Stroll Down Central Ave

So on Friday, Penny, Cindy and I decide to take a LONG walk down Central. Cindy and I had done it once before and so we had somewhat of an idea of what we were getting into. Penny was along for the ride so to speak.

So here is how we look when we start. Not the best of photos, but I was just holding the camera out at arms length.
We started at the base of North Mountain and headed South. The North end of Central is really pretty. Lots of trees lining and overarching the road. Beautiful homes to look at.
The thing is, even though you are in the middle of the city, if you decide you need a bathroom, there isn't one. I thought I was going to have a serious problem. All these beautiful homes, but no public restrooms. I made it to the Boston Market at Camelback and Central and was very very grateful.
So Camelback was pretty much our half way point. There were a couple of shops there that I had heard about that I wanted to check out.


This one is Frances. It has expensive one of a kind clothing and some fun and funky jewelry. Some of the jewelry was pricey and some wasn't. It was fun to look at stuff there.

We didn't actually get to go inside the Red Hot Robot. They weren't open. I've read though that they have really fun toys inside.

Smeeks was a blast. Lots of retro candy, party supplies and fun things you remember from being a kid.

Then we decided to take a lunch break. This is Penny and Cindy at Maizies Bistro on Central just South of Camelback. It was a fun place that we had never noticed before walking by. Cindy and I were both dieting and so don't have an accurate review of the food, but the menu looked good and Penny liked her food.

Then we went for the second half. One of the fun things about doing this kind of walk is you get to see things you have never noticed before. Here is a beautiful water feature and park at the Viad (Dial) building at Palm lane. You never see this from Central because there is a wal between it and the road.

Then I finally got to see the new piece of public art near downtown ASU. It is supposed to remind you of a cactus flower. It was actually somewhat interesting, but I hear it's fabulous at night, because it is lit and you don't see all the cables holding it up.

I really like the photo from underneath though, looking up at the clouds.

We had parked a car at the end of our hike so we could get back to our starting point. We were a little puzzled by this sign. So if everything is 5$, why don't they just say 5$ parking?



Eight and a half miles later, here we are, only a little worse for wear!