was time to get to the hotel so we could get our walking in. I like to think I am pretty good at planning trips and somehow I slipped. I managed to rent a smoking room instead of a non-smoking room for the evening. Oh my goodness what a huge mistake and there wasn't any other rooms available. Luckily I carry room freshener with me just in case.... well after I blasted the heck out of the room it now smelled like someone crapped a lilac bush. We sucked it up and boy were we glad to get out of that place! (Don't think I didn't look at the rest of our trip to make sure I didn't make another mistake - Lesson learned!)
The next morning we flew out to Phoenix. We had some time to kill so our very first stop was the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall! (I do love junkin'!)
So Momma and I are lookin' around and I find this pub style table top with handles. On top of this table top with handles is a tea set (tea pot, dishes, dish towels, etc.) glued to the top. (This was propped up on it's side so imagine my surprise when I saw it and wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me) I had an idea.... I picked it up and began carrying it towards Momma.... "Momma ain't this neat" and she looks at it.... about that time I act like I trip and was about to dump the table on the floor. I'm pretty sure I saw the entire whites of her eyes and I thought she was going to have a cow. I laughed, she didn't. If she could have beat me she totally would have. I thought it was hilarious and wish I had her reaction on video.... I think I shaved 3-5 years off her life.
We found some neat things that we liked (like this old seat) but nothing that we just couldn't live without. If you know Momma and I then you also know that is hard to believe that we didn't buy anything! True story!
After a quick lunch we headed out to Surprise, Arizona for the first ballgame as the Kansas City Royals take on the Texas Rangers! Sadly the Kansas City Royals lost this game. We had an excellent dinner at Donovan's Steak and Chop House! We managed to get our 1.00 mile walk in and hit the rack as we have another adventurous day tomorrow!
We got up early and made the 3 hour drive to Winslow, Arizona so we could stand on the corner! Well worth the drive and loved hearing the Eagles music playing from the moment we got out of our ride! I didn't even know this place existed until I saw a friend post it and I knew we had to visit!
Winslow, Arizona was made famous by the Eagles and their song "Take It
Easy". Brandon and I love the Eagles and while I wish he was here to see
this place it was fun enjoying it with Momma! It's so sad that Glenn Frey passed away earlier this year and there were so many flowers, cards, notes and other memorabilia surrounding this young man. So glad we came to visit!
On the way to Winslow we spotted a good little antique shop that we were for sure going to stop by on our way back to Phoenix! Boy did we find a few good shops and luckily there was a UPS store near by so we could ship everything home! We had a lot of fun and they had some unique things that I haven't really seen before on my junkin' adventures! (I loved the people working in the shops as they were really nice and very helpful!)
This trip was perfect for Momma and I! We thought we were just going to one junk shop and ended up finding 4-5 of them! Woo Hoo! After a great little trip it was time to head to Peoria, Arizona to watch another Kansas City Royals game!
While visiting Prescott, Arizona we happened to drive past Left-T's Steakhouse so it was the craziest thing... our ride just turned into their parking lot! I mean we did work up an appetite and it was dinner time! Oh my goodness was that place good! Amazing food and great atmosphere!
We made it to watch the Kansas City Royals take on the San Diego Padres!
So glad my Momma gets to experience Phoenix with me!
After a long day we were ready to get our 1 mile walk in and head to bed!
Saturday morning we got up early again and headed to the Out West Balloon Fest to join in on a Fun Run 5k! The really cool part about this event is that while the balloons are ready to take flight we will begin our Fun Run 5k and have these beautiful balloons all round us!
Our race went around the Arizona Cardinals stadium and their mascot greeted us at the end! Such a beautiful day and perfect location for a Balloon Fest!
We did it! Great job Momma!
Now let's go get cleaned up and go check out another town!
Today's adventure would take us to Chandler, Arizona!
First stop was to pick up Pops a t-shirt!
We drove onto Mesa, Arizona and hit the honey hole! There were 3 large antique malls within a few miles of each other and we had a blast finding cool stuff to bring back home with us!
I learned something new today... this is the inside of a cactus from Arizona. These are the "bones" and a cactus doesn't get "arms" until it's at least 75 years old. Imagine how old the ones that have several arms are! Pretty cool and great little lesson!
One of the antique malls we visited had several mannequins sitting around in booths.... This poor ol' guy was having trouble with this teeth. I told him to drink a little whiskey and that would help!
He told me that she drank all the whiskey and switched over to Red Bull.... Whoa sugar!
After hours of junkin' it was time to head to dinner! We drove back to Chandler, Arizona and I was super excited to check this place out! We had dinner reservations at 5:00 PM and got there a little early so we could check this place out!
This neat little place was it's own little town complete with a candy shop, a bar, a jail, retail stores, petting zoo and more! Really cool place and I am so glad I found it!
While visiting Rawhide they were hosting the Arizona Black Rodeo! I will be completely honest and saying that I never knew there was a Black Rodeo and I think it's pretty dang awesome! It was just ending as we arrived and everyone came down to the little town for dinner and shows!
Check out photos from this awesome event!
http://azblackrodeo.wix.com/azbr
http://www.azespn.com/#!/portfolio/G0000qaUKr3YRNCg
Kuddos to everyone involved in this event! It looked so fun and it would have been awesome to see!
After a little shopping and checking everything out it was time to eat! Oh my goodness this place is amazing! Highly recommend visiting this place when you what something fun and unique to do! They had a live band, steaks were amazing and the whole atmosphere was perfect!
After dinner they had a shoot out show at the Six Gun Theater!
The show wasn't long but they did a great job!
(They have several shows a night and they are all different)
http://www.rawhide.com/
We headed back to Phoenix to get some much needed rest!
Today it was time to head back home after a fun filled weekend with Momma! We put over 700 miles under our butts since arriving to Phoenix on Thursday and boy was it worth it! I had to go pick up my race packet for another race I signed up to do so we got up a little earlier than we needed. This race was the 12th Annual Arizona Fallen Officers Memorial Run 5k. I wouldn't be able to do this one as we needed to be at the airport when it started but I would complete it when we got home.
Remember I told you it was really early and my peepers weren't fully open because I totally drove down the on ramp to the highway.... that's all fine and dandy when it's not the off ramp for the traffic on the highway! Oh my goodness! Luckily there wasn't much traffic and to my defense the signs were not totally clear on where you enter. We finally made it to the airport, returned our ride and decided to get some breakfast - something I hardly ever eat.
I ordered Creme Brule french toast with fresh fruit and french ham... I love me some country ham and had to ask what the heck was french ham. It was really good and basically like deli ham that was fried in butter! Yum!
Arizona, What a blast and don't worry sugars 'cause I'll be back! Loved your state, loved your laid back attitude and your hospitality. No wonder people come here to retire! (The weather was absolutely perfect!) Until next time....
My sister and I completed the 12th Annual Arizona Fallen Officers Memorial Run as promised!
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