Gilbert Riparian Preserve

Today mom and I visited the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

As we walked around the ponds, we saw lots of ducks

a small turtle

some sandpipers

egrets

and lots of wildflowers 

Apache Trail

A must-do drive in the Phoenix area is the Apache Trail. It's a scenic road that winds from Apache Junction, past Canyon Lake,

then to Tortilla Flat. We stopped here for an ice cream and to walk around a bit.

From there the road changes to gravel. In good weather you can drive a regular car on it. There's a nice lookout (Fish Creek Vista) where you can walk around.

We saw lots of spring wildflowers along the route, including lupins and poppies.

We also liked the different rock formations.

The gravel road continues until you reach Apache Lake, 

Then the road changes back to pavement,  and you exit near Roosevelt Dam. 

This road can also be driven the opposite direction.

Goldfield Ghost Town and Mine

I've driven past here many times when driving the Apache Trail, but never stopped before. Today I decided to stop. While it's as much of a tourist trap as I expected, there was also a lot to see.

Japanese Friendship Garden - Phoenix

Today we visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix. It's quite small, but is also very serene and peaceful. 

Desert Botanical Gardens - Phoenix

Since I have family in town visiting, I get to play tourist in my own city. Today we visited the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Poppies at Bartlett Lake

We drove out to Bartlett Lake today to see the poppies and other desert wildflowers.

Caribbean Cruise w/ Panama Canal (January 3-16, 2026)

We decided to start the new year with a partial Panama Canal Cruise that includes several Caribbean islands and Latin American ports. This map shows our itinerary (except visiting Curacao instead of Bonaire).

All of these locations are new destinations for me, except Limon Costa Rica, and I was there way back in 1988, so I'm sure it has changed!

Days 0-1: Fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Days 2-3: At Sea

Day 4: Aruba

Day 5: Curacao

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Cartagena, Colombia

Day 8: Panama Canal  / Panama City

Day 9: Limon, Costa Rica

Day 10: At Sea

Day 11: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 12: At Sea

Day 13: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida/home

Days 0-1: Fort Lauderdale

Day 0: Travel to Fort Lauderdale

Today was primarily a travel day, so I counted it as Day 0, which allowed all the other days to synch with the cruise itinerary days.

Our flight arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 4 pm, giving us time to see a bit of the beach and Hollywood broadwalk.

We booked one night at the Tiana Beach Inn, which is only one block from Hollywood beach broadwalk.

After wandering up and down the beach, we saw the moon rise over the ocean.

Then we enjoyed some tuna nachos at Oceans 13 before heading back to our room for the night.

Day 1: Begin cruise

We spent a bit of time at the beach/walking the broadwalk this morning before we checked out of our room.

After checking out of our hotel, we caught a Lyft to Port Everglades.

There were a bunch of ships in port,  so traffic was bad and it was a bit chaotic, but we weren't in line very long, given how busy it was. Once we were on board, we relaxed with a drink and had lunch.

A balcony room was a bit pricier than we wanted to spend on this trip, so we booked an aft room with a porthole.

The location was great (next to the aft pool, bars, buffet for early morning coffee). This room felt really really small though, but there was ample storage.

There was a bit of a delay leaving the port, then we said goodbye to Fort Lauderdale and headed out to sea.