Scottsdale (Pt. 2)

During my time in Scottsdale I was mesmerized by the quintessential Saguaro cactus; it was amazing to not only see a few of them but forests of them. 

Due to my cactus fascination I went to the Desert Botanical Garden to walk around the myriad of cacti and learn about the indigenous tribes while drinking lemonade from my favorite lunch spot in Scottsdale.

The Original Chop Shop has amazing salads, wraps, smoothies, juices, and my fav. strawberry ginger lemonade.  I grabbed food here at least once each week as it came highly recommended by a friend who had just visited. 

Per usual, I attempted to find the best coffee in Scottsdale and I have to say I was unimpressed.  I tried Sip Coffee & Beer and Cartel and wasn’t a big fan of either.  My favorite was Dutch Bro.’s but it doesn’t have anything on Better Buzz (San Diego) or Frothy Monkey (Nashville).  I did, however, meet the sweetest girl in Scottsdale on my first Dutch Bro.’s visit.  She was wearing a Yankees hat (I forgave her) and is from the Carolina’s so we hit it off and talked about the South and my trip.  She helped me find a yummy (dairy free) iced coffee and we exchanged instagram names to keep in touch. 

I tried a few other restaurants including Montauk which I wouldn’t recommend- the service was pretty lacking and the watermelon Moscow mule was the worst I’ve ever had due to the cheap flavored vodka they used. 

After my quick visit to Montauk I went to Diego Pops which is a funky Mexican restaurant with a great bar and patio area.  I ate at the bar twice, once to watch a Thursday night Tampa Bay Bucs game and once to watch a Red Sox playoff game. 

I also had dinner at Olive and Ivy but the vibe and the food felt much more like a corporate chain than a fun independent restaurant.  I did meet a kind couple from St. Louis that I spoke to through most of dinner. 

Luckily I found a bar I really liked called Farm & Craft where not only do they have great food and drinks but I met extremely interesting people on each of my visits.  

On my first visit I started with one of their specialty drinks The Hydrator which is made of  44˚ north mountain huckleberry vodka (take me back to Montana), bols elderflower, coconut water, local honey, blueberries & prosecco- so yummy.  Then I ordered their gluten free lasagna (so exciting!!) and a glass of wine.

Two men sat down next to me and we eventually started talking about how none of us were from Scottsdale.  I told them about my trip and that I am from Boston.  I totally hit it off with Craig (the Scottsdale Scott from Denver, by way of Scotland and Boston) and Sheraton (who is from Denver by way of San Francisco and Fall River) – both with ties to Seattle. 

We talked about their families and Craig’s plans to hit some National Parks with his wife and children the following week.  Craig and I also bonded over both having lived in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston and our shared love of The Heaven Scottish bar.

They had the best questions about my trip including “Who is the most interesting person [I’ve] met, so far?” Which, of course, was Dez from Daphne’s cocktail bar in Edmonds, WA (LAAAAAACEYYYYY!)  Although I had to promise Craig and Sheraton that, moving forward, if asked again who the most interesting person I’ve met is, I have to say them.

To round out a wonderful conversation we somehow determined that both Craig and I know the capitals for all 50 US states.  We went back and forth asking each other states while Sheraton laughed in astonishment.  

We wrapped things up by sharing all of our shared love of British Procedural crime shows before making a plan to meet the following morning to hike.

Surprise, surprise, I tossed and turned all night with anxiety about hiking in the heat and sent a text that morning blaming my cancellation on a migraine. 

To my surprise Craig texted me later to say he hoped I was doing ok and that he read a bit of my blog.  He told me his young son has anxiety, too, and asked if I had any suggestions which I shared the best I could. 

The second time I went to Farm & Craft I walked into a scene.  There were 3 girls from a bachelorette party who were extremely drunk and belligerent.  They were yelling at the bartenders, “take your shirt off!” and refusing to pay their tab until the other bartender gave them his number.  At one point the bride was standing next to one of the other guys at the bar and he had to get up and move to a different chair while he told her how rude she was being.

Finally, the bride was asked to leave but kept yelling from the sidewalk just outside the perimeter of the patio, “I can’t go there because I’m OFFENSIVE!”  

Unfortunately, one of her friends who was drunk and annoying but not officially kicked out kept coming back in to bother all of us at the bar including two guys from Texas. She was lifting their drinks and trying to force them to take sips, almost spilling all over them. 

At one point she finally left and the 5 of us who had been making eye contact all lifted our glasses to “cheers” her leaving.  She eventually came back one last time. 

The 5 of us kept joking throughout our respective dinners and I found out the two guys at the end live near Austin and we exchanged contact information so we can try to get together when I’m there in a few weeks.

Needless to say, Farm & Table had great food and (mostly) great guests; the service isn’t amazing but it’s worth checking it out. 

Benny was living his best life in Scottdale. The AirBnB had a patio that was closed off so he was able to stay out there on his own chasing geccos all day. On one particular day while I was in a virtual session with a client I saw Benny come running into the dining room… and he wasn’t alone. He was chasing a small gecco around the table I was sitting at. I was distracted so I apologized to my client and let them know my cat had a lizard and I needed a moment to grab it. I stood up but paused because how in the world do you get a lizard out of the house?? I grabbed a papertowel to pick it up with but of course I couldn’t squish it like a bug and I didn’t want to put it in the trash can in case it was still alive and came climbing back out so I put him outside of the front door. As I was walking back in I noticed something moving on the floor and as I got closer I saw that it was the gecco’s tail….and it was still moving. Horrified, I threw it away before trying to pretend everything was ok as I sat back down to finish my client’s session. The next time I left the condo the lizard was gone and I am hoping that means the poor little thing survived and is growing a new tail as we speak.

 

The very best part of Scottsdale, for me, was seeing a few amazing people from home.  

First up was a family church friend, Jen, who was also a favorite childhood babysitter.  If you’re counting, Jen is the third amazing babysitter reunion of the trip.  I feel so lucky to have had these awesome role models as a kid turn into friends in adulthood. It’s even more wonderful to see how amazing they are as moms… even though it’s no surprise. 

I went to Jen’s and met her wonderful family including her husband and her three adorable, thoughtful, fun kids. Jen had set up her backyard with hay bales, pumpkins, and a fire pit for s’mores.  We caught up after not seeing each other for over 20 years and then two families joined the pumpkin painting s’more party. 

After a wonderful evening we made plans to hang out again later in the week to soak up more time together and her sweet daughter, Alice, made a friendship bracelet to take with me.  

If you’re counting friendship bracelets, this is bracelet number two; my first being from Cami in Montana.  I’ve been sending Camryn and Caden postcards since leaving Montana and I told Alice I’d send her some postcards from my next stops, too. As  a kid, and let’s be honest, as an adult, I love getting and sending cards to family and friends.  

Next up was my friend Heather.  She moved to Upton from Arizona when we were in 8th grade and we played field hockey together.  Her sister played varsity softball when I was on JV.  We had a little overlap in school and she’s good friends with my friend Jessie who I saw in Charleston. 

Heather and I have stayed in touch by liking each other’s social media posts and sending a message occasionally, regardless, I knew she lived in Phoenix and I was excited she agreed to meet up. 

We met at Postino Wine Bar to catch up and split some gluten free bruschetta; bruschetta is to Arizona what charcuterie is to Boston (read: amazing).

Heather and I ended up having so much to talk about and our time flew by; wonderful conversation with a wonderful person.  We both decided we needed to try and hang out again before I left for my next stop. 

A few nights later I went to Heather’s for dinner and got to meet her amazing family including her 4 kiddos, two of which are twin 4 year old girls. One of the twins, Ellie, was attached to me for the night which was adorable. 

After dinner Heather and I talked about everything from the hardships of adolescence to grief and loss to anxiety to heartbreaks.  As we were talking I told her about the lackluster tarot reading I had in Sedona.  

Heather then told me her mom’s best friend who is the “best psychic medium” happened to be in town visiting from Sedona.  She immediately called her mom who lives about a mile away and told her we were coming over. 

I then had an epic 2 hour long medium reading in the comfort of Heather’s mom’s living room by a woman, Melissa, who happened to be in town the same night I was visiting Heather; I’m calling this fate. 

Melissa connected with my great Auntie Diana, three of my grandfathers, and a friend I lost to suicide in 9th grade.  One of my grandfathers came through very strongly and she told me he was one of my spirit guides and that we had a soul connection and had known each other in other lives. He is my grandfather through marriage but I knew him my whole life.  He came through saying, “those girls are my real granddaughters” which was emotional to hear and wild because Melissa didn’t yet know that I have a sister. 

My friend from high school came through as an “old soul”; he said he’s around when I think of him and mentioned something about music.  Initially I thought he meant how I always picture him in one of the Pantera or Lynyrd Skynyrd band t-shirts he would always wear but after talking about the reading to my mom I realized he was probably referencing an actual song.

After he died, at his funeral service his sister read lyrics from the song “FreeBird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd which prompted many of his close friends to get memorial tattoos including those lyrics.  The song was also played at our senior prom to honor him.  It took years for me to be able to hear this song without being overcome with grief and guilt.  This has to be what he was talking about which actually makes me want to listen to the song, on my own volition, for the first time in 20 years.

Melissa saw me in the future with a daughter who looks like me; she told me to ask my spirit guides for clarity in my dreams in deciding to have children or not and I had randomly had a dream 2 nights prior about having a child.  She also saw a relationship with a man who is educated and travels and that we have a strong partnership.  She saw me moving – in the future and said she could see me in Asheville but also asked if I had any ties to Washington. 

One of the strongest takeaways from this experience was that she repeated several times throughout the reading, “You belong.”  I’ve never felt like I belong, I’ve always felt on the outskirts and like I have always been trying to fit in, trying to find a way to be comfortable with myself. 

On my last day in Scottsdale a friend from home happened to be in town for her cousin’s bachelorette party.

I’ve known Katrina since I hired her to work on my team in Dorchester several years ago.  We kept in touch as she moved up in the company in another location and when I had a spot open on a new team I was building I immediately recruited her for that.  She was by my side after I laid off 60% of our team during covid and as we rebuilt trust, processed the shock, and navigated social services needs during the worst days of the pandemic. Besides being colleagues I consider her a good friend.  

After a tearful reunion, we got coffee (I introduced her to Dusch Brothers) and caught up.  We then joined the larger group for brunch at RnR Gastropub.  The group was welcoming and fun.  After brunch Katrina and I went to lay by the pool at their AirBnB while the rest of the group went to the Desert Botanical Garden.

I am so grateful our time in such a random place overlapped and that we were able to spend this time together.

Finally, a quick running update before I wrap up this Arizona novel: I’m finally running again!  I’m doing my Monday runs and doing more than 5 minutes at a time and I’m back to doing my Wednesday speed workouts.  I’m feeling strong and excited to finally feel like I’m able to do this thing I love so much. I have to say the weather in Scottsdale is not ideal for running; there were several days where it was above 90 degrees and I used the treadmill in the condo complex gym (super thankful for that).  I have to say I’m looking forward to cooler temperatures in Albuquerque.  

On one of my runs I was listening to the Condé Nast podcast, Women Who Travel, with a guest who worked with Anthony Bourdain.  The two hosts and the guest talked about the challenges of traveling and the anxiety it can spark; they talked about feeling lonely and out of place at times while traveling and I couldn’t help but think, “I’m not alone?….!”  Why don’t more people talk about this?  Why does everyone make travel look easy and effortless? It really would have helped to know this before now.