The trail was incredibly crowded, especially littered with kids. It was hike up a hill that took about 10-15 minutes. But there's a view through the hole where we could see the zoo and the Phoenix skyline.
Feeling hungry, we drive back into Old Town Scottsdale for Capriotti's sandwiches. We'd spent pretty heavily so a sub sandwich seemed like a good idea, especially with no custom salad joints around. So we get to the deli and they had a sign on their door that they had been voted the best sandwich in America. Well, we decided to test that. We split the American Wagyu roast beef sandwich as well as the classic Italian sandwich with Genoa salami, capicola, and prosciutto. The sandwiches were good, but could have been better. Each sandwich came with one slice of tomato on top, it could have used more. Also, some extra oil and vinegar to moisten the bread would have been a big help. and also the bread was thick to the point where it kind of overwhelmed the ingredients inside, I actually scooped out a little bit of the inside of the bread to balance it out. I would say it was good, but not out of this world.
Good variety of chips and drinks are available.
We explored the shops at Old Town for a while. Baseballism caught my interest, it's kind a of a lifestyle brand store. It doesn't sell official MLB merch or anything like that, but it had some classy clothing that focuses on history and tradition of the game. Didn't end up buying anything thought, there just wasn't enough variety.
I spent a good amount of time in Bischoff's Shades of the West. It's that old style Trading Post that are very common in the southwest. I guess the trade is we give them money, they trade us the merchandise we want? But they have everything from hot sauce to sports gear to shoes to purses to moccasins. Fantastic variety of inventory. Ultimately, I bought two bags of pistachios, one for me and one for mom.
And this store was so old school, they they wrote out the receipt on paper!
Mom wanted to go see a movie, I guess she wanted to relax. I really didn't, it was a nice day and I wanted to be outside. After another brief argument, I dropped her off outside Harkins and she went to see The Color Purple. Sad choice, but whatever. As for me, I drove to the City of Mesa cemetery. Country music legend Waylon Jennings is buried there and I wanted to see his gravesite. I had to drive past the Cubs spring training baseball complex to get there; it seemed quite nice from the outside.
I continued to drive east ad it started to get more Hispanic and more lower class. I entered the cemetery and it suddenly seemed more quiet. I found the site pretty quickly and it was pretty easy to spot. American flags, bandanas, spare change, guitar picks, Jack Daniels minis, Coke bottle tops, and unsmoked cigarettes. I'm sure he would have been proud. From what I can tell no one else was around. But way out in the distance, there was a burial was going on. I started playing some of Waylon's songs on YouTube, it was kind of my own concert right there. I had to hurry since nature was calling, but I still stayed there about 40 minutes as the sun beat on my face and the cool wind blew through the trees.
From there it was off to Four Peaks, one of the Valley's most popular breweries. And I didn't expect to have to park a quarter mile away on a Tuesday afternoon. But it's a popular place and I guess a lot of people had the day after Christmas off. I sat alone at the bar and I drank a flight, the peach beer was pretty good. But I settled on their imperial hazy for $10. The $3 sticker was included, which I appreciated.
But then it was onto my next spot, the Green Acres cemetery in Scottsdale. I wanted to visit the gravesite of wrestling legend Eddie Guerrero, which took about ten minutes to find. And it was also the garden that has the resting spot of another Hall of Famer, Superstar Billy Graham. Unfortunately, there is no headstone yet, even though he passed in May. Sad it's taking this long.
I picked Mom up from the movie and we enjoyed happy hour at the Thirsty Lions pub in that same shopping center with Portillo's, Lou Malnati's, the movie theater, etc, etc. but I really liked this place. Pretty dark interior, but still approachable and inviting, staff was dressed in black. Excellent pork tacos, succulent bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp, very good burger sliders, and for my only dessert of the whole trip, I had some whiskey cherry bread pudding with fresh whipped cream. Great finish. Had a classic mojito for my drink. Oh, plus they have some of the best looking bartenders I saw during my vacation.
My friend Matt, and his wife, Mary Beth, were visiting his parents, which I had no idea was the case. But his parents live up in the bougie boonies of north of north Scottsdale. I had to go into one gate to go to the next gate to get there. But I picked them up and we went to the Buffalo Chip, a very popular country bar. And I mean a real country bar, with the spirits, the live band, the dancing, the Old West decor, everything. I should have brought a jacket, because there was no room inside and we had to sit outside in the near dark. I did order a brisket sandwich, and I ate what I could of it. But since I didn't have a fork, and it was brutally hard to get a server, I had to pick up, with my hands, all the shredded meat that had fallen out and shove it in my mouth. Not east to do in the dark and in the cold. One beer and I was good. Fun unexpected night and I'm glad I was able to get away from the hotel for the night.
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