Sunday, January 9, 2011

Pheonix - Day 2


Woke up this morning to a beautiful Phoenix skyline and 60 degree weather. It was Boxing Day and for my aunt and I that meant shopping. We went to Paradise Valley Mall and I was most certainly impressed with the fact that it was not overly crowded. There were definitely great sales to be had.


After our fabulous shopping spree, David decided to take us to the Deer Valley airport where he flies out on his tiny Cessna. Now you know that my behind will never be caught dead on those small little planes. For my other cousin Garry and his son, this was a great outing especially since they go plane watching in Barbados. There was also a nice place for lunch located on the first floor of the airport. The restaurant allows you have a great view of the runway and all of the planes. It is a great place to visit especially on a Sunday afternoon if you are into aviation or if you just want a quiet outing. Here are some picture to get you intrigued. Just keep in mind that I did not go close to the planes because I am a "scaredy" cat.


Being from the East Coast, there was a little part of that me that missed the snow because of the association it has with Christmas time. However, there is a little treasure in Phoenix where you can get that feeling: the Phoenix Zoo-Zoolights. For only $10 a person, you can visit the zoo and witness the animals at night and the zoo's wonderful light display. The only animal that I was able to see was the zebra, because the time we went ( around 8pm) most of the animals were already asleep. The light displays were great and my favorite one was the Music in Motion where the lights move to the music. My little cousin enjoyed the merry-go-round and taking pictures at the many different exhibits. He was only saddened by the fact that not many of the animals came out. I like the idea of the Zoolights and when I mentioned it to some of my friends they asked if there was anything like that here in the city. I am not sure if the local zoos do have a light show but I do think it would be a great idea if they did. If you are interested in the Zoolights, it takes place from Thanksgiving through the first week in January at the Phoenix Zoo.


West Coast Christmas


To end the year 2010, I decided to visit with my mom's side, who lives in Barbados, and we all met up at my cousin David's house in Phoenix, Arizona. My intentions were to stay from Christmas to the Monday after, but the "Great Blizzard of 2010" said nope. Now if anyone knows my David, they know that although you say you are travling to Phoenix there is going to be some road trip elsewhere. The first time it was too the Grand Canyon, the second time was to San Fransisco. This time the road trip destinations were to San Diego and L.A. Overall, it was great time held by all.

Day 1 - Christmas Day
Phoenix , Arizona
I wanted to make sure that I spent time with hubby for at least Christmas Eve, which is why I decided to leave on Christmas day. Now if you ever have to travel during the Christmas holiday and you don't mind missing Christmas Eve at your destination , try flying out on Christmas day. First and foremost the flights are cheaper. Secondly , there are empty seats because most people try to get to their destinations before Christmas day. It definitely makes sense to do when you are going to the west coast. I left 6:30am on Saturday morning and arrived in Phoenix at 9:30am. I was still able to have the rest of the day to do plenty of stuff.

The weather was quite pleasant which was a change from the cold winter air I was used to. If you dress like it is fall in September and October you are straight. Layering also is a good idea due to the fact that it gets quite cool at night. I wasn't feeling too well so I definitely was layered-up.

We had a wonderful feast prepared by my aunt and cousin and though we were missing my mom and his dad, it was still good to have the family together again. And I believed that they were there in spirit.

Resuming the blog

O.K. the New Year is here and I vowed that I will be resuming my travel blog because I know this year I have some upcoming trips that I would like to share with my friends and family. Also, just in talking to some people at work, I have gotten them excited about traveling again.

The two big trips for 2011 are the NCL Epic cruise to Mexico & Belize, and a week long stay in Espana, a.k.a Spain. I do intend to do some mini-trips along the way, especially since Jon has four day weekends now. I plan to take advantage of visiting places on the east coast that I haven't been to. I will also be mentioning when I find dog friendly hotels because as my baby Spyro is growing older, he is whining more when he is left even for a few hours.

There has been a lot going on with the airline industry and online websites and I plan to report on who will give you great deals and who you need to watch out for. For instance, American Airlines, just announced last week how they were removing there ticket prices from online websites, Expedia and Orbitz. Which now means that you may only purchase from AA.com. This was due to a dispute that was had over ticket prices. Competition, Competition, Competition. We will see if others follow suit.

Well, there is a synopsis of what is ahead for this Ebony Travel blog and I hope you like what I have to share. :)