As we drove around, I didn’t see much beauty in the city of Phoenix – the buildings I saw were functional but they didn’t fit the landscape. We set the GPS for our first stop: the apple store. It was in a mall, but a southern-style mall. Instead of walking around inside the mall, there was an outdoor hallway with green grass (very rare in Phoenix) and fountains everywhere. It was very pleasant, especially with the warm temperatures.
After that, Ghis looked up the REI (outdoor sports store), so we could buy a duffle bag for the plane. Unfortunately it would only work on the shortest route setting (instead of fastest route). That meant that it made us take a turn almost every block! We finally made it downtown and then it told us to keep going. I started to wonder when we passed a small house with a horse in the backyard and then one with a donkey. It seemed we were on one of the reservations.
All this time, we were looking for somewhere to eat. We finally arrived at what the GPS said was our destination and there was nothing, no REI in sight! We don’t know what the GPS was thinking. We had to call the store to ask for directions. In the meantime, Ghis stopped at a grocery store and asked me to grab us some lunch.
Little did I know that as I crossed the threshold of the store, I’d be entering Mexico! Outside were the pretty coloured flags that are hung for special occasions. Inside the store I looked for sandwiches, but found only tons of Mexican food. Normally that would be great, but having eaten it twice the day before, I was not in the mood.
There were no sandwiches and I did not feel like tamales or tacos or anything else made with the same ingredients. Mexican music blasted in my ears. As I walked the aisles, I was impressed by the items I had never even seen in a grocery store. There was even a Jesus aisle. Instead of lunch, I bought pineapple empanadas and a piece of cake with sprinkles on it.
We ate that and I gave Morgane pasta from the fridge and we made it to REI. Then we checked into a great room at the Hampton where we will stay until it’s time to catch our flight on Thursday.