This summer, I joined a few teacher friends on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. As math teachers, they were going to attend a math-y conference there, so I tagged along. We stayed at a beautiful resort, and while they were in trainings and meetings all day, I held down a lounge chair at the pool. It was the absolute best conference I’ve ever attended. Plus, I learned several things that are somewhat share-worthy. (This will be a 2-part series since my sharing tends to get wordy. Sorry, not sorry.)

The first few things I learned are important yet simple:

Airplane Biscoff is the BEST! Especially when it counts as your lunch and dinner
Scottsdale and Phoenix are beautiful! I definitely want to bring my family here to explore one day.
I am not as young as I once was.
Departing from Atlanta, I endured four plus hours waiting on a thrice delayed flight. If this had happened 10 years ago, I would have made a friend or two, played cards, or been content to chill out and read. This time, at 43 years old, I was not amused. In fact, I was cranky. I passed the time alternating between avoiding socialization and walking around the airport in circles to get my steps in.
When I arrived in Phoenix, it was dark and near midnight. I picked up my rental car ready to head to the resort. However, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to start the dang car. There was no key, but there was a button that said “PUSH to Start.” I pushed it, and…. nothing. I tried a zillion different things and finally figured out I had to push the break AND the button simultaneously to get the car to start. Who decided THAT was a great way to start a car?!?! Overall, the whole concept is ridiculous, they should have included clear directions, and I am old.

While following the voice on Google Maps to the Scottsdale resort, I had a flashback to trips years ago I had taken to Orlando and New Orleans. I recalled driving unfamiliar cars on unfamiliar streets and feeling a bit like a pirate on an adventure. At twenty-something years old, I remember feeling a bit scared, but mostly excited and free and… powerful??... if that makes sense. I was a strong, independent woman on a mission! This time, though, I was completely overwhelmed and anxious, and I asked myself several times why I had even left home. And in the middle of all this remembering and questioning, while also driving and trying to follow directions, I told myself, “Hailey, you need to get out more.”

4. Old school paper & pencil still work pretty well.
One of the (few) things I wanted to accomplish while in Scottsdale was writing and working on my blog. The first morning at the resort, I set up a little writing situation at the desk in my hotel room, but when I unzipped my bookbag to grab my laptop, I discovered it was gone. Not there. No laptop to be found. I had left it at the security checkpoint in Atlanta. I said a few choice words, banged my head on the desk a few times, and then filled out a “LOST or MISSING ITEM” report online. Next, I went to the pool. I mean, there was nothing else to do but wait for my $500 laptop to be recovered at the busiest airport in the world. I figured the pool was the best place to pass the time.

Several days later, I received notification that my laptop was found and would be shipped to my house. GREAT news (and a definite answer to much prayer), but I was still computer-less in Arizona. Though I wasn’t upset about the prospect of changing my writing plan and spending some extra time at the pool, I ultimately decided to adhere to my original writing plan using old school pen and paper. It was slow going, and my handwriting has definitely deteriorated over the past five years, but I actually enjoyed it! I rediscovered the satisfaction of filling up a lined page and the simple joy of using fine-tip pens in various vivid colors. So just as a public service announcement, the next time you’re in a tight spot or technology fails you (or in a moment of utter stupidity, you fail you), just know that many old school tricks and tools do, still, indeed, work.

Okay, so this is Part 1. Part 2 will be posted next! Stay tuned!

Phoenix Trip: Part 1

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