I've been to Phoenix many, many times over the years but always for work. There was always a data center to visit or a service team or a group of programmers. In fact, the last time I was here strictly for pleasure was a childhood trip that my dad made us take in the Rambler station wagon. Our usual custom was to stay at a Rodeway Inn with a slide next to the pool, and I probably complained about the dry heat in a constant whine that drove my parents nuts. Now the dry heat doesn't bother me as much, and I decided to stay an extra day, Saturday, to see what I have been missing in Phoenix all these years. Someone at work suggested I stop here in the morning since it was fairly close to the part of downtown I was staying.
Early for a change, I found myself walking around the open-air market as people were setting up their tables and tents. Fresh produce was plentiful but so was plenty of other food from homemade tamales at The Tamale Store (photo: http://bit.ly/2wajg55) to freshly baked loaves of bread from Jerusalem Bakery (photo: http://bit.ly/2gh2pZ4). Fully ripened tomatoes appeared to be a favorite item here, and Abby Lee Farms had immaculately arranged basketfuls to sell (photo: http://bit.ly/2whvhUQ). There were also non-edible goods like flowers, beeswax and wooden toddler toys (photo: http://bit.ly/2xFC8He). For a city as large as Phoenix, I was surprised the market didn't have a more permanent presence like Seattle's Pike Place Market, but it appears to be inching toward that platinum standard.