Like a Phoenix Rising From the Ashes (in AZ)

Unfortunately, this post will be short and sweet, much like my time spent in Arizona.

Let’s start with where I stayed. There weren’t any active hostels anywhere outside of the Grand Canyon area, so I had to make do. I ended up going with an Airbnb in Heritage Highlands that was set up and priced similarly to a hostel room. The bed was full-sized, and there were multiple decks to walk out on from my room. The whole house was really well-down, and very put together. There weren’t a lot of people there, so it definitely wasn’t similar to a traditional hostel, but it was really cool nonetheless. I stayed there 2 nights, but didn’t stay much longer than to sleep, so I could explore.

Some Delectable Food and Drink

I spent pretty much my entire day at Lux Central which is a cute little hole in the wall spot in the middle of Phoenix. They had some of the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had, and their pastries were to die for. I ended up liking it so much, I spent breakfast and lunch here while I did work.

If you want a quick and easy dinner spot, Salad and Go, which is a chain salad drive-thru spot, is a great plan. The buffalo chicken wrap was wicked good, and pretty inexpensive too.

I ended the night going to a little bar called Whining Pig, which has one of the largest beer selections I’ve ever seen. They have a bunch of board games in all varieties, as well as a very good happy hour special that I took advantage of. I would definitely recommend checking that spot out.

What do You Want to Do?

I’d suggest trying to catch the sunset at Hole in the Rock, which was gorgeous and definitely very touristy. I would recommend checking out that whole area, with the Desert Botanical Garden and Papago Park. I didn’t have enough time, but I would have explored there if I could.

I also missed out on a couple other places I wanted to check out. Among these are Postino, which has a wicked happy hour apparently. Roosevelt st. is also well known for having a lot of good bars if that’s what you’re looking for. Obviously if you’re in Arizona, you should be checking out the Grand Canyon, among other incredible hikes. The Wave is very popular, but there is a lottery waiting list for hiking there. Luckily, there are plenty of other spots you can check out while you’re there if you like to hike! A lot of people really enjoy Flagstaff, so I would recommend that area as well if you want somewhere else to explore.

Highlights:

• Lux Central
• Whining Pig Craft Beer and Wine Bar
• Hole in the Rock
• Grand Canyon