Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter I: Inmate Made Goods at Arizona’s Prison Outlet Store Unique shopping experience One of the most unusual shopping experiences I ever had was browsing the shelves of the Prison Outlet Store in Florence, Arizona. At first glance, it looks like any other old timey store you…
Tag: Arizona
Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter G: Greek Monastery in Arizona St Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery In 1995, six Greek monks from Athos, Greece moved to the countryside near Florence, Arizona and created a beautiful monastery. Called St Anthony’s, the monastery features garden pathways, fountains, citrus orchards, olive groves, chapels, guest quarters,…
Christmas in the Desert My family and I spent last Christmas in the desert. Needless to say, it was not a white Christmas, although the opening lines of that famous Irving Berlin song, did apply: The sun is shining, the grass is green The orange and palm trees sway There’s never been such a day In Beverly Hills, LA But it’s December the 24th And I’m longing to be up north At least, they sort of applied. We were actually in Arizona, and I don’t think any of us were longing for snow or New York. It was tough to…
Most Parks Close at Sunset I love parks, but have you ever noticed they usually close at sunset? What’s that all about? Oh, OK. I’m sure there are good reasons for this… That said, one thing I loved about the Desert Botanical Garden’s Chihuly After Dark exhibit is that the park didn’t even open until sunset! Chihuly After Dark: Bustling, Yet Mellow While the event was well-attended, the Chihuly After Dark crowd was very mellow. Most people spoke in whispers, as if we had all agreed in advance not to intrude on anyone’s reverie. That never happens during the day!…
Superstition Mountain Museum is a fun place to swing by if you happen to be in the neighborhood, and by neighborhood, I mean Arizona. The place offers clean restrooms, a gift shop, and an indoor museum, but my favorite thing to do there is wander along the site’s picturesque outdoor trail. The setting is pure Arizona nature-glam, making it ideal for posing group shots with Mount Superstition looming in the background and rugged desert cacti dotting the foreground. It’s also perfect for taking silly cactus pictures. You know the ones I mean: photos which make it look like you are…
Music lovers have a new must-see attraction to add to their wish list: The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Arizona. MIM, which opened in April of 2010, currently displays over 3000 instruments from around the world. As if this weren’t impressive enough, MIM gives each visitor a small infrared device attached to headphones to guide them through the museum. As you approach displays, you hear information and music samples through these headphones and can watch matching videos, too. (Frankly, I would have liked the place even without those headphones, but having them really enhances the experience.) Instruments are arranged…