Phoenix!

It has been a wild and crazy two weeks! Last Tuesday through Friday, I was in Phoenix for an education conference. I was so honored to be asked and learned SO much. I am excited about everything I learned and am anxious to share it with my school.

The actual trip was an adventure for me. It was my second time on an airplane and I was pretty nervous about it. I was so blessed to have two teachers with me who were more helpful and supportive than they can possibly know. We headed out Tuesday morning for the airport and I really enjoyed our conversation on the way there. We got to the airport and I played follow the leader because I had no idea what to do! We got our bags checked in and then headed for security. That was nerve-racking because no one tells you what to do. I followed everyone else: shoes off, watch off, laptop in one plastic bin, shoes in another and my other stuff in one more. I put it through the scanner and almost finished when a security guard very nicely told me that I goofed. (I put something on top of my laptop.) Finally, we were through security and went to find our gate and something to eat. I was terrified to eat because I was afraid of a sick stomach while flying but I knew it was a four hour flight and we would arrive in Phoenix late so we grabbed some lunch at O'Charley's. The potato soup did calm my nerves! We finished and went to meet our coworkers and await our plane. At last, take off. I am proud to say I handled it well. I was amazed at the change in landscape as we headed west.

We arrived on time in Phoenix, grabbed our bags and headed for our hotel. We were pretty hungry and went to eat. We ate at a place called Mi Amigos Mexican Grill and it was really good. I decided to try some new things on the trip so I had the Pollo Milanesa, which is breaded chicken and spaghetti. I was surprised when the spaghetti turned out to be green! We had a fantastic conversation and then headed to our hotel.

Below: This is a view from hotel room.
Wednesday morning, we were off to the Convention Center. I loved the presenters. They gave us some really good ideas to bring back to our schools.

Below: This is a picture outside of the convention center. The palm trees reminded me of Florida.

Below: A picture from a friends's hotel room. Those mountains were so strange looking to me. I am used to trees on the mountains!

On Wednesday night, I had my first taxi ride. My friend had heard that Los Reyes De La Torta had great food and it was featured on Man vs Food so we decided to try it. My friend had the biggest sandwich I have ever seen! I had the biggest quesadillas I have ever seen. It was really good, too.

On Thursday, we had another great day at the convention center and after we were finished, my two friends and I were picked up at our hotel by my cousin, Angie. It was so good to see her! She is living close to Phoenix and we were so grateful that she agreed to show us the area. I took the picture below because when we first flew into Phoenix, it freaked me out because there were mounds that looked like ant hills! This is one of the "ant hills" we drove by.

She gave us several choices of places to see and since we had limited hours of daylight in order to see, we decided to go to a place called Rawhide and then eat at a restaurant overlooking the city.

Below: A cactus!

This is the entrance to Rawhide. (And, yes, the music to Rawhide was playing as we went in!)

As we walked into Rawhide, the actors staged a fight. There was a shootout and then the actors posed for pictures. It was pretty neat, actually.

We stayed at Rawhide about an hour looking around and doing a little shopping then we headed for the restaurant. The place was called Rustler's Rooste. The view of Phoenix was just beautiful.

It was odd, however, at the entrance. There was a smell of manure and I turned and saw "Horny the Bull." Wow!

That was definitely a surprise! We were seated and had some of the best bread I have ever put in my mouth. I think it was called Indian Bread. It was like a donut hole, sort of. It seemed fried but was soft inside. The taste is hard to describe but it was delicious. Our main course came out and there was so much food! I had the BBQ chicken and couldn't eat it all. Just great. We had some good conversation then left for the hotel. (A side note: Phoenix does have Sundrop! We found it in a Walgreen's there. A friend was thrilled when we found it.)

Friday, our last day, we heard some great speakers at the convention center then headed to the hotel to gather our things for the trip to the airport. I wasn't as nervous over this flight. I did get scanned at security but not searched. (No complaints if they did. I'd rather be safe.) We boarded the plane with no big drama. After a shorter flight home, we arrived back home. Yea! I was so glad to see my two guys. I missed them so much.

After a weekend rest and one day back at school on Monday, I headed to Nashville for two days of assessment training. I learned some very valuable things at the meetings and am ready to share all that I learned at my school. On Thursday, I was glad to see my students and I think some of my students were glad to see me! I have a fabulous student teacher and thank goodness she has kept my students on task and focused.

So, now it is Friday and I am resting. I have a very sore neck. I can't figure out if it is tension or something else. I guess time will tell. I hope all of you have a great weekend. As for me, I think I will do as little as possible. I have had enough excitement for a while! :)