Ahhh. ARIZONA! The last state I visited for this trip. I got to visit Sharleen, who is (gasp) another friend I met on exchange. 🙂 I’ve already visited her once, last May, in Philadelphia when I attended her graduation. We also went to New York for two days in May 2010. But this time, I got to visit her in her hometown of Scottsdale, AZ. I hadn’t been to Arizona since I was 9- visiting the Grand Canyon with my family. So it was really nice to see cacti again. I am sad; however, since I didn’t get to see any tumbleweed!

First meal in Arizona? In-N-Out. Oh yes 🙂 Imagine my excitement when I found out they had In-N-Outs in Arizona 🙂

Saguaro cacti, with holes…

We got to visit the Railway Park in Scottsdale too…

Took a ride around the park on a train. Sharleen and I were definitely the oldest people on the train who didn’t have children. Ahaha.

Mini tracks and mini railroad crossing sign …

I loved this tree <3

Sharleen is a cactus?

Also <3 this tree…

Isn’t this the coolest library entrance EVER? The exterior was made of rusted metal.

A cool tree (palo verde?) at Taliesin West

Taliesin West. Where Frank Lloyd Wright (an architect) lived, worked and taught in the winter months 🙂 He had another home in Wisconsin.

Citrus grove

After touring Taliesin West, we visited the nearby city of Fountain Springs- where, as the name suggests, there is a GIANT fountain that goes off for 15 min. on the hour, every hour 🙂

The fountain really was huge!

Aw. Cacti need support too 🙂

My lunch at True Food Kitchen. I mainly took this picture to show my mom that I ate VEGETABLES! Their dressing for the kale salad was pretty tasty 🙂 [Coming from me, the most anti-vegetable person ever, that’s gotta mean something!]

🙂 Such a cool lamp. Inside Anthropologie, of course.

Trail xing signs were a common sight in Scottsdale 🙂

Ooh. And since I had never been to a teppanyaki before, Sharleen took me to one!

Our chef. Who was -hilarious-

Frying fried rice!

He set our plates on fire!

This couple at our table was celebrating their anniversary, so our chef shaped the rice into a heart shape!

And he did cool tricks…

🙂 I had the calamari steak. Such deliciousness.

GIANT FLAME. He also made an onion volcano/train… So amazing.

🙂 Coming up: Arizona, Part 2. And portraits in Sedona! <3