202: Vacation Mavens in Tempe, AZ

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Tamara and Kim recently traded the northern cold and rain for Arizona’s sunny skies on a “momcation” or girlfriend getaway to Tempe, Arizona. Find out what makes this college city a great option for either a family vacation or a girls’ trip. With plenty of outdoor activities and great food, there is a lot about Tempe that may surprise you!

Note: This episode was created in partnership with Tempe Tourism. All opinions are our own and we thank them for supporting our work!

Planning a Trip to Tempe, AZ

• Tempe is adjacent to Phoenix, Arizona, but really more of its own city than just a suburb.
• Tempe is home to Arizona State University (ASU) so it has a college town feel, but there are also many large businesses with offices in Tempe and it is a growing city.
• It is easy to get to Tempe. Phoenix Sky Harbor airport has many affordable, direct flights and it is only a 10-15 minute Uber ride from PHX to downtown Tempe.
• You can also take the light rail directly from the airport station for only $2.00.
• If you plan on staying in downtown Tempe, you don’t need a car as it is easy to walk, bike, Uber, or take public transportation. However, if you want to explore more of the area or enjoy some of the attractions and restaurants outside of downtown Tempe, you will probably want to rent a car for your trip.
• There are many things to do outdoors in Tempe including water-based activities on Tempe Town Lake, biking, relaxing at the pool, shopping, walking around downtown Tempe or the ASU campus, and enjoying outdoor dining.
• Tempe hosts many large events including the Iron Man race, baseball spring training, and in 2023 the Super Bowl will be held nearby.
• Tempe has recently expanded its hotel inventory to include the Westin Tempe, Canopy by Hilton, and soon the Omni Hotel and Vīb by Best Western.
• We stayed at the Tempe Mission Palms hotel in downtown Tempe, which was a great location for exploring. The Junior Suites are very spacious and quiet. The hotel has a nice pool and hot tub with a view of “A” mountain.
• Some fun things to do in Tempe include:
  • Hiking “A” Mountain / Hayden Butte at sunrise or sunset
  • Kayaking or paddle boarding on Tempe Town Lake with Boat Rentals of America
  • Renting bikes or e-bikes from North Shore Water Sports to bike through town or along the lake bike paths
  • Tempe has 218 miles of bike paths and bike lanes in Tempe, making it a great city for bikers and car-free living
  • You can also rent scooters to explore Tempe
  • Shopping and dining at the Tempe Marketplace, which has a great entertainment district with tons of great dining options
  • Take photos in front of some of Tempe’s murals
  • Relaxing at the hotel pools. Some hotels like the Tempe Westin and Canopy by Hilton have great rooftop pools and lounges. These are also a great spot to see the sunset
  • See a baseball game during Spring Training season or watching the Sun Devils college sports at ASU
• You can also rent a car and visit nearby Mesa or Scottsdale. Mesa is home to the Fresh Foodie Trail, which incorporates a number of farms, restaurants, and other unique stops.
• Some things to do in Mesa include:
  • Enjoy BBQ or chips with homemade salsa at Jalapeno Bucks, which is set in a citrus grove. This is a popular spot with locals and visitors so expect long lines and outdoor picnic table dining
  • Queen Creek Olive Mill offers olive grove tours, outdoor dining, and shopping for olive oil and olive-oil based products
  • If you wanted to spend the night in Mesa, check out the Cozy Peach Glamping at Schnepf Farms, which has custom renovated Airstream trailers. Schnepf Farms also hosts many seasonal events
  • Downtown Mesa offers shopping, cideries, breweries, restaurants, coffee shops, and game/arcade spots
  • Cider Corps is a veteran-owned cidery that offers a wide-range of ciders and also incorporates other businesses to offer pizza and coffee
  • There are also some great murals in downtown Mesa
• Tempe has many great food options, including:
  • Top of the Rock at the Buttes Marriott offers amazing views and great fine dining for special occasions. If the weather is cooler, try to book a table on the terrace for great nighttime views
  • For breakfast:
    • Snooze, an AM Eatery — near the college, they have a great retro design and unique offerings
    • Morning Squeeze — also has a fun retro diner vibe but with more traditional breakfast offerings
    • Daily Jam — near the Tempe Mission Palms in downtown offers famous waffles in various flavors, including red velvet waffles
  • For lunch:
    • Postino Annex — located near campus, they offer great outdoor dining and it is great for groups with many small plates and bruschetta boards, plus they offer $5 glasses of wine before 5pm
    • Barrio Queen — located in Tempe Marketplace, they offered great Mexican / Southwest cuisine with amazing decor, outside dining, tableside guacamole, and delicious tacos
  • For dinner:
    • Culinary Drop Out — great space for families or groups with ping pong tables, corn hole, and plenty of small plates to share. It is a large and lively space
    • Ghost Ranch — located about 10 minutes from Downtown Tempe, Ghost Ranch is delicious southwest cuisine with great drinks
    • House of Tricks — located near campus, this restaurant has a beautiful garden setting, making it a great spot for a romantic dinner or a special dinner with friends or parents taking out their college student
• Tempe is a good spot for a girl’s trip or family vacation and a more affordable alternative to the high-end resorts in Scottsdale.
  

Full Episode Transcript

[00:00:00.250] – Kim Tate

Cheers to margaritas and outdoor adventures. Today we’re talking about Tempe, Arizona.

[00:00:17.010] – Announcer

Welcome to Vacation Mavens, a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and Tamara from We3Travel.

[00:00:31.660] – Tamara Gruber

Well, this episode we’re going to be talking all about Tempe, and we partnered with them to create this podcast as well as some blog posts. And we thank them for supporting our work. And we’re actually really excited to talk to you about this destination.

[00:00:45.130] – Kim Tate

So, Tamara, we just got back from another little girls trip. We’ve had a lot of them all of a sudden. We went a long time without any in the now all the sudden, and we’ve had two back to back. But this time we spent four days in Tempe, Arizona, and I thought we could start off by telling our listeners a little bit about where Tempe is. Kind of to get them an idea.

[00:01:03.060] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah, definitely. Well, to me, anytime that I get to hang out with you in the Sunshine, I’m happy about. So can keep planning these girls’ trips and  getaways. They’re fine with me.

[00:01:12.180] – Kim Tate

Sign me up.

[00:01:13.090] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. You had been to Tempe before. I think the last time I was in Tempe, it was, like 20 years ago or more. So my impression of Tempe was just that it was a suburb of Phoenix, but it’s really its own city in its own right, don’t you think?

[00:01:28.160] – Kim Tate

I absolutely agree. I think the big part of that is the fact that and you’re really accustomed to this, but it is a College town. And I think whenever you kind of bring a College town into a nearby larger city, that city itself kind of becomes has some flavor and profile that’s different than it’s the main neighboring city.

[00:01:45.800] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. What impress me about Tempe is how easy it is to get there, though I think you can always find a pretty good flight deals to Phoenix. And then it’s really like an eight to twelve minute Uber ride or so from the airport to Tempe because it’s really kind of right on that path to the airport. And then you can also take that train, which we ended up not doing. But it’s such a great deal. There’s a light rail train that goes right from the airport sky train to downtown.

[00:02:13.510] – Tamara Gruber

And what was it, like, $2 or anyone visiting on a budget? Such a good deal.

[00:02:19.120] – Kim Tate

And it looked like it was pretty easily accessible and everything. And there was lots of signs in the airport, so it didn’t seem like it would be a difficult thing. Definitely convenient.

[00:02:29.270] – Tamara Gruber

I feel like it depends on what you want to do when you’re there. I know there are many times where we felt like we could have had a car, but if you really just wanted to kind of hang out in downtown, do a little shopping and lots of eating, some drinking, sitting by the pool walking around that kind of thing. If you’re hanging out in downtown, you really didn’t need a car. And that is a nice kind of little car free getaway it’s another expense to avoid, especially right now with how expensive rental cars are.

[00:02:57.720] – Kim Tate

Yeah, definitely. When we went to Tempe Town Lake, we were staying in the heart of kind of the downtown Tempe area, and it was not an issue at all to walk there. And we did the kayak rental and all that, and it’s near a big park where they’re actually hosted the Ironman. So yeah, I think that it’s definitely one of those destinations that you can have car free. But if you like to explore beyond just Tempe or if you’re going to be there a little longer, then a car would be convenient to explore some of the neighboring towns.

[00:03:24.060] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. I was kind of impressed by how many big events are coming to that Tempe area. When we were there, they were actively setting up for the Iron Man. But we also heard that in a couple of years, the Super Bowl is going to be Super Bowl. So you see a lot of construction around Tempe, definitely building up the hotel inventory, and that is kind of changing. I imagine making it so much easier for people visiting the College campus, too, to find much more, like, upscale properties now.

[00:03:52.040] – Kim Tate

Yeah. It was kind of nice to see that we got a tour, the new Western, and they have a new omni coming, and they’re definitely adding lots of rooms. So that’s great. And I know that’s helpful for spring training as well. So a lot of people know Tempe is one of the towns around Phoenix that gets their spring training, and they have a baseball team there. So it’s another thing that attracts people in late February and March.

[00:04:17.010] – Tamara Gruber

So many reasons to get out of the cold and into the sunshine. So we should definitely talk about some of the things to do, because I found it to be like an active city. It’s like a great place to go where you want that mix of, like, pool time. I think people kind of think of other places around Phoenix as, like, just go and sit by the pool and go to the spa. I feel like Tempe was a little bit more of an active town.

[00:04:39.350] – Kim Tate

I agree. I think that everyone thinks Scottsdale and Scottsdale is definitely like the pools and the spas and that sort of thing. But I think with Tempe being a College town, you can tell it is really tailored towards that younger demographic. And I totally agree that there was outdoor stuff and we’ll get talking about some of the great food we had, but I think the outdoor adventures were definitely something to mention. I still remember our little sunrise hike. I know that was something we did on one or second morning or whatever, but I just loved that there’s a really popular mountain in Tempe.

[00:05:10.000] – Kim Tate

It’s called I can’t remember the Butte. What is it?

[00:05:13.220]

Hayden Butte but they call it “A” mountain.

[00:05:15.120] – Kim Tate

They call it “A” mountain. Yeah, because it has this big A on there. And it’s kind of a joke, because I guess there’s an A in Tucson as well, where the University of Arizona is there’s like a rivalry of trying to paint it the opposing team’s color, since they both have a mountains. Yeah. It was kind of a nice little hike that we did, wasn’t it?

[00:05:35.780] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. I mean, steep. I’m not usually a morning person, as you guys probably know. Kim definitely knows. But I always felt like it was worth it to get up there for a good view. And so luckily, right now, at this time of year, sunrise isn’t super early, so it was like a. 07:00 sunrise. So we went out at, like, 6:30 or so, and we hiked up, and there were quite a few people going up with the sun coming up. It was easy enough to find our way, but it was steep.

[00:06:03.210] – Tamara Gruber

It’s not a long hike at all. It takes, like 15 minutes or so, but you’re bent over and you’re pushing through. It’s definitely steep and a little bit of loose rock to watch out for as you’re getting towards the top part. But the views when you get up there is just absolutely spectacular. We lucked out with such a great morning, but just coming up, you could see the light reflecting on a lot of, like, the glass buildings downtown. And when you get to the top, you just see those sweeping views And the clouds is gorgeous

[00:06:32.970] – Kim Tate

when you see the mountains in the distance and then the river or I guess it looks like a river, but it’s Tempe Town Lake, but it’s kind of shaped like a river. It’s interesting, but it’s running along there and the color of the sunrise reflecting off the water. And that was definitely an excellent thing to do. And I loved how close it was to our hotel. So we stayed in downtown Tempe at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, and it’s literally we were able to walk straight out of our hotel, like Tamara said, and kind of get to a path and go right up the mountain.

[00:07:05.160] – Kim Tate

So it was definitely a good thing to do.

[00:07:09.330] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. I think anywhere you’re staying downtown is pretty convenient. But with us, it was, like, really out the back parking lot. There you are.

[00:07:17.080] – Kim Tate

Yeah. I love that. So what other adventures that we did in Tempe did you like? Because that’s the one that stands out in my mind, but I know there’s a few others that stand out, too.

[00:07:25.030] – Tamara Gruber

I kind of like kayaking on Tempestown Lake. You kind of alluded to the fact that it’s called Temptown Lake, but it does appear more like a river. And so there are a number of bridges that cross over from one side to the other. And we picked up our kayaks. It was at a little kiosk from Boat Rentals of America, right down in the Tempe Town Lake Park, which was just maybe a five minute walk from our hotel. And they did a bunch of things they had, like these little circular party boat kind of things.

[00:07:59.070] – Kim Tate

Like Swan pedal boats that are Swans. Right.

[00:08:02.320] – Tamara Gruber

They had stand up paddle boards, the kayaks. And they even had, like, the Surrey bikes, if you wanted to do that along the path that goes along the Lake. But we did the kayaks, and I just expected to go out there and have it be kind of an urban setting. It felt like a little bit more like a river than a wide Lake. It’s surrounded on both sides by buildings and walking paths and things like that. So it’s not like you’re out there in the middle of the desert or something, which would be surprising with a Lake.

[00:08:33.590] – Tamara Gruber

But what surprised me is that we saw so much wildlife, wildlife.

[00:08:37.080] – Kim Tate

Yes.

[00:08:37.570] – Tamara Gruber

I was shocked by that.

[00:08:38.710] – Kim Tate

Like the amount of birds and stuff that were there. I was amazed.

[00:08:42.600] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah.

[00:08:42.850] – Kim Tate

I agree.

[00:08:43.670] – Tamara Gruber

I’m terrible at naming them, of course, but it was still like there were a lot of I don’t know, commorants or cranes. There’s different white birds.

[00:08:53.070] – Kim Tate

What is an ornithologist

[00:08:57.270] – Tamara Gruber

The next day we both did spy a blue Heron so that we can identify those are pretty easy, right? Yeah.

[00:09:03.550] – Kim Tate

Exactly. That is one I know.

[00:09:07.050] – Tamara Gruber

But it was cool, like just to kind of be kayaking along and see them kind of swooping by, kept trying to get some good video, but they’re a little too far in the distance.

[00:09:15.220] – Kim Tate

But as you talk about kayaking and them swooping by, that was the other thing that really stood out to me that I loved is all the plane watching. So if you love airplanes or you’re going out in a boat or something with kids and they like airplanes, it’s really neat how the Tempe Town Lake kind of sits in between two of the approaches for the runways for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. And so you see airplanes coming in on both sides of the Lake, quote, unquote river and going into land.

[00:09:44.280] – Kim Tate

And I had a lot of fun going, okay. Oh, that’s a Delta. That’s an American. I’m trying to enable the airplanes. So that was another thing. That was kind of fun, and it wasn’t too annoying noise wise. So it didn’t bother me or anything. But I found it really fun to do some plane watching.

[00:09:58.370] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. It was only good at the very brightly colored Southwest because they stand out southwest was noticeable.

[00:10:04.320] – Kim Tate

Yeah. You’re right. Yeah. So I agree. I thought that was really nice, and I could see that arranging for a rental there at sunset would also be really beautiful, because I think the colors in the Southwest, the weather is so nice. And I think the colors of sunset are just really beautiful.

[00:10:21.030] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. And if you had one, if you were there with a bigger group and you wanted to do one of those little party boats, I don’t know exactly how they work. I think everybody pedals a little bit, but it looked fun. It wasn’t like a Tiki. It’s more like a giant tube. You know what it reminds me of those water rides, like the Rapids rides where, like, you spin around it. Is it’s a bit like that?

[00:10:41.960] – Kim Tate

Yeah, it’s kind of like that. But I thought it was plugged in. So I was thinking maybe they had a little electric motor that people kind of could drive it around. I think another thing that we did on the Lake that we did another day was actually enjoying, like you had mentioned, there is kind of a long path that goes along both sides of the Lake. And so we met up on the other side of the Lake and went to North Shore Water Sport rentals that are near these brand new, really nice Villa apartments.

[00:11:11.100] – Kim Tate

And we rented Ebikes, which I absolutely love Ebikes, because I love how fast you can explore the city and those Hills when they come. You’re just like, it saves my legs. So I really loved that.

[00:11:24.490] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. It took me a minute to get the hang of it. And I was like, wow, we’re starting up a Hill and they’re heavier. So of course I’m going slower and trying to get my balance when you’re starting up a Hill, and I’m like, how is she just going? And then you’re like, oh, you just hit the throttle and I’m like, oh, yeah. So, yeah, it took me a minute to figure out how it worked and get it on the right setting and speed for me. So I wasn’t, like, zooming, giving myself whiplash every time it kicks in.

[00:11:53.930] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah, but definitely so much easier. A lot of fun. I could see if I was a bike commuter, which actually Tempe. What was it? They’re like, a gold standard kind of bike community, but 118 miles of bike paths or bike lanes throughout the city. We even heard about one community that’s going to be car free. They’re definitely trying to push that when it comes to environmental impact and traffic and all that because it’s a growing city. Like, we saw a lot of businesses there that were headquartered there.

[00:12:27.020] – Tamara Gruber

You can see for young adults, especially new College graduates, getting a job, staying, like, wanting to kind of keep in that urban center. It’s growing. So I think place is a great way to manage the traffic and all the public transportation that they have.

[00:12:41.770] – Kim Tate

Yeah. Like we said, that light rail. I thought that was great. And we saw a lot of buses and stuff. And then the bikes were you could tell how common they were, because even when we were going around town, it seemed like everywhere we went, there was bike lock up stations. I don’t know, what you call racks, like bike racks and stuff. You can tell it’s quite a popular activity or transportation choice. So I thought that was pretty nice. I could definitely. And with the weather being so awesome all year round, I mean, I’m sure in the summer you maybe don’t want to bike as much outdoors, but it seems like the perfect kind of environment to be a biker in.

[00:13:16.730] – Tamara Gruber

Then you want the ebike where you can go quickly.

[00:13:18.980] – Kim Tate

Go fast and have little breaths.

[00:13:22.230] – Tamara Gruber

And we saw those scooters, too. Like those I can’t remember which grant. Yeah, but you rent them by the hour and then just kind of drop them. Those are pretty common in any College town, and we definitely saw them being used when we kind of went through campus because we did bike or walk through campus just to get a sense of it. Of course, it started off great. And then we were there waiting between classes. That was a little crowded.

[00:13:48.120] – Kim Tate

But I have never felt so old in my life. Actually, I always consider myself young.

[00:13:53.760] – Tamara Gruber

But yeah, especially as we look around and all you can say is like, that’s going to be our daughters next year. And I’m like, stop.

[00:14:00.500] – Kim Tate

I know. I just couldn’t believe it. I’m thinking, wow, how can we believe that? Our daughters don’t seem like they belong here, but they will soon.

[00:14:08.460] – Tamara Gruber

They better, I guess. Yeah. But that was definitely fun. So I feel like there’s a lot of fun ways to get active in Tempe, which is nice, because I think you and I like the girls trips that we go on. I mean, look, we both love a good spa. We love a nice relaxing time with the pool, but we kind of like to do something feel like we saw a place like, get active a little bit, work off some of those nachos. Yeah.

[00:14:36.470] – Kim Tate

Exactly. I agree. I think it was good. And we did get some downtime and we had some time to relax. We did do a little bit of kind of shopping stops. We went to that Tempe Marketplace shopping district, which you and I at first we were like, oh, okay. It seems like some of the same big box stores. But then we got a little further deeper into it. And there’s that whole cool entertainment district where we had lunch. And so that was kind of a fun place for girls.

[00:15:02.410] – Kim Tate

I think, like, on a girls trip that you can hang out with guys, too, if they want to. It looked like a nice, popular place to kind of walk around. And they did have I noticed, like, a nail salon and everything. So if you wanted to get pedicures and then eat some food and do some shopping, it seems like the perfect place.

[00:15:18.190] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. And a cool outdoor environment seems like maybe they do some. They definitely have a stage where they do music and other events. Yeah. That one area seemed like maybe they do some outdoor movies. They had kind of the Edison string lights between certain areas. So definitely to give it, like, some atmosphere and ambience. And yeah, it was just cool, like so many interesting places to eat and not all chains, which is nice.

[00:15:40.580] – Kim Tate

I absolutely agree. Yeah. So that was the shopping. And then we kind of wandered around downtown because they have some cute little shops there. And we checked out some murals. But I think also we should mention our relaxing time of being at pools because we got two kind of pool experiences, didn’t we?

[00:15:58.670] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. I mean, where we’re staying, they have a pretty large, not huge, but like a nice size pool and it’s rooftop, but it’s only like, second floor. Right. So the Tempe Mission Palms. But they had a couple of hot tubs, and it was just a nice view of a mountain. I love a nice relaxing place to hang out. Yeah.

[00:16:16.720] – Kim Tate

That’s what I loved. I think it’s just really cool to have the mountain there in the background. And that was nice. And I think they have, of course, drinks. They can get you there and everything so you can make it a relaxing time. We didn’t have any issues while we were there finding lounge chairs and everything.

[00:16:32.560] – Tamara Gruber

So yeah, that was nice. Of course we were there. There was like a corporate event. Everyone was in their meetings while we got to actually play. Yeah. Exactly. And then we checked out the Westin. You had mentioned Westin Tempe, which is three months old, I think at the time really gorgeous property. And they’ve done a lot to kind of integrate the look of the natural atmosphere around, trying to bring in some of those desert textures and colors and things. But on their top floor, I think it was like the 18th floor.

[00:17:03.410] – Tamara Gruber

They have a small pool, which is just for guests. But luckily they let us use it for a little bit. But they also have, like, a sky lounge up there, a bar that will be open for everyone. And so that was really beautiful views because you’re so much higher.

[00:17:18.850] – Kim Tate

You are higher.

[00:17:19.570] – Tamara Gruber

The city and the superstition mountains in the background and the buttes and the “A” mountain you can see it all.

[00:17:27.690] – Kim Tate

I thought that was amazing. And that hotel is beautiful. I love that they have some local native artists that they brought in works to decorate the hotel with. And they’ve tried to use a lot of the local, like you said, kind of environment to arrange things. And the decor is supposed to represent stuff. But that corner room we checked out that had, like, the double windows. It just had so much light and it was so bright. And then the bathroom, it was like all marble and it was huge.

[00:17:53.390] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. Very fresh, very new. But like light and just the kind of the right type of modern. I think that you’re looking for that people strive for right now.

[00:18:04.320] – Kim Tate

Yeah, I do wonder. I thought the pool, it was beautiful and everything around it was beautiful. I wonder how busy it gets. I don’t know enough about Westin demographic to know if they get a lot of families or not, but it was just beautiful up there. I thought that was the perfect place to kind of enjoy a late evening relax around the pool and then go ahead and grab a drink while you’re up there.

[00:18:25.250] – Tamara Gruber

I was kind of thinking if you were there to visit like your kid that was in College, it would be cool to bring them back and have them have a chance to hang out at the rooftop.

[00:18:35.430] – Kim Tate

She mentioned it kind of clouded over for us, but it’s a beautiful place to capture a sunset. I mean, it’s one of the best lookouts over the city if you want a really pretty place for sunset.

[00:18:46.800] – Tamara Gruber

And I know that we didn’t get to see it because they were doing a little bit of renovation or something happened with the day that we were there. But there’s a Canopy by Hilton as well that also has a rooftop pool and bar. So that’s another one to check out.

[00:19:01.910] – Kim Tate

Yeah, I definitely think that’s the thing Tempe if you guys are planning girls trip or even a family getaway because I really could see with older kids who like, kind of outdoor adventure things. If you’re that kind of family, it’d be a really easy trip with them, because I think the parking is not an issue. Everything’s pretty open and spread out. And so if you want to rent a car and flying in and out of Phoenix is pretty easy.

[00:19:24.350] – Tamara Gruber

So definitely how nice is spring break, right? If you did a little bit of spring training, baseball, you did some e biking or kayaking, and then you did some of these other things. But then maybe you also took some time to explore the area, which is one of the things that we got to do. We had a bit of an extra day, and so we rented a car just for that one day. And we went to the area of Mesa, which is what did they call it?

[00:19:51.300] – Tamara Gruber

Western Valley?

[00:19:52.550] – Kim Tate

That’s a good question. I can’t remember now. Okay. I thought she said Eastern Valley.

[00:19:58.890] – Tamara Gruber

So we rented a car just for one day, and we went out to Mesa, which is known for its fresh foodie trail, which is something that I know you had seen parts of before, but this is my first time going into Mesa. Mesa is an area that is huge. Yeah, that surprised me after Phoenix and Tucson. So it’s a big area with a lot of kind of different neighborhoods. But if you wanted to explore, it a cool way to do it is with this fresh foodie trail, because they have all these different stops that kind of showcase the local farms, the local agriculture.

[00:20:36.030] – Tamara Gruber

So our first stop was actually at a little place, which I couldn’t even believe how crowded it was. I know we’re going to talk about Food leader, but it was called Jalapeno Bucks, and it was just kind of like a roadside stand. But it was like set in a citrus Grove, Arizona’s largest citrus Grove, which is kind of surprising that they have any, actually. And they make their own salsas, and they do barbecues. And the line was crazy. It was such a big line.

[00:21:07.310] – Kim Tate

Yeah, that was early. So you can really tell it’s one of those. I think it’s definitely a local favorite, but it’s also the tourists like it, but it was awesome. They said it started with this woman who would make the salsas and people would come to buy her salsas. And pretty soon it got so busy that her husband was like, okay, here we’re going to build you this kind of I don’t know if it’s like a barn or, like you said, kind of roadside food.

[00:21:34.730] – Tamara Gruber

Like, take out eat at picnic tables. Whoever stepped up to do the barbecue did a great job of it because we had a little taste of their brisket, and the brisket was really delicious.

[00:21:45.870] – Kim Tate

Yeah, they have some really unique things. So they had us taste us the peanut butter and jelly brisket sandwich. So just so you know, we all braved it and tasted it. It was fine. I would probably get a normal brisket sandwich next time if I ordered myself. But if you’re feeling adventurous and you like, kind of funny foods, then that PB and J brisket sandwich is the way to go for you whenever I hear that.

[00:22:07.280] – Tamara Gruber

All I can think is that song is like, Peanut butter Jelly time. I told Glenn about that because he’s like, the smoker barbecue guy, and he was just like, yeah, no, I was like, but the brisket was really good, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the PB and J.

[00:22:23.080] – Kim Tate

No, this is not my flavor profile, but that sweet green salsa. I felt like I could just drink that, like, with a spoon and the tortilla chips. You had the mango salsa because we had tried the sweet green, and then you had the mango. And I’m not a big fruit salsa fan, but that sweet green for me was definitely worth going back for.

[00:22:43.650] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah, I thought they were both great. It’s amazing. I will always gravitate towards green salsa over red. I do like the fruit ones, too. So I think there was probably, like, eight different ones to choose from.

[00:22:54.720] – Kim Tate

But of course, we had actually just had breakfast.

[00:22:57.440] – Tamara Gruber

So we weren’t having all that much, but it’s definitely a cute stop, like, a lot of personality there reminded me of the places that you see outside of Austin or something like that where people line up. And it’s kind of just this little place, but it’s super popular.

[00:23:12.970] – Kim Tate

And I think one of the other things we did while we were in Mesa. That kind of was an activity aspect of it was we did do an olive mill or olive oil. I don’t know if you’d really call it, I guess, an olive oil tour, but because they were in the middle of production, the tour was kind of just sitting and listening to a presentation and doing a little bit of taste testing. Then we had some again, some more food there. But it’s the Queen Creek olive mill, and I’ve been there actually one other time, and it’s quite amazing what they do and all the olives they grow there and how they turn it into these olive oils.

[00:23:48.490] – Kim Tate

And then they’ve got, of course, soaps and all of that as well. And it was yummy. I’ve learned to love flavored olive oils and Balsamics. And so I liked it. I was glad you asked them to bring us out some taste testing, but that jalapeno one. It was spicy.

[00:24:03.280] – Tamara Gruber

You only need a drop of that. Yeah. I found it really fascinating. And just also that someone kind of realized that olive trees can do really well in Arizona. It’s like the same latitude as a lot of the Mediterranean, where a lot of other olive oils come from, but because it’s so dry, you don’t have some of the bug issues that might, in fact, and get into some of the places in, like Greece or in Italy or Spain or Portugal. So I found that really fascinating. They’re doing a great job with it.

[00:24:33.890] – Tamara Gruber

And the olive oils are great, but they’ve really turned it into a destination. And again, we were there on a Wednesday in November. No super busy people just eating outside because what they have is you can do these tours. But then there’s a shop. There’s a restaurant so you can just order food and ice cream, I think. Yeah. All kinds of things. Enjoy a picnic. I don’t know if they have wine. I imagine that they would sell wine there, too, but I’m not sure, but just like to enjoy a nice afternoon outside.

[00:25:05.250] – Tamara Gruber

I guess that’s why November was, but a lot of it was shaded as well, and it was just like a really nice setting. They had a bocce court. It’s just like a really pretty eating in the olive Grove. We had some great bruschetta boards and a charcuterie.

[00:25:20.650] – Kim Tate

The flatbread pizza was delicious. The pizza was amazing.

[00:25:24.740] – Tamara Gruber

So of course, everything is using their olive oil. But then even their desserts are using their chocolate olive oil. I would definitely recommend making a drive out. There something interesting to do again. It’s that agriculture is a thing, but that to me, really gives you more of a sense of that community and where you are driving out there, too. You could see how it was really getting built up, but there was still a lot of space.

[00:25:53.550] – Kim Tate

Yeah. My goodness. It was building up. So much like there are so many new houses being built around that area. But Mesa, you can see that it’s hard, and it’s hard. It still is very much the agricultural area of the Phoenix region. So it’s neat that they have this fresh foodie trail to kind of get you to experience some of those local farms and keep their roots in that agriculture. So I think it’s great that they’re doing that. And it made me really want to throw out my green plastic, Costco sized olive oil bottle and make sure I’m buying a little more quality olive oil.

[00:26:25.600] – Tamara Gruber

From now on, I came home. We like to get decent olive oil, I think. But then we pour some of it into this glass bottle, which is like a little pour. And I keep it by the stove, because that’s what I use, like when I want to just saute something or whatever, just add a little bit of olive oil to something. And so I was like, Glenn. So I’ve learned it’s not supposed to be stored in sunlight or near heat or in a clear bottle. Yeah.

[00:26:54.320] – Kim Tate

And it’s supposed to be airtight.

[00:26:55.540] – Tamara Gruber

Like you’re supposed to keep it.

[00:26:56.580] – Kim Tate

Yeah.

[00:26:56.860] – Tamara Gruber

And only for, like, twelve to 15 months. I’m like, we’re doing it all wrong.

[00:27:00.240] – Kim Tate

Yeah. We keep ours in our lazy season that’s near the stove. So that part we have, right. But we just need to make sure buying good quality. I mean, we always buy it says extra Virgin olive oil, but I don’t know it’s Costco size. I don’t know if we go through it in twelve to 15 months.

[00:27:15.170] – Tamara Gruber

So probably something to consider a couple of other interesting spots in Mesa, one of them, if you did want to kind of break up your trip and do a little bit of town and country, there is a farm out there that actually has a whole little section of renovated Airstream trailers that they use for Glamping, so I don’t know how to pronounce it, but Schnepf Farms.

[00:27:43.490] – Kim Tate

I’m like it’s not the office. It’s not Schrutt. No, it’s Schnepf Farms.

[00:27:51.610] – Tamara Gruber

So it’s on a peach orchard. And so they call it the Cozy Peach Glamping.

[00:27:56.590] – Kim Tate

It’s kind of like this passion project because it sounds like the people who have the farms, the wife is just really into kind of renovating these Airstream trailers. And so it just sort of started as a passion project, I think. And they just kind of run with it. And they’re all unique.

[00:28:11.450] – Tamara Gruber

So you can go online and see which one, that’s kind of neat. And it seems like they do a lot of events out there on the farm, too, like each kind of season or holiday. They got stuff going on. So it’s another thing on the fresh foodie trail to check out. And then we went down to downtown Mesa, which seems like it’s going to be a really hopping place soon in terms of, like, cideries breweries, game rooms, arcade lounges, stuff like that. A lot of new breweries and things are coming to town, but we actually got to try.

[00:28:45.500] – Tamara Gruber

I knew you would like a cider place. So we went to Cider Corps.

[00:28:48.970] – Kim Tate

I loved that stuff.

[00:28:50.540] – Tamara Gruber

I loved it.

[00:28:51.140] – Kim Tate

And I was also really thankful you were driving so that I could actually move it there. And I loved that you tuned in right away because I walked in and it’s got very American esque decor and things like that. And then I was looking at the poles on the ciders, and they’re like grenades and a knife or a dagger. And it was really interesting. And Tamara immediately was like, oh, I wonder if it’s veteran owned and sure enough.

[00:29:19.840] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. So everything had that military theme to it, from the decor to the names of the sites, even the flight that we ordered came out.

[00:29:30.530] – Kim Tate

It was like an Armory. It was like ammo box, like a metal ammo box. They drilled the little holes to fit the cups in. So yeah, that was awesome.

[00:29:38.850] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. It was a really great story, like a backstory behind with the owner and everything. So I felt you always want to support better known businesses if you can. And so it makes me so happy when you see someone that’s doing something so cool and interesting and support it. And the ciders were delicious.

[00:29:56.000] – Kim Tate

And I love that they’re also trying to feedback, and they’re giving, like, there’s a guy there that does pizzas. And so they’re giving him space in their space to try and help him get to be more productive. So they’re trying to feedback and help these individual business owners, owner, startups get their foot in the door as well. So I think that’s really awesome. And they’re about ready to move to just down the street, barely just kind of on another corner on the main drag a little bit.

[00:30:21.810] – Kim Tate

So they’re going to be moving and opening up more. But I think that if you are in the Mesa, Phoenix, Tempe, Arizona, area, definitely look up Cider Corps because they are great business to support. And the other thing that was kind of neat about us, our stop there for ciders is right on that main. It’s right near the main street where there’s actually two really cool murals. And one of them is by I think it’s Kylie Montague. It’s the lady who did the famous Nashville wings, and she did some wings for Mesa.

[00:30:49.830] – Kim Tate

And it’s got, of course, just like what she does. The butterfly wings have kind of themed images in them that kind of represent the city. And then just slightly more down the street on the other side is a big Mesa mural that just as beautiful colors. So I thought that was kind of a nice little stop in downtown Mesa.

[00:31:06.660] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. And also, as we were walking along the main street in downtown, I saw one or two cute boutiques and like a really nice coffee shop. So it seems like a nice if you wanted to spend a little bit of time in Mesa, they have a new hotel, I think, coming as well. So all this area is kind of expanding. Well, definitely. We’ve kind of hinted at some of the good food that we had when we were in Tempe, but I think a highlight about Tempe is like, not only is the food good, but there’s just such a great variety that you can walk to or at least short Uber ride.

[00:31:41.960] – Tamara Gruber

If anything. I definitely enjoyed, like, the food scene, and I’m not usually one to eat a lot of breakfast, but, wow, they have some great breakfast places.

[00:31:49.740] – Kim Tate

Agreed. Yeah. I think the food scene in Tempe is amazing, and it’s awesome. And I love that aspect. I’m glad that we got it’s kind of nice when you’re on a Press trip because it was no issue. It’s like, okay, we’re eating three meals today at really nice places, so let’s just go for it. So I really loved it.

[00:32:07.480] – Tamara Gruber

Well, we started off like, probably. Well, I guess I was going to use a pun, but we started off at the top. We went to The Top of the Rock, which is a very nice property now, but it’s like a nice, more upscale resort property just outside of downtown Tempe. And they have this restaurant called Top of the Rock, and it has these beautiful views of the city. So if you can go there and it’s like a nice weather outside, I would definitely recommend trying to book a table on the terrace if you could, but the food was great.

[00:32:40.830] – Tamara Gruber

It’s definitely high end dining, definitely high end.

[00:32:43.570] – Kim Tate

And it was really neat how they had the interiors, this rounded kind of building. It’s circular, so it is kind of a unique place to sit inside. But they do have that small terrace. So if you are able to eat outdoors, it’s really beautiful. Kind of a pretty city, especially at night. You see all the city lights down below and it’s nice.

[00:33:03.320] – Tamara Gruber

So we mentioned breakfast. Did you have a favorite breakfast?

[00:33:07.010] – Kim Tate

I’m trying to think of the ones. I think my favorite one was actually at Snooze, and I loved my little hash Brown egg. I don’t mix scramble thing that I had. It was delicious, so I can’t even remember what it was called now, but I loved Snooze, and I think this is one of the things we should mention. We’ve already mentioned that Tempe is home to Arizona State University, so it’s a College town, and I love that Snooze is near the College. We’ve been at a couple of other places that are right there near College campus.

[00:33:36.910] – Kim Tate

So it’s really cool if you’re going to do any College visits or if you’re just wanting to understand how this is all laid out. It’s pretty close. And I love that. So Snooze was probably my favorite.

[00:33:47.670] – Tamara Gruber

But all of these were no more than a five to ten minute walk from our hotel. So it was good. Yeah.

[00:33:54.160] – Kim Tate

So what about you? Did you have something that stands out in your mind?

[00:33:57.180] – Tamara Gruber

I actually really love snooze. Also, because I thought the decor was super cute, but very retro diner, which also we went to another one called Morning Squeeze, which had a little bit of that feel, too. But I loved that it had some really unique things on the menu. So I had something that was like a sausage pop pie. So it was like a take on, like, sausage and gravy, but in a more of a poppy form, reconstructed poppy. So it’s just, like, unique and different. But I probably most enjoyed my breakfast at the Daily Jam because they are famous for their waffles.

[00:34:33.080] – Tamara Gruber

And I had red velvet waffles with the cream cheese, like topping. And those are super yummy, like, very fluffy, but, like, just the right amount of crispness.

[00:34:42.550] – Kim Tate

I like the crispiness. Yeah, I had those chocolate chip ones, and I loved that there.

[00:34:47.660] – Tamara Gruber

And of course, the last day when we ate the Morning Squeeze, I knew we were going to have a big eating day, so I didn’t want to go for a big breakfast. I said, like a light avocado toast. But I was kind of eyeing up, like, your bacon and your hash Brown potatoes because they looked like perfectly cooked.

[00:35:03.060] – Kim Tate

Those potatoes were yummy. They were the kind of the skillet potatoes. So they weren’t the traditional hash Browns, like a snooze. It was the traditional shredded hash Browns. But at Morning Squeeze, it was those breakfast potatoes, and they were seasoned just right and really crispy and, oh, my gosh, they were so good. Now I’m like, my mouth is legit watering right now. Thank you to go back to Tempe and eat more food.

[00:35:24.950] – Tamara Gruber

I know. But then it’s like, oh, I can’t go having those kind of big breakfasts every day. I look at my health app, and I’m like, okay, so at least those couple of days I walked like, five point something miles. Usually when I’m at home unless I’m meeting a friend, it’s more like three.

[00:35:43.170] – Kim Tate

Yeah.

[00:35:44.750] – Tamara Gruber

But anyway, what about lunch? We had some good lunches, too. Did you have a favorite there?

[00:35:50.390] – Kim Tate

I think the Postino Annex was my favorite, and I don’t want to admit that maybe one of the things I liked so much is the five dollar wines before five. Like, any glass of wine you can get for $5. But the salad that I had was just delicious, and the patio was nice. Again. It’s right next door to Snooze, which is right across from the ASU campus. But, yeah, that one stands out to me. Everything we ate, I don’t think there was a single place that I didn’t enjoy.

[00:36:16.220] – Kim Tate

But Postino Annex is the one that stands out in my head. What about you.

[00:36:19.680] – Tamara Gruber

I’m pretty sure that wine had something to do with it. It was a cool atmosphere, too, though, because we ate outside. They had a really nice patio, and the servers were just amazing, like, so friendly, like, super nice. But I loved the fact that they had just more of those picky things because I kind of like to eat like that. And so I just had a burstetter board. So I had just, like, four different types so I could pick it and choose and see which one I liked best.

[00:36:45.440] – Tamara Gruber

So I feel like that’s a great place to go with somebody. I have one of those longer lunches, enjoy the glass of wine and maybe share our share.

[00:36:53.620] – Kim Tate

Yeah, I agree.

[00:36:55.130] – Tamara Gruber

But I will say, like, food wise. I really, really liked Barrio Queen.

[00:36:58.980] – Kim Tate

That was my other one that I was thinking it was in Tempe Marketplace.

[00:37:03.030] – Tamara Gruber

So it’s a little bit further out. You’d probably want a car or to figure out if you’re Ubering or something. But we enjoyed that whole area, like we talked about before. There’s a lot of different options, and we kind of looked at some different menus, but this one, the decor was awesome. It was really cool murals, but everything about the inside. They even had these because it has this Southwest Mexican theme to it. But even like, the light fixtures were, like, clear, like skull. It sounds bad, but it was just like it was really interesting and very cool.

[00:37:40.570] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah.

[00:37:40.780] – Kim Tate

And I felt like it was kind of that Southwestern decor and theme and feel. But without being kitschy, it was really kind of really authentic and cool, like the art on the walls. And there was that whole bottle. I don’t know if it was glass sculpture kind of collection on the wall. And yeah, it was nice. And I think whenever you say tableside guacamole, I think you’re there. But I know the Margarita.

[00:38:06.130] – Tamara Gruber

I especially love the pomegranate thrown on it. I’m going to try that more often. The pomegranate seeds. I really liked that. But yeah, I enjoyed also that we could eat outside a lot, considering where I live and where you live, we’re not getting to do a lot of that for a while here. So I’m taking full advantage of it, and it wasn’t too hot. It was really nice to eat out on their patio. And the tacos were delicious. It was like just perfect amount of food. I think we just got two tacos, no sides.

[00:38:35.100] – Tamara Gruber

So they were the nice little tacos you could pick, like, a unique flavor.

[00:38:42.110] – Kim Tate

And the guacamole. Yeah, they had again, another Margarita. That’s the one thing if you’re there definitely. I hope you like margaritas. And if you do, then indulge because it’s fun. They do margaritas. Well, there.

[00:38:55.160] – Tamara Gruber

Hey, look, I don’t even like margaritas. And I found yeah. Either way, some spicy ones, too, which I liked.

[00:39:04.190] – Kim Tate

So we’ve talked about breakfast, lunch. We talked about starting our day off at the fancy dinner at Top of the Rock. But let’s talk about our evening meals. Anything stand out to you that really you loved for either food or atmosphere or anything.

[00:39:18.450] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. We had a mix of things, which made it nice because we had the very high end. We had one other, which was like a cute setting and a little bit more upscale. And we had a couple of more casual ones. I don’t know, like atmosphere wise. If you’re in the mood to have some fun, then I would go to the Culinary Drop Out because again, that would be a good one if you’re going on a girl’s trip with a group or if you’re going with your family because it’s a really big space.

[00:39:47.650] – Tamara Gruber

So it is kind of crowded. But we were put in an area which didn’t feel like in the middle of the hubbub near the bar, and they have both Ping pong tables and cornhole. So if you want to spend some time and just have some fun and then again, have what we did, which is like a bunch of little picky things, because that’s how I love to eat. Yeah. I feel like that was just like a fun atmosphere.

[00:40:12.000] – Kim Tate

Yeah, I agree. And I think that that atmosphere is amazing. The tables how? I mean, not amazing. But it was just me. You could tell that a lot of groups go there. They had kind of different layouts of seating. There’s a couple of tables that were couches, and it was kind of a, I don’t know, party in a warehouse or something.

[00:40:31.260] – Tamara Gruber

I don’t know. But it was cool. What about you? What else stands out?

[00:40:36.020] – Kim Tate

I really loved that we went to Ghost Ranch and we met up with our friend Tony. And so I thought that was nice. I loved my prickly pair of margaritas that I had there again, those margaritas. I feel like maybe people are going to think I have an issue. I’m always talking about the drinks.

[00:40:50.520] – Tamara Gruber

But anyways, it’s a girl’s trip, and we were driving.

[00:40:53.560] – Kim Tate

Yeah. Exactly. So that one was great. I liked that. It’s kind of almost like a lasagna, like a Southwestern type lasagna that was recommended to us. And I thought that you could tell that that was definitely a popular place. We went on a Monday night and evidently on Tuesday nights. It’s kind of crazy because they have Taco Tuesday and some kind of real special that makes the place pretty busy. But it was another one that was we took an Uber there because it was a bit outside and on the outskirts of downtown.

[00:41:20.990] – Kim Tate

So definitely kind of a cool atmosphere, though. And I guess it’s really popular.

[00:41:25.690] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. I was going to say it’s totally worth it. If you have a car, if you don’t, then you might want to pick one of the places closer in town. But I loved it. It’s one of those places where I wish we had tried different things, but we both really wanted the same thing so much. I know we can only mention that one dish, it was good. It was a good one.

[00:41:45.540] – Kim Tate

It was recommended to us. So it’s like when someone recommends something, you’re kind of like, well, that’s what I’m going to get then.

[00:41:50.870] – Tamara Gruber

Yes. I guess if you didn’t want to take an Uber wanted to stay closer in town. One of the other places we tried was House of Tricks, which I guess you had been to before. I felt bad because I picked these things. And then Kim is like, oh, I’ve been there before. She told me.

[00:42:08.070] – Kim Tate

It was good because I was just in different thinking differently then. And yeah, it was nice to be back. And How’s the tricks, I would say, is also the atmosphere. There was really cool. I think it’s a little more. I don’t know. I’m trying to think price wise. Do you think it was a little more upscale than, like, Culinary Drop Out and that. But it wasn’t Top of the Rock yet.

[00:42:28.710] – Tamara Gruber

But it was more of that kind of traditional menu when it comes to, like, fish, meat, duck, like, different entrees like that. I know you and I both opted for a salad because we had eaten a lot that day. My salad was fantastic, but I feel like it would be a good place to go on a date. Like if you were there as a romantic getaway just because the outside patio where we sat had pretty lights and just had kind of romantic. Yeah. It had, like that nice kind of feel to it.

[00:42:56.380] – Kim Tate

It kind of was gardeny feeling. So it wasn’t just a traditional outdoor seating, like concrete tables. It kind of had a garden, like little nooks.

[00:43:04.780] – Tamara Gruber

And yeah, because it’s really like the restaurant is really in a house. Right. So you’re in kind of like their front yard and then the sides and things like that. Yes, I like that. But I think if you did want some more casual options, one of the places we were going to go to is like Pedalhaus Brewery, which was a close distance. There are so many other options. Again, local places, like there are some chains, too, but like, lots of local places.

[00:43:31.020] – Kim Tate

Which they had told us about that crepe bar that I think is breakfast and lunch. I don’t know if they do dinner, but they had sweet and savory crepes. And there are so many food options there. I think it’s awesome.

[00:43:41.980] – Tamara Gruber

Well, I know when we were there, quite a few people had reached out to me because they’re planning on doing some College visits to ASU. So hopefully you’ll be able to take some of these suggestions and use those for the College visits. It’s certainly like a lot of school spirit. The Sun Devil Stadium is right there. The campus is very walkable, but, like, very integrated to the rest of the town. So it definitely has a really cool College campus vibe. And I think that really a trip like this.

[00:44:10.630] – Tamara Gruber

It works for you think of College towns. It’s like a party town, but it’s not that you certainly have such a mix of audiences.

[00:44:22.210] – Kim Tate

I absolutely agree. And I think it’s cool. The campus has those walk zones, and then you see a lot of people biking and, of course, skateboarding seem to be really big there. But I agree. I think that for a lot of people might be going there. I think if you’re going there for spring training, Tempe is a perfect home base for that sort of thing. It’s going to be easy to get around to go to the other stadiums if you’re going to some other games. But also, of course, College campus visits.

[00:44:46.090] – Kim Tate

But girlfriend getaway like, what we did. It’s so great. Like I said, we stayed at that Tempe Mission Palms, and I loved our rooms. They put us in junior suites, and the space was just amazing. So if you want to hang out with your girlfriends, sit on the bed and the couch and have some wine together at night. It’s a great space for that. So I think for those kind of trips, even families like I mentioned, it’s a definite great destination.

[00:45:12.880] – Tamara Gruber

Yeah. And I think a lot of people look to the Southwest in the winter as a getaway. And like you mentioned before, kind of tend to think of Scottsdale because we’ve heard that the most, which can be, like, really pricey, because it’s a lot of really upscale resorts and things. And so this has a bit of a different vibe, but it’s a nice alternative to that. And especially now that they’re building out even more hotel properties, I think you’re going to see some good pricing if there’s not some big special event going on.

[00:45:41.740] – Kim Tate

Yeah. So big. Thanks again to Tempe for working with us on this project. We absolutely fell in love with the city, and we’re happy to answer any questions. If you guys have anything you want to ask us about Tempe, and if we don’t know the answer, we have our contact that we’re happy to reach out to them. But you can always get a hold of us at podcast@vacationmavens.Com or, of course, always you can DM Tamara at our Instagram  @We3Travel or @stuffedsuitcase.

[00:46:08.100] – Tamara Gruber

And in the meantime, stay tuned because next week or I should say, next episode, we’re going to be jumping back into our Portugal coverage, and our friend Katja is going to be joining us to talk about the Azores and that’s like an area I think a lot of people are really interested in, and you need to plan early, so make sure to tune into that one.

[00:46:27.660] – Kim Tate

We will talk to you again soon. Thanks for joining. Bye.