Eight of us descended upon Scottsdale, Arizona to celebrate Michael, one of my oldest and truest friends, before he tied the knot. We had a lot of fun and we spent most of it acting half our age again, and if there’s ever a time for that, it’s at a bachelor party with guys you’ve known since you WERE half your age.
We all got in from the airport at different times, so our first night was pretty loose by design, but we planned to get Mexican catered at the house (those leftovers provided a life-sustaining force to many hangovers to come). We went to a nearby bar for a bit to check out the local scene some, or possibly, to prove to ourselves that we’re not that old and that 10pm is not that late. The rest of the night was spent trying figure out where everyone was sleeping, since our Airbnb bed math done beforehand, was not adding up in person. Thankfully in the end, no one had to sleep on a pool float, although it really looked like a possibility for a minute.
Our first full day kicked off with a hike that lasted, without much exaggeration, about 10 minutes at best. Jesse to no ones surprise ventured to much higher ground, but the rest of us were certain we’d end up being airlifted if we strayed beyond the photo-op. We put much more time in at a local brewery for lunch, followed by our Airbnb’s pool, where our core conflict was deciding who would get out to bring more drinks from the fridge.
That evening we headed to PopStroke. Think mini golf with full food and bar service at every hole. It was great. I spent most of the time thinking I was doing remarkably well, only to learn I was battling it out for last place. I got a hole-in-one on the last hole though, and as far as I’m concerned, nothing else mattered. Afterwards, Michael picked a spot for dinner that was seemingly located at the ends of the Earth, but was of course worth the journey. Mexican street food meets experimental Michelin star if I had to attempt to define it. Whatever it was exactly, it was very Michael, and very good.
Day three was a double header. A spring training game followed right after by a music festival. Never been much of a sports person but it’s hard not to have fun when the Sun is shining and you’re sharing a beer with your buds, enjoying the best worst foods for you. The music festival was more of that same thing, minus the sports. I was looking forward to hearing Blink-182 but Big Boi stole the show, I didn’t realize he’d just be performing Outkast songs for the most part. We sang, we laughed, we danced, George might have cried. We were also all sporting matching Michael t-shirts all day, which created a lot of fun moments. Drew discovered for us that when someone asks who’s on our shirts, and you reply with zero hesitation, “Michael Woodward,” that 100% of people react as if they’re embarrassed for not knowing that. Would love to see some data on Google search queries for Michael Woodward that day.
With 3 nights behind us, too many calories collected, and not enough water consumed or sunscreen applied, it was time to go home. It was a quick one, but as it usually goes with this crowd, we made it count. Thankful for these memories, and even more thankful to have collected a near lifetime full of them with this bachelor and many of these dudes.
Rosa Parks by Outkast
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Eight of us descended upon Scottsdale, Arizona to celebrate Michael, one of my oldest and truest friends, before he tied the knot. We had a lot of fun and we spent most of it acting half our age again, and if there’s ever a time for that, it’s at a bachelor party with guys you’ve known since you WERE half your age.
We all got in from the airport at different times, so our first night was pretty loose by design, but we planned to get Mexican catered at the house (those leftovers provided a life-sustaining force to many hangovers to come). We went to a nearby bar for a bit to check out the local scene some, or possibly, to prove to ourselves that we’re not that old and that 10pm is not that late. The rest of the night was spent trying figure out where everyone was sleeping, since our Airbnb bed math done beforehand, was not adding up in person. Thankfully in the end, no one had to sleep on a pool float, although it really looked like a possibility for a minute.
Our first full day kicked off with a hike that lasted, without much exaggeration, about 10 minutes at best. Jesse to no ones surprise ventured to much higher ground, but the rest of us were certain we’d end up being airlifted if we strayed beyond the photo-op. We put much more time in at a local brewery for lunch, followed by our Airbnb’s pool, where our core conflict was deciding who would get out to bring more drinks from the fridge.
That evening we headed to PopStroke. Think mini golf with full food and bar service at every hole. It was great. I spent most of the time thinking I was doing remarkably well, only to learn I was battling it out for last place. I got a hole-in-one on the last hole though, and as far as I’m concerned, nothing else mattered. Afterwards, Michael picked a spot for dinner that was seemingly located at the ends of the Earth, but was of course worth the journey. Mexican street food meets experimental Michelin star if I had to attempt to define it. Whatever it was exactly, it was very Michael, and very good.
Day three was a double header. A spring training game followed right after by a music festival. Never been much of a sports person but it’s hard not to have fun when the Sun is shining and you’re sharing a beer with your buds, enjoying the best worst foods for you. The music festival was more of that same thing, minus the sports. I was looking forward to hearing Blink-182 but Big Boi stole the show, I didn’t realize he’d just be performing Outkast songs for the most part. We sang, we laughed, we danced, George might have cried. We were also all sporting matching Michael t-shirts all day, which created a lot of fun moments. Drew discovered for us that when someone asks who’s on our shirts, and you reply with zero hesitation, “Michael Woodward,” that 100% of people react as if they’re embarrassed for not knowing that. Would love to see some data on Google search queries for Michael Woodward that day.
With 3 nights behind us, too many calories collected, and not enough water consumed or sunscreen applied, it was time to go home. It was a quick one, but as it usually goes with this crowd, we made it count. Thankful for these memories, and even more thankful to have collected a near lifetime full of them with this bachelor and many of these dudes.
Rosa Parks by Outkast