Tempe, Arizona

Tempe, Arizona: A very quiet day - we were worn-out from golfing two days in a row. Our field trips today included a stop at my favorite store - Camping World. Also, DT had read about the huge financial success of a chain of local Chinese restaurants, so we decided to check it out.

We walked into P.F. Chang's at 2:30 in the afternoon - a Thursday - and the place was packed! This was a sign of a successful restaurant! The menu was varied, with twists on the usual Chinese fare. We wanted to try as many different dishes as possible, so we had two appetizers - potstickers and spring rolls. The spring rolls were especially tasty, perfectly fried and full of crunchy bits. DT had black pepper calamari and I tried garlic noodles. The noodles were highly spiced - fiery hot - with huge slices of baked tofu. Just wonderful. The service was extremely good - our waiter was of course an ASU student - every waiter in town seems to be an ASU student - and he was very friendly, even though we were Ducks.
 
P.F. Chang's was strategically located in the largest mall in Phoenix! We took an after-lunch stroll through the mall. The Scottsdale Fashion Square is one of the nicest malls I have ever visited. Great variety of really nice shops - and several we do not have at home - but this mall is home to the only Nordstrom in Arizona. They also have a "St. John Home" store… if you are looking for $350 throw pillows.
 
The RV park is filling up with DUCKS! We put-up our "GO DUCKS" banner and have met two other groups here for the game already - both parents of players.

We watched the World Series (damned Yankees) and then went back to campus for dinner at ANOTHER place we have wanted to try. We had a late lunch, so we had a very late dinner at Gordon Biersch. We tried several things, with the award going to the battered and deep-fried quartered artichoke hearts served with garlic mayo. Divine. I also tried the grilled portobello mushrooms on skewers, served on a polenta triangle with a chipolte sauce. HOT and yummy. DT, not feeling very adventurous with the menu, opted for a Caesar salad and a tomato and mozzarella pizza. Our waitress was, of course, an ASU student. Just as we were leaving the restaurant "The Scones" started playing Norwegian Woods, and the bar was looking pretty lively... but we are old and have a tee-time in the morning.