It was an early start today — we were on the road by 5:30am, bleary-eyed but packed and ready to go. After saying goodbye to “Terry the Tank” (our faithful rental car, affectionately named by Sophia), we made our way through check-in and braced ourselves for the security line. For the busiest airport in the world (2024 ranking), you’d think they might have upgraded a few systems — but no, it was slow and antiquated. Still, we made it through with time to grab a bite before boarding our 4¼ hour flight to Phoenix.
The flight itself was smooth and uneventful and provided a perfect window for a few zzz’s.
Upon landing in the Arizona sunshine, we picked up our next set of wheels — “Lil Terry” — and headed into Old Town Scottsdale for some much-needed lunch. We landed on Olive & Ivy, a stylish spot with a bit of a wait, so we wandered around in the sun-drenched streets until our table was ready.
Lunch was absolutely worth the wait. The food was fresh, flavourful, and my spicy margarita hit the spot (I clearly drank that before taking a photo).
Next stop: Whole Foods to collect our Amazon orders, then Safeway to stock up on groceries. From there, it was time to check in to our new Airbnb. First impressions? A massive kitchen (likely to see more snacking than cooking) and plenty of space — but then we ventured outside to discover that the pool hadn’t exactly been prepped for guests. Mark called up Air bnb, and while some pool guys showed up, they mostly stood around looking confused before disappearing.
We settled in with the boys watching the next round of the NFL Draft.