I could live here. Scottsdale is a sun lover’s, walker’s, shopper’s, and hiker’s paradise. I spent 2 days walking the Old Town area in mid-January with temperatures in the upper 60’s. For those looking for nightlife, the Entertainment District is the place. (I chose to stay one night near that district and got a pretty cruddy night’s sleep from the wafting of fantastic music and glorious laughter.) 5th Avenue Shops are full of unique, useful, and exquisite clothing, jewelry, home goods, and food. For classic car enthusiasts, Scottsdale is home to America’s #1 attraction for car lovers, Barrett-Jackson’s classic car auction. Camelback Mountain is a prominent area landmark and is a destination for hiking and rock climbing. Scottsdale is for the young, the old, the business traveler, the blogger, the retired, and the reluctant solo traveler.

Few things relax me more than soaking in a hot tub while listening to an Audible book or podcast. I had access to travel rewards points and booked the Marriott in Oldtown Scottsdale, with a hot tub, for my first night’s stay. I would be paying for the second and third nights so I searched for less expensive accommodations, with hot tubs.

After a comfortable night at the Marriott, I dragged my roller bag a few blocks to the Hilton Garden Inn. I spent the afternoon poolside and as the sun began to set, I walked to the hot tub area to find it had been concreted in. I said bad words in my mind and went up to the room to dress more warmly and returned to the courtyard area to sit by a firepit.

There were 2 couples already seated. (They were in town for the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction.) To avoid disturbing them I kept headphones in-ear listening to an Audible book, kept laptop open, and sat on the opposite side of the firepit. After about 15 minutes, two adventurous young ladies joined. (They were in town to complete an exercise certification and had hiked an, unexpectedly treacherous, Camelback Mountain trail earlier that day.) They were wrapped in towels, chilled, and were complaining that the hotel’s online pictures had displayed images of a hot tub. “There is no hot tub!” I looked up and expressed my agreement with their disappointment. The Barrett-Jackson couples laughed along as we made sarcastic jabs at the hotel for “false hot tub marketing.”

One of the adventurous young ladies asked if I minded telling her what I was working on. I briefly told her about the blog, and about the Audible book, Boundaries by Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, and mentioned the correlation I was making between adventure, personal internal boundaries, and gaining relief from fear and anxiety. Then the Barrett-Jackson ladies, the adventurous young ladies, and I had fun and enlightening conversations and made connections around our common struggles with fear and anxiety.

The air was getting cooler and I was tired and hungry so I let the ladies know I was going to grab a Marie Callender chicken pot pie from the hotel snack shop to take to the room for dinner and expressed my appreciation for the visit. One of the adventurous young ladies said, “I like your style.”

Was she commenting on my dinner choice? My blog? My love of hot tubs? My beloved Patagonia jacket that I was wearing and never leave home without? I am not sure. It felt like a genuine compliment so I chose to respond with a genuine, “Thank you.” Then purchased TWO chicken pot pies and ate them in the room. It was another good ending to another good day.

“I never made a damn dime until I started doing what I wanted.” – Carroll Shelby