Kate's First Vacation

On Saturday morning, Mick, Kate, and I set off for Scottsdale, AZ for a little vacation that coincides with one of Mick's business trips. Jack and Shergar went up north to stay with Grammy and Papa as we really wanted some time away to just focus on Kate. Jack was beyond thrilled to get some solo time with the grandparents, and to see his cousins over the weekend. I don't think he really cares that he's not with us!

Kate did really well on her first flight and didn't really have a melt-down until we got in the taxi to come to the hotel. She did seem a bit squirmier than Jack was the first time he flew but I realized that was probably because Jack was five-weeks-old when he took his first flight and Kate was twelve-weeks-old; that makes a big difference in terms of how alert they are!

We are staying at the Hotel Valley Ho (where Mick's conference is being held) in Scottsdale and it's a lovely location/property. It's very hip and the design aesthetics are really unique (think 1950s rat pack). The only bummer is that the pool area has not been particularly family friendly. We avoided the pool area on Saturday as there was a pool party there that seemed to attract every local 20-something with an attractive body as well as a bunch of meathead-type guys. There was a DJ and wristbands for entry and $250 cabana rentals and general craziness. Would have been fun 10 years ago. Now, it's just more of a nuisance and definitely not the place for a baby. (Plus, the pool water is cold (I guess they don't heat pools in AZ?!?) so Kate will be holding off on taking her first swim; I dipped her toes in yesterday and she wasn't a fan.)

Mick and I enjoyed a yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant on Saturday afternoon after we arrived and then came back to the hotel to rest. Unfortunately, later that afternoon, Mick started feeling sick: fever, body aches, etc. He declined a swim Sat night (which confirmed for me how crummy he was feeling; Mick LOVES water and will generally swim anywhere in anything, regardless of how cold it is) and we had an early bedtime after a truly fantastic meal at the hotel restaurant. (Note: Rarely does hotel restaurant food deliver in taste, presentation, portion, creativity, etc. But after having two meals at Cafe Zuzu (Sat dinner and Sun brunch), I can say this is one of the best restaurants I've ever had the pleasure to experience. I kind of want to have the rest of my meals there rather than trying other places... I don't think I've EVER said that before when traveling as I usually want to experience different cuisines, chefs, etc. But this place is so good, I'm not sure that we could find anything better!)

Sunday night, we ended up canceling our dinner reservations as Mick still felt so crummy and just ordered take out. He's just headed off now (6:30 am) to his meetings and I felt so sad watching him walk out of the room. He just looks like he feels miserable and aches and he's alternating between sweating and shivering. I've loaded him up on Dayquil and Advil and given him cough drops and Gatorade, but what I really want to do is stand in for him at the conference. Jury is still out on whether we'll try to return early from our trip, though his presentation is tomorrow so it will depend on how he feels in the morning.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures I've taken thus far during our travels (click on picture to enlarge it):