Business Conference Musings

Earlier this month I accompanied Rebecca to a conference in Phoenix, AZ; Rebecca's second visit but my first. I've heard horror stories about the heat in Phoenix but thought it couldn't be that hot in October. It turns out that it does get hot in October but for our trip the weather couldn't have been better. The highest temperature was 89 and the lowest was about 65 degrees.

The conference and our accommodations were at the newly opened (1 year old) Sheraton in downtown Phoenix; some thirty floors tall and almost a city block wide, it was impressive and pleasant but expensive. One of the great things about accompanying Rebecca on her out-of-Salem conferences is that her portion of the trip is a business wright-off and I get to see and stay in places I wouldn't otherwise visit on my own. If we're lucky, like my favorite trip so far-Bermuda, Rebecca only has to be in session half-day and we can explore the local charm together the other half. Not the case this time as her whole day was tied up in conferences; but we did arrive a day early and were able to explore a little, visit the Science Center and view the IMAX film, Kilimanjaro:To The Roof of Africa, not far from the Sheraton.

The flight from PDX was uneventful, thank god, but the sun was shining for most of the trip and I took a window seat as usual. I tried taking some pictures from the window but the image quality is never that good through the dual pane plastic. The highlights of the flight were snow capped Mount Hood and the Grand Canyon. Neither of us had seen the Grand Canyon before but from 39,000 feet up I think some of its beauty and grandeur is lost. A ground level visit is on our to-do before we die list.

While Rebecca was in conference I did some walking, transit system riding and photography. My album of the trip is here if you've a mind to look. What struck me most about Phoenix was the downtown architecture, public art and the transit system. Had I more time, I would have gone to Frank Loyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale. Perhaps next time.