Phoenix is proving too hot for me to handle! We got up early to try to beat the heat, but it just could not be avoided. We stopped for breakfast at Over Easy, a breakfast joint that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Drives on the Food Network. I had the best French Toast of my life - caramelized banana and pecan on brioche. Ah-maze-ing! KT had a pretty solid omelet as well. If you're ever in Phoenix or Scottsdale, I recommend stopping in.
After breakfast, we headed to the Desert Botanical Gardens. While it was a bunch of different cacti, as you would expect, it was cooler than I thought it would be. I had no idea there were so many types of cactus! We also go to see some desert wildlife like different little lizards, round tail squirrels, and mourning doves. We thought about spending our day at Castles & Coasters, or salt water tubing, but the heat proved too much and we ended up spending the hottest part of the day in our hotel room applying for jobs and networking online.
As the sun was setting we headed out to Rawhide - an old west "town" for dinner and a show. It got pretty mixed reviews overall on yelp, but the food was consistently rated highly so we figured why not. Worst case, we'd get good food and a laugh out of it. Well, we were right about that. The food was great - filet mignon steak with potatoes and fruit and the strongest $6 margaritas I've ever had. As for the show part.....if I were 5 I would have loved it! A gun fight filled with bad acting and only one real stunt where you could see the mat, killing the illusion of it. Oh well, the town was cute and straight out of that South Park episode about the old west actors who wouldn't break character.
After the show, instead of sticking around for Act 2 we headed to the nearby casino. When traveling with KT, you can count on some gambling happening. Since there were no roulette tables, we stuck to $5 minimum Black Jack. Luck was on our side tonight since we both ended up leaving with more money than when we came in! We should probably stop while we're ahead.
Tomorrow we leave Phoenix and no longer have any booked rooms or truly set plans. Our next major city is Dallas, where we'll be staying with one of my friends from Mystic Yankee (Girl Scouts 4 Life!). However, to get there we need to drive through 22 hours worth of desert. We'll be stopping somewhere to crash for the night, but have noooo idea what city or even what state that will be in. Wish us luck!
