Of deserts and desserts (Spring Break!!)

Good bye snow, hello sun... maybe?

Spring Break!! You'd think "Goodbye cold weather" right? But no... the day that we leave for Arizona, the skies open up and dump inches and inches of snow upon us. Hello spring. But no matter. Because after a few hours of flying, we are in sunny Arizona. And happy Macy comes to meet Erica and I at the airport... in her CONVERTIBLE! It was so good to see Mace again! Hello, Mace!

Like true Penangnites, we hit up all the yummy spots in and around Chandler... our first dinner was at Sakana. Omigosh. Sushi heaven!

And like true Penangnites, we ordered the grossest thing we could find. This is us eating... I think it was sea urchin roe? Or something like that. The texture was kind of... mushy. It was like eating brain.

Then that night we rented Rent. Ha ha. Get it? We RENTED RENT! And oh my gosh! It is the BEST MUSICAL EVER. I went out and bought the soundtrack and we listened to it and sang to it incessantly.

Desert..ed Downtown Phoenix

We spent the next afternoon in downtown Phoenix because Mace was at work. After getting lost, riding the bus with the angriest woman I have ever seen in my life, getting yelled at by a "sheriff" (very sketchy) for running across the road to catch our bus, we finally made it to downtown Phoenix. After a light lunch, we set off on our adventure... the Basilica was our first stop.

This is me and my bestestbud, Francis. Ok... his namesake at least. St Francis of Assisi. He's really ... bronze. And he had poop on his head.

Erica took some time out to pray with Mother Teresa...

Sad to say, downtown Phoenix was pretty deserted. We went on a self-guided walking tour and Erica got really excited about the "last department store in downtown Phoenix". So we made our way there. And it really WAS the last department store... it was boarded up and everything.

So we did what anyone would do... we went to Starbucks. Had coffee and banana nut muffins. And took pictures.

Luckily Mace came to our rescue... and we headed to...

Scotsdale

Looks like a cowboy town.

It was St Patty's day... everyone was getting into it. Even the horses. I forgot to wear green. So I pulled a leaf and stuck it on my shirt.

We tasted cactus. It was prickly.

And I almost got trampled on by a crazy horse!!

After all that excitement, we went to this really yummy Spanish place for dinner. I think it was Spanish. They had sangrias anyway. Oh notice anything different about me?

Hawaii in the desert

The next day, we went back to Phoenix for a ALOHAfest! A Hawaiian luau in the middle of the desert. It was great. Great food, music, things to see and buy... it actually felt a lot like home. Minus the humidity.

If you haven't noticed by now, this trip was filled with lots of good food. Mmmm...

And the hula... er... girls.

And the best part? I FOUND JIU HOO!!! (Cuttle fish) It was the spicy kind too. It made me so happy! hahaha.

After that we headed out.. in search of the Botanical Gardens. We ended up at a park instead. Mace has the amazing ability of not using a map... and getting lost... but eventually finding the place. Or somewhere cooler. Haha.

So we took pictures. And I hid behind the bushes so nobody can see me. Look. Can you spot me? Nope. That's why Mace and Erica drove off without me.

Then we drove to somewhere where Mace couldn't possibly get lost. I think. :) Her alma mater - Arizona State U. It's a pretty campus! Very very different from Carleton. Not that Carleton isn't pretty. But different.

And we stopped for Boba. That's bubble tea.

And we capped off the day with yummy Korean food. Bulgogi! Yeah!!

Ancient Ruins

The next day we visited Montezuma Castle.

We got bored of looking at ruins and decided that this would be a great spot for a photo shoot! haha.

My glamor shot.

Mace tried to camouflage herself. This is a sycamore tree. And Zacchaeus lived in it.

Sedona

Then it was off to Sedona. Where all the rocks were red. Iron. Oxidization. That kind of thing.

But it was so beautiful.

And...

... this was where it even started to snow! Yeah. Who would have thought? In Arizona! Yeah, we brought the snow from Minnesota.

And as we drove towards the Grand Canyon and climbed up the mountains... it snowed even more.

And more...

The very Grand Canyon

This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Arizona. I had been to the Canyon many years ago... but really all I remembered about it was chasing a squirrel. Or maybe it was a chipmunk. I forget. But this time around, we stayed just outside the park, and woke up before dawn to catch the sun rise. It was well worth it. Even with our extremities starting to hurt because of the cold!

God's handiwork was simply breathtaking!

We went back to the hotel to take a nap before coming back to see the Canyon again. We took a tram that took us along the west side of the Canyon. We stopped at almost every stop. It was just too beautiful. A picture speaks a thousand words. And you all know I can speak more than a few thousand words. So I shall restrain myself... and show you pictures instead.

Can anyone tell me what animal this is? 10000 points.

Back to the Canyon...

It looks sooooo fantastic.

Almost... surreal.

Look at the years and years of erosion.

Of course, Mace decided to claim Grand Canyon for herself.

Oh I even got a chance to speak French. I asked a French speaker to take this photo for us. She then spoke to me in English. Oh well.

I was in awe.

But that didn't last too long. KUNG FU HUSTLE!

As the girls took more glamor shots at the Canyon, I sat like a good boyfriend, holding on to Erica's bag. Laugh all you want. At least I don't have a MANBAG! :)

It was really cold, although you can't tell from the photos. So Erica let me use her... uhm... I don't even know what you call it.

Bear!!!

Spot the squirrel!

Yes... the Grand Canyon... in all its splendor.

What a blessing to be able to go there. And see God's handiwork. Thanks Mace for an AMAZING time! You are the best! :) See you back in Penang.

I forgot... one more picture. :) This is our BBQ. Mace had two of her friends over... and we grilled. Salmon. Chicken. Asparagus. Salad. Mmmm... ok. I'm done now. Good night! A few more days and then I'm back at Carleton. And then SCHOOL STARTS AGAIN. Crazy!