Arizona 2018:
Day 7 - Prescott

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Arizona 2018: [Day 1 - Mesa] [Day 2 - Mesa] [Day 3 - Mesa] [Day 4 - Tucson] [Day 5 - Grand Canyon West] [Day 6 - Grand Canyon] [Day 7 - Prescott]

	Saturday, December 29, 2018: We were up, checked out, and on the road before 7:30 AM.
	The sunrise tinted the horizon a light pink.
	We passed through Prescott National Forest on our way to our first destination of Chino Valley.
	We had a get a shot of a firetruck crossing sign for our collection of crossing sign.
	We headed to Karen and Bill's house in Chino Valley, ...
	... then Debbie hopped in Karen's car and Bill rode with Tom. We met Karen at the Macalester reunion in June and became fast friends. Bill turned out to be just as much fun too.
	Horse statues are very popular in this state.
	It was a scenic half-hour drive to get to ...
	... Prescott, pronounced "Pres-kitt" by the locals.
	We parked in downtown Prescott, just up the hill from Courthouse Plaza. If you look closely at the roof of the grey building on the left, ...
	... you'll see a festively-decorated elk statue, which is appropriate, because it stands over the Elks Theater.
	We were heading to the building on the right, ...
	... the historic Hassayampa Inn.
	This staircase overlooks ...
	... the lobby.
	We passed the gorgeous doors to the Arizona Room ...
	... on our way to the Peacock Room.
	It featured peacock art on the walls, ...
	... and a peacock-themed Christmas tree.
	After an unsuccessful attempt to meet for dinner two nights earlier, we were ready for some morning cocktails, so three of us ordered Bloody Marys. Tom toasted with a Diet Coke since he had a lot of driving to do afterward.
	We had a lovely meal and a great time.
	We got a Macalester mini-reunion photo of the Mac grads and ...
	... one of all four us, then we said our goodbyes.
	We had planned to drive back from Williams via Sedona, but ended up driving through the Prescott valley instead, but both routes led to Sunset Point Rest Area. We had been here last year, but didn't realize how lovely the scenery was here because it was after dark. The signs here are still inaccurate because snakes are venomous, not poisonous. To quote Jill: "Better not eat 'em!"
	We also didn't realize the significance until Debbie was working on her 1994 Grand Canyon travelog and found a multiple-exposure photo of herself taken at this spot. Of course, we had to reproduce the photo but we didn't have it with us to compare, so it didn't quite work, but we'll try again someday. (We did in 2020!)
	The saguaros along I-17 are always cool to see.
	We saw several Jucy RVs during the week, but they may have all been the same one for all we know.
	Is this a burro crossing sign? Donkey crossing? We don't know, but whatever it is, we didn't see one.
	We stopped briefly in Anthem to visit the Anthem Veterans Memorial.
	Dedicated on Veterans Day in 2011, it consists of five pillars, ...
	... each with an elliptical opening.
	At exactly 11:11 AM on November 11 each year, the holes will align to perfectly encircle and illuminate ...
	... the Seal of the United States. As it wasn't Veterans Day on 11:11 AM, the Seal wasn't fully illuminated so we had to use our imagination.
	We were short on time so we couldn't afford to spend an extra 15 minutes driving on city streets for a closer look at Frank Lloyd Wright's spire, a tall blue thing in Scottsdale. Someday, we'll see it up close, but at least we got a better picture than last year.
	It was close to 1:00 by the time we got to the familiar Higley Road exit.
	We still had to get gas and do a full detailing of Bob and Becky's van before we returned it to them. You've never seen two people scramble like we did to get that thing spotless.
	We picked up Bob and Becky and headed to their favorite German restaurant for lunch.
	None of us went hungry!
	The sound system was playing a European station and we heard a variety of languages sung, but when 1985 Eurovision-winning song, "Let It Swing" came on, we couldn't believe it. We are probably the only two people in the restaurant who had ever heard it before, much less owned it on vinyl. Note: it was the English-language version, not the Norwegian version, "La Det Swinge."
	After lunch, Tom got Becky and Bob registered on 23andMe while they prepared their kits.
	Simple as that! A quick drop in the mailbox and they'll have all sorts of interesting DNA information about themselves. We got our tests many years ago, and have enjoyed learning more about our DNA, so it's nice that our family members are excited about it too.
	We headed to the airport in mid-afternoon. Did you know that Boeing has a facility in Mesa? No? We didn't either.
	We spent several hours relaxing at the airport, and a few minutes having an unexpected meeting with our friends Maggie and Matt at the gate. We were in boarding group A again so we snagged exit row seats for the trip home. Nice.
	Buh-bye, Arizona!
	Debbie kept busy on the flight watching free inflight movies on her phone, including Mamma Mia 2 (every scene with Cher was watched twice) and the finale of Crazy Rich Asians (because the mahjongg scene is genius).
	It was well after midnight when we arrived in Indy, but we were on Mountain Time and still had Sunday to recover, so life was good. THE END