Greetings audience! It's Stephen Gaiber: The Autistic Traveler. I know I am late to this, but I would like to talk about a pleasant surprise I gifted myself for my birthday. I went to Scottsdale, Arizona, in May.
I took this trip because my original plans to go to Las Vegas, as well as life in Southern California generally, were shut down. Even today, those places are open minimally. Arizona had just opened up on May 14, allowing me to have a little relief during quarantine. My birthday is May 28. I decided to escape reality and take the Greyhound to Scottsdale. I stayed at the 3 Palms Hotel in Scottsdale and hung in the pool and jacuzzi most of the time.
Some of the activities I did in Scottsdale included hanging in the pool/jacuzzi throughout the day, dining inside at places like Denny's, walking around the city of Scottsdale, going to the mall, and being happy to be out of California. Before things kind of reopened in California and Arizona with limited activities, I was going to make a point of going to Arizona monthly since I have the money to do it. Even with Scottsdale being open, it had lots of limitations due to Covid. Some of the limitations included bowling-alley hours being limited or closed, restaurants limiting tables and giving ketchup packets instead of bottles, and more. I know it's a health crisis and we're in a pandemic, but some of the restrictions feel unnecessary. It's hard to have your life on hold.
The major highlight was Downtown Scottsdale. It feels like an old western town, the complete opposite of Phoenix. Scottsdale feels like a smaller town, while Phoenix is a big metropolis. Scottsdale Road, the major artery, goes on for miles and miles, even away from downtown. Some of the activities I did included exploring old town and going to the mall. The town is very small, but visually delightful.
On my birthday I went to the Tempe Marketplace, where I went to Red Robin. I had a burger and alcoholic ice-cream drink. What a fun way to celebrate my birthday. I also met with one of my ex-co-workers, who moved to Scottsdale, and we went out for pizza. I also spent the day in the pool and jacuzzi. One of the downsides about the pool and jacuzzi area is a lot of times it was surrounded by bratty kids who were all over the place.
Overall I had a good time on my getaway. It was closer to a birthday celebration than a getaway. The highlight was getting out of town somewhat locally and somewhere more normal than home. When I was on the bus coming home, I was so mad about having to go back to boring reality. I look forward to posting more blogs, and next time don't expect a travel blog but a zany wacky story.
