Top Five Destination in Phoenix, AZ

Spring break! Spring training! Spring training break! (I have done that once before, traveling to Florida for spring break and catching a couple Cincinnati Reds spring training games. The difference in the feel between those games and a regular season game or even a minor league game is pretty profound and worth watching at least four hundred and fifty-two times. I have a lot of work still to do to get to that number.) These things are coming and Phoenix might be the perfect place for those things.

Hit the linx

I mentioned in?my look at the fun things in Nevada outside of Vegas (and a brief look at Vegas too) that I didn?t think that Phoenix was that interesting. So, I decided to see if I could find five things that would accentuate a visit to the desert for spring break and Cactus League spring training games (beyond what I found in my look at the?desert of Arizona. Mmmm, Pizzeria Bianco.) Here?s what I found.

Western Destinations

I found?Western Destinations as the #1 thing to do per?TripAdvisor. When I went to their website and found the ?Wild West Activities? I knew I had a winner on my hand. It?s full of competitions. Who is the best among your group of friends at using a bow and arrow? Throwing a tomahawk? Quick draw? Throwing cow pies? Western Destinations lets you find that out and much more. My mind salivates thinking of the betting and prop bet possibilities.

Musical Instrument Museum

On the opposite side of the fun spectrum for our seventh grade selves, do you remember having to practice the instrument you chose to play in seventh grade? I do. I practiced the clarinet most every day after school. How did I choose the clarinet? My musical instrument advisor said if I chose the clarinet, I could switch to the saxophone if I wanted to play it later. (Saxamaphone. Saxamaphone.) I never did. I bet my choice in seventh grade would have been better if I?d have gone to the Musical Instrument Museum before then. Of course, now that seventh grade is well, well behind me, I don?t really need to go, except to see the exciting world of musical instruments! (If you can?t tell, my experience with the clarinet really killed my musical instrument interest, but this museum could find my musical instrument heart of gold under my crotchety act. It could happen.)

Hiking Camelback Mountain

Start your hike to the top of Camelback Mountain while using the occasional handrail (Handrails on hikes? I thought I?d heard of everything!), and 2700 steep feet later, you can get great views of Phoenix. Yeah. Phoenix. Hmmm. Well, think of the great exercise after eating hot dogs and watching baseball during the morning. On second thought, don?t think of hot dogs while you exercise.

Heard Museum

Never in my life did I think I would have the opportunity to see an exhibit on ties, let alone the one on bola ties at the Heard Museum. Now that I think about it, I wonder what an exhibit on neckties would look like. The skinny piano tie would have to be there. The red power tie. I bet I could find several great ties in local garage sales. Hmmm, note to self, start The Tie Museum to compete with The Beatles Tie Museum.

TPC Scottsdale

If you act quickly, you can play the TPC at Scottsdale course that the pros use for only $199 as part of their post-tournament special that runs until March 4th. After that, until the beginning of April, it?s $299 for greens fees. It?s home of the Waste Management Phoenix Open and that has to mean something to you fans of Waste Management, right?

That?s my top five for things to do in Phoenix. Does it compare to Vegas? Maybe a little, unless you compare choices for spring training baseball teams, and Phoenix wins in a landslide. Yea Phoenix! However, I may have missed some things that only locals would know. Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any restaurant/greasy spoon recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.