Desert Surprise

Location: Arizona

Introduction:

We took advantage of Spring break to spend a week in Arizona. It was our daughter’s first time here. The focus of our trip was on the greater Phoenix and Tucson areas in the southern part of the state. The weather was variable with daytime highs ranging from the mid-fifties to the low-eighties and overnight lows mostly in the forties. We experienced rain showers the first couple of days. Arizona is in the Mountain time zone but there was a three-hour time difference as they do not utilize daylight savings time.

Sights Visited:

We voted the OdySea Aquarium as the best aquarium we’ve ever been to. It’s the first time that we’ve spent almost five hours in an aquarium and we could have stayed longer. The fun activities included touch tanks, a water play table, Virtual Reality experience, rotating aquarium tank theatre and much more. What a pleasant surprise to find such a fine aquarium in the desert.

The Childrens Museum of Phoenix provided our daughter with hours upon hours of enjoyment. She especially enjoyed the arts and crafts center.

The Arizona Renaissance Festival is a very popular seasonal attraction that we made a day of. A variety of shows run continuously on stages spread throughout the extensive grounds. The highlight for us was the “Cirque du Sewer – Trained Cats and Rats” performance.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is an outdoor wonderland sprinkled with numerous exhibits, native animal species, aviaries and an indoor oasis play area. It’s located next to Saguaro National Park and Old Tucson Studios.

The Tucson Childrens Museum is modest in size yet big enough to provide a morning full of enjoyment.

We spent three hours exploring the Arizona Science Center before our flight back home as it’s close to the airport. We easily could have stayed longer as there’s so much to see and do.

The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch was a fun stop to break up the drive from Phoenix to Tucson. We fed goats, donkeys, deer, sheep, bunnies, tortoises, chickens, stingrays, parakeets and, of course, ostriches.

Play:

The McCormick-Tillman Railroad Park was a fun place to spend a few hours. There’s a carousel, train ride and nice play areas. On the way out, our daughter expressed her desire to come back again. And, so we did a few days later. We’re so glad we did as we discovered the model railroad clubhouse that is far and away the most impressive such display that we have ever seen.

George “Doc” Cavalliere Park offered a nice covered playground and hiking trail to stretch our legs and have some fun.

Thompson Peak Park also had a decent covered playground.

Brandi Fenton Memorial Park was another with a decent covered playground.

Accommodations:

We used Hilton’s website to book four nights in a two-bedroom suite at the Hilton Vacation Club Scottsdale Links Resort. It was spacious, with a full kitchen and washer & drier. The WiFi and HVAC were good. This property is definitely starting to show its age. When we arrived, maintenance was fixing the dishwasher and then the washing machine leaked oil onto our clothes and needed to be replaced. Our unit backed up to a busy street, and even with our white noise machines, the street noise woke us up throughout the night.

For the second half of our trip, we used Airbnb to book a three-night farm stay in Tucson. There were two bedrooms, one and a half baths, large living and dining areas, a piano and a full kitchen. The Wifi was decent. There was a large in-ground trampoline and a tree-swing. The animals included chickens, sheep, horses, dogs, a kitten, a rabbit, a tortoise and a pig. Most of these animals roamed freely on the property. Adelaide and the host’s daughters Rose and Daisy quickly bonded and became play pals.

Transportation System:

We flew nonstop from Jacksonville to Phoenix and back on American airlines. The flights were around four hours and the seats were roomier than our recent international flights. We rented a Chevy Equinox SUV from Avis and this served us well as our primary transportation throughout the trip.

For Your Amusement:

The aquarium boasted “America’s Best Restroom” and they weren’t kidding given the eye-catching view.