Scottsdale

Unfortunately, I had to hop on to a work call first thing, but afterwards, Marie and I went on a hike near her house at Pinnacle Peak. It was packed with kids and hikers, but we had fun chatting and doing the hike up, down, up, and down again and doing the reverse round trip. It was about 2 hours round trip and since it had rained recently, the shrubbery was all in bloom - collages below from our hike:

I was nervous I wouldn't be able to keep up with Marie, because she's very active and athletic, but I survived! To celebrate, we had lunch with Steven at a restaurant called Isabella's that's on a golf course. We shared a mushroom pizza and had salads while Steven enjoyed a crispy chicken sandwich along with tasty pomegranate margaritas. Here's a photo of Marie at our lunch table - a better view than our pantry lunch at work and very "Scottsdale" to be on a golf course!

After lunch, we headed to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West which is where his architecture school is located. I've been to the Robie House in Chicago and other Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, but this felt different with the students, to this day, working away in the draft studio. Here are a few photos from our 90 minute Inisghts Tour (you have to reserve and there are several tour options):

When the tour was over, Marie and I rushed to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess where I will be at a work conference for a few days and the work part of my Arizona Adventure begins. I'm sad that my personal part of the vacation is over, but the conference was the impetus and motivation to plan such a fun Arizona itinerary! 

This is where my blogging ends for the trip, but I hope to return to Arizona again to hike some more, visit Marie, and enjoy the warm and sunny weather!