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.

Thunder Bay, ON Canada

Well as I sit here watching MLK Jr. on CNN I felt that I should do my service today which includes restarting my blog. I feel that it is my duty to share my experiences on places that I have traveled. So here goes.

First Destination: Thunder Bay , ON Canada

My husband Jon, my cousin David, and I decided to go up north for the winter to visit my Auntie Jean. Well , needless to say it was about -12 F the entire time we were there. We were only there for a few days but it was still fun. Thunder Bay is a small city north of Minnesota populated by Finnish, Italian, Irish, and Eastern European immigrants, and a few Bajans (Barbadians for those of you that don't know). I have been there both during the winter and summer months, and I prefer the summer but I will give you my take on this place from a winter perspective.

Shopping- I found that in Thunder Bay there are a lot of American stores like Staples, The Gap , and Pizza Hut so you will definitely feel at home there. The currency is 1 Canadian dollar= $0.79. There is the local department store like our versions of Target/Kmart and it is called Zellers.

Sites- The most beautiful sites of

Thunder Bay are definitely seen during the summer (when I go back later this year I will report on my findings). We did manage to see one the most famous sites called the Sleeping Giant. It is a peninsula in the shape of Native American sleeping. 

We stood on top of Hillcrest park to get some scenic pictures of the city and of the Sleeping Giant.

Things to Do - Well even though it was really cold we were still able to do some winter activities . We visited one of my aunt's family friends and I have a

good picture of Jon singing karaoke . This family lives on a lake off of Salt Lake road, and it was the first time this New Yorker ever walked on a frozen lake.  I sang some songs  during our Canadian Idol contest where I acted like Randy, drank a lot of Irish coffee but for the most part I observed. David went snow mobiling ,which they call skadooing, and played ice hockey. I was too chicken to do any of that. Like I said before it is best to come in the summer and that way you can enjoy the city more. My cousin David should be soon adding an article about his trip to Mexico City during MLK weekend so look for that to come soon.