Lunch At The Biltmore Hotel

Tuesday

Frank Lloyd Wrights Stain Glass Panel

Our breakfast yesterday was such fun with Sharlene and as we had got on so well, we asked if she would be able to take some time to day to show us her favourite places in Phoenix, which she was only too pleased to do. However this morning Sharlene was feeling unwell. So after wishing her to get well quickly we struck out on our own.
With memories of visiting the Coronado Hotel in SanDiego, we decided that we would visit the Biltmore Hotel, possibly the most prestigious hotel in the South West. It was built in 1929, the same time as the Empire State Building in New York. It sought to combine Art Deco with the desert it was built in. The architect worked closely with Frank Lloyd Wright and has a similar feel to some of his buildings. An amazing interplay of stark concrete and natural foliage create a wonderfully rich environment which is just a joy to walk around. Without the trees, palm trees, grass and flowers the place would have looked like a series of blockhouses. Also the use of the 'Biltmore Block' adding texture to the concrete blocks adds a lot to the style.

Biltmore Blocks in a wall

A Biltmore Block

The hotel is surrounded by the Biltmore Estate, so was quite difficult to find, then quite difficult to get into, as we did not want to end up in the valet parking area. Eventually we got in through a back entrance. This led us past quest chalets and gardens to the main concourse, a hexagonal grass covered area with a cafe and lounge area, where we sat and relaxed for an hour or so having coffee/tea, just enjoying the environment (it was more than just a view), with the peace of the greenery and the bustle of a hotel. When we were refreshed we spent some time walking round the public areas of the hotel, centering on the long reception area/lobby with its interesting exhibits, there was an amazing dining display for a wedding meal from its hey day. Well spaced on both the inside and outside were a number of sculptures, tapestries and glass panels which enhanced the view that this hotel was in the desert, even though the main theme was definitely Art Deco.
We continued our wandering and eventually found the outdoor pool, where we were able to take a table and have lunch, I settled for a simple burger and Sally had a Steak fajita salad, which we enjoyed immensely. Another hour or so of relaxing, which included the slight drama of one the the pools being closed, which included it being taped off like a crime scene. On inquiry we were informed that a child had an accident. My first thought about the possibility of broken limbs etc. was a little too dramatic, however the pool would have to be drained and cleaned before it could be used again. I could not imagine the embarrassment of the parents!!!! Still if you are going to do it then a $400 a night hotel is as good a place as any. My twisted mind ran to the matra of 'Who put the poo in poo-l'. By the way , this pool which we were relaxing by was where, reputedly, Irving Berlin wrote 'White Christmas'.
It was a short walk from there to the Paradise Gardens, a simple long garden area between two arms of the hotel with beautiful flowers an palm trees. This brought us back to the central plaza, from where we returned to the Chevy and home.
This was a lovely day, in a beautiful and luxurious environment. I would recommend it as a great day out.
Follow this link if you want to find out more about this 'Jewel in the Desert' 

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Breakfast

Monday arrived early and so did Sharlene to take us for our breakfast. We went to her favourite place - Kiss The Cook on Glendale Ave. W Great traditional American breakfast place, I really enjoyed pancakes and bacon, while Sally enjoyed ham, sausage and bacon. It was a very popular place, with people waiting for a table, but we sat for hours talking with Sharlene, drinking lots of coffee having. had a wonderful time. Sharlene then brought us home, I didn't even bother with lunch, but managed to wash the awning clean in afternoon.

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Early this morning I had taken the Chevy for a bit of a fixup. We have been getting a lot of road noise and a bit of wobble when we brake on a steep slope, so wanted to get that sorted. The damage was new brake linings and the discs (rotors as they call them) needed skimming. The road noise is, as I thought, a result of the 'aggressive' tread on our snow tires, though it has been made worse by something called 'cupping', whereby the tire rubber wears unevenly, not across the tire, like the shoulders or centre of the tread, but wears down round the circumference of the tire, like a series of waves, each about 4 inches long, across the width of the tire, this is not dangerous and is probably brought about by the extra load on the back lifting the front slightly and the tires bouncing. The guy suggested a less aggressive tire would probably solve the problem, but they still have another 20,000 miles of wear, so we just have to get used to the road noise.

Palm Sunday

Being Palm Sunday and being in Phoenix we once again visited the lovely First Christian Church. This being the wonderful church which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1949, but built in 1971-1973.
Very enjoyable service, even if there was a members meeting at the beginning, interestingly they are changing their constitution and will no longer be a non profit corporation. This will enable them to decide who can come into the building, which in turn means they cannot be sued for refusing to marry people for whatever reason.
Since first visiting Phoenix we have been to this church three times and feel a special affinity with it, finding it peaceful, yet vibrant, as well as a beautiful place to worship.
As I am writing this I have found out that we have other things in common with it.
Frank Lloyd Wright conceived and drew the designs for the church in 1949-50, I was conceived and born in 1959, Sally born in 1950.
The church was never built for its original purpose, a seminary for a college in Phoenix, so the plans lay on the shelf for twenty years. The church was eventually built, completed and consecrated in 1973, which coincidentally was when our marriage was consecrated. Since then being a Lloyd Wright design it has stood the test of time, though its exterior has weathered somewhat inside it is bright, wonderful and exciting, a bit like our marriage.

More info:
http://franklloydwrightsites.com/arizona/1stchurch/1stchurch_photos.htm

All Quiet on the Phoenix Front

I am glad to say that very little has been happening in our trailer at the moment. This is the fourth day since our arrival and we have been working hard at chilling out. Lots of sitting around, with little forays to the local shops, we managed going to Sprouts yesterday, which is a cheaper priced version of Whole Food Markets.
I indulged in a short (4.5K) run Friday and we might even make it to the pool today!
I have heard nothing about my camera repair, so have buckled and bought a new camera, still a Sony, but a cheaper model. The A58, it is just about to go out of production I think, so can be picked up quite cheaply, I will be able to use my all in one lens with it, should get it by next Wednesday when we move on to the Krazy K RV Park in CampVerde.

Days Inn Gets The Bird

Having started our recovery in Phoenix, I have the time to relate what happened in Minneapolis - nothing desperate, so don't get your hopes up about an interesting read, but I need to record it for future reference.
We had a reasonably good flight from Teesside to Minneapolis, via Amsterdam. Everything went like clockwork, so we were in reasonable shape when we landed. There the trouble started!
Strike 1: We went to the shuttle bus service area, picked up the phone to call the hotel and were told by the receptionist "10 minutes for a bus". After 50 minutes I phoned them again - no explanation but the bus would "pick us up in 10". 20 minutes later  we were picked up. By the way, Minneapolis is still cold - we were surrounded by the remnants of a 9" fall of snow, with temperatures near freezing. Waiting for the shuttle bus was not pleasant. The shuttle bus driver said he had not been told about our first phone call and had been sitting in the hotel lobby. When we arrive and complained about the wait to the receptionist, no one would take responsibility or even apologize. It took us one and a half hours from our first phone call to actually reach the hotel.
Strike 2: The Days Inn looked very shabby and dirty, we were assigned a room on the ground floor, trundled our stuff along, opened the door to find that the room had not been cleaned or the bed changed after the previous occupants. Trundled our stuff back again. Were assigned another, smaller room, barely room to move and nowhere to place and open the cases.
Strike 3: We had been on our feet for 19 hours and were ready to sleep, however they did not adequately provide even the most basic materials, so I had to go to the front desk for a couple of extra pillows, then to the front desk for an extra blanket, then to the front desk for extra towels, as there was only one hand towel and a face cloth. The hand towel was what they deemed a bath towel and the "bath" towel would not even go round my waist. At one point, can't remember which, Sally got really angry and went to the Front Desk to complain, only to be met by an unresponsive gaze by the receptionist, who simply reached for a business card and invited Sally to complain to the name on the card. Sally was not a happy bunny!
Next morning all went smoothly, but the damage had been done. We left the hotel in high dudgeon (well a groaning Ford Econoline, with 315,000 miles on the clock) and continued our journey to Phoenix and the sun, where we duly arrived and were picked up by the wonderfully enthusiastic Sharlene, who took us to our trailer and invited us to join her for breakfast at one of her favourite places on Monday, which we are now looking forward to.
While we were at Days Inn we spied their Mission Statement/Promise to us:

Sally intends to take Days Inn to task about the difference between their Mission Statement and reality - good luck Sally. Days Inn are apparently franchises, so she is going to complain to the Corporate company and copy the letter to the Days Inn where we stayed, as she feels that a letter of complaint to the manager of that particular Days Inn would not be effective. We have often stayed at a Days Inn and always had good service for a reasonable price.

Phoenix, Here we Are

Well we have arrived safely in Phoenix Arizona, recovered the truck and trailer and they seem exactly as we had left them. The truck started straight away. We are now staying on our site at Royal Palms, The weather is sunny and warm.
I need to fill in on our stay in Minneapolis, but not tonight as we need to go and eat - Texas Roadhouse calls.

Departure Count down

Two days to go and we seem to be on target for departure. Helen, Stu and Joshua invited us to their house yesterday to give us a farewell roast chicken dinner, which Helen prepared and it was scrumptious. Had time to prune their roses in the front garden (now that I am an expert, having done ours for the first time EVER! this year). Then it was a tearful goodbye and looking forward to seeing them in June. We were surprised how tough it was to say goodbye, but you can't have it both ways.
Bad news on the camera front, it developed a fault on our last trip and I posted it off for repair just after Christmas, only to find that in March I am still waiting for it to be returned to me. Very little I can do, except get it shipped to the USA when it is repaired. Now however we do have Sally's very nice Olympus camera that she was given at Christmas, so we hope that will work for the moment.
So it's onward to getting all the last minute jobs done to leave the house clean and tidy.

Our Road Trip is Imminent

Once again we are close to embarking on a USA Road Trip!
Next Tuesday we will fly from Teesside to Amsterdam and then to Minneapolis, from there we fly on to Phoenix to be re-united with our trusty (we hope) Truck and Trailer.
Sally has had a real struggle with her health since Christmas, but we are hoping that the worst of this is behind us and we can relax in the sun for a few days before starting our next adventure.
Our basic plan for this trip is to move North East, first of all looking at Eastern Arizona, then finding our more about Pueblo Indians in New Mexico. From there we will travel North to Durango for a bluegrass festival before attempting to travel North along the Rockies, starting with the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton and Ourey. From there we will travel to Wyoming and the Devil's Tower, then into South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. We hope then to find the Black Hills of Dakota, if only to sing the song. We will move East across the Dakota's, hoping to have time to explore Minnesota and Wisconsin before flying home in June from Minneapolis