Today we awoke to another clear blue sky and warm sunny weather. I made a cup of coffee and sat outside listening to the birds chirp. Jacob joined me and got a notification to check us in to our flight tomorrow morning. When he was checking us in, he was given the option to change our flight for free. We discussed this for a bit. Our flight was scheduled to leave around 7 a.m. tomorrow, and with our connection we would have arrived around noon back home. Our other option was to delay and catch a later flight around 5 p.m. meaning we would arrive home around midnight.

While we know that will make us tired on Sunday, we decided we wanted a slower morning and to enjoy a little more sunshine here. After that decision, we adjusted our plans for the day and decided to slow down a bit. We just sat and enjoyed the sunshine, then picked out a place nearby for breakfast. We went to the Sunshine Breakfast Bar which was hopping and busy but got us a table right away. I enjoyed french toast and Jacob ordered pancakes.

From there we were on our way to the Desert Botanical Gardens. We both realized much too late that we forgot the adapter for my camera so I can’t share any of my camera photos, which is a bummer because we saw baby quail! But I do have a few photos we took from our phones.

We got to the gardens around 11 a.m. and spent the next three hours meandering through, taking breaks in shaded spots and admiring the all the different plants. We picked out different wildflowers that we’d love to plant at our property someday. We saw butterflies, hummingbirds, quail, lizards and even roadrunners!

The gardens weren’t too busy and as the sun got higher and the temperatures rose we saw fewer people. We had a really nice time and enjoyed our time there!

Once we were done and melting from the sun, we decided we should get some ice cream. I found a place called Sweet Republic on our way back to the VRBO and we stopped there. Jacob got a chocolate milkshake and I got a Smore Sundae. Both were sooo good! We decided that was our lunch for the day.

From there we were both pretty tired and needed a break from the sun and heat. We got back to our VRBO and had some chill time, some in the comfort of the AC and some outside in the shaded patio.

Jacob was just talking about that tuxedo cat we saw yesterday on the neighbors roof when it appeared on the other side of the fence. We both tried to call for it to come visit us, but it scurried away.

As the day progressed, we discussed activities we could do but decided instead to just relax on the patio. We ordered pizza from a local place (Barro’s) and then picked it up to enjoy at our VRBO.

After we ate, and I took a little nap, we decided to take a sunset walk around the neighborhood. We really enjoy seeing the different landscaping here and there are several homes for sale nearby. We keep joking that we need to buy a place here and what plants we’d have. During our walk we saw a few jackrabbits hopping around and another neighbor cat. We passed a few people during our walk and everyone was very friendly and said hi. I explained to Jacob that the endorphins from the sunshine make people happy here.

We are back from our walk and settling in for the evening. Tomorrow morning we will eat breakfast here and pack our things. We have to check out by 10 a.m.

We are planning to go back to Papago Park tomorrow and see some of the sights that we missed today, plus the park is near the airport. We are aiming to get to the airport around 3 p.m. Then we will be on our way home!

We’ve had a great trip here and I am really glad we came! We are already planning our next visit either here, or maybe New Mexico next.

Until then!