So you’re Visiting The Valley…
Phoenix is a hotspot, pun intended. It’s the fifth largest city in the United States and the eighth wonder of the world in my eyes. It’s also a crossroads for many other destinations such as Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and just about anywhere around the west coast. Southwest Airlines loves us, what can we say? Oh and we’re near the Grand Canyon, people love The Grand Canyon, which I have never been to… but I have been to Grand Avenue (if you know you know.)
Our church is also host to The Antioch Meeting every July. Why host in July? Well, we’re here anyways so might as well have something to look forward to when it’s 120 degrees outside. Surprisingly, people do brave the heat and tend to make a sort of vacation out of it.
Inevitably when someone is passing through or visiting, they will ask me what they should do in the valley. And my first answer is usually, “Uhhh Caramba’s and get the mini chimi’s with fundido sauce.” While this is a solid answer and where you will usually find us, there are tons of exciting and unique places to go in our beautiful valley. Like Popo’s! Get the Mexican pizza. As you can probably tell, we are second to none when it comes to (American) Mexican food.
What I love about Phoenix is that there’s something for everyone. Here is a short list of places that we personally enjoy and bring our guests to. These are specifically targeted towards people with families or bringing a group, but can also be enjoyed with a just a couple of people.
Organ Stop Pizza
This is probably the number one place we will bring guests if we have time and especially if they have children. This is a restaurant with okay pizza and superb entertainment. A man comes out of the floor playing a century old pipe organ, what more can I say? It’s gimmicky, but it’s super fun and unique. It’s very family friendly and there’s seating for large groups.
No gatekeeping around here folks! Reclectic is an Anthropologie outlet located in the Arizona Mills Mall. It is actually overwhelming how much inventory they have. It is pretty well organized though, but you could easily spend hours here. Make sure to closely look at anything you purchase because some of these items are returns, so there’s a higher chance of imperfections.
The hottest boardwalk you’ve ever been to in your life. Thankfully all of the attractions are indoors. There’s a ton to do, but really we just go for the aquarium. It is one of the best that I’ve been to, and I randomly love aquariums so that has to mean something- right? There's a butterfly conservatory (SWELTERING), a dinosaur walkthrough (boring for adults, cool for kids) and a ton of things for groups and kids.
The absolute best escape room we’ve ever done. It is beyond interactive and immersive. My husband and I accidentally found this place and were blown away because we were expecting your run of the mill escape room. The owner is a former Disney Imagineer and currently teaches a class at ASU on creating immersive experiences. He and his wife are also mormon, which is a benefit because of the clean and wholesome aspect. This is the Disneyland of escape rooms. There’s a special way to even get to this place… but I won’t spoil it for you.
Westgate Entertainment district
This is a collection of restaurants and entertainment. A lot of people enjoy Chicken ‘N Pickle, which is where you can play pickleball and eat. There’s a mini golf course by Tiger Woods called PopStroke. Again, great for groups. Top Golf is right down the street as well along with Tanger Outlets. What’s great about Westgate is that there’s a ton of options for food so if you’ve got a crowd you could potentially split up according to taste and then meet in a central spot. This is also where we recommend people to stay when visiting for a VPC event because it’s about 15 minutes from the church and a relatively safe spot. I personally life the ramen restaurant there, pray it makes it folks. So many restaurants at Westgate come and go. May it stand strong with Dutch Bro’s!
caramba’s
My husband around age 5 or 6
Look, we’ve been going here a looong time… like before I was born. It really is where we bring everyone. It’s a Garrett staple. If you don’t see us, you’ll probably see someone from VPC.
If you are visiting, I hope you fall in love with the valley just like I did years ago.
Thank you for reading and thank you for being you!
