ARIZONA (and WICKED!) BABY!!

I know that it has been ages since I've updated my blog. It can be a pain to transfer pictures onto my computer, so I've just done that today. Jen, I know that you've wanted my post on Arizona, so here it is!

We left on Monday morning (July 20th) and drove as far as Page, AZ before we stopped for the night. We got mediocre (at best) food at an "Italian" restaurant. The service was slow, the food was not that great, and the prices were much too high. My fettuccine was okay, but I wouldn't go there again (should I be in the area). It was pretty stormy while we were there, but I was still able to get a few pictures (not great ones, mind you).

Anyway, we stayed in Page that night and headed for Tempe early(ish) the next morning.

This was the view outside our car. I prefer water myself, but this is okay too.

When we got to Tempe, we were able to visit with Steve and Peggy (my uncle (dad's brother) and aunt, for those who don't know). Peggy took Mom and me on a tour of the city. Ooohhh...I love Tempe! If it weren't so far away from everyone and if the weather weren't so ridiculous, I would love to live there. I can't say enough nice things about the city. Anyway, that night we went and saw Wicked for the first time (well, the first time in Tempe).

I had heard that Donna Vivino (who plays Elphaba) was going to be on vacation that week, so I was extremely disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing the same cast that I saw in Salt Lake. I had hope, however, that she would be there...and guess what?!?!? She was there! I was so happy and excited!

Peggy works at the theatre as an usher, and she suggested that we get (I forgot what they're called) laser headsets for the hearing impaired. All you have to do is hand them your drivers license, and they're free. I felt a little self conscious at first, but after hearing the difference that they make...I didn't care one bit how silly I looked. It was totally worth it! The sound was incredible coming through those headphone (like) things. Anyway, the show was (of course) awesome!

The next day we did a little shopping around one of the huge indoor outlet malls that Tempe is home to. We spent a long time in that mall. :) I had planned to go to Wicked twice while we were in Arizona (I didn't want to drive 14 hours each way just to see it once!) so Mom and I went to the show that night (this was Wednesday), Peggy was ushering at the show, and Dad stayed behind to visit with Steve. Our seats were a little (okay, a lot) higher than the previous night. I swear we were sitting on the ceiling. Once the show started though, I didn't care, because I was there.

We left early the next morning and drove all the way home. I know it was kind of a whirlwind trip, but we were all pretty tired. We'd just had our family reunion the week before, and I didn't want to stay in Tempe longer and be tempted to spend more money that I didn't have. ANYWAY...BIG shoutout to Steve and Peggy (should either of them read this post) for letting us stay with them. I hope we weren't too much of a pain! Thanks guys!

So that was it. I don't think anything else happened, but I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

Thank you for choosing Ashley's blog for all your reading needs. Don't read another post until you've come to the very end of this one. Thank you. Goodbye now. Goodbye, goodbye. Thank you, goodbye.