Phoenix in July? Why?!

Cooling off after a toasty time in Phoenix, AZ

Yet another mid-July trip to Phoenix, AZ. I am always opposed to the timing of these mid-summer fiascos and as events seemed to reinforce my objections, I didn't say, "I told you so". Didn't even give him "the look". I comforted myself with visions of sitting by our family member's pool in the early mornings and late evenings, reading, and taking in a movie in a nice, air-conditioned theater. That didn't exactly work out, either, but more about that later.

After we arrived at our relatives' home, our first order of business was dinner at the local Chinese buffet.  This lost its luster when a cockroach make an appearance on one of the plates.  We had planned to take in a movie next, but there were none we wanted to see that were playing at a convenient time. We wanted the matinee, of course. We decided to go the next day. Instead we went to Bass Pro shop, where we made several purchases. One was an open reel that was supposed to be $29 and the charge was $59. Wow. Is it a full moon? Yes, as a matter of fact, it was. The mistake was corrected (we were purchasing the display model and the salesperson had put it in the wrong box, which caused the error in pricing) and we went back to the condo and called it quits for the night.

Saturday dawned, hot and muggy. No sitting outside enjoying the sunrise. In addition, the pool was quite filthy, so we passed on the swimming, as well. Later, we got cabin fever and went looking for a Sprouts Market and a tea shop. This Sprouts didn't have the raw milk I've been drinking, but we picked up fresh, organic veggies for dinner and fruit for smoothies. I decided to settle for kefir, since I couldn't get my raw milk.

On the way to the tea shop, we stumbled upon a nice little Greek restaurant where we decided to stop for lunch. After I got my missing olives and feta, my Greek salad was delicious. The lemon soup was awesome and the gyro dinner was so tasty and tender, I think I am now addicted to Greek cooking.

The tea shop, on the other hand, was less impressive. Stocked full of ayurvedics, essential oils and loose teas and spices, it was a disappointment. All the teas were old, stale and dusty. From the looks of the tinctures behind the counter, I didn't think they were very potent anymore either. The real kicker was, the annexed vegetarian restaurant was packed! I hope the quality of the food there was better than the quality of the teas adjoining. We never did get to the movies, but our visit with the family was most pleasant, as usual. Thankfully, we enjoy each other's company, whether or not the outside forces cooperate.

Although Sunday Mass is easy to locate nearly any time from Saturday evening to Sunday evening in Phoenix, the advice from this pilgrim is: do not go in July! The optimum time to enjoy Phoenix, as well as most of Arizona, is winter and spring!