Day 27 - 19th May - Phoenix

2 weeks today and we start our trip home.

It was an early start today, 4:00am alarm (2:00am Phoenix time).

Rayls had pretty well done all the packing, as only she can do and we were soon on our way to the airport.

We have spent the last three days with Eileen and Phil and have had a wonderful time. Saw a lot, rested a bit and talked incessantly! Thanks to you both and hopefully we will see you again soon.

We were at the airport not much later than 5:00am and soon checked in and were through security. Gate 10 for departure and all went smoothly till we hit the air. Our son Scott spent around 6 hours at St Louis airport earlier this year waiting for a delayed flight. None of those problems for us.

It was pretty bumpy on the flight to Phoenix. There was a weather front we had to cross and it was rough going for an hour and a bit but it soon smoothed out and we landed in Phoenix on time at a few minutes before 8:00am (10:00am St Louis time).

Baggage came through fine and the transfer to the car rental facility is pretty cruisey. The car rental process is a bit of a pain. The car is pre paid through jigsawtravel.com. All insurance paid for but it seems the guy behind the counter has to sell you something to make some commission for himself. This car rental is for 14 days and I was offered an upgrade to a full size car for $43 a day. He soon went down to $13 a day and then $10 a day. I said I would pay $5 a day and he laughed and said if you want to drive all the way to Las Vegas with no power windows and no cruise control then it was up to me. He then told me that I needed to spend $10 a day on break down protection. What a rip off, if their car breaks down I have to pay for towing. I declined and have to say that I am not impressed with such a pitiful rip off. Anyway, we had a choice of around 6 cars and ended up with a Nissan Versa which seems a nice car and does have power windows and cruise control and will be going a lot further than just the few hundred miles from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

The shonkey GPS from LA kicked in whilst we were undercover in the rental facility and lead us out into the wild blue yonder and towards the area of our hotel (Glendale). It worked fine for 15 minutes and then spluttered to a halt just when we needed it most. 15 minutes later as we struggled into the unknown it kicked back in and again and has been working fine since.

At about 9:59am we arrived at the Will Call window at the jobing.com arena to pick up tickets for tonight’s show. Long line of 1 (me) and we were gone a minute after they opened. Checked out the hotel but it was too early to check in so we gps'ed 3 quilt shops and found 2.

Rayls checked out The Quilted Apple and Quiltz. Both stores had a seat for the husbands and half decent reading material. That is my opinion of a good quilt shop - a chair for the blokes and something to read (a drink would be nice).

We got back to the hotel area around 2:15pm and were both hungry and thirsty - nothing to eat or drink all day. We did have left over cinnamon buns on the plane but Rayls fell asleep and I couldn't reach them. Those packets of peanuts SouthWest give you are pretty small. Anyway, we went to a Cracker Barrel and had a very late breakfast, late lunch or early dinner.

We were back at the hotel around 3pm. Hampton Inn and Suites. Very nice, it was highly recommended by son Scott who had stayed here earlier in the year and got it for us on Priceline at a steal. It’s a walking distance to the concert, a real bonus. Scott's only complaint was that the internet was very slow but it is zipping along for me - must have been an upgrade.

It had been a long day and we tried for a nap - Rayls managed OK but I was soon up writing this masterpiece.

At 6:20pm we walked over to the arena - good seats and what a great show. One of the very best concerts I have been to and boy did the Phoenix crowd get into it.

Show finished at about 10:45pm and we strolled around the area of the arena for a bit and then back to the hotel and here I am writing this as Rayls snoozes. She got 2 hours sleep on the plane, 2 hour nap this afternoon and now is out to it again. Lucky for some!

Tomorrow we aim to head for Palm Springs which is most of the way to LA along I10. Scott has us Pricelined into a nice looking 4 star for $58.

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