This weekend was spent in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, to celebrate the 30th birthday of my best friend, Cammie.

I first met Cammie in the 7th grade around the time I had the haircut of a young boy, an orthodontic face gear, and a face covered in Vaseline. I’d show you pictures, but I kinda like that you and I are friends and you read this blog.

Cammie has been an incredibly special part of my life and from experiencing our first heartbreaks to graduating college and her joining the Air Force to being each others maids of honor, we’ve been through it all. Even that one year we spent being particularly teen angst-y and listened to Alanis Morissette on repeat until we couldn’t anymore.

Tyler and I flew into town early Saturday morning to see Cammie and her husband Sean and make the most of 24 hours we were there.

First stop was a hike up South Mountain, a historic city park that was first roamed by the Hohokam Indians, who left petrogyphs carved into rocks along the mountains. The weather was in the high 60s and perfect. We hiked 2,330 feet up to Dobbin’s Lookout, a fort at the highest point of the mountain, where we had stunning and sweeping views of the city. On the way back down we were almost at the end of the trail when we encountered a giant rattlesnake! And by “encountered” I mean that I hid behind Cammie while some guy threw rocks at it so it’d move out of the way. And then she held my hand as I scampered down the opposite end, as far away as possible. Obviously.

In the evening, we drove out to Scottsdale where we stopped by a sweet little wine bar with a great patio called 5th and Wine for appetizers and live music, and then headed over to Cornish Pasty Co for dinner.

The Cornish Pasty (please note that it’s pronounced Pah-stee, not Paste-y, a discussion which consumed the majority of our conversation for the night) originated from Cornwall in Southwest England, possibly as far back as the 1200s. They were made by the wives and mothers of miners to take for their lunch, and as the miners were typically covered in arsenic, they would hold onto the crimped handles of the pasty while eating and then discard the crust. Traditionally, the pasty was filled with different fillings at each end – one savory with meats and vegetables and one sweet end. The pasty would be marked so the miner would know which side to eat first, and then sealed to keep the fillings warm.

From there we stopped by a few other venues and listened to more live music, and then being 30 and all, we called it a night around midnight and headed back to her apartment where we sat around and talked. Oh, and did I mention that she has a terrible view of the city?

While our trip was short, it sure was sweet, and though we were able to enjoy the beauty and fun that Phoenix has to offer, nothing beat being able to celebrate the life of the such a beautiful and loving friend and being able to look forward to even more adventures in the years ahead.

*source: http://www.cornishpastyco.com/history/