tennish things to do in arizona

cabana--last year

tomorrow we leave for our twice yearly road trip south to see the cacti and the siblings and the ma and pa.

& to eat chimichangas.

our trip usually devolves into shopping, eating, and swimming, maybe a mani or pedi and a movie at the multi-plex.  this time i vow to be more ambitious, and have plans to do at least some of the things on this list:

1)  morning glory cafe (thanks, julie, for the suggestion!)
2)  in the bungalow yoga (charming, peaceful studio in downtown mesa--great teachers.  it's become a tradition for me to do a few classes there every fall and spring)
3)  hilton pointe tapatio cabana (see above picture.  you can rent a cabana for 75 bucks for the day, then smuggle 25 of your hillbilly cousins, their capri suns, cheetos, and uncrustables hidden in their giant purses, into the resort pool & no one will ever know. a luxury vacay on a dime.)
4)  karaoke (it's been a lifelong dream of mine to do karaoke.  hoping with enough sisters and sisters-in-laws backing me up to make this dream come true.)
5)  mi amigo's (my family's restaurants.  i learned to cashier, bus tables, hostess, cater, and play pac man in the bar as a teenager there.  i still say they have the best salsa ANYWHERE--roasted chiles, salsa made fresh every few hours, & never refrigerated.)
6)  superstition mountains hike (may get ambitious and do longish hike to cliff dwellngs.)
7)  the heard museum  (there's a cool exhibit on right now.  can't remember what, and too busy packing to google)
8)  smeek's candy store (for the kids)
9)  the desert botanical gardens (julie reminded me of this, too. haven't been since i was a kid.)
10) pizzaria bianco (it's been on my list for a while now.  never happened yet.  we'll see. . . .)

looking forward: catching the tail end of the orange blossoms, i hope!

legwear:  black tights and boots (it's about to snow--no more sandals and bare legs today)

inspiration: chef justin at communal.  just had the best dinner ever there tonight! (braised lamb shank with chow chow, roasted kale cesar salad, artichoke stuffed with house made ricotta and tomato, blood orange and clove sorbet, vanilla pots de creme, and bread pudding--so delicate with a toothsome crust--were the highlights.)