Go West!

Last Monday, the hubby and I got on a jet plane headed for Phoenix, Arizona for a Christian conference. It was a wonderful time of fun, fellowship, learning, and relaxation! Here are some of the highlights of our trip. Phoenix, by the way, is a great town! We never had trouble with traffic (which really surprised us...even after leaving a Diamondbacks game) and it was fairly easy to navigate. We would definitely recommend it!

Our first meal out...The Old Spaghetti Factory! I was so excited to see this great place so close to our hotel. We were trying to figure out where to eat our first night, and I was really glad we turned around after we passed this place. I've eaten at one in Atlanta a long time ago and had great memories. It did not disappoint!

Spumoni ice cream. I knew how good it was going to be and took a picture to remember it! Just in case you don't know, spumoni is a mix of cherry, pistacio and chocolate ice creams. Yum-O!

There were several well known speakers at the conference this year. Look who we happened to see....it's John Piper! We didn't realize he was doing a book signing and I really wanted to meet him. So I convinced Joe that we needed to hurry and buy a book and get him to sign it. Just as we had picked one out, Piper started to leave. I was disappointed at first, but then got really excited when he started walking right next to us. My kind husband stopped him, introduced us, and we exchanged a few words. We kind of laughed afterwords because I wanted to meet him, but I don't feel very cool when trying to talk to "famous" people. When you have about two seconds to say something, you want it to be good. Well, I don't have the gift of knowing what to say. I feel like a dork. Because of this, I hesitate to even say anything. Thankfully my hubby isn't afraid and is so laid back...so I get him to go first so he can introduce me. Despite my dorkiness, we got to meet several folks this way. We went up to David Platt and the hubby introduced me. I told Platt, "thanks for all you do," which my hubby and I later laughed at (hey, I didn't think it was too bad). Oddly, Joe was talking to someone on the phone and Rick Warren came up to us, introduced himself, and paid me a compliment while shaking my hand. I was kind of stunned and excited that I didn't say anything too goofy. Lastly, while we were walking to our gate at the Phoenix airport to head home, I look to my left and see one of the actors in the movie Courageous, which we were able to screen one of the nights at the conference. I felt very relaxed and just said, "hey, we just saw you in the movie the other night!" and proceeded to tell him how great he was and how much we enjoyed it. He asked that we pray for him and I said we would. I redeemed myself! Joe thought I was very laid back and not trying too hard to be cool! : )

Downtown Phoenix...it really was a nice city!

The conference was about a block or so away from Chase Field, which is where the Arizona Diamondbacks play. We were excited that there was a game playing that we could attend. It was a lot of fun!

The stadium was really nice. There was even a little pool and whirlpool that some kids were swimming in right next to right field!

The following pics are of one of the most amazing places I've ever seen!! The Grand Canyon. To be able to go here was a dream come true. I've wanted to go here for so long and it did not disappoint. In this pic, you can see a little bit of the Colorado River. It's right beyond the trail on the bottom of the canyon.

One of my first views of the canyon...breathtaking!

One of the places you can walk out and look. We went out there! Kind of scary....so I'm glad we had a rail! Some of the overlooks did not have a rail and dropped right off. I can see how there have been hundreds of people who have died at the canyon. In fact, they had a book in the bookstore about all of the people who had died and how! In case you didn't know, it's not wise to get intoxicated at the canyon...I can't tell you how many deaths there were because of that!

A view of some of the trails from up above. And no...we didn't go on the trails! Joe walked about five minutes on one and headed back. I didn't even go there!

Joe standing on a big rock at one of the outlooks.

As I look at this picture, it kind of seems unreal that we were there!

I have so many pictures of the canyon...it was hard to just choose a few. If you're looking for a great place to vacation, I would definitely recommend Arizona in the summer. No gnats, the heat is a lot dryer, in Flagstaff the high was 76 degrees (I couldn't believe that!), and there are several things to do and see. I hope the rest of you are having a great summer!

God bless!