Our lazy weekend continued today, but the excitement of the day was certainly not laid back. My sister, Jenn, was in town for a conference and had a lot of free time today before flying back to Albuquerque. Our original plan was to meet her for brunch and then relax together at the pool. Brunch ended up falling through since Jenn had been up early in the morning and just couldn't fight back her hunger pains any longer. Heather and I grabbed the best lazy weekend breakfast we could; an "Everything" bagel with Jalapeño cream cheese from Einstein Bros. Bagels; and made our way to the Arizona Biltmore where Jenn was staying.That was the other great part about the day. The Arizona Biltmore is one of the most prestigious resorts in Arizona. Nestled in next to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve the Biltmore has a very "Frank Lloyd Wright-ish" style to it, however he wasn't the architect of the hotel. The real architect behind this luxurious place was Albert Chase McArthur, but Frank Lloyd Wright did provide on-site consulting for four months in 1928 relating to the masonry unit "Textile Block" construction.¹ McArthur's style is so similar to that of Wright's though that many people (including myself until today) confuse it with FLW.
The owners of the Biltmore have not exactly helped the issue though, adding numerous pieces of FLW artwork and styles throughout the hotel. They even converted the original hotel solarium into a restaurant named Wright's. Regardless of who built the buildings they are amazing. And as a beautiful counterpart to these buildings the grounds of the Biltmore are very well laid out with fountains, flowers, luxurious pools and even a larger-than-life chess board! It is not often that we get to experience the "high life" like this so we took the time to walk around and take it all in.
Jenn introduced us to her coworkers and her boss who are all in town for a Chiropractor Convention. I was thinking it was the perfect place for me to be since my lower back has been bothering me a bit lately, but I decided against trying to beg for a free adjustment. Instead we cooled off in the water and talked with Jenn whom we haven't seen since Easter. It was comforting to see a family member but it also makes you miss the rest of your family. Heather is heading back home for her Bridal Shower later this month and I know she is looking forward to seeing her family. We had such a great time though and got to even play on the water slide, my favorite thing about the hotel!Unfortunately our visit with Jenn couldn't last all day. Her and her coworkers had a flight to catch back to Albuquerque at 3pm. Instead of entrusting their lives with the local taxi service they opted to put their lives in my hands cramming all six of us into my Tacoma for the quick drive to the airport. After a short drive and a long hug we said goodbye to my sister and her friendly coworkers.
Ahhh... snap back to reality. Dishes need done, kitchen needs cleaned, and laundry is piling up. Ugh. Well at least it was a lazy weekend most of the time._______________________
¹Wikipedia: "Arizona Biltmore Hotel"
2 comments:
What a great weekend you had! And wonderful that you got to see Jenn.
Did you know that Romie and I are big fans of FLW? We've visited his home and studio in Oak Park, IL and have done the walking tour there. We went to Fallingwater for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2000.
Nice hibiscus photo, too!
Hibiscus! I was trying to think of what kind of flower that was! Last time the whole family came to visit we went out to FLW's Taliesin West and took a tour of it, just beautiful. There are a number of places here in Phoenix that were either built or inspired by him.
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