You're all so encouraging! Since my last post, I've decided to go ahead and accept my grad school/TA offer! Beginning in August, I'll be back in school again, while still working in baseball :) With that, we'll head into last week's "new thing."
Previously, I had never been to the Phoenix Zoo. Nor had my parents (who were also in town over the weekend). After catching a few Spring Training baseball games, I noticed the backs of the A's tickets offered a discount for zoo admission. With nothing on the agenda for Sunday, we ventured out and explored Phoenix. After my morning shift at work, my dad wanted to try a bar/restaurant that was noted in a local magazine as one of the area's top 50 bars to visit.
This place was a total throwback to decades past. Not only did it feature a boxing ring, military surplus shopping, soda fountain and a vintage Airstream trailer that doubled as a kitchen, but there was also a full menu for brunch, lunch, dinner and an array of "vintage cocktails and beer."
While we waited for our lunch to come hot out of the Airstream, we could choose from a pile of vintage (notice a theme here?) board games to pass away the time. My dad grabbed Scrabble, we chose a shaded table in the sunlight and enjoyed the afternoon.
(I won, in case you were curious)
Scrabble is serious business.
I don't know how many times I need to tell you people how much I adore vintage culture and the 1950s, but this really hit it out of the park. The Duce was probably one of the best finds in Phoenix thus far! And we've been to some really cool places in the past eight months. I bet it's crazy fun in the evenings and for happy hour as well. The best part is this is blocks away from my work ;) Needless to say, I will be back. If you're ever in Phoenix you HAVE to go there!
Pleasantly surprised with our afternoon at The Duce, we set off to use those Zoo discount tickets and spend the three hours until closing looking at all the animals.
I loveeeee animals and enjoy going to zoos and water parks, etc. The Phoenix Zoo is supposedly one of the top five zoos in the country and I would completely agree. I've been to zoos in about half the States and even in Europe. The best part about this one was the monkey exhibit.
You literally are in the monkey habitat and they ran past our feet and jumped from tree-to-tree overhead. It was one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.
Other things I thought were neat:
- I finally got to see Black Swan
- We were face-to-painted face with some baboons (who, apparently, have rainbow-colored hineys, I missed the opportunity to snap a photo of that one)
- Witnessed a domestic dispute between two rhinos. That was intense.
- Speaking of domestic issues, we got to hear a male and female lion roaring at one another. It's crazy how loud that is! The lioness even rumbled and shook a little every time she yelped.
- I watched a really big kitty bathe itself
- I crossed paths with some peacocks. They were everywhere, I even had to wait in line behind one of them at a soda vending machine.
Is it weird I had the following song stuck in my head the entire time?! (Disclaimer, while I LOVE Katy Perry, I do think this is the weakest song on her Teenage Dream album)
- Met a rude lizard (dragon, whatever)
- And beat a golden eagle in a staring contest. It was like taking candy from a baby.
In all seriousness though, it was a really fun way to end the weekend! I had such a blast. I'm glad I'm challenging myself to try something new each week, or else I might have missed out on a great day! Now I'm off to brainstorm what to do this week...
