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We visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West ranch. While FLW may have been a genius architect and his buildings are definitely creative and beautiful, the actual implementation was, well, not that great.

We only made it to a couple of buildings before we were asked to leave because Skylar’s squeaky shoes were bothering the crabby tour guide.

Taliesin was created to give his students a school where they could work and train during the winter months. FLW both lived and worked at the premises.

Scottsdale food and service was phenomenal. We couldn’t quite figure out why the wait staff was so much more professional than what we encounter in D.C.

Susan thinks it’s because low wage workers in Scottsdale get more for their money than low wager workers in D.C., therefore you get higher quality people. I think it was because Scottsdale is an affluent suburb, therefore the part time workers are all from wealthy families and tend to be higher quality workers.

We ate at RA Sushi, which is a regional chain with 10 locations. I had what they call yellowtail tapas, which was raw yellowtail with a garlic tangy sauce. Susan had what was essentially a California roll with eel sauce.

Tex-mex is a midwest thing, so we had to try that as well. The Spotted Donkey Cantina came as highly recommended on Yelp. We had their tacos, Susan had shredded beef and I had pork. Both had been marinated in a tangy spicey sauce, and came with a side of shredded pickled carrots and smoked black beans.

On our last morning we had breakfast at the Bristle Brush Bar and Grill, the golf course restaurant at the hotel. I had conrbread waffles with fresh whipped cream and strawberry sauce, while Susan got the lobster mac & cheese. We also delighted in the best cappuccino I think I’ve ever had. I can’t quite pinpoint what made it so good, but it had a nutty, smooth, creamy flavor.

Like everything else in Scottsdale, their children’s park had that fresh new car scent. It came with a functioning train, carousel, kid size Alamo, and park with some sort of rubber padding that gave you an extra spring in your step, even under the sandy parts.

Skylar and I had fun splashing it up at the hotel pool on Friday enjoying a balmy December 68 degrees. The heated pool kept us warm, but it was chilly when you got out. I was surprised that Skylar never complained – she’s still a low maintenance baby, although more vocal than 6 months ago.

The grounds at the hotel were perfectly sculpted with shrubs, aloe plants, cacti, built in fireplaces, hammocks, multiple hot tubs, a water slide, and a Skylar sized chess board (the pieces were about her height).