Day 83 & 84 - Scottsdale, AZ

We packed up our stuff and headed west to our next destination, Scottsdale. We had originally thought about staying in Phoenix, but our research pointed us to neighbouring Scottsdale which seemed a little less businessy, with Old Town providing us with plenty to do for two nights.

The route was, by necessity, largely along Interstate 15. It wasn't terribly exciting but did provide us with our first exposure to the Saguaro cactus. I think this is probably the most quintessential and most well-recognised type of cactus, and we were surprised not to have seen it up until now. Thousands of these little (and big) chaps lined the road and it was nice to see the plant featured on the AZ license plates in real life.

After a 125-mile journey, we arrived at our hotel. The Hyatt Place Old Town Scottsdale is a very nice hotel in a great location. It was super-hot as we checked in, so as soon as we had dumped our bags, we threw on our swimming gear and headed for the pool. It was a nice pool area which we had largely to ourselves and we had fun cooling off. A swim-up bar would have been a welcome addition! 

After getting changed, it was time to get our bearings. There is a free trolley bus service that takes you on a loop of Old Town, and we thought this was an ideal opportunity to get the lay of the land for later that evening. Waiting at the stop, I realised that I had forgotten something back in the hotel room, so I dashed back. Sod's law: as I left the hotel on my way back, I saw the shuttle zoom past.

It was half an hour until the next one, so we decided to walk to the next couple of stops. En route, Sam spotted a small sign on the sidewalk for Vines & Hops. This sounded like our kinda place, so we ventured in. And what a great find this place was! They offered 70 different wines by the glass, made possible by a neat little gadget that injected a needle through the cork to get to the wine, meaning that the bottle didn't need to be opened. They also had a good selection of craft beers on tap as well as two beers for dogs (which we didn't sample!). Our quick visit turned into a couple of hours of sampling wines and beers, and chatting to people at the bar and the friendly staff. The free shuttle was long-forgotten!

The afternoon turned into the evening and it was time to grab some food. On recommendation from one of our bar buddies, we headed to Olive & Ivy. The place was busy with pre-Saturday nighters lining their stomachs, so we squeezed in at the bar and ordered food and drinks. We commented on how many people - guys included - were on the wine. I was definitely in the minority with my beer in front of me.

Sitting next to me was a young woman on her own, so we soon struck up a conversation. Casey was in town for business, and it was great chatting with her. She had plans that evening, but we agreed to meet up the following evening for dinner.

After dinner we visited a couple more bars in Old Town and Waterfront but agreed that for our nightcap(s) it would be nice to head back to V&H. We were greeted like regulars, and after several drinks and a lot of laughs, we staggered the 5 minutes back to our hotel.

The next morning, with woolly heads, dry mouths and empty tummies, we remembered a recommendation from an ex-pat we had met in Flagstaff. OHSO is a brewery, distillery and restaurant which apparently does awesome brunches complete with a free giant mimosa, so we just had to check it out.

On arrival, we couldn't believe how busy the place was, given this was late morning on a Sunday. We both had a delicious Monte Christo Sandwich with our mimosa, which was an ideal hair of the dog. I couldn't resist trying several of their craft beers whilst Sam stayed sensible and was on driving duty for the afternoon.

Sam behind the wheel, we headed for supposedly the world's largest fountain, which was about a half hour away. This was in a lake surrounded by lovely sculptured lawns in the middle of what looked like a massive retirement complex. We got in position for the hourly display and waited. And waited. And waited a bit more. Confused, we headed for a nearby frozen yogurt store and asked the owner about the fountain.

"Oh, if the wind is above 8 mph, it won't happen. I think it's probably gusting 10 at the moment"

We consoled ourselves with a couple of tubs of his frozen yogurt which we ate on the grass in the sun, wistfully gazing at the lake thinking about missed opportunities.

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then hooked up with Casey at the Rusty Spur. This faux western saloon was a cool spot to grab a quick drink before heading to Cien Agaves - another recommendation from our bar buddies from the night before - for dinner. We sat at the bar and ordered a selection of awesome tacos, washed down with cocktails for the ladies and beers for me. This place was a great recommendation!

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Walking back to the hotel, all Sam and I had to do was to look at each other before we did a sharp left and headed into our favourite bar, Vines & Hops. Near closing time on a Sunday evening, we had the bar to ourselves. We made the most of this by chewing the fat with the barman and playing darts. This time I didn't go easy on Sam and won handsomely.

Our two favourite beers at this bar were the Hatch Green Chile beer and the White Chocolate beer (no points for guessing whose is whose), so just before we were sent on our way, I dashed back to the hotel to get our growlers, and got them filled.

We really liked Scottsdale. As much of a cliche that it is, this feels a really liveable town. The extreme but dry heat suited us down to the ground and its location in the heart of our much-loved American Southwest means we could easily imagine living here. They should order some extra beer in, just in case...