For Thanksgiving break, I was lucky enough to be able to sneak away from Wisco for five days to Phoenix to visit my BFF Eva. It was the first time I’d seen her since we drove her out there in July. Needless to say, the weather now (about 70-80 degrees) is much more pleasant than the 120 degree weather I remember!
Phoenix was wonderful and relaxing. It was great to sleep late, study on the rooftop or by the pool, get some great running in, and spend the nights exploring Phoenix’s great nightlife scene.
We spent Thanksgiving Day with Eva’s friend Lindsey. Her parents live in Anthem, about 45 minutes outside of Phoenix. Our contribution to the meal was dessert. We made an apple pie from scratch and even managed a lattice crust! The end product looked almost too delicious to eat!
Dinner was amazing, and it was wonderful to meet Lindsey’s parents and their friends. We ate until we were stuffed and the pie got rave reviews! We also had a strategy session on how we were going to get into the W Hotel Bar on Friday night. The W Bar is not just any bar! It is the most exclusive bar in the area. To get in you have to be on a list or be staying at the W that night.
Here are some strategies we came up with:
- Having someone from the Miami location call in that two cute employees were visiting and wanted to check out the bar. (Thanks to Rich for offering to do this for us)
- Pretending we were working for a liquor brand and doing an alcohol promotion
- Booking a room
- Approaching a stranger in the lobby and asking him to take us in with him
- Hiring a concierge service to get us on the list
- Rushing the door
In the end we just decided to go a little early to beat the crowd. We didn’t have any problems and we even made friends with the bartender, Nick! It was definitely an amazing place, with delicious drinks and a great atmosphere. Now that we know Nick, we’ll definitely be going back whenever I’m in town! 
Nick ended up getting off of work and he took us to The Lodge bar. I knew it would be an interesting place when I saw the Vikings flag flying at the entrance and a huge Jenga!
Apparently it is a Midwest-themed bar and there were even cheese curds on the menu! Eva and I tried an order and I have to say, they hit the spot!
Saturday night we had dinner at Eva’s favorite sushi place, Pearl. I was also introduced to “Ted”, a manager at Pearl who supposedly resembles the main character from “How I Met Your Mother”. There was some resemblance, but the picture doesn’t do him justice:
While we were there we met up with a bunch of Lindsey’s friends and all of us went to Drift, a tiki-themed bar in Scottsdale. After that we somehow ended up back at the W bar again!
I ran every day I was there. – 30 miles in 4 days! On Thanksgiving I did a Turkey Trot. I started out strong but the heat got to me around mile 5 and I ended up slowing down. I still managed to beat the Turkey though:
I think he runs 8 minute miles. 
On Saturday, I met Darrin, a triathlete friend, at Cactus Aquatic Center to get in a swim workout in an outdoor pool! It’s crazy to think of swimming outside all year long. They even have a cooling system in the pool for the summer to keep the water at the right temperature!
Sunday I did a 12 mile trail run in Papago Park. The scenery was amazing and it was only a few blocks from Eva’s apartment. A 1200 acre park in the middle of Phoenix!
Now I’m back in Wisconsin finishing up the semester. I’m not too happy about being back in the cold, especially since we just got 16 inches of snow. Good thing I’ll be out of Wisconsin again in just 10 days!
