We were supposed to leave about a day earlier but something about Sean just makes punctuality impossible. We finally left home around 8:30pm and started towards Phoenix.
In Kingman, we stopped for gas. Since it was after 11pm local time (an hour ahead of Vegas time), the place we were planning to get cheap gas was closed. A few miles out on scenic and historic Route 66 though, we went to a Maverik station where I used my Nitro loyalty card thing to get way cheaper gas!
We had a race booked for the following morning in Phoenix so we drove to a QuikTrip about 3 minutes from the race location and finally got some sleep around 3:30 or 4am.
Day 2 - 1/30/16 (The Super Run 5k):
At 8:30am, we got to the park the race was at. Address:
300 East Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ
At 9am, it was time to run the Super Run 5k untimed fun run! I had a couple of wardrobe malfunctions, an untied shoelace I had to stop and fix, and was running on just a few hours of car sleep as usual plus I went the wrong way on the course and ended up doing a bit extra but did I alright anyway. Not as good as Sean WHO WON though!!!!!! Damn, what a beast. No prizes for winning but at least he got bragging rights and we both got cool finisher's medals and super hero capes! We were appropriately dressed as Mario and Luigi (well, wearing hats) for the event too!
After the race, we stopped by a 99 Cent Store to get snacks and refuel ourselves and then continued to IKEA in Tempe to take advantage of free tea and coffee and relax for a bit.
Leaving the IKEA lot, we swung in Main Event there to check on PIU Fiesta 2 and shared a of couple songs someone had left behind. We saved staying and playing for another time though.
We'd bought lots of Groupon and LivingSocial deals for fun things to do (including this morning's race and most of the other random activities mentioned below) recently, taking advantage of their 20% off or so sale days and Ebates cash back offers. One such deal was for:
KTR Family Action Sports Centers
1050 East Pecos Rd
Chandler, AZ
We weren't too far from there so we drove over to use our Groupon but soon found that that was a HUGE mistake as the place was COMPLETELY overrun and packed with kiddies. After a bit of hassle, we managed to get our Groupon refunded (with some profit even!) so we could find something else to do instead.
We'd come up with the brilliant idea of getting gym memberships for places when we visit and don't have other shower arrangements made. This would not only usually make it easier to stay clean and prove cheaper than truck stop showers and easier than finding other washing methods but it'd give us something else fun and healthy to do during downtime when there was nothing else to do during a trip. This time, we'd picked a gym in Scottsdale:
La Camarilla Racquet, Fitness & Swim Club
5320 E Shea Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ
Though the hours weren't ideal, they were better than most of the other options and for the perks, amenities, and price you couldn't beat it, especially after all the discounts we got when booking on Groupon through Ebates! Anyway, we drove there next but traffic was bad and we didn't arrive til after 6:30pm. The place was closing at 7 so we figured we'd just register to get that out of the way, find a place in the area to spend the night, and then walk into the gym without the hassle the next morning. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were turned away. Apparently, they were pretty damn anxious to start closing down and refused to help us. They told us to just come back earlier on a day we were actually planning to use our Groupon. Damn, okay!
We made our way to the nearest QuikTrip after that to pee and get some sleep. It was early but we were kinda pooped and feeling a little defeated anyway. We watched a DVD we'd brought on a DVD player we'd found in the trash a few months prior while sipping a bit of festive beverage and then got some much needed rest.
Day 3 - 1/31/16:
After 3:46am, I couldn't sleep anymore so I played with my phone a bit while Sean slept next to me. Just before 7am, I managed to get him up and we went into QuikTrip for some chicken roller things and a tea.
Then we drove back to the gym to try again. They were open and ready for us this time! We got in and explored. There was so much to see and do! They had an outdoor pool (which I later discovered was heated!), tennis, racquetball, weights, various free (well, included) and paid classes, gender-separated hot tubs, cardio machines, lounge areas, free coffee, and much more. They even provide things like tampons, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, plastic bags for wet and dirty clothes, oranges and grapefruit from nearby trees, occasional other treats like bagels, towels,.. We checked out the class schedule and saw that there was a free spin (cycling) class at 9am. I'd never done a cycling class before but had been curious about trying one for awhile. We had an hour to kill til it started so we worked out in the weight room for awhile first. The spin class was a fun black light class in the dark. It ended up being much harder but just as worthwhile as I'd anticipated. So glad I tried it, though I doubt I'd ever be able to get into it as a regular thing. Maybe just a once in a great while thong when I'm in need of a good butt workout. :p After an hour, we finally finished and went to the main lounge area to relax with some free coffee (for me-Sean doesn't drink it). We played around in the other areas a bit once we recovered and then went for a dip in the warm, salty pool where Sean spent a little time helping me with my swimming. Finally, we both showered and relaxed in the hot tubs in the locker rooms briefly before hanging in the lobby with more coffee. I think we were in the gym a total of about 5 hours before. Wow! Must've been having too much fun.
Leaving the gym, we saw and had a look at a yard sale but didn't find anything worth picking up.
On Groupon, we'd found a deal for 50 percent off deal for a buy/sell/trade new and used sporting goods place called Play It Again Sports in Mesa, AZ. We didn't want to book the deal before seeing what they had and what their prices were but we definitely wanted to go have a look so we drove over, found some weights we wanted, went through Ebates for cash back, and booked a couple of Groupons to buy these for what came to $27 out of pocket (well, $17 after getting $10 off from referring a friend through Groupon)!
We got some extras from a nearby Dollar Tree store to add to and eat with the food we already had from Vegas. Unsure of what to do then, we did a little research and found a really cool trail called the Hieroglyphics Trail which was 35 mins away in a place called the Superstition Wilderness. It was a 2.9 mile out and back trail which actually had petroglyphs and a little waterfall at the turnaround point in addition to tons of great views along the way. The sun was going down but we didn't care. We obviously had to do it! So we drove there and did it. Too cool! :D
Low on multiple types of fuel then, we got a bite at another QuikTrip and filled the gas tank up at Circle K. ($1.63/gallon on 87 at the time and not even the lowest price around!)
We decided we'd done more than our share of exercise for the day by that point so it was time to take another Groupon deal we'd booked to a place called Hookahmania and relax! We were there a couple of hours, shared a hookah between us, used their WiFi to do a little work, lounged on their couches, got an Arabic hot tea, tried a tirimisu and some cheesy baklava-type dessert called kenafe (both yummy!), and it'd only cost us maybe $18 total including tip!!
It was getting late and was raining and pretty windy when we left Hookahmania. We made our way back to the QuikTrip we'd slept at the night before to watch a movie before cuddling up and falling asleep for the night between 3 and 4am.
Day 4 - 2/1/16:
We kinda wanted to do one of the classes at the gym the next morning but were way too tired to get up for it. We still got a good workout when we woke up at 10am and made our way back to the gym again though. Well, we used their lounge and WiFi for a bit to get some work done while I sipped some coffee first but around noon I got on the treadmill and Sean got on some cycle machine with an incorporated video game and we got to exercising! I actually did a 27 min 20 second 5k including 2 to 3 mins of walking to warmup before my run. Not a great time but not bad for me if you take the walking time into consideration! After cardio, we did weights for a couple minutes but weren't feeling it so we went for a swim instead. Sean did 9 lengths of the pool while I practiced what he'd taught me the day before. Then we wrestled in the shallow area a little for laughs, used the locker room hot tubs, showered, worked a bit more in the lounge, and continued on with our day.
To avoid dying of hunger, we went to Del Taco, bought 7 dollar menu things, and got an 8th on free. We were hungry!
We hit up some dollar Monday deals at the nearest Epic Thrift (same one we'd visited last time) then and got quite a few cool things including a couple of tennis rackets to use at the gym over the next few days.
Main Event had a few Monday deals including one worth taking advantage of too: $10 for an all-you-can-play video game day pass. We drove there next and spent the next 4.5 or so hours sharing and pass to play PIU Fiesta 2 before spending another maybe 40 minutes playing other random games there. The passes even worked on ticket redemption games (though it obviously didn't actually pay out the tickets)!
Starving again, we drove to a Walmart where we found crazy cheap chocolate (as well as regular) milk and bought it along with a good amount of canned food to help tide us over for the next few days.
We needed a place to chill and get more work done then so we drove to the Talking Stick Casino to use some seats, WiFi, and outlets. Groupon had another coupon code available then so we booked a few more deals for this and future trips too!
We were soooo tired then but also insanely horny. (It'd been QUITE a few days!) We drove to the nearest QuikTrip to handle both issues then, getting in a little self-satisfaction followed by about 5 hours of sleep.
Day 4 - 2/2/16:
We were so sleepy when we woke up but there was a "Muscle Cardio" class at the gym I wanted to check out so we got up and headed over. The class was nothing like I'd expected. I'd expected big, ripped men doing P90X or something but it was actually a class completely made up of women doing random, easy-looking exercises. We were a little hesitant to join them (especially Sean, being the only guy there) but we'd already come all that way for it so we decided what the heck? And when we got started, we soon realized we'd underestimated these ladies and their exercises. The workouts and stretches they were doing, although we felt they were using a lot of excessive equipment to do it, were pretty challenging and tiring. We couldn't keep up with them! They were happy to help us and delighted to have a guy in the class though! By the end of the class, our butts and other parts were pretty sore and thoroughly worked out. We spent a few minutes unwinding in the lounge then before reserving a tennis court outside and demoing our new rackets!
We'd booked a Groupon deal for food and horse racing at a place called Turf Paradise so we drove there to use that next. It was the first time either of us had been to watch live horse racing! Not long after arriving, we noticed their entry price and prices of grandstand food when they had specials on were actually already extremely cheap but I'm pretty sure we still saved a fair amount with Groupon, discounts, and cash back. We even got a big popcorn, two big fountain drinks, and two big hot dogs included with our deal! Exploring the place, we found tons of outdoor sitting (and standing) options, a small arcade (no music games), bars, a gift shop.. We got our race program (included with the Groupon, otherwise $2?) and two toy horses (2/$1) from the gift shop, got our food, watched the races, drank a couple of cans of wine I'd brought in, placed a couple of bets (and won 1 out of 2 for only a $1.60 total loss! xp). Too fun and so relaxing and such cute horsies too!! Great use of a few hours and a handful of dollars. Haha
Hungry again after the races, we went to a 99 Cent Store for energy drinks and foods to make some crazy sandwiches with before driving to a dining and movies theater called Studio Movie Grill to use a Groupon we'd booked for cheap movie tickets there. We used our tickets watched a horror movie, I guess it was, called The Boy while sipping a couple of Long Island iced teas that were on special that night. Definitely a nice, date-night-like way to spend the evening!
We were both feeling a bit frisky after that so we hunted down a good parking spot on the way back to the Talking Stick Casino and I hopped on Sean's lap in the driver's seat for some very sexy, incredible, adult fun. Omg.........
Noticing we'd ended up in the same parking lot as another 99 Cent Store, we wandered in to find a few more treats before heading over to the Talking Stick to use the same chairs, outlets, and WiFi as the night before! Sean's work took a little longer this time but most of it just entailed him leaving a program he made running while connected to WiFi so once he set that up we were able to watch movies for a bit while waiting for it to finish. Then we made out way back to QuikTrip and got to sleep.
Day 5 - 2/3/16:
We were exhausted when we woke up at 7:10am after about 5 to 5.5 hours of sleep but there we wanted to try our first zumba and yoga classes ever and both were taking place at the gym that morning. Both were free too! So we made our way to the gym and started zumba at 8am. Sean was the only guy in a class again but he did well, everyone loved having him there, and we both had a lot of fun! The class started fast and was upbeat and fast paced throughout. We couldn't get all the dance moves down but we started to catch on and had an awesome time breaking a sweat with everyone there anyway. The music was fantastic, energetic, and awesome too. I need to add it all to my running playlist! At 9am, it was time for the yoga class. There were a few older gentlemen in that class. It was a much more mellow, relaxed, quiet class. The lights were turned off for it and emphasis was on breathing and lots of stretches instead of cardio, sweating, etc. We definitely got stretched out and it definitely relieved some stress but as a general rule it wasn't our thing. Still, so glad we tried both. We did about an hour of work while having a bit of a break from working out then. We got back into it though. Maybe just after 11am, we went to the main weight and cardio room and I ran a couple of miles while Sean did some weights and cycling. Then Sean coached me in the pool for awhile and we both got some swimming practice in. We did even more work in the lounge after hot tubbing and showering. By the time we finally left the gym, nearly 8 hours had passed!
Savers was having a 40% off activewear sale today so we drove to a Savers location northwest of us to find some goodies and walked out with a pair of pants for me and a few other useful things too.
Then we drove to a Starbucks near Talking Stick to use a gift card we had for a frappuccino and a tea and steal some WiFi to get a little work done.
We revisited the PIU NX machine and 2 Guitar Hero machines in the Tempe Dave & Buster's just to have a peek after that. A credit and a song were left in PIU. Obviously, we played those before heading out. :p
Dave & Buster's @ Tempe Marketplace
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy
Tempe, AZ 85281
We'd booked $30 in food and beverage value for a gaming bar in downtown Tempe called Endgame so we drove there next. The gaming there was free. It was just the foods and drinks they charged for. They'd already stopped serving food for the night when we arrived though so we just had a look around this time and saved the Groupon deal for another time.
Super tired then, we drive to a nearby QuikTrip to get some sleep before checking out $1 day at local Goodwill stores starting the following morning.
Day 6 - 2/4/16:
We woke up pretty late today but then went straight to the nearest Goodwill for $1 day. After walking out quite awhile later with a couple bags of awesome and cheap goodies, we headed west towards Glendale, looking for another Goodwill on the way. The one we ended up at turned out to be a Goodwill clearance center. We'd heard of those but had never been. We'd expected it'd be pretty similar to any other Goodwill but it wasn't. It was WAY better! Better than any thrift store we'd ever been to, actually. Everything there was for sale by the pound, mostly for $1.19/pound. Though a bit stressful and chaotic, it was SO worth it for the insanely cheap prices you could get on most things and the fun and surprise of finding treasures amidst tons of random crap. (Obviously some things, like weights, weren't really worth it but most things were and it was another chance to buy things that didn't end up getting purchased with a regular price tag in a regular thrift store before.) We were getting badass pants for $0.30 each, shirts for less than a quarter!... We did spend a good couple of hours there but we left with a shopping cart full of stuff for only $22! Not something we could do too regularly but definitely worth doing once in awhile for ourselves, gifts, things to sell...
We needed gas before anything else so I checked GasBuddy to find the cheapest in the area and wound up at a Flying J that had 87 for $1.45/gallon!!! Holy shit. :o They also had DELICIOUS-looking pizza there so we spent some of the trip's gas-price-savings and bought one for $11. So good and completely worth it at the time!
We'd discovered a new casino in the area but hadn't yet been so we went to check that out next. It was called Desert Diamond Casino West Valley and was near Glendale, AZ. Inside, we discovered free coffee and fountain drinks and enjoyed a couple while exploring the rest of the casino. One thing we found out that seemed a bit odd there was that they were not yet licensed to serve alcohol! We assumed that was just a matter of time though as they hadn't been open long at all.
Just down the road from the casino was another Dave & Buster's!:
Dave & Buster's
9460 W Hanna Ln
Glendale, AZ 85305
We went in for a bit, found a Guitar Hero and a PIU Prime machine with decent-ish pads, played a few songs each on PIU using credits other people left in, tried a couple of other games people left credits in..
Then we left to find a QuikTrip, pulled in, watched movies on Sean's laptop for a bit, and finally got ready for sleep slightly before 2am.
Day 7 - 2/5/16 (50 Shades of Men (male revue)):
We woke up at 9am, got ready for the day, and made our way over to a place called Valley Golf Center in Avondale, AZ for our main reason for being in that area: We'd booked a LivingSocial deal for 150 golf range balls each! We took some putters we'd picked up at a thrift store for a couple dollars total, went inside the shop there to redeem our deal, were given a code each for the ball-dispensing machines, chose a lane (not sure what they're actually called) each in the upstairs golfing area, and got to swinging! I had absolutely no clue what I was doing at first but we both got somewhat used to it after awhile and had a good time with it. It was a really nice day, actually, and 150 balls is a lot to get through so we got to enjoy the sun and get a good arm workout for probably at least an hour!
Headed east again, we revisited Ikea in Tempe, got chili on rice and 5 of each type of meatball (swedish, vegetarian, and chicken) for just under $7 total, and sat around with our free tea and coffee there using WiFi and outlets to do a little work.
A semi-long drive from there but worth it, we drove to the gym then for a short cardio and weight workout, a dip in the hot tub, and a shower.
Then we drove to the Arizona Event Center in Mesa, AZ for the highlight of our night: the male revue 50 Shades of Men! It was the first male revue either of us had ever been to. We'd found it through Groupon as well as LivingSocial and the deal ($15 admission/2 people BEFORE discounts and cash back) was too damn good to pass up! Besides, I was super curious. :p When we arrived, we thought we'd be a minute or two late but there was a line of ladies, as well as just a couple of gentlemen, down the side of the building waiting to get in. We were let in within about 5 minutes but had to walk past a front stage area, which appeared to have a sexy female review either about to start or just ending, to get to a back room where the stage the guys would be performing on was. After that, it was just over an hour before the show actually started. We killed time by enjoying the good music the DJ was playing and drinking some ciders we bought there (2/$5). They actually had decent food and drink prices on a few things! Anyway, the show started up a little after 7:30pm and kept us entertained from beginning to end, which was maybe 1.5 hours later? The crowd was made up of tons of women from just below my age to allll the way up. Maybe about 3 other guys or so there too. Everyone was having a blast though! The atmosphere was so fun and amazing and the show was just as much fun and comical as it was sexy! We saw a few naked butts mixed in with the hard abs and the occasional banana hammock came out from under some boyshort style undies.. They pushed tips and sales a bit but not in an uncomfy, aggressive way. They kept it really fun and even came up close and personal throughout the audience on several occasions. They brought lots of ladies on stage, gave brief lap dances, and allowed you to take pics with them at the end of the show (though they charged extra for all those options). Oh, and of course they did the firefighter, cowboy, and even doctor, businessman, and other routines as well. I found cowboy and doctor sexiest for some reason. ;) During the show, one of the less sober ladies there ended up tipping Sean a dollar for laughs. (To be fair, he was actually the most attractive guy in the place and that's not just me being biased. ^.^) I'm sure she didn't realize but I would've let her borrow him for a dance if it wouldn't have likely gotten us kicked out of the place! XD
Once the show was over, we were both pretty hungry so we went to a Del Taco a few minutes away to use some coupons and get LOTS of food for the night and next morning.
Then we drove to a QuikTrip and watched movies for awhile before getting ready to rest up for our 5k race the next morning!
Day 7 - 2/6/16 (Run the Distance..5k):
We got 7 hours of sleep and were up again at 7:30am. We got ready for our 9am Run the Distance for Parkinson's Disease 5k (which actually turned out to be 3.37 miles rather than 3.1) then. At 8am, I started my period. :( That's okay, I'd brought tampons! Anyway, we drove over and found parking near Tempe Beach Park, where the race was taking place, and got ready to run! Sean, who'd started at the front, said it was a really hard run for him but he did well! I, surprisingly and for the first time ever, was perfectly fine all the way up to 3 miles, where I decided to use the last of my energy reserves to up my pace through the finish, despite some little hills throughout. I'd started at the back with the strollers but had managed to pass hundreds of people up. I was even averaging under 8mins/mile, which is crazy for me. I guess all the gym visits lately are paying off! In the end, we both wound up winning 1st place in our age groups and got cool "First Place" add-ons for our finishers medals for doing so. We got tech shirts from the race and lots of other cool swag from various vendors and booths there too. One of them even had tables set up for making team signs. Of course we had to make one!
Post race, we went to Ikea to re-energize with free tea and coffee and to use their cafe microwave to heat some of our leftover foods while we did some work. We felt a little guilty using their WiFi, outlets, and other facilities but I think the $7 or so we spent there during the week made us about even.
We finally started back towards Vegas then but didn't get very far before deciding to stop off for one last visit to the Goodwill clearance center to find some last treats. We spent a few hours and just under $40 but left with another shopping cart full of the coolest things!!!
We were starving then so we paid the nearest QuikTrip one last visit as well and got some roller grill foods and 64oz drinks each to tide us over for the journey home. My drink was actually a frozen coffee and unbelievably still only cost me about $1!!
Then we filled up the gas tank at an AMPM ($1.43 per gallon for 87!) and hopped on the freeway home stopping only in Kingman, AZ to revisit Maverik and top up the gas. By 1am, we were home and in bed with real food, watching movies and getting ready to cuddle up for the night!
