A Getaway to Arizona, Part 2

On the second full day of our trip, we spent our time in the Phoenix metro area.  (Be sure to check out part 1 of the trip.)

We began our day (before the temperature got into the high 80s) at the Desert Botanical Gardens.  Our Arboretum membership card got us free admission, which was a pretty big bonus since adult admission is $22 a person.

The other big bonus was an exhibit that had opened the prior day, featuring the blown glass structures of the artist Chihuly.  It's not really my type of art, but it was really pretty cool to see set among the desert plants.

A little silly came out as we explored.

The desert has some pretty amazing plants.  Since my mom is a big fan of cacti and succulents, I'm familiar with many, but not such large examples.

 They did a great job of incorporating the blown glass into the garden.

 Eric's shot:

The views without the glass artwork, were pretty impressive too.

Native American structures, like the ones we talk about in California history, were part of the Sonoran Desert section:

  Prickly pear cactus are pretty!  (Oooo, say that a few times.)

Since our admission was free, we decided to pay to visit the butterfly pavilion.  It was filled with Monarch butterflies.  These were taking a rest (and maybe dreaming of their escape):

 Eric got lucky and had one land of him.

 I had fun photographing them.

 What a beautiful garden!

After lunch we visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West.  It served as both a winter home for Wright during his later years, but was, and remains, a school of architecture.

We ended up on the 90 minute tour with a rather amusing guide.  We liked him because he seemed to describe Wright for the person he was, not talking about him like he's a legend.  He talked about Wright's flaws, including his big ego, and his clever ways of manipulating others with both his architectural design and in self-promotion.

The symbol for the Taliesin West site (see above) was based on the hieroglyph (shown below) that was found on the site (the bottom row, second from left, angular spiral).

Wright was a fan of using building materials that were found on site (or close to it), so the walls are made with local rock, filled with concrete.  It isn't a look I personally like, but I appreciate what he was doing.

He built the living room for entertaining.  He manipulated visitors with design methods, such as creating an area with a short ceiling, forcing guests to sit down and look at the art (design) of the room.

He designed nearly everything in the room, including the chairs.  Ironically, he recognized that the chairs weren't very comfortable, so he and his wife sat in two store bought chairs while entertaining.

 Here's his wife's room (well, his 3rd wife):

 Wright's two beds in his room (one for relaxing and thinking and the one behind the wall was for sleeping):

 His bathroom (he believed that time should not be wasted in the bathroom, so it was small):

 The view from his room:

 It was an interesting tour that gave a different perspective and a better appreciation for the famous architect.

Following our time out, we came back to the hotel and hopped in the pool.  For being heated, it felt pretty cold, so we ended up spending most of our time in the hot tub.  Nice.

For dinner that night, we ate at a restaurant at the JW Marriott called Tuscany.  It was a lovey, delicious dinner.  You know, one of those dinners you enjoy so much that you get full too early in the meal and then try to stuff yourself because you don't want to miss out on the deliciousness in front of you.

Look!  Eric and cheese.  I usually opt out of sharing foods that Eric doesn't like, but this time I went for the fresh mozzarella with some delicious "enhancements" (I chose a pear and fig jam. So good!). 

Eric and I had some great main dishes.  Mine was a short rib risotto and Eric's was a pulled chicken pizza.  Yum!

On Tuesday morning we headed home.  Yep, back to reality.

We were greeted at my parents' home by family who was happy to see us.  My darling Carter was particularly glad to see me.  He had a good time while we were gone but was so happy we were back that he was teary at bedtime prayers when we talked about being thankful that our family was back home together.

I am thankful for a wonderful, much needed, weekend with my husband and coming home to our sweet family.