The Valley of the Sun

Pool at Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks

Let me just say this upfront, I hate the heat. I can tolerate it if I am close to a large body of water but given the choice between 10 inches of snow or 110 degrees, I chose the snow. Everytime. That's why a trip to Phoenix, Arizona was a little out of character for me. A friend of mine is from Phoenix and was harping on me to check it out. I finally gave in and gave Phoenix a week to win me over. I was pretty skeptical. I mean, their baseball team has a pool in the stadium. Really? I had this image of  Phoenix where a bunch of grandmas riding around in golf carts and frat boys chasing girls around town. Phoenix in my mind is pretty much the west coast version of Florida. I hate Florida. 

The Zovko Family

Despite all of these misgivings, I went anyway. Mostly, because I wanted my friend to stop nagging me and I would have a chance to spend some time with his family and I love the Zovkos. Okay, here's the truth. I could never live in Phoenix. Not only is it hot but it looks like someone copied and pasted strip malls up and down every street. The small downtown area, if you can call it that, leaves a lot to be desired. I also couldn't get used to this Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale conglomerate. Are these neighborhoods of Phoenix? Separate towns? Suburbs? So maybe the heat made me a little grumpy. I was on the verge of punching the next person who said, "It's a dry heat." A dry heat is still friggin' hot. When it is over 100 degrees it is hot. There is no way around that.

Desert Botanical Garden

There were two things that saved Phoenix from becoming my least favorite place in America, The Desert Botanical Garden and The Heard Museum. I wasn't sure what to expect from a botanical garden in the desert but it was surprisingly beautiful. The garden was full of flowers, animals and cacti. It is definitely worth a visit. It was hot walking around. I know, you get the point. It's hot in Phoenix. Bring your personal fan that spritzes water on you and enjoy your walk around. I saw some crazy looking lizards and the butterfly room was amazing. You walk into this enclosed greenhouse and butterflies are EVERYWHERE. It was like being a kid again. I had the urge to run after each of them. The only thing that would have made this better was if it was in an open field and Laura Ingells was running around with me. The flowers and displays throughout the garden were stunning but the landscape surrounding the garden was even more spectacular.

Heard Museum

The Heard Museum is one of the premier American Indian museums in the country. If you have an ounce of interest in Native American culture you will fall in love with this place. There was an elaborate display of ancient pottery and weavings. The exhibit that stuck with me the most was about boarding schools that the U.S. government forced American Indian children to attend in order to "civilize" them. The exhibit included photos and interviews with real people and how difficult it was for them to be taken from everything they have ever known and forced into a new way of life. I'm not embarrassed to say that I shed a few tears reading them. This museum alone was worth my entire trip to Phoenix.

Bottom Line. Phoenix isn't my favorite. I might go there again but only to visit friends. There are a few shining stars. As you may have picked up on, I do hate the heat and I do have a problem with the Diamondbacks because they beat my Yankees in the World Series in 2001 when New York really needed something positive to celebrate. The heat and my sports related hatred may have skewed my opinion. Honestly, it wasn't all bad. It is always fun to explore a new place and I got to hug a huge basketball. That's pretty cool.