After finishing up visiting the four amazing National Parks, we rolled into Peoria, AZ (north of Phoenix) at the home of Melinda’s cousin Beth and her husband Ben. Thanks to their incredible hospitality, we had a relaxing and fun weekend. We were debating a 4 Star or 5 Star B&B Rating when Beth brought out the chocolate chip cookies. No more debate – a 5 Star B&B Rating.

As part of their house, there is a separate casita that was our home for three nights. Stargazer is great, but the casita was amazing. Even with temperatures over 90, we staid cool and had great nights sleeping.

Beth’s sister Chris was also visiting, so on Saturday Ben took Chris and us (including Otto) on a hike to a hilltop above Lake Pleasant (an enormous manufactured lake). On the way up Otto flicked a jumping cholla cactus from his back onto my thumb. It went in deep and Ben had to come to my rescue by pulling it out. Needles remained and Melinda extracted those. I survived and was the butt of many jokes.

In the afternoon we went out to lunch at a local cowboy restaurant followed by ice cream. I had Prickly Pear. Hmmm, hmmm, good!

Sunday all of us celebrated Easter along with another one of Beth’s sisters, Patti, and her husband, Dave. The meal was incredible and everyone had fun telling stories. Lots of time was dedicated to helping us plan the next phase of our trip. As I will report later, they hit a home run with their suggestions.

After saying good bye to Beth and Ben and reporting their B&B Rating, we headed to the Phoenix Botanical Garden Chihuly in the Desert Exhibit. Dale Chihuly once lived in RI and taught at RI School of Design. He revolutionized the studio glass movement. The exhibit taught us a great deal about his art, as well as desert plants. What a way to wrap up an amazing weekend.