Rock Bottom

Eating at Rock Bottom brings me far, far from rock bottom. Especially their nachos. Oh glory nachos. Years ago I went to Rock Bottom for the first time and tried their Titan Toothpicks, which apparently are no longer on the menu. They were basically giant taquitos. Super delicious. The next time I ever went I ordered their nachos, which were pretty large, along with a glass their tasty brewed beer. A couple years later I made my third and last visit to their location in Ahwatukee in the same plaza as Harem. I ordered their nachos, and this epic masterpiece came out. Their nachos had increased in size, nachos on steroids! This was definitely the biggest "plate" of nachos I have ever ordered in my life, and I've ordered a lot of nachos!

My friend also ordered nachos, so the photo captures double nacho action. They never disappoint me, I cannot wait to go back.

Sensory Overload

I have get this out there, I love food with the most ridiculous passion. There, perhaps, may be a lot of restaurant reviews and stories to share here.

I'll start with my favorite hookah bar ever, Harem, located in Ahwatukee just south of Tempe. Don't get this confused with Harem Nights, an event at another hookah bar in Tempe. I've been going to Harem regularly for the last couple of years. The owner is awesome and always gives my friend and I a discount, so we think. Over the course of going there, they upgraded to having a liquor license and serving food. We began to incorporate a glass of red wine with our usual pomegranate shisha. One night we decided to try their food and, under the urgings of the owner, we also purchased a whole bottle of wine.We had a feast! We could not stop talking about the euphoria we were feeling. That's gotta be one of the best food-drink-hookah experience I've ever had in my life.

Here you can see the wine bottle and glasses (which are gorgeous by the way), the hookah, our platter of pita, humus, olives, and two of their extremely tasty salads. I must go back and relive that paradise!

And below is a photo of one of the beginning stages of my visits to Harem to give you a view of their awesome patio. I'm also trying on my cousin's sexy glasses. There will surely be more photos and stories about this place to come.

Take the Scenic Route

There seems to already be a trend here with signage. I didn't intend for that, but it does make you realize how interesting signs are on its own and around the valley.

In March 2011, a group of friends and I went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival. Good times are ensured to be had there and I regret not going as often as I'd like. The fairgrounds are located in Apache Junction. While I live in the greater Phoenix area this ride is nearly an hour long. It's quite a ride but a relaxing and scenic one. After my exhausting and enjoyable day out at the fair, I enjoyed the imagery on the way home.

I wonder what defines a silly mountain. Maybe it's just the jester of the bunch.

 

I feel that this was a great moment to capture, very postcard-esque to me.

I enjoy organic photos such as these that feature the interior of the car along with the water spots on the windows.

 

Cosmic Drive

There's a little road in Tempe that I love to take to avoid traffic. Hardy Drive runs through a residential area where there are a ton of little streets intersecting it. All these streets have interesting names and are grouped together by some common theme. For example, there's a collection of them that refer to major universities, Duke, Oxford, Harvard, etc. Another series is of women's names, Janice, Julie, and others. My favorite is the small and really random collection of constellation names or astrological signs.

These can be found while heading south on Hardy Dr. just before Guadalupe Rd. My best friend used to live in Tempe and I would always take the short cut and be greeted by Scorpio Drive. The million times that I have passed that street I've always wanted to pull over and take a photo. Today I actually went out of my way to go there and take a photo. If it weren't for this blog, I may never have done that. It makes for a happy Scorpio.

Also, I'm quite curious as to why whoever named the streets picked the particular names. Not every constellation was used, only Pisces, Gemini, Libra, and Scorpio. Two air signs and two water signs, interesting.

The Rise

Welcome to Heliopolis, the digital City of the Sun, Arizona! This will be documentation, evidence of the Phoenix metropolis. A conversation with a good man, who's digital existence is minimal and nearly mythical, has lead me down this path. Thus he will be named not, but he will always receive credit in my mind. He has told me about various blogs about New York such as Jeremiah's Vanishing New York and EV Grieve, both done very well. This inspired me to do my own blog for Arizona. I will now force myself to grab my camera when I head out the door and capture the moments I've always wished to share. This is a completely new project for me, so I'm sure the evolution of the style will change over time. Here's to rebirth!

To start, this was a photo taken on the corner of Glendale Avenue and 57th Drive in the historic downtown Glendale right next to the Astrology Store.

The crosswalk sign was broken in a way that I just had to photograph. This is me in the photo, I look more concentrated rather than smiling because I didn't know my friend was including me. This was taken two years ago, and I have yet to check if that sign is still working incorrectly. 

This downtown Glendale, or also known as Glendale Glitters, area is a fun place to be if you enjoy antique stores. They line the streets, along with comic shops, various pubs, pizza joints, Subway, and The Astrology Store. The Astrology store is quite awesome although I have not purchased a whole lot from there. Their jewelry selection is wonderful and one of my favorites. They do have a tattoo parlor in back, but the artist's portfolio did anything but impress me. This is a lovely area to go to during the holidays, when all the lights (hence the glitter) are turned on. Also, the antique stores have proved quite beneficial during Christmas shopping.