Empty Nesting: A recap of SB15

One of the best parts of any vacation is the beginning. It's the closing up shop at home, getting on the road and arriving at the destination. A week ago, Jack, Matt, Sally and I left our house around 10am. It was smooth sailing, including all of us being TSA prechecked (but don't tell anyone that I left a water bottle in my purse! the TSA agent was funny and sweet about it). We had a drink in the Admirals Club and got lunch to carry on board.

Jack and Sally at the airport

Conversations with Jack in the Admirals Club

The flight was great. During the flight, I watched the movie "Theory of Everything" which I found fascinating and I sort of obsessed about it for the first few days of our trip. (I think Stephen Hawking is way beyond interesting). When we arrived in Phoenix, Matt's name was on the Hertz Gold board for rentals instead of Jack's. It's a changing of the guard! Wow. Jack, Matt, Sally and I ended up going out to lunner (late lunch/early dinner) at Four Peaks Microbrewery. The Arizona-Wisconsin game was on the TVs and we sat outside on a covered patio. Total vacation feel!!

lunch al fresco at Four Peaks

We left there to check into the house that the kids had rented for our vacation. Wayne and Julie met us there with bags full of groceries and beverages. Such a wonderful feeling, full of anticipation for the week to come.

guacamole by Wayne

Another great part of our vacation was spending time in the pool. Wayne and Sally both said that they wanted to recreate the feel of our family Dallas trips back in the 90s. Those were incredible family times, spending time in the pool at Tom's house and just hanging out together for hours at a time. Not everyone in our family enjoys pooltime (#jack), so we had a nice shady spot for that person.

Jack in the shade on his throne

pool time!

We also enjoyed some fabulous food. Julie made chicken tortilla soup, we had a big bacon, sausage and egg breakfast one morning, Jack got us In and Out burgers for lunch one day and we ordered pizza the last night. We had an amazing dinner at Marcellino, an Italian restaurant on Monday night. Jack had been to this restaurant when it was in its previous location in a strip mall. Now it is in Oldtown Scottsdale, a romantic and beautiful neighborhood. On Tuesday, we went to an early dinner at The Mission, a popular restaurant serving southwestern cuisine. We had to go at 3pm because that was the only time we could get in! Our other outstanding meal was at a little bbq place called "Little Miss BBQ". It was Matt's suggestion, based on a college football blog that he read. Oh my goodness, this place was incredible!!!! It was in an industrial neighborhood by the airport, a little brick building with a line snaking around it by 11:30 am. It is only open 11 am to 4pm (or until they run out). The meal was an experience, including the line, the ordering, the owner who made the food and also bussed the tables.