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 Wife enjoying a cool
sunny day in Glendale, AZ by jumpingnorman
The city was host to the 2008 Superbowl and construction was never-ending and is still continuing on… offering travelers a wide variety of amenities including the famous Historic Downtown shopping district, museums and cultural attractions. Very new commercial complexes include the Westgate Plaza (with Bellagio-esque dancing fountains) , the elegant Park West with a great Irish pub and outside “curtained” seating areas (like a desert cabana!), and the popular Arrowhead Towne Center mall in the northwest part of the city.
Glendale is about 20 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (14km), on the western side of Metropolitan Phoenix.
In 2008, Super Bowl XLII was played there when the Giants faced the Patriots!
Aside from the 2008 Superbowl, it is also home to the Fiesta Bowls. The out-of-this-world new University of Phoenix Stadium is home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, which opened in August 2006. The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball both moved to Glendale and share a facility, known as Camelback Ranch, for spring training 2009. And the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and NLL's Arizona Sting has been playing in Glendale’s Jobing.com Arena (formerly the Glendale Arena) since December 2003.
Glendale was also dubbed as “Arizona’s Antique Capital,” with support for its claim from both Sunset Magazine (2004) and a 1998 article in USA Today.
As a physician, I have also instructed several medical students from Midwestern, Metro Phoenix area's first medical school which is located in Glendale! There is also a major post-graduate international business school, the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Plans are underway for more exciting developments! The city will have an extension of the Valley Metro light rail transit line which has a scheduled completion date of 2011. Leave a Comment
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 Yikes! A saguaro can
weight 3000 lbs by madamx
It is a great contributor to the ecosystem -- the natives ate it's sweet fruit, and the fruit provides food for birds and animals. It also provides a home for birds, and the dried internal ribs can be used as building material. Leave a Comment
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 Daughter posing at a
Scottsdale mall in
Arizona by jumpingnorman
But now, Scottsdale is so upscale – a wonderful tourist and shopping destination with multi-million dollar residents built for the stars and rich peopole. The New York Times described downtown Scottsdale as "a desert version of Miami's South Beach" and as having "plenty of late night partying and a buzzing hotel scene.”
Hard to believe that Scottsdale was a Pima village known as Vaṣai Svaṣonĭ, meaning "rotting hay" ! Now the luxury is everywhere and you will see Bentleys and Maseratis cruising the streets…some locals have even called the city “Snottsdale”, hehehe…
But, our family enjoys going to this wonderful city which has great restaurants and shopping complexes. It has more than 170 golf courses, 11,000 hotel rooms, and 500 restaurants, and has millions of people visiting to enjoy the spas and resorts in Scottsdale each year.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who built an internationally admired winter retreat here at Taliesin West, is well-honoured here with a street named after him!
But this wealthy city is not just for indoor luxury! Adventurers will enjoy the Salt River, the rocky city parks and neighboring mountains, and the ranches in and around the city. Hot air balloon rides, horseback tours, kayaking, and mountain climbing are all all available in Scottsdale. There are annual events such as the horse-drawn Parada del Sol parade and the Phoenix Open golf tournament .
Old Town Scottsdale preserves the original flavor of this community, a wonderful place to walk around in… Leave a Comment
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 Driving towards Downtown
Phoenix, Arizona by jumpingnorman
So, I chose to live in this Metropolitan Phoenix which is the nation's sixth largest city, and named after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes of its own nest. At the time I moved, the housing industry was at its boom and people were clamoring to reside in this promising city.
Year 2009 – economic recession hit in 2008 and the real estate business got hurt. Thousands of houses are on foreclosure and unsold. But despite this, the city continues to grow and the people are optimistic. Some people have moved out, but still a lot of people are happy living in this oasis.
The Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Phoenix Coyotes are the major-league teams in Phoenix. Sports, specially golf and even tennis (Tiger Woods plays in the golf courses at times), are not lacking in events and activities. Phoenix offers the Arizona Rodeo and the Original Coors Rodeo Showdown. You can also go mountain biking in South Mountain Park.
A lot of concerts are also held here by international stars from Elton John to Brittney Spears.
Attractions and events include the Heard Museum, Phoenix Zoo, Castles N'Coasters, Arizona State Fair, Phoenix Jazz & Blues Festival, Phoenix Open Golf Tournament.
And for a traveler like me, Sky Harbor International Airport is a big airport with free wireless internet, very convenient indeed! So, overall, a great place to live and we are only 4-6 hours drive away from Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Tucson…and close to the natural wonder, Grand Canyon!!! Leave a Comment
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 Our twins running by Kiwanis
Lake, Tempe, AZ by jumpingnorman
Mill Avenue has become the center of all the activity here in Tempe - with lots of events to be enjoyed for everybody.
One of Arizona's largest shopping malls, Arizona Mills, can also be found here, along with the first Arizona IKEA branch location. Our kids love IKEA because it so family-friendly and a childcare playground is available where kids can jump into a sea of plastic balls!
The completion of Tempe Town Lake and the commercial and high-rise development along the reservoir has transformed the cityscape of Mill Avenue and the skyline of downtown Tempe. It is really one of the most exciting cities in metropolitan Phoenix! Leave a Comment
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 Walking around Chandler's
downtown in Arizona by jumpingnorman
The community does have a rich history - starting from the farming of the Hohokam Indians who mysteriously disappeared to the cotton farms that established the economy before the Great Depression.
It was in in 1891 when Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon in Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa, and studied irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land, and by 1913, the luxurious Hotel San Marcos was built, the first golf resort in the state.
A second San Marcos hotel was canceled due to the Depression and the cotton crash a few years later had a much deeper economic impact. The Williams Air Force Base in 1941 led to a small surge in population, then some of its growth years later was fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Motorola and Intel.
Now, in 2009, Chandler is emerging as a highly residential neighborhood with a Fashi0n Square and and center for the CVultural Arts. Efforts are underway to continue with the development of this nice neighborhood in Metropolitan Phoenix. Leave a Comment
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 A bouquet to all Arizonans! by madamx
We made many friends on this trip, and had many wonderful conversations with locals. Leave a Comment
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 Desert Beauty by kazander
My favorite place was the Lost Dutchman State Park. It wasn't too crowded and the views were stunning.
Relaxing in the speedboat while in the Black Canyon on Lake Mohave Leave a Comment
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 Twins enjoying a snack in
downtown Mesa, AZ by jumpingnorman
In Spanish, Mesa refers to a "table top," and the first settlers built homes on a mesa above the surrounding area. But there is nothing flat and boring about this third largest city in Arizona!
My kids enjoyed seeing exhibits from dinosaurs to conquistadors at the Arizona Museum of Natural History (formerly known as Mesa Southwest Museum) which even has a gold panning pool at the back!
In 2005 Mesa built the largest arts complex in Arizona, the Mesa Arts Center which has a lot of events on its schedule. On top of this, there is the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre where you can enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner followed by a professional Broadway-type show.
And for water lovers, you can float your cares away from May through September tubing down the Salt River. It's just beyond Mesa, and a favorite Valley activity.
Truly there’s a lot more things to do here from riding horses to enjoying the skate court (at your own risk though!) Leave a Comment
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 We miss our first house in
Peoria, Arizona by jumpingnorman
On 83rd and bell Avenue, one sees a lot of new restaurants which include PF Chang's, Elephant Bar, Cheesecake Factory and so on...all set beside the wonderful Harkin's theatre and the Peoria Sports Complex which is the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners! The city invested heavily in the sports complex and continues to subsidize its operations each year. The stadium draws many tourists, concerts, weddings, business events, boat tours, and festivals.
In July 2008, Money Magazine listed Peoria in the "Top 100 Places to Live".[6 Leave a Comment
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