Rocking Things To Do

Ever tried to rent a car around any major holiday when you are on vacation? Well there are very few and it’s pricey when you find one. That is a peek at Phoenix in March when spring training baseball gets swinging and the weather is ideal.

Athletes warm up the arms for yet another promising summer of baseball. Crowds fill the seats as they enjoy typical event fare and try to keep from getting mean Arizona sunburns.

Referred to fondly to as the Cactus League, we still have 12 teams coming to Arizona for Spring Training. These are the teams for the 2008 roster: Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers and there are three teams that head to Tucson for practice including Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, and Colorado Rockies.

This is a great time to bring your umbrella, grab a patch of grass and enjoy a spring day in a watercolor setting of the Arizona landscape.

Lorri Mitchell Bandwidth Rock Magazine 2008

Rocking Places to See

There are numerous day trips around our state that are definitely a slice of heaven on earth. One of those places I enjoy most is Sedona, Arizona. It’s also my Mothers favorite destination in the state. So if we put our bias opinions aside you will find many more ready to line up for the same perspective. I will give you an insider’s view of this amazing land.

Sedona is one of Arizona's most popular destinations. It is set amongst towering sandstone cliffs that truly glow with an energized red hue. Just north of town is Oak Creek Canyon with its own dramatic beauty, swimming holes, natural rock slides and camping in its cool forest.

Established in 1902 by one Theodore Schnebly, and named after his wife, Sedona remained for most of the twentieth century a small farming settlement, unmarked on most maps. German surrealist painter Max Ernst moved here in the 1940s – the bizarre backdrops of his later canvases seem less surreal once you've seen where they were painted – and Hollywood movie-makers filmed in the area from the 1950s onward. However, Sedona's big break came in 1981, when Page Bryant, author and psychic, "channeled" the information that Sedona is in fact "the heart chakra of the planet." Since she pinpointed her first vortex – a point at which, it is claimed, psychic and electromagnetic energies can be channeled for personal and planetary harmony – the town has achieved its own personal growth, and blossomed as a focus for New Age practitioners of all kinds.
If you don't have much time to spend exploring, a cruise along US-89A enables you to see most of the sights, albeit from a distance; the best parts are south along Hwy-179 within Coconino National Forest. The closest vortex to town is on Airport Mesa; turn left up Airport Road from US-89A as you head south, about a mile past the downtown junction known as the "Y". The vortex is at the junction of the second and third peaks, just after the cattle grid. Further up, beyond the precariously sited airport, the Shrine of the Red Rocks looks out across the entire valley.

The stunning natural beauty of the area combined with its relaxed atmosphere has drawn many artists to the area. Art galleries are numerous, offering many varieties of art in all price ranges.

Sedona is located 120 miles north of Phoenix in Arizona's central mountains. The options of things to do abound: Adventure trips, Balloon flights, Biking, Fishing, Golfing, Horseback Riding, off road, and still there are some I’ve left off.

Take a peek at the pictures of this angelic place on earth Sedona is a beautiful destination worthy of your next trip.

Lorri Mitchell Bandwidth Rock Magazine 2008

Rocking Places to Eat

There are many choice places to eat in Phoenix which make it is difficult to suggest just one at a time.

Let me start with a little vacation story. We traveled to Illinois over Labor Day and stayed close to Chicago in a charming small town, Naperville. In the heart of downtown is a river walk with brick lined paths winding around the DuPage River. Streets are filled with small shops and there was a festival celebrating the end of summer. Marty Casey and the Lovehammers were playing what a cool rock bonus.

This little town was amazing however we had no clue where to eat. When you are on vacation its precarious figuring out where to eat, unless it’s a chain. Using many of our tactics from asking people where to go and looking for lines outside places awarded us with decent pizza and some other okay meals during our long weekend. On the day we headed back to Phoenix, we had packed our bags and on the way to the airport wanted to have breakfast. Conveniently at the end of the street where the hotel was sat was a little restaurant, looked nice from the outside, mom and pop diner we thought. Upon entry we knew it must be decent because there were so many people waiting to sit down and the staff was hopping. We noticed a machine juicing oranges and liking fresh fruit as I do, this was a good thing.

Walking to our booth I peeked at the food around the tables and it looked fantastic. We hit the jackpot when we arrived at Butterfield’s. This was a family owned pancake house with two Illinois locations. There was all the regular breakfast fare at first glance however with closer look you would see they offer spinach and feta omelet’s, German pancakes baked to order, fresh fruit boats which had not only melon and grapes but fresh berries, pineapple, and a banana if you wanted it. This was a fresh, original, menu but not weird, delightful. There was also a small lunch menu if you wanted a sandwich.

I ordered an omelet which came with bread or pancakes, and hash browns which you can substitute for fruit if you prefer. The food arrived within minutes it seemed and the pancakes lightly dusted with powdered sugar, so pretty but that’s not all, they were the best I’d ever had Fresh ingredients, everything was cooked perfectly, just as ordered. The staff was so amenable and kind I thought only in the Midwest which sent me dreaming of the next visit to Illinois.

Yes I remember this is a Phoenix review. Some months later I was traveling on Shea Blvd. west off the 101 freeway and the building that was Coco’s now proudly displayed a Butterfields sign. Wait, I was at home not on vacation, but yes, the sign did say Butterfields. The next weekend morning I went to Butterfields and who was inside, the brothers from Illinois had opened a restaurant here in the valley. I was thrilled and every time I get a chance to eat breakfast out on the town this is where I go. I don’t believe I’ve found a place with as much personal charm and welcoming staff or breakfast fare that can top what this family has put together.

I will use the adage, RUN don’t walk to Butterfields.

Butterfields Pancake House and Restaurant

Hours are M-Su 6am-3pm

Scottsdale
7388 E. Shea Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
(480) 951-6002

Lorri Mitchell Bandwidth Rock Magazine 2008