For the past two days, I was in sunny, sunny Phoenix attending a conference one of my brokerage firms was putting on. I had never been to a conference before and now I am hooked, I need more conferences in sunny locations, preferably when St. Louis is blanketed in snow and ice. After attending and talking with other attendees, I was surprised (and a bit relieved) to find out that my firm is not the only one in the Stone Age and that others have the same aggravating problems that I have to deal with on a daily basis. Of course, with the entire operations department at this conference (the two of us), our office did not fare so well so I’m thinking they won’t be sending us anywhere else anytime in the future. How sad.
We stayed at the Arizona Biltmore and I was in awe at the beauty of the grounds. The pools looked absolutely amazing and I wished I had the time to relax poolside. Everywhere you looked, you can see the Frank Lloyd Wright influence, which I am a fan of. It is a shame that I didn’t bring my camera or else you would know what I was talking about. I’m thinking next time Bob and I visit his aunt and uncle, we may have to steal a couple of nights there.
While there, we were also taken to a couple of wonderful restaurants nearby. For lunch we drove two blocks (it was 110 degrees outside and I was wearing a black suit) to Keegan’s Grill. It was a good bar and grill and I had an excellent Asian salad. Now, for dinner we went to the Capital Grille, this amazing steakhouse. I had a filet encrusted with crushed Kona coffee beans, omigod, so freakin’ good! I wished I could have brought it home but I ended up leaving it in the hotel fridge. So, surprise, housekeeping, you get a half-eaten steak. And the side dishes (a la carte, of course) were great as well. They were served family-style so I was able to try a bit of everything. I really do like being wined and dined.
But as much as I had a blast, I was happy to be back. I’m really not one that likes to stray too far from the comforts of home.