May. 16th, 2024

canyonwalker: Hangin' in a hammock (life's a beach)
Phoenix Weekend Travelog #3
Arizona Grand Resort - Fri, 10 May 2024, 1pm

I had grand plans for this morning. I'd get up early (I've been rising early the past week anyway) and use the hot tub near our hotel room in the quiet and cool morning hours when the hot water would feel good, then come back to the room to putter around a bit, then go out to the main waterpark at its 9am opening to start floating around the lazy river.

The key word there is had. I had grand plans.

The reality was I did get up early— I've been getting up with the sunrise around 6am the past several days anyway— and then puttered around the room all morning instead of going out for a soak in the hot tub. Hawk slept in a bit. But then we did at least get out to the water park right after it opened at 9am.

Picking shady seats at the Arizona Grand Hotel (May 2024)

Getting out to the waterpark early was important for two reasons. First, we wanted to snag choice seats. We claimed a set of 4 lounge chairs— two for us, two for my inlaws— in a nice, shady location near one of the sets of stairs into/out of the lazy river. Second, starting early meant we could get in 2 hours of so of water fun before it started getting really hot. (How hot is "really hot"? Today's forecast high is 98° F / 37° C.)

As much as I joke about being lazy in not hitting the hot tub first thing in the morning, my inlaws are even pokier. Their idea of "Let's meet at the waterpark at 9am" was to arrive at 9:30. And it's not even like travel time was a variable. It's just a short walk along the sidewalk from their room. They didn't even have to wait for an elevator; they're on the ground floor. 😅 But coming 30 minutes late, even after regular prodding ahead of time, is their version of on-time.

Lazy river at the Arizona Grand Hotel (May 2024)

So what did we do? Hawk and I jumped in the lazy river without the lazy-bones parents. We took a lap or two then met her parents when they were ready. MIL came in the water with us and enjoyed floating around the river on a bright yellow tube; FIL was content to ride a lounge chair in the shade. He did inform us later that our average lap time in the lazy river was 10 minutes. 😂

After a few laps together in the lazy river, Hawk, her mom, and I switched to the wave pool. I don't have a picture from there, sorry. I haven't felt like dragging my phone around to the pools and worrying about keeping it safe from the water.

By about 11am we decided we'd had enough of the pools— for now— and took a break for lunch. We gave some thought to eating at the pool cafe. But the prices are kind of obnoxious, and we knew we'd want a break after eating anyway, so we went back to our rooms to change and drove out for lunch. We landed at 5th Street Burgers & Fries in Tempe. Mmm, it was good.

Now we're back at the hotel. We're all a bit tired with food coma after lunch— yes, we're all getting older— so we'll relax inside for a bit then go back out to the pools around 3pm.

canyonwalker: Hangin' in a hammock (life's a beach)
Phoenix Weekend Travelog #4
Back at the hotel - Fri, 10 May 2024, 9pm

Today we've continued the theme of "lazy river, lazy life". After a morning swim, lunch and a bit of mid-afternoon food coma we headed back out to the waterpark. We were able to grab the same lounge chairs as in the morning. ...No, we didn't leave them reserved all day; we're not that kind of pool-goers. It's just that today the waterpark is not super crowded, though it was busier this afternoon around 2-3pm than it was in the morning. Weekend guests are arriving.

Water slides at the Arizona Grand Hotel (May 2024)

This afternoon I rode the water slide a few times in addition to looping the lazy river and bobbing in the wave pool. I rode the lower, really twisty slide in the photo above. It's got a drop of about 40'. The two taller slides have a drop of probably about 70' and are fast. I rode them a few times last year.

I'm sticking with the lower-height slide this year because it offers a better bang-for-the-buck proposition. With those tall slides being so fast, the ride is over in 2 seconds. And that's after climbing stairs equal to a 7 story building. It's over too fast compared to all the effort to get there!

We took another break from the waterpark at 5pm to towel off and change for dinner. Hawk and her parents looked up one of their relatives who lives in town, and this evening we met her for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant with a very loud mariachi band. . I... have thoughts... about this cousin-by-marriage of mine. I'll write about that in a separate entry.

Back at the hotel after dinner we're all too tired to go back out to the pool. The waterpark is closed, anyway, but there are regular-sized swimming pools and hot tubs in the courtyard of each building in this hotel complex that are open until 10. Yeah, the swimming and sun and heat earlier today have us all tired out. Plus, I've been getting up at 6 all week. Oh, and the humongous margarita I had with dinner— it was 2x what I expected for the price— isn't helping with my energy level.

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