Omni Meeting

The reason for our trip to Scottsdale was for a wholesale plumbing supply meeting. We go on this conference every year and the destination is (usually) to a warmer place than Ohio (where Omni is based) and for sure, North Dakota! Scottsdale however, was having a major cold front. One day it was 31 degrees in AZ and 31 degrees in Fargo too - not quite the warm getaway we were seeking!

Brian spends the trip playing in the golf tournament, going to vendor meetings and joining his fellow conventioneers at the bar. I usually hang out by the pool, the gym, go to the spa and then join Brian at the bar. This trip was the same but add in Lilly and minus the bar (for me). The hotel boasted it's family-friendliness but forgot to mention that it's on-site "kids camp" aka drop-in-daycare was for 4 years old +, so it was me and Lilly all day, everyday. We hung out by the pool, went to story-time, built a stuffed animal, played lawn chess and colored in the hotel room. Exciting stuff, I know. I did have a celebrity sighting this trip! The Phoenix Open (golf tournament) was starting the Wednesday I left so the area was full of amateur and pro golfers. Vijay Singh and I both walked out of the hotel at the same time. He is a VERY TALL man!

building her stuffed giraffe

We did eat at some pretty fabulous restaurants though and Lilly, being the adventurous eater/we didn't have a babysitter - came along too! On our first night, to celebrate Lilly's birthday, we went to Tapas Papa Frita - a tapas restaurant. SO.GOOD. There was live Spanish guitar music (a la Gipsy Kings) and a flamenco dancer. The food was terrific, especially the open flame broiled lamb chops with herbs. The chef specializes in Catalonian, Basque and Andalusian cuisine. Here is their menu .YUM. The only unfortunate thing that evening was that Lilly fell asleep on the drive to the restaurant and never woke up until the next morning! So much for celebrating her 2nd birthday. The hotel had an amazing restaurant on the property called Deseo. The food is Latin influenced and the chef is a James Beard Award winner. The restaurant is known for it's muddling bar and offers a muddling class on Wednesday evenings. Deseo also has a featured in-house artist, Nelson Garcia-Miranda who left Cuba and sought political exile in the States. The food was great and the service was excellent.

flamenco dancing at tapas papa frita

On the last night of the convention there's always a big dinner-dance and this year was no exception. We brought Lilly along and it turns out she was the only child at the dinner - not a big deal. But when she saw the big dance floor and the the band take the stage, there was no stopping our little dancer. She danced with her dad, she danced by herself and she was the belle of the ball. Party Animal Goodman strikes again!

See you in Orlando 2012, Omni!



contemplating hitting the dance floor

spotted: a barefoot party animal

dancing with dad