Today I am flying to Phoenix, Arizona for the Students For Liberty Arizona Regional Conference. While there I will stay with my maternal grandparents who live in Scottsdale. They spent most of their adult lives in Crystal Lake, a suburb of Chicago, but started splitting time between Illinois and Arizona after retiring.
I have been to Scottsdale at least once a year since my grandparents became “snowbirds” about fifteen years ago. I have many memories there, primarily of swimming, golfing, and playing games. My grandparents have a pool and hot tub in their backyard so swimming is very convenient. They also live in a golf resort community and are members of the Desert Forest Country Club nearby. As a kid we often played Payday, Racko, and a Pokèmon board game. These days it is most commonly Quirkle, Golo, and Gin Rummy.
There are a few pieces of pop culture I strongly associate with visiting my grandparents in Scottsdale. I first remember listening to the album Learning How To Smile Part 1 by Everclear, one of my favorite albums, in Scottsdale. The same goes for Permission To Land by The Darkness (a great album for warm weather). As a kid I watched Good Burger, Spy Kids, and the first Pokèmon movie a lot there.
I have sustained three major injuries while visiting my grandparents. The first time I was about eight years old and I slipped in the shower, slamming my jaw on the soap dish and biting through my lip. The second time, I was maybe eleven. While attempting to set up a telescope on the deck, I ran inside. Well, I ran into a sliding glass door and chipped my front tooth pretty bad. The third (and hopefully final!) injury came about by hitting the brakes on my bike while riding downhill. I flipped over my handlebars, suffering a concussion which knocked me out and a broken wrist. I was about 13 when that happened.
Here’s to hoping for a productive, enjoyable, and injury-free trip to Arizona!