MY MOST RECENT GETAWAY…

I was needing / wanting to book a trip to the Greater Phoenix area to do some preliminary house shopping, yes, I said house shopping. Sam and I have been contemplating buying a home there for some time as we start to prepare for retirement and just recently decided to step up our home search. He and I are scheduled to fly down to meet with our real estate broker, Heather Smith, in just a few weeks and we figured if I could weed out our options it would make our trip together much more productive.

My long-time childhood best friend, Kristina, is always up for an adventure and I figured we could combine house shopping with a combination of retail therapy, cocktails, delicious food and a little R+R by the pool. I made the call and without hesitation she said “let’s book it”. Thankfully, Kris and I both work hard and like to treat ourselves when we get away, so we booked our stay at The Scott Resort and Spa, located in the heart of Scottsdale.

We scheduled our trip for the day after Christmas and our flight landed late in the evening but just in time to allow us to grab a drink and adjust to the warmer temps of the Southwest. We were both enamored from the moment we stepped into the portico entry that greeted you with a vintage car that took you back in time and immediately set the stage for our mini-vacation.

”PICTURE PERFECT” RESORT

I’d be lying if I didn’t say, every corner was eye-candy of design with inspiration from Havana, Cuba, and we literally, kept ooh-ing and aww-ing as we stepped into each and every space. The Scott Resort is truly stunning in every way.

A DAY OF R+R

Our first full day offered temps close to 70 degrees, but honestly, coming from the cold NW weather we left in the 30s, that was warm enough to relax and sip cocktails by the pool. We also enjoyed some window shopping in the Scottsdale Arts District and visited my favorite shop, Leela’s Market. With a leisurely (and incredibly tasty) lunch from the hotel’s Canal Club, we were completely enjoy ourselves.

But for me the highlight of the day was connecting with my Aunt Candy & Uncle Bob at their beautiful home in Goodyear. We were able to safely social distance poolside in their backyard - I will say, not giving Candy a hug (for Covid safety) was heartbreaking. Regardless, the laughs, the wine and the company were all so terrific! And our time together just way too short.

NEW HOME SHOPPING

Day two, was jam packed with model homes and new homes. By mid-afternoon Kris was ready to pack her stuff and schedule a move in with us! We toured so many great homes and focused our efforts on Surprise and Peoria. Here are some of links to our favorites:

Crusader Model by David Weekly Homes at Eagle Crest - Golf Villas at Valencia | TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR
Skybrook Model (First Floor Only of the Ballantyne Model) by Toll Brothers at Sterling Grove | TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR
Journey Model by Del Webb at Sun City Festival | TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR
Spectrum Model by Shea Homes at Trilogy Vistancia | TAKE A TOUR

MY FAVORITE WINE BAR + MY BFF

Okay, I’m not gonna lie, house shopping is exhausting! This is where my empathy for all my past clients comes in. My head was literally spinning from floorpans, features and neighborhoods - not too mention the overwhelming amount of paperwork and brochures I had accumulated from just one day of house hunting. It didn’t help that I had buggered up my knee somehow before I left Seattle and so all the walking did not help.

After we returned to the hotel we were tired, hungry and ready for some wine, but then of course, we are always ready for wine! One of the best aspects to our resort was proximity to EVERYTHING and in particular, that it was just a half a block walk to one of my favorite wine bars, Postino Wine Cafe. We took the short walk to Postino and bellied up to the bar to enjoy some tasty bites and yummy beverages, but sadly by the time we were heading back I was hobbling in pain from my knee. What the heck…. this is one of the downsides of getting older, aches and pains just affect you on such a greater level.

I wasn’t about to let a little pain get to me so we stopped by at the hotel bar, ordered a couple of tasty cocktails and grabbed a fireside seat to relax and enjoy the beautiful Arizona weather — yeah, I think I could get used to winters in the Southwest.

CHANGE OF PLANS #VACATIONOVER

The next morning I woke up with excruciating knee pain, I mean I was screaming and crying in pain. And poor Kris, she was just so kind and sweet trying to help me through it. After a call to a nurse line they recommended I promptly make a visit to the nearest Emergency Room. Wait? What? This was not on my agenda and we had things to do, places to go and people to see.

My morning consisted of an ER visit, some heavy duty pain meds and lots of last minute travel changes. Much to my dismay, we made the difficult decision to head home early just in case I might get stuck down there without a way to get back home. I truly just wanted to stay there and hated that we wasted the last 2 days of our trip because of my injury, but in hindsight, Kris’ persistence and clear-head proved to be the best decision for me.

I’m trying to find a silver lining in things, like telling myself, we will make it up with another trip down there soon. Yep, I’m gonna go with that…..because I like that ending the best.

I will close, by saying if you are ever needing an amazing getaway, I cannot begin to say enough great things about The Scott Resort & Spa - it was so beautiful. With outstanding service from all of the staff, amazing food + drinks and the Canal Club, breathtaking grounds and the most amazing management who was very helpful and accommodating with my injury and early departure - top class! Be sure to check out @thescottresort