Author: David

Food: ComicX in Phoenix, AZ

We had dinner at ComicX in Phoenix, Arizona, having seen it on a list of places to visit in the area. It’s a superhero-themed restaurant with 36 locations in Mexico, plus this one in Phoenix.

The walls are covered with stuff from various movies, games, etc:

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

Decorations

I had a margarita to drink:

Margarita

For an appetizer, we had a cheese stick tower:

Cheese stick tower

Then Jenn had a BLAT, and I had a burger; both were pretty mediocre:

BLAT, burger, fries

We had cheese- and bacon-covered fries, which was interesting:

Cheese and bacon fries

Overall, the food wasn’t great (and we regretted our choices), and the ambiance was kinda schlocky, as much as we enjoy superhero movies. The place was probably more aimed at kids. It was an interesting experience, so goal achieved, but we won’t be going back there.

Desert Botanical Garden

We visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

Entrance

We didn’t realize it, but they had a big “Chihuly in the Desert” glass exhibit throughout the gardens; here’s an info sign:

Chihuly info

We enjoy Chihuly’s work, having encountered them several times elsewhere, so it was nice to see them:

Chihuly

Chihuly

There are of course lots of cacti in the gardens, too:

Cacti

The little yellow boxes each contain a candle, for an evening event. There were thousands of them around the gardens. That’d be a lot of work to set up and light!

A selfie:

Jenn and David

Chihuly

Nice cuddly heart-shaped prickly pear cactus (my favorite kind of cacti):

Heart-shaped cactus

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Chihuly

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Chihuly

Flowers

Cacti

An indoor Chihuly exhibit:

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Chihuly

Cacti

Cacti and Chihuly

Chihuly

Funky top; a picture from the other side later:

Cacti

Dead:

Cacti

They had some demonstrations of structures from various desert cultures:

Structure

Cacti

Structures

The other side of that funky top cactus:

Cacti

Chihuly

We bought a little Christmas cactus at their gift store, to serve as our desert-themed Christmas tree in the coach:

Plant

Plant

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

We visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Arizona, which focuses on desert plants.

The entrance:

Entrance

An interesting building:

Interesting building

Cacti:

Cacti

Cacti

A selfie:

Jenn and David

Rocks

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

Cacti

What they label as a lake, but I’d call a pond:

Pond

A shelter:

Shelter

Interesting tree bark:

Tree

Tree

Tree

Palm trees:

Tree

Rocks:

Rocks

Rocks

Rocks

A sketchy bridge:

Bridge

An Australian desert exhibit:

Windmill

Australian exhibit

Australian exhibit

Australian exhibit

Flowering cacti:

Flowering cacti

We bought a small potted cacti for our coach:

Potted cacti

The garden map; we only explored about half of it this time, but plan to come back in March, when more things should be blooming:

Map

Goldfield Ghost Town

We visited the Goldfield Ghost Town, a wild west town, established in 1893, and now an Arizona tourist trap.

Goldfield Ghost Town entrance

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

IMG 4353

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

Town buildings

At high noon (and hourly thereafter) they have a gunfight performance on main street:

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

After the gunfight, we went to the saloon for lunch:

Saloon

Saloon

Saloon

Me:

David

A “floozy”:

Floozy

I had a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries:

Burger and fries

Just as we finished lunch, the next gunfight was starting, this time involving the ladies:

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Gunfight

Horse riders, narrow gauge train, and mountains:

Horses and train

Train

We explored most of the shops, but the only things that appealed to us to buy was some tasty fudge.

Pedal boats at Encanto Park

For lunch after the Japanese garden we grabbed some drive-through teriyaki bowls (first time we’d seen that as a drive-through option), and went to a nearby city park in Phoenix, Encanto Park.

We found a picnic bench with a view of a stream and a party on an island:

Picnic spot

Our teriyaki bowls and spring rolls for lunch:

Teriyaki bowl and spring roll for lunch

A palm tree:

Palm tree

We noticed some pedal boats going by along the stream, and thought that looked like a fun thing to do:

Pedal boat

So we did; we rented a pedal boat:

Jenn and David in pedal boat

Pedal boat

We got some duck food from the rental kiosk, so we had fun feeding and watching them:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Birds:

Birds

Birds

More ducks:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

The park is next to a golf course, so of course there are a bunch of golf balls on the nearby island:

Golf balls

Birds sunning themselves:

Birds

Birds

Birds

Another selfie from the boat; yes, we’re trying to do more of them; we haven’t historically had a lot of pictures of us together:

Jenn and David

Hey look, more ducks:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Another couple of pedal boats:

Ducks

One more selfie:

Jenn and David

Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix

We visited the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, a small Japanese-style garden near downtown. Not as large or tranquil as the Portland Japanese Garden, but still rather nice.

We took a selfie (the red dot is proof of entrance payment):

Jenn and David

The pond:

Pond

Pond

Pond

Pond

Ducks:

Ducks

Koi:

Koi

Gate:

Gate

Stream:

Stream

Shishi-odoshi (deer scarer):

Shishi-odoshi

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Fish sculpture:

Fish sculpture

Cascade:

Cascade

Bamboo fence, rain chains, etc:

Fence etc

Tea house:

Tea house

Pond:

Pond

Tower:

Tower

Interesting rocks on the edge of the pond (and more ducks):

Pond

Bridge:

Bridge

Bridge

Pond

Bridge

Koi:

Koi

A stay in an Airbnb apartment

A temporary change: we had an appointment for some work on our coach, so like when we got it serviced up in the Seattle area, we needed to stay somewhere else for a time. (Actually, we could have stayed in the coach for most of the time, but it’s problematic with a cat, and less comfortable with the slides in and other limitations.) So we rented an Airbnb.

We departed Gila Bend, Arizona, and drove to Phoenix, Arizona. Just a short 63 mile journey this time, only an hour. We had chosen the Sonoran Desert RV Park in part for its reasonable proximity to Phoenix, so we could deliver the coach by 09:00. Here’s the route map (the leg in the top-left corner was part of the route getting to that park):

Map route

The Airbnb was a nice two-bedroom apartment, just 20 minutes away from the shop. See that listing for more photos, but here are a few.

The living room:

Living room

Kitchen:

Kitchen

Mountain view:

Mountain view

Pool area (which we didn’t use; it wasn’t quite warm enough to want to do so):

Pool area

And yes, Paladin stayed here too; being cat-friendly was one of the criteria. He adapted without difficulty:

Paladin

The apartment felt so spacious after living in a motorhome! It was nice to have a bit more room to spread out, and a full-sized shower. Being in a big city was different, too. But it was only temporary; we’re not yet ready to give up the freedom of taking our house with us as we explore the country. And with a cat, it won’t be the last time we stay elsewhere; we already have another Airbnb booked for some more work on the coach at a different place in January.