Our first day we mostly bummed around L&T's house, enjoying not being at work. S did a lot of handyman type jobs -- hung shelving in the garage, wired up some speakers, that sort of thing. We did take a mid-day break to head down to the local farmer's market, where I got some delicious cheese curds and there was a pretty good guitarist entertaining the crowd.
The next day we headed out to explore some of the off-roading on the trails north of Phoenix. We learned the difference between and ATV and a UTV, at least according to the . . . Phoenicians? Is that what people in Phoenix are called? Anyway, the difference is apparently that an ATV holds one or two people, while a UTV holds more. We needed a UTV, because T took the day off work to go cruising with us.
You might think that our Saturday activity was inspired by Friday, but it was really just a happy coincidence. We took an off-road driving recovery course! Hopefully we will never need to know how to turn a car back over, but just in case we need to, we are now trained. We also learned some skills that might be useful, like using a winch and a Hi-Lift jack. Still things I hope I don't have to do, but more likely (I think...) than having to be turned right-side up.
We capped off that day with a happy hour and dinner.
Sunday was our day with E&A. We started out with a lovely bike ride to yoga, on the four bikes they have. I'm not sure A's mountain bike has a name, but the other three are named Peppy, Gladys, and Sammy Davis Junior Junior Junior. They were enjoyable companions. Also, this series of canals and bike trails that runs through Phoenix is pretty cool! After yoga we went to La Grande Orange for some delicious pizza and beer. We probably didn't need to each get our own pizzas, but we were feeling virtuous and also hungry after yoga and biking, so we did. And we loved every bite!
After riding home and taking a quick shower, we headed up to see Taliesin West, one of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the Phoenix area, and one of his most famous pieces of construction anywhere in the country. The tour was a wonderfully entertaining experience, mostly as a consequence of our delightful tour guide. She drank all the Kool-Aid, and was a total FLW devotee despite her many comments (intended as compliments . . . I think?) about how he was not actually a great architect, he was a bit of a misogynist, etc. It was, nevertheless, a neat place to see, and provided a lovely view of the valley.
After a few afternoon beers back and E&A's house, we headed out for dinner at The Cornish Pasty. They were out of a lot (it was the day after St. Paddy's Day), but we were all able to find something delicious on the menu.
Monday, with everyone back at work, S and I rented a couple of mountain bikes and headed off to the FINS at Estrella Mountains. It's a neat series of trails that twist and turn and climb and descend all through a relatively small patch of mountains southwest of Phoenix. Some of the climbs were too much for me, so I did a bit of walking, but it was a great way to spend a day.
Our last day was another low-key day around L&T's house. S built a work bench, I figured out how to work the very complicated oven. Then we headed home and back to work.
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