A Southwestern Getaway Trip

How much fun can you have on a three day trip in the Southwest?  A surprising amount in a short amount of time, really, My husband, Wayne, and I recently traveled from El Paso, Texas, our home town, to Phoenix, Arizona to watch the Dodgers play the Diamond Backs at Chase Field. (Note:  Dodgers 2, D-Backs 1).

Driving the six hours to Phoenix was one option, but what a good excuse to take Amtrak instead.  We are train aficionados, okay train nuts, so a ten hour trip on the rails sounded exciting. (The first nine hours were great; the last leg, a shuttle from the train station to Phoenix, not so much.)  The significant differences between train and plane travel appear in almost every recent article touting train travel, so I'll not brag too much about the easy check in, ample leg room, and generous luggage allowance on Amtrak. And Wayne had a steak for dinner in the dining car that he pronounced as quite tasty. 

We caught the train to Phoenix at Union Station, an historic building in downtown El Paso.

Entering Union Station

 The ticket counter is wonderfully old-fashioned with wooden counters.

Ticket counter, Union Station

The westbound train was on time. We settled into our very comfortable seats and had plenty of time to watch scenes of the Desert Southwest before arrival in Phoenix. Wayne and I like to stay in a central location on our travels. A Courtyard by Marriott within walking distance of Chase Field was the perfect choice.  As we tumbled out of the Uber car, the Marriott parking valets greeted us and asked if we were going to the Justin Timberlake concert or the ballgame.  Now really, I thought, do we look like concert attendees? But their friendly welcome set the stage for a very pleasant stay.

On the second day of our trip, game day, we had the entire day to ourselves before the 6:40 pm starting time.  A short wander around the downtown area of Phoenix led us to the Breakfast Club.  The breakfast was so to our liking that we ate there the next morning as well.  Good food, good service, good people-watching.

Breakfast Club, Downtown Phoenix

We had plenty of time to explore what downtown Phoenix has to offer tourists.  Afternoon found us at Heritage Square, advertised as the last surviving residential block from turn of the century Phoenix.  A  guided tour of the Rosson House Museum, a meticulously restored Victorian house, let us daydream about daily life in another era.

Rosson House Museum

The elegant staircase in the foyer was a reminder of the lifestyle in Territorial Arizona for families of means.

Staircase, Rosson House

Heritage Square also offered a coffee shop, a gift shop, and several restaurants with outdoor seating.  A leafy, relaxing place.

Landscaping in Arizona interests me because of their skillful use of native plants.

Phoenix Landscaping

We have a section of our yard at home that we call the "Tucson Yard" that we could just as well call the "Phoenix Yard." No saguaro cacti though unfortunately.  Our Chihuahuan Desert doesn''t easily support saguaros. 

Our "Tucson Yard"

 Finally, it was game time.  We made out way through the jovial crowd of concert goers and baseball fans and easily found our seats in the stadium.

Pre-game, Chase Field

We searched the field for a glimpse of our favorite Dodger players.  The game was an exciting one, not decided until the last crack of the bat.

Chase Field

Our flight home the next day on Southwest Airlines was quick and uneventful.  The trip had been so short that our cat, Bitsy, didn't even bother to give me the cold shoulder on our return.

We pronounced the experience a great success.  A train ride, a nice hotel stay, good food, a bit of history, native plants, and a Dodgers win.  And all in a quick three days.  We will be planning another Southwestern Getaway Trip soon. 

A Bit of Southwestern Serendipity

The restaurant reviews in our local newspaper, The El Paso Times, are tailor-made for readers like me.  I love to try out new restaurants, not so much for the food, but more for a different dining experience.

"Indulge your taste buds in Las Cruces" read the article's headline. So much the better, I thought. Here is a good chance to travel to a neighboring city and really try something new.  Las Cruces is located in the state of New Mexico, about 60 miles from my home town of El Paso, Texas. During the hour's drive, the mind relaxes as farms, pecan trees, and homes built with pleasantly rounded corners come into view.

We located the Indulgence Bakery and Cafe in a small shopping center on Main Street. The newspaper article mentioned that the Indulgence had risen from the ashes of a former popular bistro on the same location.  I heard several locals complimenting the restaurant manager and giving best wishes for continued success for the bakery.

The article also mentioned that the Indulgence is like being in a friend's home. I felt it was very much like relaxing in the kitchen of a friend who was a very good cook.  The Indulgence's varied menu made ordering a challenge, a very different experience from eating in chain restaurants that have proliferated in our area, where food is often pre-packaged and, well, boring.

The Indulgence decor was unique as well.  A chalk message on the wall gave a mouthwatering list of baking ingredients, as well as a slogan, "Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy."

  

The walls were attractively decorated with copper pots and pans

and a old-fashioned coffee poster.

We ordered coffee and made our decisions from the menu.  A new restaurant experience called for a fresh breakfast choice, so I threw dieting to the winds and ordered strawberry blintzes.

My husband, Wayne, the traditionalist, went for biscuits and gravy served with scrambled eggs and hash browns.

The bakery counter had a steady stream of customers.

Maybe it was the cream puffs that were the big draw?  The two lemon ones we ordered for dessert were, in a word, luscious.

I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, with all types of local customers.  The waitress was friendly and found time to chat with us.

"Serendipity"  (what a great word!) is defined as "good luck in finding things not sought for."  At the Indulgence, we found not only breakfast, but also a relaxing, memorable place to return to soon. Getting out of one's rut is good for the soul!