Off to Phoenix. Taking it Easy... Whether We Want to or Not!

Phoenix Getaway travelog #1
SJC Airport · Sat, 20 Sep 2025. 8:30am

This morning I'm back at SJC airport. Yes, it's less than 48 hours after I landed. But this isn't a matter of turning around to go on another business trip. I mean, look at the calendar: it's Saturday. This is leisure! (Though TBF I have started business trips on Saturdays before... 15 years ago.)

Today we're heading off to Phoenix. We've got a four-day weekend planned with stays at comfortable hotels with big, splashy pools. Including one of our favorites with a lazy river.

Originally our plan was to mix in some hiking in Phoenix while we're out there. That was key to our timing for planning this trip in late September versus even a few weeks earlier. The summer heat, with days in a row of 110°+ highs, has broken. Now the highs are crisp, Autumn-like mid- to high 90s. 😅

Note I said originally. Originally our plans included hiking, and that's a key part of why we stretched out this trip to 4 days— to have enough time for hiking and relaxing. We also timed this trip for now, in late September, because it is before Hawk's upcoming surgeries that will put her off her feet for 6 months. Alas, Hawk broke a toe 6 days ago. The good news is it's going to heal on its own in a matter of weeks, per her doctor. And it won't stop her from enjoying a lazy river. The bad news is it puts the kibosh on hiking now and for the next several weeks. 😞 Well, at least we can still relax in the pools.

I Gambled on Parking. I Lost.

Phoenix Getaway travelog #2
SJC Airport · Sat, 20 Sep 2025. 9am

Over my past several trips via SJC airport I've found that parking in the hourly lot next to the terminal can be a win. Yeah, it's not cheap at $31/day or $26 with a reservation a few days in advance. But when the cost of Uber/Lyft to the airport runs from $30 to $40+ each way, parking is a win, cost-wise, on short trips. Plus, time-wise, driving and parking means I control the schedule; no waiting on drivers who are slow to arrive or get reassigned and starting the process over from "Please wake up and start driving toward me" after I've already been waiting several minutes. And sometimes I've been able to park really close to the terminal. Alas today was not one of those days.



Paying to park in this lot is a gamble. It's a gamble because the lot is long and narrow. The long axis stretches directly away from the terminal. So if you luck into a spot near the front, it's a quick walk to the building. If you luck into the lot being 99% full with everything close already filled up.... Well, the spot I got today was 4 spaces from the far end.



It's a long walk to the terminal at the other end.

And for this I'm paying $104— $26/day times 4 days. I took the gamble on parking here for a 4 day trip because I figured it was worth a little something extra for Hawk with her broken toe not to have to depend on Uber/Lyft, which can occasionally be weird. Well, it's a good thing I dropped her at the terminal first, because walking from here would've been a no-go for her.



Oh, and there was a cheaper lot I could have booked my reservation in. The lot across the street would've been $80 total, $24 cheaper. And note that the worst spaces in that lot are still not as far out as where I'm parked here. And I wouldn't even have had to park at the far end of that lot.... It's less than 2/3 full.

You pays your money and you takes your chances.