I love traveling to Scottsdale for Spring training because Ben and I are San Francisco Giants fans and enjoy the desert heat. This was my second time coming to Scottsdale, Arizona, and I did a post on last years trip, you can check out it out here. This year was a little bit different because I am now a vegan and it’s always exciting finding places that are accommodating to my lifestyle. And what perfect way to begin spring than in Scottsdale for spring training!

My highlights this year:

VegFest 2018

Attending Veg Fest Scottsdale 2018 right in the heart of Scottsdale was such a treat. It was a two day event (Saturday & Sunday) and luckily we arrived to Scottsdale on Saturday just in time to attend both days. We enjoyed delicious (very big) steamed buns from hot bamboo and a fried chicken with macaroni and cheese from Southern Fried Vegan. Besides eating delicious vegan food, we enjoyed listening to Robert Cheeke speak about his plant based fitness journey. Which he talks in more detail in his book, “Plant Based Muscle”. I had a great time at VegFest and I’m looking forward to attending more Veg Fest events in the future!

Spring Training

The main event of our trip is to watch the San Francisco Giants train and to familiarize ourselves with the new players. We went to four games total, three of the games were at the Scottsdale Stadium which is the home stadium for the Giants and one game was at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and this was my first time visiting this stadium. Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies share this stadium and this stadium is larger than the Giants’ stadium. I had so much fun watching the Giant’s play and I can’t wait for opening day!

Shamrock Run

Ben and I wanted to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by doing something active and healthy. So we signed up for the Shamrock Run. I ran my first 5K in December, you can read about my first run here. My goal was to beat my first 5K run time and I did it! My first 5K run time was 37 minutes, this time I finished in 31 minutes. Now my goal is to beat my previous time every time I run a 5K. The run was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing more runs this year and achieving my running goals.

Kaleidoscope Juice

After the 5K run, I was craving a protein smoothie, so Ben found Kaleidoscope Juice . This juice shop is amazing, and has everything a juice shop should be. They offer smoothies with vegan protein, cold pressed juices, açaí bowls, avocado toast, and freshly prepared salads for on the go. The juice shop also had an extension where they sell Spiritual Gangster clothing and other cute workout clothes. I loved this place so much, we came twice during our trip, and had the avocado toast, twice. I tried their Mint Chip Smoothie and an acai bowl. Both are so delicious and are must haves. I highly recommend Kaleidoscope Juice for a great healthy breakfast or brunch in Scottsdale.

Camelback Mountain

I had such a great time hiking Camelback mountain last year that I had to do it again this year. There are always a fair amount of people hiking up and down the mountain which makes the hike more fun and gives you a reason to keep going. On the way up the mountain, the hike kept my heart rate up which makes it a really great workout. On the way down the mountain, it gets pretty steep and the gravel is slippery so you must be very careful. I need to remember to bring gloves next time because the rocks hurt my palms especially on the way down. Total hike time was about two hours. Including a stop at the top for photos.

Bubbles Champagne Bar

A vegan champagne bar! I have died and gone to heaven! My favorite worlds have come together, and made this beautiful creation. I wish I had visited the bar more than once during the trip, because the place was so cute, the staff was super nice, and they have delicious food! We tried the “Stoner” toast and had a couple glasses of bubbles. They even had a dessert bar filled with vegan deliciousness, and a fun list of champagne cocktails. I tried the Diamond Fizz. I can’t wait to go back and visit Bubbles Champagne Bar again.

"Stoner" Toast

Bicycling around town with Lime

Lime Bike made getting around Scottsdale like a breeze. These neon green bikes were E V E R Y W H E R E ! which made it super convenient. To get a bicycle it was super easy, you pull up the Lime Bike App, scan the barcode on the bike you want to ride, and the bike unlocks and you’re ready to cruise! Once you’re done with the bike all you do is park the bicycle and lock it and walk away. That’s it! I had such a great time cruising around old Scottsdale and riding to the Giant’s game on the Lime Bikes. The bikes were the cherry on top of a great annual trip to Scottsdale.