Text 32407, 86 rader
Skriven 2013-01-08 17:16:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: recent trip 54
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UA6453 LAX PHX 2240 0058 CR7 2C

Quick trip to the club, sign the sheet, and then back to
Terminal 8 for the hour flight to Phoenix. Lilli joined me
on this flight - she was in 1C, the throne (various aircraft
have special seats, and one of the points of the frequent-
flyer game is to get the special seat - often 1B or 1C, on
smaller aircraft 2A, and some other less obvious ones) but
gave that up to sit next to me so we could plan our week.

A perfectly fine flight; I didn't test the catering.

We had rented a car - the area's public trans is, shall we
say, dubious; there was a surprising amount of activity at
the rental car center (a shuttle away from the terminal),
and the staff were surprisingly cheerful and not in a
pharmaceutically enhanced sense I think, and we were out of
there before 2.

Though I had reserved a room with two beds far from the
elevator at the Sheraton Phoenix Tempe, I got a room with one
bed catty-corner from the elevator. You can't win them all.
It was too late to complain, so after a most welcome shower
I plopped myself in a comfy chair in the corner and got a
reasonable sleep. You don't fuss much at half-past two.

As I had needed the hotel stay to requalify for gold, the
reservation was in my name, not hers, which meant no free
breakfast (her exalted diamondness gets her breakfast).
We wanted to be out of there pretty early anyway.

Taliesin is in North Scottsdale, which by Phoenix standards
is not so far away, but it is in fact half an hour up the
road. We headed up there just behind rush hour for the tour
at 10; as we parked we noticed a woman frantically looking
about among the cars - she had lost her car keys. We helped
as best we could and then hurried to the gift shop to see
if we could get tickets. There were two places left on the
tour that had just left; our choice was to hang around for
an hour; we hustled up and caught up with the tour as it
left its first stop. The docent was knowledgeable and
energetic, and we were pleased to learn and see stuff that
we would otherwise not have done. The 90-minute tour ran a
bit overtime; it's a fascinating place. The cost is high -
$32 (building strong architects 12 ways) - but we got a
substantial discount.

As I no longer needed a Starwood stay, and as my budget for
this trip was not high, I booked next into the Hospitality
Suites on Scottsdale Rd, a venue that I'd used before and
enjoyed for what it was - a cheap but friendly motel without
pretensions and with a free happy hour every evening. We got
a semi-lovely two-room accommodation with an equipped but
not well equipped and full but not really full kitchen. Use
of tennis courts, pool, and grill. Breakfast (not good). And
as I said, free happy hour. The consequence of lowish prices
and expectations well met: happy customers. The consequence
of happy customers: happy staffy, especially the bartender,
who at a buck a drink tip probably rakes in a couple hundred
on a bad day, which I hope he shares. After three days maybe
this wears thin, but I've not tried yet.

Canyon and Saguaro Lakes - I think the former is a better
destination, as the rock formations on the way to it from
either direction are spectacular, as befits the name; the
other, well, it's sort of cactile, the good parts being a
bit farther from the road I am told (both were frequent
sources of the wonderful wilderness shots that you used
to find in the Arizona Highways magazine). The road from
Apache Junction to Canyon Lake is a photo opp a minute;
beyond it gets even better, but the road becomes pitted
dirt, perhaps only four-wheel-driveable - I seem to recall
having witnessed it cowering in the back seat of a Sebring
piloted by a drunk guy in a hurry; luckily most of that
recollection left with my gonads and my lunch many years ago.
This time we went a discreet distance past the pavement and
then turned back. This was also the day we might have gone
ORVing with my friend Carl, but Lilli didn't seem too
enthusiastic, so after lunch at Tortilla Flat we returned to
town via Saguaro Lake, which was fine, but as I said I like
Canyon Lake better.


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