Phoenix

I was initially going to write about Phoenix in a two sentence “yeah we were there” sort-of-way. But it didn’t work. So you lucky kids get an extra installation of Schaeferhaus. Pop some Champagne and toast to a few extra minutes outside your every day miserable working life.

Phoenix, as it turns out, is the 5th largest city in the US. At first it doesn’t feel like it, then you get to driving around and holy shit this place is massive, especially for how little fucking water is here. We came into and through Phoenix a few times, so we know how big it is side to side, top to bottom. A good side note here, the last time I was in Phoenix this time of year was last year for some work meetings. It was a lot warmer last year by a wide margin. At least in my memory….

We came in to get a laundry list of broken things fixed on the rig at a reputable RV sales/repair shop. The key here is they are licensed to sell and fix Outdoor RV’s, so we were way more likely to be taken seriously. We cleaned out the fridge, packed a few days of clothes and checked into a Residence Inn. These are lovely hotels with a full sized fridge, a small convection stove, a bedroom with a freaking door, a couch and a bathtub. I think I cried when we got in the room, it was downright luxurious!!

We grabbed brunch the next morning with Jen Iverson, my friend and amazing former boss. We did laundry at a sketchy laundromat were the bathroom was locked, the whole time, and I had to fucking pee! We got great dinner in Scottsdale at Bandera. We checked in with the RV place who said “we don’t know yet, we’ll call you tonight,” didn’t hear back, then extended our say for two more nights. Sometimes you just get the feeling you are trapped. Without the rig and my slowly recovering ankle we were definitely trapped.

I lose track of time here, but at some point I got a pedicure (for those of you who have lived in a walking boot, you know why. The rest of you can just go on thinking it was out of boredom). On Jen’s recommendation we went to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, which is just amazing. There were some owls roosting there, and so many types of cholla and barrel cactus and yucca and herbs and seriously if I could walk better or longer I would have made Ken take me back there every day. Instead we were there for 2 hours or so and I spent the next day recovering.

All the while trying to get info from the RV place. Nothing. We extended our stay another two days. While Ken was extending, this time I stayed in the room, he wanted to run some errands and I wanted sleep. About an hour after he left I got a knock on the door. I’ve stayed in lots of hotel rooms, and knocking on the door freaks me out every time. Someone’s coming to get me, oh my god (I know, common Lex, people actually have better shit to do than waste time messing with you). After checking through the peephole I carefully opened the door to a member of the staff, who was holding a stuffed animal with balloons attached. Ken had told them our story, and the sweetest staff on the planet was super moved and had all pitched in to get us a stuffed llama for the baby with balloons for celebration and a gift card. I called Ken sobbing, I dont think he understood a lick of what I was trying to say. I asked him to get a thank you card while he was out so I could write a thank you novel for the staff.

Eventually we got the rig back, everything fixed up perfectly, and we were charged nothing. The key was getting ahold of the actual service manager at some point to give a great sob story. In the end we are really happy with their work, and needed those few days at the hotel to normalize, sleep and give each other a break from one another.

Back to the road.

Did you need pictures? Awww, that’s too bad!