Japan right in the middle of town.

Davis and I have been trying to find local spots (food and activities) for a while now that won’t break the bank.We definitely found the first of many this weekend. We visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix.

Yup that's a waterfall amazing right?

We went on Sunday afternoon since we were having amazing Arizona weather; cloudy and no hot sun. Upon arriving we were greeted by a few sweet volunteers and the founder of the garden Masako Takiguchi. They were very kind and gave us all the information of what to do once we entered. We bought a little bag of fish food so we could do some feeding and went on our way.

The first thing we noticed was how breathtaking it all was.

I found it hard to believe that we were in Phoenix. I felt as if we had just been transported to Japan. It was just so peaceful and serene.

Seriously it was just so beautiful and tranquil. With the freeway being so close I couldn’t hear it at all. We took in the over seen and continued on our tour. There was a sword demonstration going on.

We stopped for about 15 minutes to check it out mostly because that's how long Charles can stay quite. It was interesting and it was crazy to see the age range of the people practicing.  I swear that the youngest kid was just a little older then Charles.

 

Kenjitsu and Japanese Sword by Dana Abbott

We left because my kid of course wanted to go get the sword. We/ I made an executive decision that we would check out the rest of the garden so that the rest of the crowd could actually hear what was going on. For more info check out  www.facebook.com/shihanabbott

 We then went to feed the koi fish and ducks. When we got to the bridge the fish knew what was coming they started swimming towards us. 

Davis and the baby started feeding them and they went nuts.

 They were swirling around the maniacs.  The picture does not do it justice. We got some amazing shots. This would be an awesome shot to take pictures for a wedding or just a photo session. 

The garden is a non profit organization you can check out more about the history and fees at www.japanesefriendshipgarden.org/.  They opened almost 12 years and offer a traditional tea ceremony. You can call to set up a reservation.

Once we left we headed over to Pita Jungle which is in walking distance. But we drove cause that’s how we roll. 

We hung out on the patio and had a few drinks and hummus. The margaritas were definitely on point. Charles made a couple new friends by running off and trying to sit with other couples. They were all so friendly and made our outing extra special. 

We topped of the night by watching a few movies on the couch and going to bed at a descent time. Oh how our life has changed since having a baby. No more late nights out and crawling into bed by 6 am.

Did you do anything new this weekend? 

Frame worthy.