Fun and Sun in the Faaaar West

Fun and Sun in the Faaaar West

Had the nicest week I have had in some time.  My brother and his wife came for a visit and we checked out some of Arizona.  The state has a lot going for it – several different regions with different climates and different landforms.  They do sell the same crap at all the souvenir stands though, with the exception of Tlaquepaque, which still sells very expensive crap. If you decide to visit, give cave creek a pass – that is the crap capitol of AZ and they put a hot pepper in the beer brewed there – probably to help kill the taste of the goat piss that they pawn off on the tourists.

My brother is some what of a microbrew aficionado, so we did some microbreweries and checked out their wares – rather thoroughly.  My pick was the Four Peaks Kilt Lifter Scottish style ale.  It was one of the best ales I have had, and I have a lot.  The downside is that it seems to lift the back edge of the kilt rather than the front.  

The scenery in Sedona was almost too much to take in.  It really has some beautiful rock formations and the scale is overwhelming.  Did some hiking and eventually wound up at the Oak Creek Brew Pub.  It was expensive and the “Scottish Style Ale” I had there tasted like bottled ass.  The food was ok, sort of yuppie fodder, but passable.  

The best part was just seeing my brother and his wife.  It had been sometime since we were last together.  Talking on the phone is ok, but not the same as being able to sit and talk with him across the table.  It was nice recounting some of our misadventures during our childhood.  We had quite a few laughs (he is the funny one in the family) and drank quite a bit of Blue Paddle, Fat Tire, and Kilt Lifters in the process.

I will have to journey back to the state we grew up in and pay him a visit, though not in the winter – I live in Arizona for a reason!