Visiting Betty & John in Phoenix

In April we went to Phoenix to visit with Betty and John and their family.  The weather was gorgeous!  Although it did get up to 102 degrees on the Monday before we left.  But still, lovely to be out in the gazebo in the mornings and evenings.

Betty and John had lots planned!  We arrived on Thursday and that evening went to the Arizona Broadway Theater.  The theater is a spectacular building, which John designed!  It's fun to go there with them as John gets lots of recognition from the staff there.  It's a dinner theater - dinner is served before the play begins and then dessert is served during intermission.  We saw the show Nine to Five and it was great!  We hadn't seen it before, we were only familiar with the song, but we enjoyed it tremendously.

On Friday we loaded up the van and left to spend the night in Pine.  On the way we traveled to Arcosanti - a community that was envisioned by Paolo Solari, who taught architecture at ASU when John was going to school there.  Solari was considered to be a dreamer, but had some unique ideas about how people could live with very little damage to the planet.

Arcosanti was very interesting!  We were able to tour the community.  There are currently about 100 people living there, although the plans call for an expansion that could house up to 5,000 people.

Paolo Solari also makes bronze and ceramic bells.  They are very well known in the Southwest and all over the world.  We saw where the ceramic and bronze bells were made at Arcosanti, and Betty and John got a ceramic bell to add to their Solari collection.

Betty and John gave us a Solari bell as a wedding gift and we had always loved it but it meant so much to see how it was made and the workmanship that went into it.

After Arcosanti we visited Page Springs Winery!  It's a great winery, totally off the beaten path, but their wines are great!  We were able to sit outside under the umbrella and Lee and I tasted the offerings that day.  Betty got brave and tried a sip or two as well, but she didn't care for it.

We had dinner in Pine and spent the night at the cabin.  Saturday morning was gorgeous and we were able to have breakfast out on the deck overlooking the valley below - wonderful!  We then did some thrift and antique shops and after lunch in Pine we headed back to Phoenix.

Sunday all the kids came for lunch and it was great to see all of the kids and grand kids!  Sadly, we were having such a good time visiting with everyone that we neglected to take pictures!

On Monday we visited Cosanti - Paolo Solari's original community in Phoenix.  It was so interesting to see the architecture.  We were fortunate that we were there when they did the pour of the molten bronze into the bell molds!  As this was where our wedding bell had come from, we picked out another bell to hang outside the front door.

After Cosanti we visited the Queen Creek Olive Mill!  We had a tour and learned all about the production of olive oil and what all of those terms like "virgin" and "extra virgin" mean.  We learned that each tree produces only about 5 gallons of oil in a good year.  We then got to do some tasting - very unique flavors from different olives.  We had lunch at their cafe and bought some olive oil and coffee.  It was great fun!!

We went to a lovely restaurant for dinner on Monday night where we were able to sit outside.  They served the biggest burgers that we had ever seen!  Fortunately we followed Betty and John's lead and shared one.

Then it was home for a relaxing evening.  And Tuesday morning off to the airport for the trip home.

We had such a good time, Betty and John!  Looking forward to the next time, AND Hawaii in 2015!!  Thank you so much for everything!!

Google Arcosanti - it's quite an interesting concept

 

Some of Solari's bronze bells

 

Part of the structure

 

 The workshop.  It was designed to be self-cooling and self-heating based on the position of the sun.  Even though it was quite warm that day, it was cool under the half dome.

 Our guide explaining the process of pouring the ceramic bells.  Betty and John are at the far left, in the shade

 Demonstrating the removal of a ceramic bell from it's sand cast

 Another temperature-neutral structure

One of the private residences there

 

 The stage and amphitheater.  There are plans to dome this over as well

 The residences around the amphitheater

 The steps down to the lower level and the swimming pool in the background

 Some of the newly cast bronze bells

Betty with a large Solari bell

 

 We had lunch in their cafeteria - it was very good!

 Bells!

 And more bells!

Ceramic bells

 

 Some of them were very intricate and large.  It was interesting to hear the different sounds they had.

 The winery!

Cheers!  Betty looks dubious!

 

But she gave it a try!

 

 I think that her expression says it all!!

 Breakfast on the deck in Pine

We passed this tree along the road back to Phoenix.  Someone hung a pair of shoes from a branch and then everyone got in on the act!  There were dozens of pairs of shoes hanging from the "shoe tree"!!

 

 Beautiful cactus bloom!

 Spring in the desert

 Cosanti in Phoenix

This is where they did the casting and assembly of the ceramic bells

 

One of the work and display areas

 

Another amazing Solari half-dome

 

 Pouring the molten bronze into the molds

 It was quite a process

 The final pour for that casting

 Our bell!  It now hangs outside the front door

 The bell at home in Moss Beach

 Queen Creek Olive Mill

 GIANT burgers!!  But they were delicious!!

Jim has a new fishing-related business!  He strings hooks onto these worms!  On Monday, Jim's son Jake came over to do some hand-crafting!  This picture is at the beginning of the day

 

 And here's the product of his days work!  They are very labor-intensive but apparently the fish LOVE them!!