This Adventure Called Retirement

We woke up early Sunday morning to meet Beth, Richard, Emily, Gene, Katie and Eddie at 7am Mass at Queen of Peace church in Mesa. The early start was recommended by Beth and fit well with Gene and Katie’s plans since they had a midday flight back to Norfolk.

After Mass we went back to their apartment where Richard made cappuccino and lattes for everyone. Richard is a coffee aficionado and takes great pride in his coffee skills. We left Emily with Beth and Richard and Mary and I set out for a day hike. Emily’s flight to Oregon was scheduled that evening and Beth agreed to take her so they could spend more sister time together. We decided to try out a burger joint we had seen in another state, Freddie’s Steakburgers and Frozen custard. Typical counter service but the burgers are made to order with shoestring fries. Similar to other fresh ingredient burger places, it takes two patties to equal a quarter pound burger. The burgers were perfectly prepared and very tasty. The shoestring fries were crisp on the outside but still tender inside rather then crunchy sticks. And the frozen custard was extremely creamy and flavorful. A true delight and highly recommended.

After that very filling lunch we headed to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve to walk the Gateway Loop Trail and work off the meal. This is a 4.5 mile trail in the McDowell mountains over rocky terrain and full sun. Thankfully the weather was mild with a nice breeze and the scenery was beautiful. Although the elevation change was 650 feet and the trail was labelled as “difficult” it was a challenge we were both up for, though we did ensure we had plenty of water.

We finished the day with dinner in our vacation club room and settled in for the night.

On Monday we met up with Pat and Ellen for a morning walk around the Biltmore hotel and area followed by taco’s from a great little taco café called Taco Viva. The menu is ala carte and they build the tacos as you watch so you can customize the toppings. The tacos are prepared open and the meat filling was plentiful making two tacos more than enough for a meal. We highly recommend this stop.

Following lunch with Pat and Ellen we joined Beth and Richard at the Desert Botanical Garden. This is a large garden of a multitude variety of desert plant and flowers. Many of the plants were in bloom which made it a colorful visit. Two highlights were the butterfly exhibit featuring butterflies native to Arizona and the orchid exhibit.

Throughout our visit we saw several autonomous, self-driving cars that can be rented similar to Uber, except without a driver. We learned from a rider that these cars are not allowed on freeways but can be taken anywhere via surface roads. It was fascinating to seem them around Phoenix.

We ended our visit with dinner at Los Sombreros in Mesa with Elizabeth and Richard and said our goodbyes since we planned an early morning departure to head north to the Grand Canyon.