A Nice Pinball Surprise in Surprise

 Surprise, AZ

I don't always take selfies in the restroom but when I do it's with Dana, Zuul, and The Keymaster.

Pinball Tournament in Surprise

This morning my brother in law, Josh, and I drove, what seemed like half way to Las Vegas, to play in a pinball tournament at Player 1 Arcade in Surprise, AZ.  It ended up being totally worth it.  The people were great and the director was great.  They even paused after round 2 (before anyone was knocked out) to give away Stern Banners, Starbucks Gift Certificates, Beer Mugs, and other things.  I didn't win anything but Josh was a winner.

They had cameras on the playfields with monitors above showing the action.  You could watch players play while still standing back.

The spin to win feature was really fun.  I think more than half of the players won somehting.

Josh won a Miller Light Holiday Pom Beanie (an $18 value!)

One of the bathroom walls had an Oingo Boingo mural.

The Member Mug Club had nice lockers attached to a dry cleaning track.  Members would use the button to rotate the rack and get their mug.

It was a 3 strikes tournament.  3rd and 4th got 1 strike and 3 strikes and yer out!  I did really well.  Sadly I had a terrible ball on my 2nd game of Rush and I tilted my 2nd ball during Multiball on Stranger Things.

I was tied for 7th.  You can see I finished above #525 and #256 and #328 in The World.  I will take it!

It was a really fun tournament and I will play in it once more before we leave for Las Vegas.  I think Josh really enjoyed his time too and will be playing in it again.

That's it for today.  If you missed The Phoenix Art Museum, check it out.

The Phoenix Art Museum

 Phoenix. AZ

Phoenix Art Museum

Today we used our NARM membership to visit The Phoenix Art Museum.  There were some great exhibits and I am sure we will be back before we leave.

Luckily this dinosaur was caged so we were safe.

Cihuateotl with Mirror from Private Landscapes and Public Territories - Amalia Mesa-Bains

An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio - Amalia Mesa-Bains
This installation pays homage to the famous Mexican actress Dolores del Rio.

What the River Gave to Me - Amalia Mesa-Bains

Fireflies Infinity Mirror Room - Yayoi Kusama

Female Bather With Raised Arms - Pablo Picasso

Untitled - Alexander Archipenko

We have been to a few museums that display Joan Miro along with Alexander Calder.

Pink Abstraction - Georgia O'Keeffe

Tensions - Emil Bisttram

Dive Bombing - George L. K. Morris

White Buffalo Ceremony - Fritz Scholder

City Dynamism - Raymond Jonson

Job - Alphonse Marie Mucha

Ambassadeurs: Arstide Bruant - Henry Marie Raymond De Toulouse-Lautrec

Memling: After Memling's Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat - Kehinde Wiley

This might be the first time Donna considered running out of a museum with an arm full of clothes.

Untitled (Blue and Green) - Mark Rothko

The gift shop had this awesome Keith Haring chess set.  I don't play chess, I don't need a chess set, but it was cool.  "I don't know how to play chess, but to me, life is like a game of chess" - Thierry Guetta

On the way out I saw the restroom graphics and the man graphic reminded me of something.

Klaus Nomi

That's it for today.  If you missed The Best Botanic Garden in the Country? and a Tiki Bar, check it out.

The Best Botanic Garden in the Country? and a Tiki Bar

 Phoenix, AZ

A selfie with a succulent Christmas Tree!

Desert Botanical Garden

This morning we got up and had our coffee and then headed over to the Desert Botanical Garden on the outskirts of Phoenix.  We have been here once before and have wanted to come back ever since.  It's a fantastic Botanical Garden, maybe the best in the US.  If there is a better one I want to see it.  Apparently I didn't take many photos. I guess I was too into all the cool cactus and birds.  We will be back and I will take more photos.

Currently there is an awesome Fernando Botero tie in with some of his statues and a gallery with his paintings. I had never seen his paintings so this was very cool.  Sadly he passed just before the exhibit opened.

Dancers - Fernando Botero

Sunflowers - Fernando Botero
His homage to Vincent Van Gogh

Man with Guitar - Fernando Botero

I really enjoyed seeing the Botero paintings and learning more about him.  We have seen works by him during our travels but it was nice seeing a collection all together.

Captain's Cabin Tiki Bar

Later in the evening we met up with Sophie and Josh and went to Captain's Cabin, a tiki bar within Hula's Modern Tiki Bar.  We had some good drinks, some good laughs, and a great basket of French Fries.

We were 2nd in line.  It is a tiny space so we wanted to get there just before opening.

I had a Peppermint Mai-Tai to celebrate the holiday season

That's it for today.  If you missed Setting Up for a State Completion, check it out.