'Tis a 13 on Friday. 'Tis.

wakin' up to this... again. :) hi again, arizona

And?

zucchini | window plants | veggies :)

I'm in Phoenix! Correction - WE are in Phoenix! What a transformation it's already been coming from the flatlands of IL to the elevated terrain of AZ. I woke up this morning to the familiar mini mountain that ascends in the immediate backdrop right outside of Sam & KP's apartment, and felt immediately rejuvenated. That of course, didn't happen until almost mid-morning, but I was ready in time for Sam to get back from his errands. Kalyn was already at work, so he and I headed out to see her, tour the elaborate golfcourse, and of course, eat breakfast at Mojo, the deliciously adorable and classy coffee bar/deli in which she works. It's totally her, too.

brunch @ grayhawk

After consuming the signature breakfast burrito off their menu [to.die.forrrr], I got a brief tour of the place: the peaks dotting the skyline in every direction surrounding the stark but lush greens and flowering color bursts on the golf course itself, stone laid veranda overlooking the experience, the pro shop laden from wall to wall with purple plaid golf shirts priced at a quarter of my car's value, and lockerrooms complete with lockers reserved for choice celebrity golfers. Hey, if I was a golfer, I'd be falling over myself to play here. I'm pretty sure the caddies here probably have caddies. [I'm outta my league, yo.]

that's right, valet ... at the grocery store. seriously?+ + hummus hummus & more hummus!

poolside. not bad for a friday afternoon :)

Anyhow, after brunch, Sam and I headed out to run some errands: last minute grocery shopping, but more importantly some souvenier scoping for Joe. I wanted to do something of even a small suprise element for him, knowing that even so, it wouldn't equate to a surprise trip to Arizona. Turd.. haha. We passed through REI, where I found what I  wanted, only to find the exact same thing at a much more sane price 20 minutes later at Costco. Some things never change :).

bottom of the hiking trail
top of the hiking trail :)

We invested the rest of the time between then and Kalyn getting home from work hanging by the pool at their apartment, reading books and basking in the early afternoon rays. Once Kalyn rolled in, Sam took off for some hangtime with his uncle; KP and I took to hiking up the exercise mountain across the street before hitting the tennis courts and the pool at the Marriott resort that's nestled into the mountain right beside their complex. Really not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

When we'd had our daily share of outdoor rec, we rendezvoused with Sam at his Uncle Fred's house, stayed to chit chat for a bit and then headed back to clean up for dinner. We wound up at Pei Wei, where we found the most advanced beverage dispenser I've ever seen. We ordered some grub, proceeded to devour all of it, and then settled into the evening back at the apartment before KP headed off to bed and Sam headed off to the airport to pick up Joe.

pei wei space-age bev dispenser

He's here! Let the weekend begin. It was the final part of getting all four of us together in the same place at the same time; we'll get the fun underway starting tomorrow.

Phoenix is two hours behind Illinois; I feel like I'm still jetlagged for some reason. Weird.
G'Nite!

xo | cmd