March 30, 2026
The adventure begins at 1:00pm from the Appleton WI airport on Allegiant Airlines, a no-frills, discount airline that flies direct to Phoenix. The government shutdown and non-payment of the TSA agents had us a bit concerned but we “flew” through the screening. After departing 40 minutes late the flight was uneventful. I sat in a row with Clark and Vince. The car rental was painless after a short wait. Since we were all hungry, it was now 7:30 pm (Green Bay time) and we hadn’t had any lunch, we decided to stop at Barrio Brewing Company which was a 2 minute drive from the airport. We all raved about the quality of the food and talked about coming back on the way home. The drive to the JW Marriott resort was uneventful. We played a game of Power Hungry Pets (Clark won) before retiring for the evening.
March 31, 2026
Megan, Lori, and I started the day by exploring the resort. Buddy, Vince, and Clark went for a work-out while we explored some more and found the cabana we rented for the day. After spending some time at the driving range we changed clothes and got ready to hit the water park at noon. The cabana, previously reserved, was comfortable and came with a fruit plate and bottles of water. We hung out there or in the lazy river or slides until about 5:00pm. Deciding on dinner was an ordeal and finally decided to pick up subs at Jimmy John’s after picking up breakfast items at Target, about a mile from the resort. After eating the subs in the lobby we attended the Glow Putt which was putt-putt golf in the dark with the holes being lit by neon lights. After golf we sat outside and played Power Hungry Pets once again.
April 01, 2026
Buddy, myself, and the boys headed to the pickleball courts for our 9:30 reservation while Megan and Lori went for a 3+ mile walk. After changing into our swim suits we headed for the waterpark and the cabana that we had previously reserved. Spent most of the time playing games in the cabana and some time in the lazy river. The Lisowe clan headed to the golf course at 3:15 after participating in the Bubble Bash. Buddy and I were the two adults playing in the suds! While the Lisowe’s were golfing Lori and I relaxed at the cabana and in our room. We drove to Island Food and Drinks for a late dinner.
April 02, 2026
Today was a non-water park day. We hung out in the rooms until about 11:00 when we departed for The Sicilian Butcher restaurant to celebrate Lori’s birthday. The restaurant offered unique takes on Italian food which were all good. After a short drive to the Metro station we boarded the train to take us downtown to Chase Field. On the train there was a lady loudly (and I do mean loudly) telling about Jesus and how he saved her. The Diamondback game against the Braves was a blowout – not good for the Diamondbacks. The score was 16-1 with 5 homers. The final inning the Diamondback used a catcher for their pitcher. He was only throwing the balls at 35 MPH vs the 90+ MPH of the regular pitchers.
April 03, 2026
Lori and Megan started the day with a water fitness class while Buddy and boys did a gym workout and I rode a bike around the area for 8 miles. Back to the cabana for a chill afternoon, time in the lazy river, and a visit to the water slides. Megan and family went to the driving range in the late afternoon. Dinner was at the restaurant associated with the golf course and the food was surprisingly good. The evening ended with games and S’mores around the campfire.
April 4, 2026
Not much to say about today. We checked out of the resort at 11:00 and hung around in the lobby until 12:30 before fighting the Phoenix traffic to make a return visit to Bario Brewing. Again the food was excellent. Turning in the rental van was simple as was waiting in the airport for our 6:00pm flight. Lori and arrived back to Green Bay around 11:30pm.
