“Hiking shoes Bring with you a pair of shoes for hiking. the trails around the valley are spectacular.”

“Bring clothing for hot climates. if you aren't used to hot weather it can feel extra hot. Outside of what you normally would like to have with you when you travel, here are a few things we recommend you bring. swimwear - swimming season for kids is a little longer than adults as kids tend to tolerate the colder water better than adults. swimmable pool temperatures are easily seen mid-may-mid oct for kids. the hot tub is always a good idea though! sandals- the ground is really hot during summer and warm most other times of the year. your favorite water bottle (empty if you are flying in). we might be cooler in the winter but it's still dry. the need to ensure you hydrate cannot be understated here!”

“Phoenix is a driving city. Unless you drive your own car, plan on using uber and lyft.”

“Hov (aka carpool lanes) rules & rush hour Hov lanes on our freeways, the left lanes are often designated hov lanes. hov stands for high occupancy vehicle (defined as 2 or more in a car). lanes may be entered or exited at anytime. see the freeway signs for appropriate hov times. when not hov times, the lanes may be used as regular freeway lanes. rush hour traffic patterns traffic generally flows toward phoenix in the am and away in the pm. rush hours are approx 6:30-9:00 am, and 4:00-6:30 pm and can greatly impact travel time”

“Places in phoenix These are some things you might consider: the heard museum, heard.org "the foremost showcase of native american art and culture in the u.s., the heard museum reveals the cultures of tribes in the region through exhibits, demonstrations alive performances and displays the work of contemporary native american artists. artists demonstrate their work during the week and musicians perform on most weekends."; the desert botanical gardens dbg.org.; the musical instrument museum mim.org. these are all places that are interesting and unique to phoenix. there is a restaurant near here called valle luna that serves good, authentic mexican food. they tend to get busy at night so earlier dinner or lunch is better. matt's big breakfast is downtown and considered to be one of the best. first watch is also a good comfortable place for breakfast. the churchill is a small group of stores set up in large containers. https://thechurchillphx.com/ the yard is a fun place to eat. don't have the web address but you can find it on yelp. there are a lot of great day hikes and day drives. i have information about some of them in the room.”

“Expect long delays at restaurants from mid october - mid april Our winter months (oct-apr) bring lots of visitors to the phoenix area. this makes for long lines everywhere, and odd traffic patterns.”

“Use manners The best advice i can offer is to use manners. what do i mean by that? say "hello". when you enter a store, say hello to the clerk. say hello when you meet someone's eyes while standing in line. etc. say "please" and "thank you" at appropriate times like when asking for something or when someone does a kindness toward you. say "excuse me" or "sorry" when you bump into someone or make an error. you can always say these even when it's not your fault because you may not realize that it was actually your fault.”