More Holiday Shenanigans!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’re all about the holiday festivities in this family, and while we have our standard favorite “to do’s” each year, we also try to integrate some new activities as well.  This year, we added a few more, including a light tour…

On Friday, Chris and I joined a holiday light tour around Old Town Scottsdale, during which we got around by Segway!  We’ve been on Segways once before, on a self-guided tour around Long Beach a few years back with Dad, Risa, Jim, and Leigh on a family vacation.*

Jim and Leigh, ready to go!

Chris and Dad getting set up.

The tour operator was Segway of Scottsdale,** and things went smoothly.  We arrived at 5pm, checked in without problems, and joined our guide, Tiffany for a training on the machines.  We were two of a party of 10, and although the three different family/friend groups didn't know each other to start out, we quickly became buddies with the other folks, each of whom was at least 30 years older than the two of us.***

10 little Segways, lined up in a row

Unlike the Long Beach tour, we had a guide for our Segway adventure, which was fine.  Although we’ve been to Old Town Scottsdale a few times, being able to follow the guide down the best streets and have a narrated set of instructions was really nice.  Chris was a little concerned that the 5pm start time would be too early to see a lot of lights, but by the time we trained and hit the road, dusk was setting and the lights were shining.

Testing out my wheels

Safety first!

Tiffany took us through several different areas of Old Town Scottsdale that we hadn't visited before, and we quickly learned we need to spend a bit more time there.  Check out these cool LED sculptures in the canal:

About halfway through (an hour in), we had a quick stop at a great chocolate place, Chocolade van Brugge, where we sipped hot cocoa and gave our legs a break from standing.  This place does chocolate fondue parties, so we're absolutely going back here.

So pretty...

We also Segway'd our way to the Scottsdale Christmas tree, where we learned we should have turned the flash on when taking pictures with Chris' cell phone:

It's us, I swear.

After the Segway tour, we headed to dinner with our friends Christina and Amadeo at Tommy V’s Urban Kitchen for an awesome meal.  Although we originally picked it due to its proximity to the Segway store,**** it was great and we really enjoyed our food!  Of course, even better than the food was fantastic company!

Later!

Amy

* During which Jim and I picked up the Segways relatively quickly.  Since Dad and Risa had been on them before, they were pro’s at this point.  Chris and Leigh, on the other hand, had more difficulty and were relegated to attending an extended course of “Special Segway School.”  Be sure to bring this up the next time you see them; they really enjoy being reminded of this.

** Apparently, there’s another holiday light tour offered by a competitor, Scottsdale Segway, and although I had a personal recommendation for the competitor firm, Segway of Scottsdale had a Groupon.  Cheap beat out recommended in this case.

*** We like to do old people things, we've decided.

**** In the same parking lot.  Also, the Yelp reviews were good.