10 Reasons I Love AZ

From my last post you may think I hate Arizona. But that's just not true.

I really just hate being hot. 

And I have this semi-irrational fear of gangs that I won't get into right now.

Anyways, I actually love a lot of things about Arizona.

So here's a list of 10 reasons I Love Arizona

1. The people! Almost everyone I know from Arizona is so chill. They just roll with the punches and like to laugh. Oh sure they are human sometimes things get out of hand. But a lot of my favorite people are from/in Arizona.
2. The winter! So it's the perfect weather in the winter because it's not so hot. It's perfect for hiking, playing soccer, playing tag, jumping on the trampoline. All those things can happen during the day and you don't have to worry about snow (most of the time-yes it has snowed in

   

   The 3 wise men and their camels.

   Phoenix) (and unless you're in Northern AZ where it does snow in the winter). Also the Mesa temple Lights are the best! My favorite part is the 3 wise men crossing with their camels across the front lawn.
3. It's actually a pretty desert. If you've ever driven through Nevada you know what an ugly place the desert can be. (Sorry Nevada) But Arizona actually has the pretty red rock, the Saguaro cactus (that bloom really pretty blooms) and lots of other cactus that add color  to the scenery. And it all is so beautiful against the Arizona Blue sky. Arizona's skies are beautiful and different than other places I've been.
4. The sky. Ok Sunsets at the beach are petty but Arizona Sunsets are the bomb.com. They are all that and a bag of chips. And yeah it's the pollution, but seriously, you have got to see the sunsets. To see these skies check out my cousin Libby's facebook page  Hello From New River. She takes really beautiful photos of New River, AZ where she lives.
   
5. Public Pools. Ok I don't know if the prices are the same but when I was younger the price to get into the pool as a kid was like $.50 and a $1.50 as an adult. Somewhere around there. Oh and after 6pm it was $.25 for everyone. I remember that because we used to go with our friends sometimes. So I was shocked, SHOCKED, when I took these kids I was babysitting to a public pool in Utah and it was $5 per person and $10 if you wanted to use the wave rider. It was crazy! My best friend and I would go to Cactus Park at least once a week to go swimming when I was younger. That would not be possible in other places I have realized. Perhaps it is seen as a public service to keep people from dying from heat. I don't know but I loved it.
6. Castles and Coasters. I know what you're thinking "Really?" But yes. It's probably mostly nostalgia but I love that place. I have lots of good memories from there with family and friends. Also the log ride people. It's the best ride there and if you go at the right time no one is in line and they just let you stay on forever.
7. Water parks. Water World (I just can't call it Wet N' Wild, it will always be Water World in my heart) & Sunsplash are awesome. (I have never been to Big Surf) Not just nostalgia this time I have not actually been to water parks better than them. Plus Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was partly filmed at Sunsplash

   

   I took this picture at Sunsplash in 2007 in the Lazy River.

   and that's one of the greatest movies ever made. I digress. Other water parks I've been to have been way crowded, not just with people but I feel like the rides are so close together. And you have to rent tubes even for the lazy river. So that means people are SWIMMING in the LAZY river. Sorry but it's not called the "kind of lazy" river. And then if you do get a tube your constantly drowning the small children that are swimming in there without a tube. Tubes should be in the lazy river free of charge (and not be allowed taken other places understandably). I'm probably going to start a change.org petition about this.
8. Northern Arizona. It's really pretty you guys and if you just can't stomach the heat anymore down in Phoenix, Flagstaff is just a 2 hour drive away. Or one of the other numerous small towns in Arizona. It's really lovely. I love that most of Arizona is a lot of small towns.
9. The down hominess of it. I don't really know how to describe this very well but I think it relates to the chillness of the people I mentioned in #1. I just feel like even though I was from this huge sprawling metropolis of Phoenix and the surrounding areas, things were...It's really hard for me to describe. People take their time to do things... But I mean idk hopefully Arizona people understand what I mean. It just had a nice feeling for the most part.
10. Maybe you will say I'm cheating and that 10 is the same as number one but I think they are different. 10 is that my family is mostly all there. All but one of my siblings and their family live there. And I have lots of extended family there. And that's where I feel most comfortable is with them. They are my people and I love them. 

So I haven't shunned Arizona forever, maybe we could live in Northern Arizona one day, but never Phoenix.