Valley of the Sun: ASU

Thankfully, after taking a rest (and having a glass of wine), we felt revived enough to go explore some more. So, we took the long way to ASU, stopping in neighborhoods along the way to check out some neighborhoods. 

We lucked out and got a park spot right across from Ed's so to be home away from home - the Education Building.

Ed was so excited to see where he will be working and teaching.

Of course, we had to stop and get a picture with the Mary Lou Felton Teacher's College display. Ed will soon be a huge part of this program!

As we left the building, we got our first taste of those beautiful desert sunsets that we've been promised.

We decided to spend a bit more time on campus walking around, and Ed and I were excited that it felt like a "real" college campus. We stopped by the library and envisioned meeting here after work to, well, work some more :).

Soon, it was dark, and we were hungry, so we headed to where all the cool ASU college kids go - Mills Ave. We drove up and down, looking for the right place to eat, and finally decided to just park. We were torn between wanting to find a unique, special place, and just eating.

We finally decided on Gordon Bierch, a chain restaurant, which I had wanted to avoid, but it had the variety of choices we wanted on a menu, and an awesome second story outdoor patio.

It was a great choice - the food was good, and it was fun to have a view of the nightlife without being right in the middle of it.

We also enjoyed having a beer sampler, since I'm still learning about my beer preferences.

After dinner, there was one place I had researched that we had to visit. From what I could tell, the name changed, but the food served was exactly what I'd hoped.

Yep, a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich, featuring two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a huge scoop of hagaan daz ice cream. It was massive, delicious, and $2 - the perfect desert, especially in a college town. 

So, it was with a smile and happy heart (and stomach) that Ed and I headed back to our hotel in Mesa, to prepare for our first full day in the Valley.