Bisbee novelty motel

Stay in one of these classic trailers!

Las Vegas

It isn't in AZ, but it is in close driving range. This is the perfect month for a trip to Vegas. The weather is gorgeous, so it won't be too hot there. Also, the wildflowers along the way at this time of year make the trip more fun.

L & L Hawaiian BBQ

Whenever i get a craving for some distant memory of a food, and that craving won't go away.... i start whining. So it was yesterday. I had been sitting all day with my cravings for real Hawaiian food for what seemed like weeks. I decided to commiserate with a friend who had grown up in Hawaii. I thought it might make it better. It was worse. I started off telling her how i sure could use a big bowl of Saiman for lunch, and didn't laulau and kalua pig sound good? Pretty soon we were both drooling for lomi lomi salmon and manapua. I was ready to run all the way across town to Mesa.

"Oh, my friend exclaimed, Why don't you go to L & L?"

I thought she was kidding. Sure, I'll grab a flight to Hawaii this afternoon....

"No, There is one at Happy Valley and I-17, across from the Lowes."

Needles to say, I spent the rest of the day planning my route home. I would have to go about 10 miles out of my way, but there wouldn't be traffic.....

L & L doesn't have haoli Hawaiian food, they have REAL Hawaiian food. I walked in to hear the woman ahead of me order a loco moco plate lunch. There was a big poster advertising that laulau has only 1 carb, and a paper plate hanging on the service pass through proclaiming "Linguica special" in blue magic marker.

This place has it all. They have Saiman (a Hawaiian version of ramen but the noodles and garnishes are more fun), Musubi (even with spam), manapua (steamed or fried pork roll), haupia (thick coconut cream desert), Poi (pounded taro root), poke (raw tuna seaweed salad), lomi lomi salmon (chopped raw salmon rubbed with chili and onion served with chopped tomatoes), BBQ short ribs, and all other sorts of Hawaiian favorites.

I had a plate lunch. A traditional plate lunch has a scoop or 2 of rice made with an ice cream scoop, a scoop of macaroni salad made with lots of mayo and Maui onion, and one or 2 main dish items. Mine were laulau and kalua pig. Laulau is pork, butterfish and ti leaves with Hawaiian salt, wrapped up in taro leaves and steamed til it can almost melt in your mouth. Kalua pig has to be simulated because the traditional cooking method used to achieve the smokey flavor cannot be approved by the USDA. Traditional method is a rock lined pit. The pit is then lined with leaves and the meat (a whole pig) is lowered in then covered with more leaves. It is then covered to keep the heat in. I have no idea how they do it, but there is probably smoke flavoring, Hawaiian salt, and a large amount of ti leaves involved. The Kalua Pig is delicious.

I loved every morsel, and today I have a little leftover vacation to the islands waiting for me at lunch time.

L & L is located at:
2501 W Happy Valley Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85086
(623) 434-4119

Coffee Plantation

"There are 4 good reasons to go to Coffee Plantation...

1. It isn't Starbucks
2. There are still plenty of things that they do not overcharge for
3. Free WIFI
4. The people watching is still the best…"

VNSA Book sale

Have you ever seen a bigger used book sale? They take over an exhibition building at the state fairgrounds for this one. It's the mother of all book sales, and it happens every year during the weekend after Valentines Day in Phoenix.

City Hike

The weather is perfect now, so it is a great time of year to do a city hike. There are many great hikes from which to choose. A lot of people don't know that there is a native american rock art site on top of Shaw Butte in Phoenix. The trail to the top goes right past these, but few ever take the time to look...

Quartzsite

Quartzsite is nothing but a slab of asphalt from April til October 31st, but on Nov 1 each year, and up til April 1st, it becomes the largest swap meet in the west. I do mean largest too..... about 12 sq miles of swap meet in 4 locations. The best time to go is during January when the Rock and Mineral show is there. There are a lot of vendors who spend a couple weeks in Quartzsite before they go to Tucson in Feb, but the prices seem to be a lot lower. Smaller "city," lower prices???

Mistress Mine

One of the Luxury Suites at the Mistress Mine just north of Carefree and Cave Creek AZ. A great place to enjoy a bit of solitude and some AZ history.

Grand Canyon

No trip to AZ is complete without a stop at the Grand Canyon. The beauty takes your breath away

Glendale Glitters

From November til January, downtown Glendale is lit up with lights. There is entertainment every weekend, and they even have a Balloon glow...