Phoenix, AZ, Dec. 26-27, 2012, Jan. 5-6, 2013

Oliver and I spent two days in Phoenix right after Christmas and really liked the city. It was easy to navigate, has a lot of outdoor recreational opportunities, good restaurants, and very appealing weather. Here were are waiting for the light rail train to take us the US Airways arena for the Knicks-Suns game on December 26.

JR Smith won the game on a buzzer-beater with less than a second on the clock. It was close because Carmello Anthony did not play due to an injury in the Christmas day game (bummer for us). We had fun at the game and did enjoy seeing the Knicks in person.

Amare in the flesh.

We decided to hike Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. It was a very challenging hike, that provided incredible 360 degree views.

The end of the Camelback hike was almost a totally vertical climb. We made it, but it was not easy.

At the top!

The night of the hike, we went to the Desert Botanical Garden for their annual "Luminaria" fundraiser. The place was lighted by luminaries and was beautiful to walk through. They also had several live musical acts that we really enjoyed. It was a fun night out for sure.

We went back to Phoenix when Madison came to visit on the night of January 4 and had another terrific weekend there....this time with her! It was really nice to be together again and we did some fun stuff. Below we are enjoying Carolina's tortillas - supposedly some of the best in town.

The three of us hiked on South Mountain, this is part of the largest municipal park in the country. It was a huge area with plenty of scenic drives and trails. We all marveled at the numbers of Saguaro Cactus on South Mountain.

You could see downtown Phoenix from South Mountain.

After hiking, we went to Scottsdale and shopped in the Old Town area. We also had a terrific dinner at a Japanese restaurant there (photo below).

We had lunch at a different restaurant in Scottsdale the next day. It was good food and also very nice to be able to eat outside. The weather in Phoenix was gorgeous during Madison's visit.

I couldn't resist taking this photo of the hummingbird in downtown Phoenix.

We took Madison to the Desert Botanical Garden during her visit. Oliver and I enjoyed going back during the daylight hours and we all thought the place was very unique and interesting. None of us had been to a place with so many desert plants - it is a cool place.

Dinner at the oldest soda fountain in Arizona. They still make their own soda pop and have a very large selection of ice cream shakes and malts.