On Monday, November 11th we checked into the Sonesta Suites Scottsdale situated in the heart of Scottsdale’s exclusive Gainey Ranch neighborhood for three nights. It was the celebration of the ’69 Mets 50th Reunion, and 9 Engineers from the Metallurgical Department at UBC along with their wives arrived for Happy Hour on the patio greeted by our hosts Alex and Karen Currie and the reminiscing began. Then it was a short walk to dinner at the Famous 48 Restaurant. The Famous 48 Local Kitchen & Bar gives a nod to Arizona, the 48th state, and we all enjoyed the American classics and favorite Arizona dishes prepared with the highest quality and freshest ingredients in season.
The next morning started early with yoga on the lawn led by yours truly. Then it was off to the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve for a hike in the desert. The Preserve encompasses some 30,500 acres contiguously, and is the largest urban park in the USA. We did a nice hike on the Lost Dog Wash Trail one of the 180 miles of trails within the Preserve. We ate lunch at a restaurant near the hotel and then some of us went off to do some shopping at Cosanti, where there is a collection of bronze and ceramic windbells, bowls and planters, individually handcrafted by Artists in Arizona. The bronze Windbell Gallery features an awe-inspiring collection of handcrafted, one-of-a-kind bells, and each Cosanti Windbell’s color pattern, hand-carved motif, luminosity and sound are unique. Sue and Lloyd became the proud owners of one of these windbells, and it will travel back to Australia with them to enjoy for years. In the evening we drove to Old Town Scottsdale to see the Scottsdale Canal Convergence-Art-Water and Light Show. Dinner was at The Herb Box in Old Town Scottsdale, an innovative American menu served in a hip country-style setting with a large patio. Our group of 18 took over the patio and enjoyed the many innovative world creations, the essence of The Herb Box is the quest for perfection and we certainly all experienced it in the many savory dishes we enjoyed.
The next morning we were out early to meet our guides to go on a Wild West Jeep Tour of the Sonoran Desert, who led us on a fascinating and educational tour of the desert. As we hiked along the desert trail our two guides explained about all the different and interesting types of cactus plants along the way. They both were characters and made the hike really fun and interesting. After returning to the hotel we walked over to the Currie’s place for a farewell dinner. Thank you Alex and Karen for a well organized and wonderful Reunion for all of us who attended. The next Reunion is scheduled for 2022 in BC hosted by Wayne and Jan Peace.
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