Firstly, deserts are hot. You may be saying to yourself, "Yes Cristy, we know that." But I would reply with, "I know you know that but, have you experienced that?" Let me begin by saying that Scottsdale is a very pretty city. It's upscale shops and restaurants are all wonderful. Old Town Scottsdale is just great. Truthfully, if it were just a little cooler I'd consider moving there. Well, if it were cooler and there was some grass and trees taller than me.
Now have you ever been in a sauna? Ok, revisit that sauna in your mind, double the temperature and turn on a UV light to simulate the sun and it still would not replicate the oppressive heat of the Arizona desert. There is no grass to absorb the sun nor are there any shade trees to hide under so the heat just reflects off of all the concrete and asphalt and back on to you. Just to give you an idea of what we were experiencing temperature-wise...the local station said it was 102 degrees at around 2 in the afternoon.
Enough about the heat. I must share with you all the highlights of Scottsdale, AZ because despite my rant above there were some good parts. The first of these was what was billed to me as the best restaurant in all the land. It is a teeny-tiny little pizza place called Oregano's. Just to give you an idea of how teeny-tiny-- there were 4 tables in the main "room." It is a really cool place. The usual wait, I was told, is approximately 2 hours. We only had to wait 20 minutes but, by the time we left the wait was up to about an hour and a half. On a ten point scale (ten being the best) I would give the appetizer --the "Guaca-Tony" -- a ten and a half, the main course -- Grandma G's Rosemary Chicken Potato pizza -- a nine and a half, and the desert -- the original pizza cookie -- gets the scale "turned all the way up to eleven."We were so stuffed after eating there that we ended up throwing away the half pizza we had left because the smell of it was enough to make us queasy. All in all, Oregano's lived up to its reputation.
So we left the restaurant stuffed to the gills with really good food. We went to dinner early for two reasons: one was to give time to digest the massive meal we knew we were going to eat and two was so that we could make it to the movie we were going to see at the drive-in. Yes, I said drive-in. I know, I didn't think that any existed outside of the Swap Shop Flea Market in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Neither Mark nor I had ever been to a drive-in movie and it quickly became obvious to us as we pulled in to our spot among the masses that we have a lot to learn when it comes to how to watch a drive-in film properly. The "regulars" come all decked out with their air mattresses or fold out chairs in the beds of their trucks and their transistor radios so that their car battery doesn't die as they listen to the film. I'm glad that we experienced a drive-in movie but, I don't see either of us experiencing one again unless some conditions improve. First, there was too much ambient light. This was not helped any by the fact that the film we went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End" was entirely too dark. Second, as I have previously stated, Arizona is HOT! Even with the nice breeze we were getting through the cab of the truck it still had to be at least 85 degrees. I can see why drive-ins were so popular in their heyday. It's a really neat atmosphere. Plus, I imagine that some of the issues we encountered were not as much of a problem in the 50's and 60's (i.e. excessive ambient light). If you have never been to a drive-in movie I definitely recommend that you find one and go at least once before they all disappear but, remember to take your fold out chairs, transistor radio, and cooler of tasty snacks and frosty beverages.
Scottsdale was nice but, I am glad to have left it behind in favor of the cooler clime of the City of Angels. After about 6 hours of driving west we arrived at the celebrity mecca that is Los Angeles. We stepped out of the car and were immediately hit with this refreshing breeze that was easily 40 degrees cooler than anything we had gotten so far. It was wonderful. I had the privilege of meeting and dining with Grandpa Halling and joining the rest of Mark's family at a beautiful little restaurant named Ca del Sole in Burbank. Good food, good times.
Tomorrow I get to spend more time with Mark's family and meet most of the rest of the Halling's. It will be my first time meeting this side of Mark's family so I'm a little nervous but I've been told I have nothing to worry about. Thankfully I will have plenty to talk about as a result of this trip and our morning jaunt down to Hollywood to see the sights. Monday we are headed down to San Diego before revisiting L.A. on Tuesday for more sightseeing, a ball game and a bobble head, and then starting the drive up to San Francisco on Wednesday.
I have a feeling that I'm really going to like Southern California.
Other interesting tidbits I couldn't find a way to fit into my riveting narrative:
--Who knew there were so many windmills in the world? Honestly, as we driving through mountain upon mountain covered in windmills we felt as though we were in the middle of a "Lord of the Rings"-type adventure where the heroes must venture through the land of the giants in order to reach their final destination. A little surreal -- very cool.
--Also, we had our second "inspection point" of the trip. This one was an agriculture inspection as we entered the great state of California. We were debating whether or not we would have to declare the apples we bought in Texas or whether we could eat them all before they were discovered. Fortunately, much like the first time, there we didn't even have to stop. There was a little sign at the booth that said, "No Inspection Today. Drive Through."
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