During our stay at Lake Pleasant we made a few trips into the Phoenix metro area. Traffic was what you would expect for an area with over 5 million people, but the major roads we traveled had 6 lanes in each direction and we tried to avoid rush hours so didn’t have much trouble getting around.

Musical Instrument Museum

This museum is truly unique. It is immersive with a personal listening system that connects automatically at each monitor display. Headphones allowed us to listen to music while looking at the instruments from a particular country or culture or artist or genre from around the world. They offer two-day passes for those who want to pace themselves and see it all thoroughly. The cafe has lots of lunch options. We spent a cold and rainy day here to avoid the weather at the park and had a ball. Thank you, David A., for the rainy day suggestion.

Phoenix Zoo

The Phoenix Zoo is impressively landscaped with interesting plants to see with the animals on display. Most of the animals are in outdoor enclosures, unlike the zoos up north. We meandered through the whole zoo in about three hours, plus a lunch break. My favorite exhibit was the squirrel monkeys. Their enclosure has live trees for them to climb and some side enclosures if they want to choose them. There is a double-door system with three or four zoo keepers on hand to allow us to walk through with instructions to keep at least six feet away from the monkeys. Tony had to set his fountain drink in a cubby so they wouldn’t be attracted to that sugary treat.

Sandy and David’s

Longtime card group friends with Mom and Dad have retired to Surprise, Arizona. Their house was about forty minutes from our campground, so they invited us over for an afternoon of cards and a delicious home-cooked Mexican feast. They offered their laundry room and a long hot shower as well, knowing what we are missing on the road. They also travel, seeing the country while escaping the hot summer months in Phoenix like we travel to avoid the snow in wintery Iowa.

A relaxing afternoon of playing 40-Below, a fun card game where winners can turn into losers pretty fast, was perfect. We went on a stroll in the park behind their home to get their little dog, Niña, a walk in. David makes wonderful prickly pear margaritas and Sandy prepared several dishes for supper. I now have a recipe for fixing chili rellenos at home, one of my favorite items at Mexican restaurants. We so enjoyed their hospitality.