Hawaiian Festival

downtown tempe was absolutely alive today for the 

hawaiian festival. there was food, entertainment, lots of

sunshine, and people wearing bright flowery shirts.

perfect place for a song

good dog

good dog agility club's annual february show

in tempe at benedict park. here is one of the 

hundreds of good dogs who showed up to 

run, jump, and scramble their way 

to ribbons and a good time. 

in case of rain

a rainy day in the phoenix area, but that didn't stop 

folks from getting out and enjoying the second half of the

day which was crisp and beautiful. this little guy

looking stylish in a bright yellow rain coat, was prepared 

for sprinkles. captured at the willo street fair in phoenix 

(an annual event where neighbors of the historic downtown 

phoenix area open their beautiful remodeled 1920s & 30s 

homes to the public).

red bull convoy

saturday afternoon, downtown mill avenue. a convoy 

of red bull mini coopers gave away energy drinks;

meanwhile, monster energy drink reps were giving 

away cans of energy as well. 

a bit of whimsy

I was at the Scottsdale 11 Tv studio today, next door

to the Civic Center Mall and noticed whimsical

astronauts suspended from a ceiling near the Blue 

Moose pub. 

mom and pop thrift

Gracie's Thrift, located on Apache Boulevard, is a 

non-profit store run by Grace Community Church.

Even thrift stores are dominated by "chains" like

Goodwill and Savers, so it's nice to have a place like 

Gracie's. Sameness is boring and bland; I prefer 

unique stores with one-of-a-kind names.  

word of mouth

one of my favorite places to eat in tempe is

haji baba's. this middle-eastern restaurant, located on 

Apache Drive between Rural and McClintock, was founded in 1981

and also has a little store with a huge selection of mediterranean, 

persian, indian, middle-eastern and european foods. it is 

a simple little place in an old strip mall, the kind that only 

attract a "word of mouth" crowd. since i'm heading out

to the field tomorrow, i'll schedule a post from inside 

the store for tomorrow.

Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium

Gammage Auditorium, located on ASU's 

main campus near Mill and Apache, is 

considered to be the last public commission of 

architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It opened in 1964

with the Philadelphia Orchestra and currently is 

host to the Broadway musical, The Lion King, which

I saw tonight. Wow. Fantastic. 

rainy days and sundays

in stark contrast to yesterday's pleasant skies and warm sun, 

today was overcast with light rains and cool enough for a 

light jacket or sweater. we're starting to make a little 

headway on our battle against a long drought. 

interesting characters

i ventured into phoenix by train tonight, excited to attend 

my first, "first friday" event. first friday is an art walk

held in downtown phoenix on the first friday of each 

month. thousands were out touring galleries, studios,

 cafes, coffee shops and pubs. the vibe was fantastic; 

the artwork, wide-ranging; musicians played in the streets 

and on porches, and there were more than a few

interesting characters out and about.

look out below!

today i took my first ride on the light rail.

it was great, i look forward to being a frequent 

rider. while waiting at the tempe transportation

station, several paragliders sailed high overhead. 

i believe they launched from nearby "A" mountain. 

they are no doubt practicing

landing in sun devil stadium (directly below

this glider), where the minnesota golden

gophers will go against the kansas jayhawks for

tomorrow afternoon's insight bowl.

big turnout

today was the official launch of light rail. judging by the

turnout at the 2 tempe stations 

i visited, our new transportation is going to be very 

popular. there were so many people waiting to board

i decided to wait until tomorrow or monday to take

my first ride. each train can hold 575 people and each 

train was completely full of riders all day. i'm 

not sure how many trains are in the fleet, but they come

by every 10 minutes (20 during off peak hours). it was

quite a festival-like feeling in downtown tempe where

music played and crowds of people walked down mill 

avenue and along the side streets. 

twas the weekend before christmas...

and all through the parking lot,

not a space was available, 

except in the very back - but that makes it easier to 

remember where you parked!

it was cars galore at arizona mills mall and everywhere 

snow on a 70 degree day...

it snows in some areas of arizona - it's 2 hours to the

ski slopes of flagstaff - but it's a certainty that there 

will not be snow in tempe, except on special occasions

when the someone gets the snow machine out. 

this afternoon, amidst sunny

skies and short sleeves, there was a big pile of the 

cold stuff for the kids to play in. it was part of the

festivities at tempe lake leading up to the 

fantasy of lights boat parade.

festival of the arts

*Fall Festival of the Arts, Mill Ave*

for 40 years, tempe has hosted a festival

of the arts, usually the first weekend 

in december on mill avenue. so many unique 

arts and crafts, jewelry, photos, curios, 

paintings, tchotchkes, trinkets for the 

wall and garden. it was a gorgeous day 

and thousands came to shop and look around. 

fantasy of lights opening night parade

*mill avenue*

from tonight through the end of december, mill 

avenue will be lined with christmas lights. tonight's 

festivities included a parade complete with santa

claus, tree lighting, a concert, and fireworks over

"A" mountain. thousands of people lined

 mill avenue to enjoy the festivities. 

the nature of glass

*desert botanical garden*

chihuly: the nature of glass exhibit just opened this

week. the exhibit includes 15 fantastic compilations 

of blown glass. each piece is a magnificent creation 

of color and light. this piece is getting a wash to 

clear away mesquite leaflets.

a day in the mid 70s

it was a gray day and very 

sprinkly, off and on.

and then there was a rainbow!

show of support

*rooftop near kyrene & southern*

this cardinals fan was no doubt disappointed today.

the cardinals gave it a valiant effort, but were 

outmatched by the 10-1 new york giants.