Arizona

This weekend my moms and I went to Arizona for one of Mama's work functions. We stayed in Scottsdale at the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch, where I enjoyed what they call their "2.5 acre water playground" which had 10 swimming pools, including a sandy beach area that was perfect for me. I did pretty well, even though there is a 3-hour time difference in Arizona, due to their lack of use of daylight savings time. I got to see Nathan and Laurel, and even got to see my Mama play water volleyball with some of her work folks (the DC team made it all the way to the championship game but came in second to San Diego... booo).

The Hyatt is a beautiful hotel, meant to be an oasis in the middle of the dramatic desert scenery of Scottsdale. The pool system is the highlight of the resort, with plenty of room for kiddos like me and adults. The property also has some really beautiful architectural and landscaping touches, like lagoons and the main terraced courtyard set between the pool area and the huge lobby. It's an interesting mix with a great pool for kids and some other kid-friendly amenities like a kids club (for kids older than me, of course) and gondola rides, with an atmosphere that is otherwise geared to an older crowd - live flamenco and other music at night, three sit-down eateries (none of which are particularly casual), a heavy golf-focus, and an amazing spa. The service was average for a resort this beautiful and otherwise indulgent, especially the housekeeping service which was horrible. All-in-all it gets 4 out of 5 Gus stars!!

I also did pretty well on the flights there and back, on Southwest. Ialso did fine in the car to adn from the hotel. Now having used it in 2 rental cars, both a "compact" and an SUV, my moms are still not a fan of the LATCH system on the Graco Comfortsport carseat (our "travel" carseat), but we are certainly getting lots of use out of it.

A good weekend, despite the heat, which was dry.