On The Road: Phoenix, AZ (Part 2)

Ready to talk about more food? Great! Me too! Because Phoenix has fed me well! Whatever Phoenix gets wrong, it makes up for in their food. This city has kept me busy for the last 10 days, and every bit of it has been a joy. I finally found my vibe, and was wined and dined. I’m heartbroken to leave, but I know it won’t be the last time I come back.

PHOENIX BURRITO HOUSE
I swear Josh is an expert in fine dining. He recommended Cornish Pasty and that hit the spot. Once he said he wanted to take me on an eating tour of Phoenix and I would absolutely trust him to do it. When I was here last time he suggested Stumpy’s for pizza, which we got on Friday night I’m sure this city has some awful food, but I know Josh would never steer me in that direction. This food-win for Josh was Phoenix Burrito House. It’s was a bit nicer than a hole in the wall so I was immediately won over. Then I saw that they had coke in long neck glass bottles. I swear PHX has a thing for that. I ordered a chicken burrito and those first bites were blissful for my taste buds. Probably one of the best burritos I’ve ever eaten. While we ate, feral cats roamed around the fences and surrounding buildings. Josh told me that I can’t have one as a pet. In his defense I don’t think I would get the cat through security at the airport.

LUX (COFFEE)
So after dinner at the burrito joint, Josh and I went to Lux, one of his favorites. It was a really interesting place with kind of an urban boho vibe. I don’t know how to describe it, but I know I liked it. It seemed like a place where the souls of artists, dreamers, poets, writers and lovers mingle. In addition to an espresso bar they also had an actual bar, which I chose to partake in. Josh and I sat down and had some really wonderful conversations about everything from just general life to deep theological matters. Between the conversation and the atmosphere, I was intellectually full.

L–R: Amanda, me, Alden, Christy. The politics of the 2016 election brought me here to share a table with these beautiful people.

LUNCH WITH ALDEN, CHRISTY AND AMANDA
Monday started with the revelation that Christie’s tiny one’s were sick, and she couldn’t make it to a lunch date we had planned at Joe’s Farm Grill. It’s interesting how this all started. As someone who tends to lean left politically, I thought it would be important to immerse myself in more conservative thought as a way to be more educated, and in 2016 I joined a Facebook group for people who supported Evan McMullin’s presidential campaign. In that group, I met Josh, Christie, my friend Amanda, a former Iowa Hawkeye and Phoenix metro resident, Alden, and a fierce woman who loves society’s outcast, Christy. Christy and Alden had never met before and so it was a sweet little meet-and-greet for us. Of course, our conversation revolved around the group we met in and political current events. I adored Christy and Alden the second I met them, and Amanda has been a joy in my life since I met her in June. Afterwards, we all took a photo together, and made our friendships official.

SOUTH MOUNTAIN HIKE
The short version of this is that I have now barfed in 5 states. Josh and I were going to hike up the back side of South Mountain just above Ahwatukee and I was doing great for about 10 minutes or so. Then I found a nice bush to vomit on. It was one of my classiest moments, I promise. On the hike, we saw petroglyphs and Josh shared with me that a Saguaro cactus can’t grow arms until its 75 years old, so some of the cacti we were hiking past were over 100 years old. It’s fascinating to think that they were here before cars were invented, before interstates went through, even before Route 66 was established. As we were leaving, I barfed again. Josh and I concluded that it was because of the 20oz. chai I had right before we hiked. Josh took great care of me, and Christie allowed her day to be interrupted and came over to my AirBnb to make sure I was okay. In reality, I was being an ignorant visitor who didn’t think through what desert hiking required of me. Hint: it wasn’t 20oz. of milk and sugar.

As one might expect in an old church building, the light was dim. And I took this with my cell phone because I felt irreverent using my DSLR.

MERCY HILL CHURCH
On Sunday, Christie and I met Josh at his church (picking up another chai on the way). It had been awhile since I’d sat in a pew for something other than work. Josh shared with the congregation about the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia, and the pastor shared a sermon about the work Jesus did on the cross. It was much different than I’m used to. It was very tame compared to my church. Vineyard folks are very enthusiastic worshipers with no shortage of clapping, shouting, whistling, and sometimes even dancing. Getting to share worship time with my friends was joyful. It felt like we got closer on Sunday.

CORNISH PASTY
Cornish Pasty is what I would call me being culinarily adventurous. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s like hot pockets, if hot pockets grew up into a sophisticated adult and stopped being a public health hazard. I had one that was basically a pizza (shush, that’s adventurous when the usual is Lucky Charms and Kraft Mac and Cheese) and it hit the spot. They are very generous with their servings and I could only eat half. If you’re ever in the area, Cornish Pasty is a must!

REFUGEE ART SHOW
After Cornish Pasty, we went to an art show that was all done by refugees. I bought a photo of a piece of cloth hanging on a fence and on it was the word “Why?” That was particularly powerful for me. Along with the art was the story of the creator. One piece that Josh bought was created by a child whose dream was to live in a house. That was extremely powerful. Josh and Christie really have a heart for refugees and I was really blessed to get a glimpse into their heart and spend towards a cause of helping refugees.

TWO DAYS TO EXPLORE
Since Christie’s kids have been sick, I have had two days to myself to explore the city. I’ve spent a decent amount of time daydreaming about what it would be like if I lived here, and thinking about what I want from the next 5 years of my life. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed cruising around this city, and learning the lay of the land. I have a general idea of what things are where and how to get to a few general areas without using GPS. At this point I can get from the middle of Tempe to the Tempe Marketplace, to Christie’s house, and back using the 202, the 60 and the 101, and I actually enjoy cruising around this desert metropolis.

PRESS (ON CENTRAL)
For my last full day in Phoenix, I worked. It sounds silly, but the two days I have had to myself have given me a little taste of what it would be like if I lived here. Today i got up and wandered 11 miles away to the Press location on Central. It was a little different than the one on Rio Salado. The atmosphere was a different but the experience was just as good. I loved the neighborhood it was in and I think I finally found the vibe I was looking for. I deliberately parked about 5 minutes away, to give myself a chance to enjoy the city on foot. I sat and worked on my blog for a couple hours before heading to the Rio Salado location to buy a much which they were out of at the Central location and then heading back to my AirBnb.

LEAVING SUCKS
I just checked in for my flight and it wasn’t as fun this time as it was coming out. Christie and Josh are people that I absolutely loathe saying goodbye to. I’m excited to fly, and see Phoenix from above at night, but I’m looking forward to leaving even less than I was last time. I just don’t want this to end. Tomorrow will begin the last chunk of my vacation. I will fly back to Des Moines, swap out my suitcase and backpack, and on Thursday, I will wake up and head north to Minnesota for Design Camp.

As it comes time for me to head north, I have to give a special thanks and shoutout to Christie. She let me into her life over the past 10 days. She fed me, she made sure I had somewhere to go, she always wanted to make sure I was home safe, and she looked out for me when I barfed on a mountain. She has been a phenomenal host. Christie is someone whose heart is for others, and I am so incredibly grateful for the ways she has taken me in and taken care of me. Living more than a thousand miles away from her is hard. I can only hope that everyone has someone like her in their lives. She’s the kind of person we all need.